Archive Result

2001-01-25-GRAAOTFphone: Meditations on Death and Dying

0:00 Last Thursday, we discussed about the disadvantages of not remembering, not thinking about death and dying. So, today I would like to discuss the advantage of thinking about death and dying, particularly death. I am sure there are several people who are interested just to want to hear what death is really and what’s happening and all this. Some people think that we have been talking around death and not death itself, which is true. It is true because the meditation on death and dying stages and how all of them are so important at this level of the outline. It is number 20. Each one of those outlines we can elaborate and make it a subject which we can really talk and discuss each one of them for weeks or we can make is so short the size and comprehensible and easy. Both are possible. But on this exact level, I want to talk a little more because it is so important. 2:45

2:45 We will talk about death at the end, but right now we are talking about the meditations on death and its importance. So, we talked the other day about the disadvantages. Now we have to talk about the advantages. Basically, there are six advantages. Because, number one, it is so important and very beneficial. So why it is very beneficial. I want to go back to the Buddha’s teaching which I have mentioned several times. Buddha gave the example of the elephant’s footprints. Buddha said that this is one of the best footprints available, because the elephant heavy and big and make the biggest impact on the mud or wherever the elephant walked. They have a very strong imprint left as we all know. 4:09

4:09 Likewise, thinking and meditating about death itself, will make a similar impact on our consciousness. When we are looking to ourselves, we are always seeing death and dying around ourselves all the time. And whenever it is coming closer, then we get a bigger shock, surprise and impact. That we all know clearly. But when you are thinking about your own death and I, myself, is the subject of death. So, I must die. If I think that, it will make a much bigger impact on me than that of worrying and thinking about people dying right and left, hear and there. It makes much more. It is also very powerful because that makes you do whatever you need to do. If you don’t then, we know we are going to die. Let’s say I have terminal cancer or something and you are going to die in the next couple of months according to the doctors which probably means it could be within the next few weeks or few months. 6:49 But whatever it may be, if you watch your mind, thinking I am terminally ill, I have cancer or whatever, then it will push me to do things that I wanted to do or complete for which I have been lazy about it (Procrastinated). So, I will put every effort to do that. That will push you. It’s the biggest push you can get in your life, in fact. 8:01

8:01 So how important it is, you will move from there. In one way it is not true, nobody has been told they are going to die in a couple of months. But on the other hand, when the same condition, very next condition, you never know. So, it is so important to meditate on the death, itself, and the disadvantages of not thinking, and now the benefits of thinking about this. When I say thinking, I really mean meditating on that. And, also traditionally, in the Buddhist tradition, when you look at it, those great mahasiddha or (? Mahasiddha) you will fling them carrying a skull cup or you will find them carrying a thigh bone. All of those you see and that’s the reason why they are carrying that. It is not to threaten anybody, or they are not trying to frighten anybody, but it is simply reminding for themselves, this will be my satiation one day. 9:45 Even when you look at the skull cup, the skull cup according to the Chinese say that Tibetan killed all these people, so they keep their skull cups. That’s their propaganda. We all know nobody did that. 10:14 But on the other hand, people have a mystical look at it, right? All these antique dealers will make a lot of money off of this as well. 10:44

10:44 But the reality is regardless of whether it is covered up, is a human being just like me. And that is how we look at this and use that to remind us. The purpose, particularly in Vajrayana, so many of the skull cups and thigh bone and all of those and the skull mala, what we see is markets is solely to make money. The traditional skull mala is really the skull cup flat and making holes. That’s the real true skull mala is the flat that has been polished and sort of cleaned it up and made into a mala. The whole idea is to remind you, even if you are saying a mantra, is to remind the individual that is called. It is the same bone that belongs to another human being, that will be me who knows when. That is to remind that. 13:34

