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Odyssey to Freedom 20010315GRNYOTF Dated March 15, 2001.

20010315GRNYOTF - Odyssey to Freedom Talk Dated: March 15, 2001

Please note: The beginning of this recording is of poor quality up til the 4:41 mark.

4:41 So, we become a Buddhist because we take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And when we don’t about the taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha then we have a big problem. We pretend to be, simply saying Namo Guruya, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya and Namo Sanghaya, whether you say it loud, or whether you are singing or not singing, whatever you do and that simply does not become a refuge for sure. Here is the opportunity for me to tell you, because a number of people really think, I take refuge in Buddha, I state refute in Dharma, I take refuge in Sangha, you think that is going to be a refuge. 5:41 Recording issues, feedback, muffled, humming. 6:24

6:24 I am the one … 6:35 Can I take refuge. Yeah! Come to me many of you. Come to me. Come to me, can I take refuge. I say, yes, yes, yes. Okay, then you think, think this, think that. (In Tibetan) 7:14 So you repeat that three times and you are welcome in the Buddhist family. Does that really become the (? 7:21). Is that the system? Yes. That has been going on for a thousand of years. That’s what it is. 7:36

7:36 But do you really take refuge in Buddha. Perhaps not. This is an opportunity. During the refuge giving, I can’t even say that because you have to think you take refuge and it has to work that way. So, when I say repeat after me, but I am not sure whether you are taking refuge. That doesn’t work. So, over here, we’re studying, we’re looking into it. So, this is the opportunity where we really have to talk, and we really have to think. 8:11

8:11 So, if that really is refuge, I am not sure. Not sure. This is the same thing with an initiation. If you are looking at the Buddhist initiations from Tibetan Buddhism. Those initiations should never be given without anyone the basis of refuge. The foundation of all initiation has to be refuge to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. On top of that, you have to have a Bodhisattva vow and that is like a cushion. The refuge is like the ground, the floor. And the Bodhisattva vow is like a cushion. And when you sit on that and then there really is an initiation. (? 9:14) So without that base, no matter whatever you do, you are sitting in the middle of the initiation and that’s fine. But did you really get initiated. Did you really get refuge and vow, it is very doubtful? 9:30

9:30 That is why I do remember plenty. I don’t know why it is. His Holiness gave the Kalachakra initiation and at the end of the Kalachakra initiation, he said, “Well, there’s about four thousand people here but I don’t maybe only about twenty people got the initiation.” Something like that, he said. So, did he take money? Sure, we did. Did we (? 10:06). Sure, we did. Did we get the initiation? I don’t know. So, that’s what it is. 10:10

10:10 Even the same people refuge, too. Why we take refuge to Buddha. We know the Buddha’s quality and we trust him. We know he’s the right thing. So, when you do the right thing, that becomes important. So, you really have to know about the Buddha even before you take refuge to Buddha. So, we think about the Buddha’s qualities. The quality of the body, the quality of the mind, the quality of the speech. 10:51

10:51 Likewise, I did the same thing (? 10:53). Somebody even raised the question saying the Buddha was two-thousand five hundred years ago, I have nothing to do with that fellow. It is better for me to build up the inclination. I don’t have any inclination with that person called Buddha, who was a great Indian prince two thousand five hundred years ago, has nothing to do with me. So, this is absolutely true. But we all think the Buddha is great because nobody talks about Buddha is bad. And whatever we hear, we hear about the great things. We never heard about the problems. Right? So, when you keep on hearing problems, we’ll think that that person if bad. But when you keep on hearing the qualities, you think that person is good. That’s why people make propagandas. People talk bad about Clinton, or bad about Bush or good/bad about Clinton or good/bad Bush. So, they try to fool the American nation and inclination of the individual to be guiding in a certain direction. 12:44

12:44 So, of course, we have a representation of a Buddha so on and so forth, but actually we are taking absolute refuge to our absolute future Buddha. No doubt about it. But at the same time, the historical Buddha is also representing the absolute, our future Buddha, my future Buddha, who is a seed right now. A grain of barley, wheat, a tea leaf, or a lentil or whatever. It is sort of really a seed right now. Not matured enough to be able to function. So, we’re representing the historical Buddha in. If I use it as a representation, that is one thing okay. If I don’t talk too much here, we may be saving a little bit of problem here. You know, we claim, many of us claim to be Buddhist. And the Guru and the Buddha in the Buddhist is a Buddha. Nobody else. Nobody else. Nobody else is a Buddha. Even your own personal Guru, do you think that your personal Guru is the right Guru because he is a Buddha. We are really bringing Buddha in. So, it’s the Buddha that we are, and we try to link. 14:28

14:28 So, if you leave the Buddha out over there and then you try to have somebody else, it is very unfortunate. It happens in the Tibetan tradition, too. It happens in the Chinese, too. It happens to every tradition, everywhere. So sometimes, even for like ourselves, if you look at ourselves and I always try to bring the Buddha in as a central figure. Even when you meditate, I bring Buddha into the center figure and always we do. 15:12

