Archive Result

Soundfile 19980219GRBHLR

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Birmingham, MI

Topic Lam Rim

Transcriber Janet Bourgon

Date June 12, 2021

This session’s recording got switched around. Rimpoche’s beginning statement starts at 0:30:28.5.

… that way. But the truth is there’s tremendous room for corruption, in that reincarnation business. Yes, sir. Am I going to spend all my time in the question and answer? Anyway it’s okay. Go ahead.

Audience: [I can’t hear very well. A man is asking something from a summer retreat on Odyssey to Freedom, about putting pictures of deceased loved ones on the altar.]

Rimpoche: Really good question. For pictures it’s different. You know, in the 16, I forgot, 1620s I think. In 1620s, there was a ruler in Tibet known as [? 0:01:41.1]. His name is [? 0:01:44.5]. He is the ruler. He’s ruthless dictator. And the Dalai Lama was try to gain political power. So they’re trying their best, the Dalai Lama will gain so . Not the first Dalai Lama, nor the second Dalai Lama, not the third Dalai Lama, they don’t have political power. It is only during the fifth Dalai Lama’s period, there was political power. So they try to gain political power. They doing all sorts of things. All sort of things. They’re interconnecting with the Mongols and try to undermine his military capabilities. They try to do all sorts of things, but whatever they do, they could not bring him down. So then they said, why not? They said, he has tremendous luck and there’s tremendous amount of positive karmic luck is there. So until that been exhausted, they will not be able to overthrow him. That was the answer.

0:03:03.0.

So then they said, how can, how best we can do? So then they draw the drawing of, there’s no photograph, they draw the drawing of the king and put in various monasteries and they started prostrating that picture. So by doing that, by doing that, they decrease his positive karmic because he cannot, he doesn’t have that much power because if people prostrated to him, people do that, it decreases his, especially there’s millions of monks who are, and nuns who are doing prostration. They decrease his positive karma. Not only that, they also sneaked, they did sort of sneak people will in his toilet. It is the old Tibetan toilet so he has the big [fault? 0:04:07.0]. It’s all between the rock, rocky mountain area. So they sneaked people in his toilet, I mean it’s like two stories high, it comes down. So what they did is they went there and they draw the Buddha image and they draw the Tara image and all also the image so that he will be in his things on that and so it will also help to cut down his positive karma. So talking about belief, there you go. And so really what’s happening is if a person, you know. I remember a funny story here. I better share that with you. Those of you who seen that [kundun? 0:05:09.4] movie, you saw the regent, right? The ex-regent who been, who I think been executed by Tibetan government. They denied, but, sort of thing. And he came to, he came personally when he was under investigation. He came personally to the General Assembly and at the end of that he said, I would like to see Dalai Lama myself personally. Please allow me. And so of course the Assembly have no authority or whatever. No, he would like to see the present regent and the Dalai Lama both, so please allow me. He keep on begging. So they all said, no it’s not possible. And by about that time he got up and started prostrating to Assembly people who are in the meeting where he was under there.

0:06:09.6

So everybody push that way or this way because they don’t want to be directly he’s prostrating. They thought they lose their luck. So by pushing it on and off, one of the ministers fall off the throne because everybody’s moving one direction. [Laughs]. So that is how it works. So that is the reason why it might not necessarily be good one. But that doesn’t mean don’t pray for the ancestors. Even the Chinese tradition, they really make very important with ancestors. But ancestors [sharron? 0:06:46.5] they make separately rather than, I mean it is within the thing, but rather than with Buddha up there. They don’t do it. So that is the reason why I said that. Yes, Robert.

Audience: [0:07:01.7, someone speaking but I can’t hear distinctly.

0:09:00.6.

[Same person speaking. 0:09:16.7]

Rimpoche: I don’t have quarrel with you at all. [Laughs]. [Same person speaking again. 0:10:24.0]. Well I appreciate your statement. Can I be a little skeptical? And say what kind of truth you’re talking? [Same person: The only truth there is. ] Rimpoche: What is it? [Same person:.. try to find it myself!] Rimpoche: Very good. Yeah, that’s a funny thing. Buddhism accept two truth: two--the relativity and absolute both. So relative and absolute both. Buddha accept two truth. [Tibetan quote 0:10:59.7]. Buddha himself showed two truth. Truth of absolute and truth of reality. So two there. And, you’re right. Without gaining, without helping yourself, you can’t help other. This is basic principle. We work toward seeking freedom everywhere. We work that. It is true. And I do not know how much truth we realize or not, but improving the individual. And in my personal opinion, what you are really looking at the beginning level, no matter how much we spend time or how much we think we know, but still we are very preliminary level, beginning level. So at the beginning level, the improvement of the individual, the goodness of the person, the kindness of the mind, caring of the, caring, compassion, and avoiding hurting people, and all of those.