13:34 Also, when you look (? 13:38) purely Sutra Yana Path, non-Vajrayana. When you go to Thailand, you have those in the monasteries, and they keep those dead body that they maintain there. And very often you see them, this may not be every tourist goes in the monasteries in Thailand and you may not see that, but if you go deeper in there, they do have a huge collection of the dead bodies. Traditionally in India after Buddha’s lifetime, they have a lot of drawings of the human body parts in the toilets. In the monastery toilets, they draw the human being parts. For example, we can see this tee-shirt over here, whatever it is. But to me it served a purpose. And likewise, there are several artists in the sixties and seventies, they use a lot of those skeleton here and there and even the Grateful Dead has something right. So, all of them as I see it, it reminds me of impermanence. I don’t know how other’s see it. 15:49 On the contrary, when I see the Grateful Dead through that skeleton, hay don’t waste your time, don’t watch them. Don’t waste your time, just watching them. 16:15

16:15 So this is the reason why that it is so important and really make the individual to do something, particularly when it is on myself rather than on others. Rather than that, if you are told, you are going to die, actually it’s true. We are all going to die. We are not going to be here for another hundred years, definitely not. We don’t think about that. You always think about “I’m the one who’s living.” So, this is our delusions and hallucination. So, what this really means to me is that I should prepare. I should always be prepared. Preparations should be done. 18:00

18:00 We are not really prepared at all. We claim ourselves on the spiritual path. We are interested on the spiritual path. We claim that. That spiritual path, that we claim to be, is, I don’t know. I am trying to think a lot on this. I am spending time a lot of time thinking. What is most people in America, who claims to be interested on the spiritual path? What do we think? We more or less don’t think that we can do something. I don’t think we really think this. We wanted to be good. And when we are good, somehow, we trust it to be right. It will be okay. 19:44

19:44 If you look in our dollar, it says in “God we trust.” This is okay. We can (? 20:02), no problem. I don’t have a problem with that. But we just don’t want it to be left there alone. Otherwise, we don’t have to do anything. God’s going to do right, if it’s God it will never do wrong. If it is not God, then it’s not God. But I think our spiritual things is such that we are responsible for ourselves. We got to do something. And there is something that we can do. 20:51 Somehow, we don’t do that. That’s our laziness. To cut that laziness, to say you’re going to die. It is very very good and that’s the reason why the benefit number one is important and very beneficial. 21:15

21:15 Earlier teachers use to say, if I don’t remember impermanent once in the morning, I wasted the total day. Some of them say, if I don’t say that, I waste my morning. If I don’t remember my afternoon, I waste my afternoon, evening and night so on and so forth. Many of the great teachers used to say that. So, it really comes one very important point. That is how you know; I don’t know how you are going to take it. When you are looking at the spiritual path and we are really looking at it, we are looking for a real stage, sort of a moon stage of all suffering. That’s what we are really looking for. Free of all suffering - mental, physical and emotional. That’s what we are really looking for. 22:35 We are not looking for joy, pleasure, harmony. Yes, we are but not the way we are projecting it. 22:52

22:52 Our projection of happiness is also very important to watch it. What does happiness mean to me? Then watch your own mind and see what picture you will get. What sort of role model do you find? If you are finding a role model of a happy person, it has something to do with money. It has something to do things that we see and project. We probably got the wrong message. It is difficult to understand that and difficult to accept. Understanding is not a problem. We are all educated, except me. You are all educated, and you have a very brilliant mind most of you, really. So understanding is not a problem, but acceptance of that is a big problem. 24:14