15:12 But otherwise if you look from the Galupa point of view, and many of them, will bring Tsongkhapa instead of Buddha. And if you look Ningma tradition of any other tradition, you bring in Padmashabhava or something. They are all fine, you know. Nothing wrong. They don’t separate. It’s okay. Buddha is Buddha. So real Buddhist we’re not following NImgaism or Gulapism or any of that. We are really Buddhaism. So, Buddha is very important and without Buddha it won’t work. So, wanted to emphasize that also. 16:12

16:12 I also want to emphasize the quality of the Buddha, particularly the mental quality. We did talk about the quality of the body. The quality of the body with the major marks and minor marks and things like that. But one most important thing, I did not mention this time. At the level of the Buddha, though we talk about mind and body, there is no separation. At the level of the Buddha, the Buddha’s mind is Buddha’s body. Buddha’s body is Buddha’s mind. It is totally different than us. We function separately. They function on one vehicle. It is oneness. A body is their mind, their mind is their body. You know what I mean? 17:49

17:49 So this is a big difference between us. We have a big separation. They don’t. So mind is all knowing, compassionate. You know two qualities of mind and that is knowing everything and totally compassionate. Knowing everything, meaning if there is something to be known, it is known to Buddha, that means. You can mention the traditional teaching, it is like a measurement. If you have a one measurement, yard. If you have one yard then you measure the yard to its cloth, it’s equal. So, Buddha’s mind is like that when you measure with anything to be known. Wherever, anything to be known, Buddha’s mind is there. It measures are equal. Other words if you put Buddha’s mind here with something to be known there, it is equal. There is nothing left to be known. 19:16 Nothing to be continued. It could be all there in one there (? 19:25) So, it’s not going to be continued. So, it is going to be exactly the same thing. 19:29

19:29 What does that mean? Buddha’s mind is pervasive. It is everywhere. Everything. Everywhere. It is pervasive. Are you with me? So, it is everywhere (Omnipresent). So, there is no place where the Buddha’s mind is not there. It is always, everywhere. That’s is their quality. Wherever their mind is, their body is there because it functions as one, no separation. So, the compassion which we talked about and the knowing, that is idea of all knowing, all knowledge, total awakened, total knowledge, all of this, actually it is to be known, equal to what is knowable. 21:06

21:06 So, that is total knowledge. Total knowledge does not mean real well informed. Total know doesn’t mean (? 21:19). These are the analyzers, you know, the political analyzers, economic analyzers. They analyze and they know something, but they can be wrong. The Buddha cannot be wrong. It’s wrong, it is not Buddha. That is the quality of mind. 21:44

21:44 So, this is from Tsongkhapa Lam Rim Chen Mo. If you are looking in the Lam Rim Chen Mo, (In Tibetan). When you look through the Buddha’s mind, it looks like you are looking through glasses. If you look through the glasses, you read your palm through the glasses. The glass does not really block anything. You can make see better. Like Buddhas sees every existence, Buddhas sees everything at the same time, that’s why looking in your palm with glasses, magnifying glasses. 22:53

22:53 Scientifically, is there proof? Not that I know. But this is the quality of the Buddha. But everything doesn’t have scientific proof either. (? 23:11) On the scientific only, I am sure they will know this. No doubt about it. So, also some frequency, mind, speech, knowledge, body, no separation. Everything is oneness. Everything one kind. Sort of unimaginable. Buddha is the past. Buddha is the present. buddha is future. I am sure this is wrong English. But I am saying Buddhas is this. 23:54

23:54 So, that is the East. And, if you wanted to know how to use the easy, it just depends of the ease is, so. ?? 24:06 So, that’s what it is. 24:10

24:10 So, these are the important points. So, Buddha himself in the Sutra said (In TB) when Buddha is, the people who cannot figure out, because of ignorance, wrong knowing, misunderstanding, confusion because of the egos trip. When Buddha sees this and when Buddha sees people suffering endlessly, continues in samsara, then develops a pain in his heart. That’s what Buddha says. It pains his heart because he cannot help it. So, like a limitation. But from the Buddha’s point of view, there is no limitation. From our point of view, we are not giving the Buddha an opportunity, or we are not making it possible for us to do for the Buddha to help us. So, that becomes a big problem. 26:01

26:01 Anyway, let me give you one example. How does the compassion of the Buddha help? This is a statement that Buddha was saying about his compassion. What I think according to our own experience, when we are, when we fall in love and when we have this lovesick. You know what I mean, the lovesick and particularly, you know it goes on and builds up very well and particularly there is a rejection. And then this love shake is going to be all the time, right. All the time. You see that favorite person; you hear the voice of the person. What else happens? The audience: You smell them. Rimpoche: They smell too. I didn’t know that great. And they got the smell and all of the type and its with you wherever you go, even when you take a shower. You know, the smell will continue. Even while you are taking a shower. And then it makes you unable to sleep. And even in the middle of the night, you wake up an saying is this a bad dream or what is it? All of those, and that highest feeling of compassion of the Buddha with all living beings together all the time. So, that’s how intense their compassion is. 28:05