0:12:13.1.

And how much we’re improving. How much we’re reducing our anger. How much we have reduced the temper tantrums that we show. How much we be able to reduce the addictions. I’m not necessarily mean the drug addictions or the alcohol addiction. I mean the addiction of attachment, addiction of jealousy, and how much we’ve been improving. I think these are the main points we’re looking. You may call that as truth, too. You can call it that as truth and that is how much we’re gaining. And whatever we’re gaining we can share the other person, people with that so that they may have some help. Otherwise, yeah, I believe that is how it works. So I appreciate your remark, and that nice.

Gloria.

Audience: 0:13:17.4 [I can’t hear] 0:13:37.7.

Rimpoche: Very good question. If you try to analyze within your mind, and like, right, you sort of look body, and then you have physical aspects called body. Then you go deeper inside, you call it mental mind and all this. Then you see within there somewhere in between there, somewhere you call consciousness or the I or soul or whatever it is. And then you have ego. And then you have wisdom. And all of them are sort of a little package, tiny little packages, filled up completely, all sorts of things. And so when you started really looking down there, ego to me, it is an aspect a consciousness. Aspect of consciousness. And wisdom is also an aspect of consciousness. I don’t think it will look as separate entity or separate identity for that. So when the ego goes off, the wisdom gains in, so it’s balancing. Ego started losing its power, gradually, gradually. From the moment you learn, the moment you hear about the mental development things, I don’t mean mind training. I do mean mind training, but I don’t mean simple mind training type of thing, but mind individual developing.

0:15:13.4.

The moment you learn, begin the first taking of the mind development, immediately started losing the ego’s sort of aura. You know the aura, the ego’s aura is shrinking down, and wisdom aura is picking up. And ultimately when the wisdom aura’s completely wisdom [? 0:15:36.4] gained, then ego wipes out completely. So it is like the light and darkness. However, it’s not like normally, you know in visualizations or in meditation sometime you said light comes down and disappear. We do that. And I don’t think it affects that way in individual. It’s very slowly and it’s the moment you started looking for freedom itself, and beginning to be shrinking down and cutting down the ego’s power and activities. And then the wisdom gains, and finally it completely take over. I think it is very slow process of mental aspects which sort of attach to the consciousness. Or you may look another way. The consciousness itself has two aspects: aspects of the mind and aspects of the ignorance. So the ego really refers here as ignorance. It’s not ignorance of not necessarily not knowing. Ignorance of wrong knowing. Ignorance of, it’s all, all the root of all dualistic perception and all of them are coming from that ego business. And where, it is two different aspects of the mind, one takes over the other. I think that’s how it works. I hope I’m not wrong. I mean it. [Laughs].

Yes.

Audience: 0:17:32.7--0:17:49.4.

Rimpoche: You know why? It’s very hard to understand. It is like a, it is, the translations is great.

0:18:03.1.

Lot of, there’s Sanskrit, original translations lost in India is now re-translating from Tibetan into Sanskrit made by the Indian government. And a lot of Indian universities doing that. They said translations great but when you read the translation, it’s very hard to make sense. And it’s not organized. It’s sort of, you know, the one word put it here, one word put it there, one word put it there. And that’s all over the place, like that. So when you really try to read that, it’s very, very hard what you talking about it. So then that, even Buddha himself also give commentary of what he said it. And all this, so there’s a lot of commentaries. And the commentary after commentary for thousand years coming and make [eligible? 0:19:01.8] and understandable and practicable. Do we say practicable? Very practical and understandable. That is commentaries make that. And that’s why we go in commentary more than actual root thing. Actual root thing, I mean you can read it, but you can’t figure out, you know, that’s exactly what it is.

Audience: 0:19:29.2. [I can’t hear.]

Rimpoche: There’s a lot of oral tradition. Two reasons. One of them is that reason. And another is individual people who had great development who doesn’t not wanted to be identify, they put them as oral tradition, it comes through. Somebody tells somebody and that comes through oral tradition. Oral transmission is different. Oral tradition is that. Well. Yeah? Beth?

Audience: 0:19:59.9. [I can’t hear.]

Rimpoche: Yeah, but yeah, it’s supposed to be, but I don’t even know what really eon means, you know. And there’s supposed to be some, there’s supposed to be 1000 Buddha comes in that fortunate eon, or something like that. This is fortunate eon. Supposed to be. I mean these are all, I really look them as Hindu Buddhist mythological thing. I’m sorry, but you probably, a lot of people may be very upset with me. I’m a person very hard to believing in thing. [Laughs]. So that was supposed to be. Supposed to be 1000 eon. Or no. What is it? 1000 Buddha in this eon, so they called this fortunate eon.