24:14 We have a strong attachment of projection in this culture, when you look. The Yuppies have an object called happiness or what they describe as happiness. Or hippies have their own happiness. It may not be reality at all. So maybe it’s a big surprise switch in there. But normally, if you look at it, so that gives you the idea of what really, I mean by happiness. The real spiritual person has its own object of happiness. And when you compare with this, and you see the hippies object of happiness and a spiritual person’s happiness. So, you begin to make some sense because I have been saying here you have to do something. But I am not giving you the reasons why you must do. I haven’t been telling you what to do, but I am not really saying this is “A”, say “A”, if “B” says “B”. I am not telling you that. But otherwise, I have been telling you here talking to you on this. 26:06 So, this is a fundament principle in which you must think a lot. That doesn’t mean you have to ignore the object you comfort or your life, your family and all of those. That’s not definitely mean you must renounce them. 26:26. (? Though those are the very sort of works used in association). It doesn’t mean that all. 26:37

26:37 Anyway, so it is very important. It really makes you move. Perhaps nothing more important than this to overcome our laziness. Our laziness is very powerful within us, especially with Western people. You have sort of a busy-lazy there. You make yourself busy so that you don’t have time for you whatever you need to do. You totally avoid that by making yourself busy. I have seen several people who must do, to write their PhD thesis and they do everything to avoid having time to write. If you don’t have anything else to do transport yourself somewhere here and there so you avoid doing the things you’re supposed to do. That is true laziness. You are busy, but it is true laziness. 28:28

28:28 Laziness doesn’t have to be completely, somehow, being high or low or something. That may be the Eastern style of laziness. I like that. Yes, I like to have a nice book and a nice cup of tea and sit nicely in corner with a beautiful view and that’s a number one get up (? 29:00). So that’s my laziness. In the West it’s different. Nobody does that. Nobody just (? 29:10). They can’t. If you have nothing to do, you must read a book or do something. You can’t just sit and relax. You can’t. Somehow, it’s in your blood. So, you do something else. Makes you have no time at all for whatsoever. So, that is the laziness. 29:37

29:37 Particularly over here you make not time to meditate, no time to say prayers, and make yourself to move here, there and everywhere. And that type of laziness is easily cut by this. By saying you are going to die soon or say withing a couple of months or weeks even. So, it is very valuable. 30:19

30:19 Also it is very powerful, extremely powerful. Think about it. Any other thoughts or ideas can really drop your anger, jealousy and attachment. If you are told you are going to dies within the next two months, do you still have time to have your anger grow and complete whatever manipulation whatever harm you want to do? Do we have time for that? 31:07 Any other mind when you think about it, any other path can cut that. All those negativities, delusions, negative emotions. It is like a big hammer. It will really smash you unless you are crazy. If you are crazy, you don’t care what’s going to happen. 31:35 So then you don’t have time, so you must finish your anger first. I must work fast so other people go before me or something. If you do that way, that’s also equally powerful and you use it in the right direction, and this is very powerful. This can really smash your anger. It is an activity to really smash your attachment. And it is an activity to smash your jealousy. This is a powerful mind. 32:10 It really can. You are not going to find any other thought so powerful as this. 32:27

32:27 Unless you are crazy, and you say you want to see your enemy die before I die. That makes that powerful, too, because of this mind. So, it is also very powerful. 32:58 I can’t think of any other thoughts or emotions that can really cut it. If you know you are going to die tomorrow, you don’t have time to complete your anger, your attachment or anything like this. So, this is very powerful in that way. 33:39 People like us, we pretend to hear this. We pretend to meditate on this. Another mind will tell us, well that’s doing it but it’s not reality, it is not true. 34:00 And that gives you a normal American language you say comfort. But it gives you comfort for your laziness. 34:17

34:17 However, when you meditate on this often and makes an impact on your mind. So very often you will think of that there is not much value for it. It doesn’t have any meaning. Why should I waste my time challenging my imagination and manipulation (? 34:47). That doesn’t mean you have to subject or do whatever you’re doing. Actually, a number of good people to do whatever they’re doing, they are doing it. Putting in their own effort and pushing through it. That’s what they do. 35:07 There are several people who always like to manipulate and do all these and to have something else in mind they go around and do all that type of thing. 35:28 (?) entertaining such emotions. I think the thought of dying extremely powerful, as I say it’s like a hammer that really smashes. 35:43

35:43 So it is powerful. It is also important at the beginning because if you think about dying or death, then you raise a question within your mind. What happens then? And what can help? So, that way this thought can push you in the right direction, guide you to the right direction, to the helpful way. So, that’s why it’s important at the beginning. It is important while we’re working in it, just like our time today, like this day for ourselves. It is important. It will push us. It will, as I said earlier, it if just make out to do the things because you are afraid that you are going to die…I shouldn’t say you’re afraid, but I should say, it really…It is one of the best ways to develop enthusiasm for whatever you want to do. Right now, we have lack of motivation. And this is one hell of a motivation. It gives you a hell of a sense of urgency. So, that’s why it is important even during our working period. I should say contemplating period. It is so important 37:38

37:38 It is also important at the end because it makes you complete whatever you are doing. But if you don’t have the laziness, you put your efforts in. You are bound to get the results, no matter whoever or whatever efforts you put in. The results are going to come in. It is natural. It is reality. Good or bad or whatever the results are going to come in because you put efforts in. If effort is strong and powerful, the results are bound to be strong and powerful. If your efforts are weak and so-so, the results are going to be weak and so-so. This is the absolute reality. Wherever or whatever you put efforts in, you get the results back. 38:45

38:45 You know exactly what you wanted and it’s going to get back. So, that is the reality. There is no question. I am talking about both the spiritual and the material, too. If you put in some effort, you get fruit, everywhere. Even this one. Attica, so the results well we know it is (? 39:34)… It’s true. Education, you put our effort in education, that gives you better knowledge when the change comes, just reality. So, when you put effort, no matter whoever the person maybe, whatever effort you put in you are bound to get the results. That’s the reality. Good or bad it depends on how you did, put efforts. So, that’s why even at the ending, beginning important, contemplation period is important, even to complete your work, this is so important. 40:42

40:42 And, lastly, if you keep on meditating and thinking about this death and dying and when you die, when the time comes, when you die, you can buy food that’s a very happy mind because you have achieved something. You have achieved something. Because you thought about that every day you put some effort in every day, so you can look back to your efforts and see that you have done this and done that. I did this, I am okay. Even if you don’t know anything about it, but you can say, “I’m okay.” 41:41

41:41 When you think you’re okay, you know the traditional teachers, when you die with the “okay, I know where I am going, I know what’s going to happen to me.” When you have that, that is called ‘the children returning to home. The children returning to the parents.” So, when the children know, they are going to go home and they know their parents and they receive love and affection, they’ve been looked after. That’s (? 42:48) what that’s called. 42:50

42:50 Having said that, sometimes all the homecoming (? 43:01) is not necessarily that great to go because of dysfunctional families. So sometime gives you more trouble than help, this is reality we know we know, at least I now know. So, it is not necessarily that great, but however, that reminds us so especially if you are a parent. It really gives you additional responsibility when you have children. Not only are you responsible for yourself, but you also have responsibilities to your children and when they come home, you at least have to provide a stable place where they can have a chance to grow and benefit. This is how it is to some extent. That’s crazy, but at least an individual has that responsibility. 44:23

44:23 So I can give you an example of returning home, so I also must think about the homeless as well. I saw a movie and some young teenage people run away and one of them decided to go home. The mother was crazy and did not came care of them in the middle of the night. That’s a movie but tells you about the message behind that tells you what’s happening. At the movies are fictions and all of them there, they are made in that form but that’s the basis of that story. It is based on something. Maybe not a true story, but it’s based on what’s going on in society. So, you can understand that. So really thought how important it is. 45:14 The kids go through with great difficulties in their life and suddenly there is an opportunity they wanted to turn around and instead of getting a chance to do something, their hopes are destroyed. It is not very nice. I am talking about the movie. It is not very nice. But that sort of thing here and we don’t want that. 45:48