Audience: 0:20:54.5. [I can’t hear.]

Rimpoche: I’m sorry. I didn’t listen to you.

0:21:03.6.

You know why? I was thinking of the word eon. I do not know what in English the word eon means. In the Buddhist tradition, you know people’s life, people live 80 years round about 80 years. And there’s a period they go, the people may live about 10 years, and then it goes up and down. They count, you know, like 18 different [terms? times? 0:21:26.5].

Terms they do. And when that’s completed, then called 1/10 of eon. And then that’s how it goes. I mean it is beyond my comprehension, when the word eon. So I was thinking that and then listening to your [? 0:21:26.5] sentence. I’m sorry.

Audience:

Rimpoche: No, no, no. Everybody attain [0:22:00.6] Buddhahood, [even? 0:22:02.2] the lifetime. Everybody does not attain Buddhahood within lifetime, but a number of people do. But these are the official things. Officially identified and comes out with little bump here and a little [ear? 0:22:19.7] down, and all that way. That is the official one. So that’s why, you know. It is only the official. There only a thousand in this eon. Official one.

Audience: [0:22:33.8] [Asking if Maitreya is official.]

Rimpoche: [0:22:41.8] He’s supposed to be waiting up there, ready to come down and looking for his place to take place here. So he’s supposed to be waiting up there. Supposed to be.

[?? 0:22:52.5] That is the, I don’t know, Buddhism mythological or whatever. If you believe 0:26:18.9]it, you can believe that way, but I won’t.

Audience: [0:23:03.8].

Rimpoche: [0:23:10.8]. Right. I mean it’s very [? 0:23:12.5]. Buddhism is the principle of the Buddhism is be very practical. Very practical to improve the goodness of the individual and make it perfect. I wonder, I started and did not ended. Because people are asking me, how do I know there’s enlightenment, at that time. It is on telephone. So I thought about it. I mean really I never thought, I never have doubt of whether there’s enlightened beings or not. You know? Sort of you know, I always buy Buddha. ‘Buy’ I don’t mean buy from the shop, but you know, buy the idea of Buddha all the time. And then individual ask me and saying how do I know enlightened? And I thought about it. How do I know? And I said, no, I don’t know. I don’t know, but I do know this one point. I started looking and I went, I do know.

0:24:00.8.

Each and every one of us having the improvement. Improvement of goodness of the individual. I don’t know whether it’s due to age, or due to mature, or due to your practice, or

whatever the reason may be, we do have that improving our self. And that improvement is getting better and better all the time. We know that. So it is showing we are not reached to the end. There’s a long way to go. But when you reach to that end of improving individual, that’s called enlightenment. And there’s nothing bing-bong anything about a strange thing. It’s very practical and very continuous of the individual. So that’s where, when we seeing our self improving, and we know we can go beyond. And when you reach that end, and that’s called enlightenment. And that’s how I can, sort of how I comfort myself, ‘buying’ Buddha. So that’s how I know. I can improve. And each and every one of us improving. So there’s a [limb? 0:25:19.1] that goes up and when you reach to the end, there’s no more improvement we can do it. That’s called enlightenment. Better make it simple rather than say, oh it was Buddha said so and Buddha did this and that. But that’s exactly when I see it. And improvement coming within us, we see it our self. Carol?

Audience: [0:25:50.2]. [Something about at the time of death.]

Rimpoche: I believe so. Where there’s a proper stage in between, but I don’t want to [talk about it??? 0:26:18.9] [Laughs]. But yeah that’s exactly what it is supposed to be.

Audience: [0:26:29.8]. [Something about the bardo, and Rimpoche laughed.]

Rimpoche: [0:26:46.7]. Yeah. I mean it always, you know the stage of the death, the mind that observing death is an extremely subtle mind. Subtle mind.

0:27:01.6.

Very subtle mind. And subtle, lucid mind of such a capacity can erase lot of negative, or can build a lot of negative, because it is a lucid level. It is a subtle level. It is so powerful. So this is an opportunity actually. Opportunity for a lot of people and it is very important if you believe in reincarnation. It is very important process. Process of developing our physical thing, going up to the peak level and taking down, and finally losing the identity. And the mind level is also developing and shrinking down to very subtle level. And so that process of going up and down is actually process we use for any development and anything.

You know we talk about a lot of transformation of negativities. The negativities, all the transformations take place, the process is that very process. That very process and within that subtle, lucid mind, where it been focused, how it been function, and that make everything difference. So it can be both. Can be both. I don’t know. Did I say clear? Did everybody clear what I said? Maybe. All right. You understand. Okay, so answer your question. Okay then, I would like to thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t do my job. I just spend all time, just talking blah, blah. I didn’t talk love, compassion. So next, not next Thursday. Thursday thereafter. Which is it? March 5. Okay. So I’ll talk to you love, compassion then. Thank you. Oh, sorry, sorry, one minute.