45:48 We want children going home. It really means it’s a nice, sweet kind home, loving, caring home. That’s what we are looking for. So traditionally, Buddha says “What does good spiritual person mean? The good spiritual person is always looking forward for returning home. So, if you die, you know you are going to a nice, warm, sweet loving caring home. So, you are looking forward. 46:39

46:39 A medium level person you may not be looking forward, but you have no hesitation. You have no hesitation. You don’t have to hesitate because no knowing what’s going to happen to me. You have no hesitation. 47:10 The last one at least has no regret. These are the three levels for a spiritual practitioner. 47:20

47:20 At the time you are dying, returning home, second no hesitation, third, at least no regret. So, this is important. It is like a very recent incident, like sort of a Rinpoche who died recently. And before he died a few days he seems to be slightly hallucinated and during that time he’s saying, “all lamas will be a right.” And they asked, “Which lama?” And he responds, Lama me, who else. I’m okay.” So, that’s what it is. So that sort of tells you how it is. So, we must be looking for this. 48:50

48:50 The time of death is going to come sooner or later, but probably sooner than you think we think. We get it. So, first achievement is returning home. Second achievement is no hesitation. Third achievement is no regret. That’s what it is. No regret (? 49:18) any gratification on that. No hesitation, because you know where you are going, at least. Virtually, you can see it. Yu have built a lot of virtue. When you have a lot of virtue, and you are sure you are going to get good results and that makes you not hesitate. Whatever it may be, let’s get on with it and get over it. And you get over there wherever it is. Like a (?50:03) lama says “If the death comes to me, I don’t have any problems. The old monk’s body is going to be changed into a young beautiful prince or god,” or something. 50:23

50:23 Milarepa says, “(In Tibetan) I was afraid of dying and I ran away into the cave in the mountains. Now, I understand the reality, the nature of the mind, as emptiness. Now, if the death comes to me, I am not afraid. I am prepared and ready and waiting for it.” 51:25 So, this is Milarepa. So, these are our role models. That’s important. So, these are the benefits of meditating on death. 51:54

51:54 Now the next one I must move within this number 20 (Odyssey to Freedom) is how do I meditate. There are also two things. The practical understanding of it and visualizing the actual stage. The practical understanding here is Tsongkhapa special thing called nine realms of meditation. Nine Realm of Meditation is three roots, three reasoning and three revolutions. It is called nine realms. 53:25

53:25 The Three Root number one is: Death is definite. We talk that all the time. Death is definite. So, we must prove that by three reasonings. Reason number one is that death is going to come, and you cannot avoid that. Another words, somebody sends that way, you cannot escape death. Death is definite no matter whatever type of physical body we have. No matter how powerful it may be, when death comes it goes. Look at the lion, so powerful. Look at those claws. Even an elephant. Even the lion claw can kill an elephant, right? The elephant can step on the lion, too. The loins claw has that much power to smash an elephant’s head. However, when death comes, that claw is no longer there, it’s dead, useless. Even if we have a powerful body, even then it won’t help. No matter wherever we go, you cannot avoid. Whatever method we use, we cannot avoid. When it really comes, you cannot. First, even enlightened beings such as Buddha, Jesus, so on and so forth, today. All those great spiritual masters that we had in our life or gone before, or even during our life, all of them. We look, we talk as though they are there, but they are all gone. 56:46

56:46 We talk about the Buddha, Buddha did this, he did that, as if Buddha has gone to the bathroom to have shower and he’s coming out with a new dress. But when you look it’s two-thousand five hundred years ago. It’s gone. We talk about Gandhi. We have a movie to watch. That’s about it. It’s gone. Anybody. Dr. King, Mother Terisa, just in our life, all gone. Though we talk about the (? 57:49) and dying stage instead of immortality and blah, blah, blah, all of them. But it is all gone. 58:01