Audience: [Announcement about upcoming Tibetan holiday.]

Rimpoche: Thank you.

[0:30:01.4]

[0:30:28.5]

Well, I’m sure many of you have been sort of constantly coming for number of times. And always at the end, if I sort of gave a little time for questioning and answering, doesn’t really get much. So therefore today I like to give you a little opportunity if you want ask any questions ahead. But I do remember the subject what I’m supposed to talk is love and compassion today. So if you have anybody has any questions or any statements or before I throw into my subject. It’s rather unusual, right? The moment you get up you say do you have any questions rather than ending. Yeah, Carol go ahead.

Audience: [0:31:23.2]. [About the execution of a woman, spoken of in a previous session. I can’t hear most of it.]

Rimpoche: [0:32:09.6]. No, I don’t think I said that. I said that last time when they said, what is her name? Karla Faye Tucker, I think. Karla Faye Tucker. And they did execute her. Yeah, but we’re hoping they will not. The main thing is killing of anything is not, killing of any human being’s not the right thing to do. I mean you know the right thing to do. I don’t think nobody thinks it’s right thing to do. But the thing is you know it is a punishment. But I sort of very strongly feel that capital punishment is the wrong punishment, because by killing somebody else you’re not going to bring back the person who you lost already anyway.

0:33:05.5.

And plus, we added one more killing. And then there’s, you know, karmic consequences. Not even, let’s not even talk about karmic consequences. Just generally, killing itself is terrible. And United States is one of the few country in the world who have the capital punishment. So we are the only few of the countries. We are the greatest country in the world. No question. But we still have capital punishment which is not really great. And I’m not thinking, I’m not saying that because she found God or because she is religions or she had repentance or, I’m not talking about that. I’m simply talking about capital punishment in general. And Texas is another state which you always have some execution, every other day or something, really. [Laughs]. So we’re hoping they won’t do that. Or what? Did you think something else in there?

Audience: [0:34:21.8].

Rimpoche: [0:34:44.1]. Well, if people leave, they may have a chance. Who knows? Right? Because died, they may also have a chance, but I think that’s a different point. But the point what I was raising is just life. So that’s what it is. If you leave, you may have opportunity. Who knows? That’s what it is. Yup? Sir.

Audience: [0:35:12.3]. [Something about not being aware of anytime there was persecution because people chose not to believe in Buddhism.]

0:36:00.9.

Rimpoche: It is very interesting question you brought. I never thought about it. [Laughs]. Really true! I mean, just by not believing in Buddhism, the prosecution, I don’t think so. You know why? If it happened, it should have happened in Tibet, right? Really. If should have happened, because in the Tibet is the Buddhist is the dominating, absolute dominating religion in Tibet. And it came by 700 years and further developed in the 1100s, went up to 1950s, 60s. So if you really look up those, there’s no prosecution of anybody who simply does not believe in Buddhism because there are a lot of non-Buddhists. Not a lot, but quite a lot of non-Buddhist. There Tibetan-Muslims. There Tibetan-Christians. And even those, what you call that? Sorry, I’m forgetting everything. Jesuits as well as Capuchins. It’s not the coffee one. I get it mixed up. [Laughs]. The monks been in Tibet in 1700, and what they defined is that mission is to find a cross [0:38:03.9] believer or cross beyond the Himalaya. That’s what they call their mission. And they set up the Christian missions in Lhasa and various part of Tibet. And I forgot. David something, Father. So 1717 the Rome decided, the Pope decided the Jesuits should not be there and Tibet should be take care of by the Capuchins, or those. And the letter was written from Rome 1717 and reached Tibet in 21. That’s like four or five years later. [Laughs]. And the moment he got the letter, the Jesuits packed up and left.

0:39:03.2.

And the Capuchins took over. And I don’t know what they did there after. I really don’t know. So all these are there, and a lot of Muslims there, and a lot of atheists in there, and there’s nowhere anywhere, there’s record or statement or talk or even rumors of prosecuting nonbeliever of Buddhist. No, not at all. But there are prosecutions if you don’t respect the king or the government. And then prosecutes. They really prosecute that badly. Really, you know. Terrible punishments, and so it’s not that, you know, it’s not that Tibet doesn’t have prosecution at all. Do. If you antigovernment. Unfortunately there’s good old Tibet. If you’re antigovernment, your anti-national. Same as Chinese today, communist Chinese. But the old Tibet’s not communist, but still they look as government as authority. If you’re antigovernment, you’re treated as anti-national and then you be prosecuted badly. So your question I never thought about it. And if you try to look in the Chinese tradition, and also if you try to see through the Buddhist tradition from within the China, I don’t think there is people had been executed by secular government not believing in Buddhism. They also have among themselves, they always different, you know, they have all this martial arts are will come from because they have the internal thing. So all this martial arts are coming from there, but I don’t think it’s sort of legally or governmentally prosecuted. I’m not very sure at the beginning of that Manchu period. I’m not very sure about that period. So otherwise I don’t think there’s anything in the Chinese history, people prosecuted because they don’t believe in Buddhism. And I don’t, there’s nothing such thing in India. There is no such thing in Sri Lanka. Now there is, but now there is [?? 0:41:39.0] Buddhist [? 0:41:40.9] whatever that thing going on. But that’s more internal unrest than that of law prosecuting, government prosecuting. Thailand, I don’t know. Thailand has adopted Buddhism as state religion, so I don’t know. I don’t know whether they have anything or not.

0:42:00.6.

It’s interesting when you say, I never thought that. So we sort of then we analyzed through the Tibet, China, India, and South East Asia, Mongolia. Mongolia, I don’t think Genghis Khan is Buddhist. I really don’t think so. I don’t think he’s Buddhist. [Laughs]. And so you know if you analyze that way, if you begin to think, probably there is no sort of legally prosecuted people just because you don’t believe in Buddhism. That’s one. Two-- Buddhism does not believe, Buddhism’s not based on belief. It is extremely important to know this. A lot of scholars will say, I tell you Buddhism is not religion. Because it definitely is not built into believing system. As a matter of fact, Buddhism encourage you not to believe it. Encourage you to be very critical of everything, whatever you are you’re picking up, learning, thinking, whatever you’re doing, be very critical of it. Buddha really emphasizes so much on that. Watching your critical mind and because, I mean this is thing. Whatever you’re going to do it with Buddhism, or practice, I’m talking about as Buddhism as more in practical form, practice. You’re going to be almost, you’re going to spend most of your life with this. So when you going to spend with your life, if it’s in one hour cocktail party or something, it’s all right, you know. Doesn’t matter, the hour will gone and it’s over. The cocktail will be over. But this is something where you put a lot of time and make yourself, try to help yourself. So therefore it is so important that you, individual who’s practicing, should know exactly what you’re doing. What’s your goal? How you plan to reach from this level to your goal. How it is. What it is. That’s you have to find out yourself. And it’s not only somebody said so. Somebody said. No, Buddha himself said, don’t believe because Buddha said so. Buddha himself said those 2500 years ago. Said, if you’re going to buy gold, you cut the pieces. You burn the metal. And you rub with the different stones. And when you realize it’s gold, then it’s worth for you to spend money, at those days. Those days they don’t have these stamped whatever 999.9, or whatever, 22 or 18 or they don’t have those stamps, so that’s what they do.

0:45:00.9.

So likewise, whatever, I’m sharing with my experience, and you check and cut with your wisdom, and rub with your intelligence, and find out whether it is right or wrong or worth or not worth. You understand. When you understand, you internalize. When you internalize, then you become, you can actualize this. And that is how really stamps in Buddhism. So the belief is not point in Buddhism at all. I get a number of friends who are telling me, who have been connecting with me doing and eight, nine, 10 years, been sort of constantly put their efforts in [laughs]. Constantly put your efforts in there and eight, nine, 10 years, and then they comes and tells me, how can, it’s very hard for me to understand there is enlightenment. Very hard for me to understand there’s a Buddha. Very hard to understand there’s enlightenment. And I recently had, like last week, I had two or three of them, people are talking, so it is a, it is important to know. And so if you don’t really, I mean, really don’t emphasize, I don’t want to say [?? 0:46:48.8], I’m almost said we don’t drive people. [Laughs]. We don’t emphasize believing at all in Buddhism. It is the you, your self who is responsible for your own deeds. You understand what you’re going to do, and what it is, and go about it. Interesting explanation about the Buddhism thing. I was watching a television show and the life story of Tina Turner. I think it was day before yesterday or something on television. Did anybody see it? Did you see it? Yeah you did. And at the end, when she talk about the Buddhism, she said, I was very happy with blah, blah, blah. She made it very simple. She said, well, avoid the negative ones, and keep on going on collecting the positive ones. She didn’t use word positive. Did she use word virtue or something? Keep on collecting your virtues and avoid non-virtuous.

0:48:01.3.