58:01 So when you think about those from the Enlightened Ones, like Buddha and all of them gone, am I crazy thinking that I am going to live forever? Absolutely, I am crazy. Right? Any power, military, economy none of these powers, even nuclear power, all of them cannot prevent death. Maybe create more death but cannot prevent at all. If it’s so all these wealthy people should be living today. Rockefeller, who created Standard Oil and all of them should be here. But they are there. 59:08 Military power, think about those big ones. Napoleon, who is the other one who stopped Napoleon at Waterloo? (It was Wellington). All of them are gone, whoever they may be. The dynasties, the Chinese dynasties, all of those are all gone with the wind. Even Queen Victoria is gone. Yea, that really is true. No matter, you know, all of them gone. No military, no power on the earth can stop. (? 60:37) yes, to a certain extent it will help you. But it always there’s a point where they can no longer help you. Even the doctors tell you, “Don’t die on me.” The person is dying, not dying on doctor. The poor fellow is dying. That’s that. That’s true. Many doctors say, “don’t die on me.” That’s their family. My god! I’m forgetting the families saying don’t die on me. Who wants to die? Nobody! 61:31

61:31 But when you die, you can’t help it. And such a time can come on each one of us, whenever it is. Some people thought they were going to die last year, but I can still see them around. Do you remember that? But people never think they are going to die. Those who are dying probably don’t think they are going to die. Most of them, ninety percent of them. They think, well, I may not get better, but my death is going to be way down there, down the road, maybe not a year but a couple of months, maybe, even on the eleventh hour. 62:37

62:37 So, any, I should get talking out of my point, so. So, any method you apply, any means you apply, you cannot really stop the death at all. Buddha says, “(In Tibetan) All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and Buddha’s disciples and all of them gone. So, who am I to think I will continuously live?” So, it’s not going to happen. 63:40

63:40 Even Buddha when he died, you know, just before Buddha died, when they know, Buddha was going to die, several Buddha’s disciples, they chose to die rather than see Buddha dying. So, thousands of Buddha’s disciples died before Buddha. So, by the time when the real Buddha died, there we like 499 disciples left, not even 500. Just 499. Many of them died because they just didn’t want to see Buddha dying. But what Buddha did is sat there and took off his cloths and told everybody to look at the body of a fully enlightened one because you are never going to see it again. It is not easy to see it again. So, this is Buddha’s body. Look at the Buddha. And now said, “Everything you do then is going to be destroyed, so every accumulated created one is going to end with destruction. So, this are the last words of the Buddha. Buddha’s last word is “impermanent,” and “dying and death.” So, to his disciples. So, this is important. So that is point one and two on this. 65:42

65:42 So that is point one and two on this. Is wherever you go (In Tibetan 65:47 - 65:55) So, wherever you so, there is no place where death cannot catch you. It is not in the sky or in the cloud, not under the ocean and not within the ocean, not behind mountains. That story that Buddha shared, within the Buddha’s lifetime, one day there was a military attack on the Buddha’s cast. You know, in India, you have those secular castes. The Sector caste was attacked by one of the other kingdoms. So, one of Buddha’s disciples says, “I can pick up my share out of my toe and kick all this army and throw them onto another planet, should I do it?” Buddhas said, “No, are you crazy? I know you can do it. But whatever you do, they are all going to die today no matter whatever you do. You can throw them out, but they are going to die. If you don’t believe it, watch. It takes one kick, kick with the Buddha and his disciples in his ashram, one by his magical power that gets to Indians and brahmas that the Indian gods. Ans what did he leave on? I forgot the third one, so he left somewhere. So, anyway, by the evening by sunset, those people are killed, and all three kids are already dead. So even Buddha, himself, free of all negativities, supposed to have a huge back pain that day. And he said’, “the is left over karma.” 68:09

68:09 Even Buddha level free of all negative karmas, even to that level, so this is very important. So it is. You cannot escape anyway, anywhere. I’m dying to go off in all the directions so, I better stick to it because I am not going to go through with this. 68:35