As simple as that. That’s what she said. It sounds very good to me. Sounds simple. And it is true. The bottom line Buddhism is keep on collecting your virtuous action, or I normally call it positive action, but virtuous action’s alright. Virtue, non-virtue is a little strong word for me. That’s why. Anyway, it’s not that bad. So keep on accumulating, collecting the virtuous where ever you can and keep on going that. So avoid non-virtuous whatever you could, and that’s a principal. And she made it sound so simple, and it is, in a way. It’s really simple. I sort of like that. I admired that. Very easy way people can understand. I mean nobody going to tell you believe in Buddhism. Nobody’s going to tell you, they tell you believe in Dharma. Yes. But then Dharma when you start searching, it’s within you, not an external thing. Within you, what is really Dharma your positive gains by collecting virtues and making positive gains your Dharma. So that is within you, it’s not an external believing. So it is interesting. There’s only one sentence she used, but I like that. So it is simple. Very simple for that way believing doesn’t really come in picture at all. Yes sir.

Audience: [0:49:48.4]. [I’m not really sure what he is asking. Maybe about sacrificing people who worked on temples. At end, asks if there is such a thing as a Buddhist warrior, or Buddhist hunter.]

0:51:00.9.

Rimpoche: [0:51:17.7]. Possible. Definitely possible, but that’s what I was thinking when I was try to think whether the Genghis Khan was Buddhist or not. I was thinking that.

Audience: [0:51:30.9]. [about monks immolating themselves in Vietnam. I think he’s asking if this is against their faith as much as killing another person.]

Rimpoche: [0:51:43.8]. Yeah, that true. Absolutely true. Absolutely true, but I don’t really know whether there’s a sacrifices, as a sacrifice. You know, I don’t think in the Buddhist tradition they have that. I never know.

Audience: [0:52:02.8]. [Says he heard people were buried in the cornerstone.]

Rimpoche: No, no. I mean as far as I know, there is no such a thing. However, in Buddhism they use, you know, skull [cups? 0:52:20.0] and things like that, a number of times. And when the Chinese, the communist Chinese, took over Tibet, and they said we now liberated the Tibetans from traditional Lama rule, which will kill number of people, so you have your skull cups here and they even made an exhibition of some big hefty monk and pushing one little one down in some sort of triangular-shape, some wooden thing, putting them down and saying they’re sacrificing. I really don’t think any historically, or actually anywhere, I don’t think that has taking place for Buddhism. I’m quite sure. I’m quite sure.

Audience: [0:53:16.1].

Rimpoche: [0:53:22.5]. Yeah, Buddhism has been a thousand years in Tibet. So I mean, I can’t say because you never know some remote corner whatever happened. But I don’t think from knowingly there is nothing. And in the Buddhist buildings, temple building or anything, and I know little bit about it, and there’s no such requirement, or mentioned, or even substitute, or even symbolically, nothing is there at all. So it might be communist Chinese propaganda. Might have been. That’s, who doesn’t know. As far as the Vietnam is concerned, it is true.

0:54:04.3.

I mean I used to horrify to seeing those monks been burning themselves, one after another. You know, I had a very funny ideas in those days. I used to see them in, not so much television, in India there’s no, but those news things of you see the cinema houses, the newsreels. So used to see those. And I keep on thinking within myself, you know, you know what they also terrible, but they goes around and put the kerosene oil and put the fire there. So I was thinking, you know, what they probably thought that guy would jump out from there and try to run out, so they put a bigger fire so that he can’t get out. And that thought was going on in my head all the time. Every time when I see that. So later I been able to meet somebody who knows about that. They said the first one, the older monk who burned himself, he said absolutely he decided by himself he wanted to do that. And thereafter, it has been somehow the monastery elder people had persuaded people to do it, and then also they put that thing. So true reality is mixed. And that is corruption within the Buddhism. It is corruption. And corruption is everywhere, every tradition, every religion, everything whatever it might be. If it’s three years old, there’s bound to be corruption. So anything. So that is the basically in human nature we have that. It’s always. Corruptions are there. I was in [? 0:56:11.0] with I think it’s minister in church in Shaker Heights in Cleveland, and there’s like two or three thousand people there together. We sort of two of us talking to each other. And then I said, yes, the Tibetan monasteries and institutions and everywhere there’s a lot of corruption, even the Buddhist, you know, tradition. Not only Tibet, but wherever you look. People may pretend to be very holy. You know, they sit like this and don’t even move, and there’s a corruption. For example, one of the rules for the monks, from Buddhist rules, you’re not supposed to touch money.

0:57:04.0.

You’re not supposed to touch, handle it. You’re not supposed to touch money. There’s the rule for those monks. All silver or gold. So I was visiting in Malaysia and there was a very nice monk. You know, I mean really very nice monk. So he won’t mind collecting checks by putting his hand under his robe and then collects. [Laughs]. Because you’re not supposed to touch. So that’s also a corruption. So things like that goes everywhere. So then I also told

that gathering, I said even in the Catholic Church there’s a tremendous amount of corruption. And I said, people come and confess and then you blackmail them back next time. [Laughs]. You know what he said? You can get away with that. I will not be able to get away with that. They call me for explanation tomorrow. [Laughs]. So anyway, corruptions are everywhere. Everywhere. The corruption is not the fault of the teaching or tradition or religion.

It is the fault of the individuals who are handling that. Yes, you’re right. How good the practice is, depends on the practitioners. Practitioners prove the practice is good. Practice prove the practitioners good, even in Buddhism. Buddhism is good because Buddha is good. Buddha is good because Buddhism is good. These are the really genuine thinking and it is very true. You know even in good American saying, you say preach what you practice. Right? So there’s a really good points there. What did they say?

Audience: [0:59:12.4]. [Something about not putting your faith in man, but in a highest power.]

Rimpoche: [0:59:36.5]. Well, I’ll put my faith in man. I do. Yeah. Yes sir?

Audience: [0:59:44.8]. [Asking for explanation of the present Dalai Lama being the 14th successor incarnation. Couldn’t understand the second question. Something about the novel Siddhartha.]

Rimpoche: [1:00:05.5]. Siddhartha. Okay.

1:00:05.5.

Audience:

Rimpoche: [1:00:14.4]. I don’t know how to say that. Siddhartha is the name of the person who later called Buddha. That Indian prince who obtained the state of Buddha, state level of the Buddha and who later called Buddha is Siddhartha. So I don’t know whether there’s a novel or Hindu Buddhist mythological story, or half true, half not true recording. You know 2500 years is something very long to be, the documents to be exactly what documented as what we document today. It slightly different then. So that is basically name of the Buddha before he is called Buddha, so Siddhartha. And then a lot of time called Prince Siddhartha and this and that. And I don’t want to talk to you much about it because at the beginning of this I talked Four Noble Truth, and with the Four Noble Truth I talk about the Prince Siddhartha’s story, so don’t want to go over this. Now the reincarnation the Dalai Lama, 14th Dalai Lama and all this. Reincarnation is something very strange with the Tibetan tradition, something very strange. I don’t see any other even Buddhist, though they believe in the past and present and future life, now here I have to use word belief, because there’s no black-and-white or any scientific proof, so I have to say belief. But even in Buddhism, beside the Tibet, outside Tibet, maybe in Mongolia there’s one, but in Mongolia that couple there. Otherwise outside Tibet I don’t see any place who have that reincarnation business, recognize the reincarnation business. It is only in the Tibetan tradition. It’s not in China, not in Japan, not in Korea, not in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and India. There is the system of recognizing incarnate lama is not there at all. It is only available in Tibet. Reasons, my personal feeling, the reasons… are you feeling better? Good.

1:03:06.5.

The reasons that…I don’t want to make the statement that I would like to make it. But I always wondering how that happened in Tibet. How that happened? I mean who’s idea was it? How is that happened? So it seems to be the Karmapa, the Karmapa, the last Karmapa what we saw and even came up to Michigan once or twice, and that was the 16th Karmapa. So it seems to be the Karmapa was the first one, the first one. And that Karmapa seems to have left note saying, when I die, sort of leave a note and saying that, when I die, open this envelope or something. And then afterwards when they opened, he was, I’ll be reborn as, my father’s name will be this, mother’s name will be this, and child’s name will be this [? 1:04:34.1] this sort of thing. And in this area there and that and that. He’s supposed to have left a letter. I’ve not seen the letter at all. So that is where it’s beginned. That’s where it beginned. And there is an advantage and disadvantage points both. Advantage point is it gives great opportunity for that young boy, or young girl. For that matter there’s a woman reincarnate lama’s there, too. So whether that young boy or young girl had good opportunity to learn and practice and becoming good preacher. And there’s better opportunity, it’s all set up and everything, you know? So when the incarnate lamas, what happen when they die, the whole household, everything completely set up. The managers will take care of, when the little boy comes, he can straightaway go into the shoe of the old guy. So everything’s his, and set up everything. So anyway, it’s a great opportunity and can be very helpful in one point. Another point it is again is the political and economic thing. Political thing because the political power will continue.

1:06:06.1.