68:35 So, no matter whatever or wherever you go, you cannot escape death. You cannot run away. If you can run away, those who have magical power, they could run away. No, no matter wherever you go, when death really comes. Buddha use to give so many examples. He says Buddha is funny. So, there is huge solid mountain like thing and it’s moving very fast speed from four directions. The peak is touching the sky and the ground is touching the ground. It was coming like this and destroying everything. How can you escape from the four directions? It’s impossible. They create mountains, the land, the environment and inhabitants are all going to be smashed, if there is some powerful thing moving from the four directions. That was old, some two thousand five hundred years ago. That’s what the Buddha talked about. 70:04

70:04 And Buddha said, “just like that, human being has been destroyed by these four things.” What are the four? Illnesses, death, disasters (? 70:32) and weakness. So, he told a king when aging comes it destroys the youth. When the illness comes, it destroys the wellness. When the unfortunate incidents come, it destroys all happiness. And when death comes it destroys the life. That’s what Buddha said. That’s where we are. 71:42

71:42 That is the number one reason that we are going to die. Number two reason is whatever life we have we cannot have born that. Our body is many factors with a limited warranty. It’s true. If you go beyond our body things, it won’t work. We have tremendous pain. We see people who are in their nineties. I can’t help laughing. I went to China, and I saw the Tibetan gentleman, the Secretary who signed the Seventeen Point Agreement. He’s ninety-three. He’s very well and very fit. When he picked me up, he opened the car door and got in. He’s very tall. And he had that cataract operation and all function. So, he had that huge glass (? 73:34). So, he is very tall. And I look at him like that and though I am five foot six. He’s six foot something. And suddenly I saw his eye and he was telling me I’m ninety-three and when this new year is over, I’ll be ninety-four. So, instead of saying. I lost my sense of humor. Sorry. I was saying how wonderful or something. And he laughed. So that’s what came up in my head and you now in fact I kind of held up laughing here. 74:42

74:42 I don’t know what I am talking here. Where did that come out? O yeah, if you have that law, you can’t (? 74:58). And the body is such that it is going to break and when people brake at that age you break hip you break anything. And the organs won’t work. It is the manufacturer’s defect we have. So, it is not going to add up 75:22. You can add up to a certain extent, but you cannot have a completely new body. 75:30 So, can’t replace everything. That’s what it is. That’s where we are. 75:36

75:36 So, you really must go. The basis is like that. Nothing to add up. Nothing to add up. And whatever we have, it goes away every minute, every second. There are a lot of teachings on this. In Shanti diva’s “Bodhisattvacharyavatara”, many of them. I think we already did several of them in Ann Arbor. And earlier Tibetan teachers give some funny examples. (In Tibetan 76:28) So, if you are weaving a cloth and you have those long threads to put in and then you add this thing right and left built up. So, when you have built up the thread is getting shorter and shorter and at the end of it is still going to be weaving cloth. Just like that the human life will also go. That is the traditional old Indian example when Buddhism flourished in India. 77:12

77:12 Then the Seventh Dalai Lama has an interesting example. (In Tibetan) So, the Seventh Dalai Lama says, “We don’t have the freedom for even a single second to sit. The moment you are born, you are running like a galloping horse, run two or three steps. We may call it ourselves living beings, but we are on the path of dying. We are on a highway that leads you to die.” This is what the Seventh Dalai Lama says. 78:06 (In Tibetan) So, the moment you are born, we don’t have a single minute we are taking. It is almost like animals going to the slaughter and you are putting them on that path every step they take is getting closer to death. And we are in that condition. 78:49

78:49 Though we may think we are not going to die today, but only if today is today but only if today is right now. When we sleep, we think we are resting. We may be. But we are running towards death. Whether you are awake or asleep or busy or lazy, whatever you are doing we are always on this road. 79:31 Though our body tells you so many times, but we don’t get the message. We wear glasses, we wear hearing aids, we put color all of them giving you message, giving us message. The body is saying, “Hay, I’m in trouble!” 80:15