Economic power will continue. It’s not that person who died, or not that boy who will come in, but in between those so-called managers. And so you know all of them have every power and everything and they will not change, so they will continue. So I think it is both the, there’s an historical fact and there is also politically taking advantage. Both of them there. So the incarnation business become very popular business in Tibet. And I shouldn’t say that because I’m supposed to be one of them. But really true, and that’s my thinking. There’s both. There is a true spiritual value. As I told you that Karmapa wrote a letter saying that even this present Dalai Lama you concerned [1:07:06.6], you look at this present Dalai Lama. And when the 13th Dalai Lama died, he died in Lhasa and there’s a lot of science in this and that. But this one is born a very remote area at that period of time under Chinese administration, not under Tibetan administration. Under Chinese administration. Born there, a very remote village, a farmer’s son. And certainly picked it up by confirmation and became the Dalai Lama of Tibet. So there’s reality in there. At the same time there’s corruption, too. I mean very recently two years ago the Panchen Lama’s reincarnation. The Dalai Lama recognized one boy and Chinese recognized another boy. I heard there’s a third one, too. So anyway, so whatever it may be. So the things like that, and the Karmapa also too. So all sorts of things. The corruption is in there, everywhere, even for the Karmapa. This is during our, the Karmapa died, when did he die? About ten years ago? He died in Chicago about maybe the mid-70s. No – early 80s. 80 or 81 or somewhere around there he died. And after that they couldn’t, they could not find his reincarnation.

1:09:04.3.

And they been looking around and looking and doing something. There’s like four great Rimpoches there. What they call it? [??1:09:17.0] or something. So whatever. In English, not in Tibetan. In Tibetan they represent them by the individual names. So anyway, so they couldn’t find the Karmapa. And they disagree with each other and then everybody started showing a letter saying that, oh, he let his Holiness give me that. I forgot completely. It’s on my altar. And then they, all of those. And then they say expert, you know those handwriting expert says all of them are not true. [Laughs]. So all sorts of things like that happens. That’s in our lifetime today actually, like last five or 10 years and that’s happened. So basically, idea of incarnation is continuation of the individual. In Buddhism, what Buddha really shared with the people is persons will continue. Person dies, but dying state is disconnecting the individual, the consciousness, from Buddhist point of view say consciousness. Normal American language you may say soul of the person. But Buddhism they say doesn’t believe in soul. I don’t know. So they use the word consciousness. It is not big difference. It’s not curd, it’s yogurt. Almost the same way. It’s not a tomato, it is tomato. So anyway, so the consciousness, the separation of the consciousness and the physical body which we identify the individual as an entity, or the identity, when this identity and the consciousness separated, and we call that is death. So what happens to the person thereafter, according to the Buddha, I don’t have black-and-white or scientific proof. But according to the Buddha, by this time the consciousness leaves the body and is no longer remains in that body. It’s disconnected with your identity. So when it leaves and they look for another new identity. Whether that new identity what you’re going to pick up is just like a human being like what you and I look like, or it is somebody who look like Spock in that Star Trek.

1:12:13.6.

And then there is another guy, what, that security guy, you know? [Wall? 1:12:20.5], yeah. Or it simply look like a yak up in the Himalayas. Or it’s going to look like a shark in this ocean. We never know. So the continuing consciousness is there, according to Buddha it’s there. So taking that into consideration, continuing consciousness, and some superior beings caught, [1:12:55.9] called superior, I mean highly developed person. Superior being supposed to seeing that through, can be able to follow it, where it’s going, what’s happening, where it’s born. Even during the Buddha’s lifetime there’s a lot of those type of stories. Somebody died and they trace where the person gone. It is only done through your spiritual capacity, not by anything else. So they’re supposed to be knowing that, where it’s going. And they supposed to be able to identify the consciousness and then they will say, that consciousness took birth here, and so therefore this little person is the continuation of that old person. That is how basically reincarnation has been recognized. And is there somebody continuously seeing, or continuously doing? Supposed to be, but who knows? So therefore they have a lot of different tests and like… Did you see the [Kundun? 1:14:04.4] movie anyway? Some saying. You know they have all that little bells and [damarules? 1:14:12.1] and all the glasses and the stick, walking stick and all these are try to show that little kid which is yours, and then they supposed to be select the correct. And I think they do percentage wise. And I think the 80%s are normally quite good, and the 60s are okay, so 40s are failed. That’s really true. That’s how they do. And in the movie it’s everything 100%, but that’s movie. So that’s exactly how the idea of reincarnation is really. So a lot of our cases, because when we don’t see it and then it’s not there.

1:15:00.6.

I mean we are in that quote unquote under that category, everything depends whether we see it, or hear it, or something. We have to be tangible, in black-and-white. That’s what we are. We are in that, and that is our way of thinking. That’s our way of living. That is correct because that never shake, that never cheats, that’ll never let you down. That’s good thing. And so since we believe in that way, there’s a nobody who really had come back from previous life and say shake hands with you. So it is hard to say, but basically that was working with the Tibetans. Idea is the conscious continue, somebody supposed to be able to trace it and trace it and sort of pick up. That’s what supposed to be. Like recently, you’ve seen it. I’m sure you’ve seen it a number of places. Steven Sigar [1:16:13.3] has been recognized as an incarnate lama of something, something. So somebody in 16th century, some remote area in Tibet, who knows whatever it is, you know?

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