80:15 The end of the trouble is collapsing. Everything is warning. One of my great masters, (? 80:30) to the Dalai Lama. When he was ten years old, he wrote poetry (In Tibetan 80:40) and he is writing with an alphabetic order (In Tibetan 80:54)

80:15 The end of the trouble is collapsing. Everything is warning. One of my great masters, (? 80:30) to the Dalai Lama. When he was ten years old, he wrote poetry (In Tibetan 80:40) and he is writing with an alphabetic order (In Tibetan 80:54) Here the friends, the invitation from a lot of death has now reached you in the form of small on your hair. Your hair is getting gray and white. So those great people can think in that way even when they are ten years old. But we don’t. 81:27

81:27 Even if we are totally white, we get some sort of color and dye it. In one way it’s wonderful in another way we are cheating ourselves. That’s what it is. So, at the end we’ll say now I am done. If you are not prepared it’s a little too late. 82:10

82:10 The third one is: Even during our living and we won’t have much time to do the right thing because we are truly occupied to do anything upright. We do everything but what is right. We don’t have time to do anything right. Everything we must do except Dharma practice. This is the last priority. Some of us, someone like me, a person like me, I think I have spent all my life with the Dharma. So, now I am sixty-three or sixty-two or whatever. I don’t know. So, I have spent sixty years. If I think carefully, out of sixty years I slept thirty years. Yeah, really. The half the time I slept, thirty years. And the other time I have time for belly, too. Glasses, movies, entertainment, study, wasting all of them. So out of sixty years if I have been able to put five years in, I am lucky. I am using me as an example. So, that goes with everybody even though we think we are doing everything we could. But really, how much real solid time did we put in? Twenty minutes a day. Maybe not. Even though you think you are putting three hours, two hours, one hour. I am not sure you put in really soldi time. 84:49 Twenty minutes, at most. 84:51

84:51 So, that will tell you how much we really achieved. So even if we’re alive, we won’t have much time to do. We do what we need to do. Very limited. If you don’t make use of the best time available, the real time you put in is that much. Out of sixty years I think if I am lucky, I put in five years. That’s what it is, very true. 85:28

85:28 So, the great Tibetan teacher, (? Rinpoche 85:33). So, somebody ask him would you please write your autobiography. So, I have not (? 85:44) So he said “(In Tibetan) So for twenty years I spend, I am thinking I’m a kid, a kid, a kid. So, I spent twenty years. The next twenty years, I thought I would like to do something, I would like to do something, I would like to do something. So, after that I spent twenty more and couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t do anything, I hope I will be able to do in my future lives. So, that’s how I waste mu sixty years. So that is the Kundara Rinpoche (? 86:27) and it is very similar to me. It is very similar to me. I keep on thinking I am a kid. I think I am a kid even on the thirties and forties. So, I really think I am grown up person until I was fifty-five. 86:46 So, that’s what it is. How we wasted our time. 86:53

86:53 So, when we are looking at ourselves, some of us today are thinking we’re kids, young adults. Some of us are in the category of I wanted to do something, I want to do something, most of you people are in that category. I want to do something. And a few of us think it is too late for me. I hope to be able to do it. So, we are in that picture. So, if you are stuck in that picture, and we will be great when the time comes. So, we must avoid that. We are not (? 87:43) great. You try to show a little surprise on your face, but the thing is that you have missed something in the beginning level. So that’s why you have the surprise. 87:59

87:59 Look! So, let’s not waste our time and go home. I didn’t realize it’s getting close to 9:30. So let’s not waste our time and go home and do whatever we have to do. 88:21 Perhaps the other way around, over here we did not really waste time but when you get old then you waste it or vice-versa, who knows. So, anyway that’s that. 88:40

Announcements followed.

Migstema Closing