28:05 We can understand better when we look within ourselves. So that example is this one. Lovesick with rejection. If it is lovesick alone, it is not good enough. But with rejection, then it totally (lovesick) and all of those (28:31). It’s interesting and we can talk about it and we can laugh and look back and this is a wonderful thing. Anyway, that is a good example how what does Buddha mean, where it says, the Buddhas heart aches all the time for the sake of all the people. 28:55

28:55 So the question now raises, so we are talking about… Oh, I forgot to talk to you about Dharma. Dharma again is… I should not only mention in body, mind and speech. There are activities and qualities, and all of those. Actually, quality of the Dharma, how does this spiritual development. A number of people come and talks to me and says that the teachings are working. That is the normal phrase that people tell me. And I don’t know what that really means. But what I do understand is, when they encounter with certain difficulties, difficulties that have arisen out of our negative emotions or negative addictions and the way you handle it, it is better than before. You can handle better. You understand better. What you apply becomes better. 30:43

30:43 So when you say, your teaching is working better. It means I am getting a message; Dharma is working. So, teaching is not a Dharma. What you heard in this and what you read about it and you put them together and you work with your life and deals when a problem comes, you refer to your resources that you build up through teaching, through reading. Then use it from there and apply it the pains that we get from our negative emotions, such as attachment, (? 31:46 aggressions), anger and it works to better and that is the real quality of Dharma. You know it is one thing you say, hay this is Dharma, this is spiritual development you get results there and this and that. It’s one thing. But when you deal with your own life and when you see (experience) this and acknowledge this as a quality of the Dharma, it shows how helpful it is to many of you. 32:22

32:22 When you come from (? 32:27) teaching is working. I don’t see teachings working. I see Dharma is working. A lot of people (? 32:36) want to pay me, I say I did nothing, which is true. I didn’t do anything. It is the individual person who put in the effort that did it and got it. If you want payment, you should pay yourself. That’s what you did. It is your effort. Thank you for you. I did nothing. I only shared the message. Not only the message, if I leave it at the message level it doesn’t work. I have to bring it with a little bit of portion of experience (? 33:13) and bring it to you (like Prometheus’s bringing Fire to Humanity) without repercussions) it doesn’t work. So, what I did is, only deliver the message, give you information. For what you did, you thought it out, certain information couldn’t take it from you take it. Many people (? 33:29) And that is the Dharma quality within yourself. 33:43

33:43 When that builds up and becomes better and then you will see a day there will be no pain or suffering for you, anything. And that becomes your Dharma rich. You become better, you become highly developed. It goes even beyond that. You go even beyond that. Every moment of your life is joyful. Not only joyful but a constant continuous of unteachable pleasure, always in your body, in your mind. When that is taking place, you have done much better. And it is only you and you alone can do. And is going to become the quality of your karma. 34:52

34:52 So when you don’t have that, when there is only information level is leaves that wisdom for you. It is wisdom for you, this is usual. Nothing to be worried about it. That is how it works and dealing with it. It works with information. When that information works that’s my experience. That experience becomes our constant continuous sort of a happening. It remains with you. It doesn’t come and go away. it continues (? 35:32). And that becomes joy. That become the total knowledge. And that become inseparable that we use. That is true Dharma of yours and the seeded quality. 35:56

35:56 And that also develops with you by meditating, particularly analytical meditation. This is the most important thing. So, by utilizing that, by analyzing and meditating on that, after a while you get some kind of internal thing. I don’t know, I find it very difficult to explain. The information that you take in, which is a total external thing and these external things you keep on observing, analyzing and meditating, then it becomes some kind of internal thing. Internally, you wake up, or internally knowing. It is very hard for me to explain. It is not information coming in. It is sort of a blooming from the inside. It’s really blooming from the inside. When that happens and you begin to get your spiritual development. If it’s refuge, then its proper message coming in. Until then it’s an external thing going in, then comes out. 38:04

38:04 In order to get that internal believing, it is absolutely necessary to have analytical meditation. (? 38:19) and concentrated meditation which is Shamata, has to go together. And that’s why Michelle sort of brings this subject on which you’re concentrating. I think that’s a great thing. So, that’s what happens. 38:42

38:42 Now I would like to read a word the Lam Rim Chen Mo here. (In TB 38:50) So, what the Lam Rim Chen Mo is saying, when you are doing this analytical thing and you are thinking, and all these kinds of thoughts are coming up and that’s not good. That’s not good. I should be without any thought projection. This is definite thought coming up. So, it is not good. If you think that you are creating a tremendous obstacle for yourself for purify, purification, as well as accumulation of merit. This is your biggest obstacle you are creating. So, if people spend time thinking those analyzations, is thought and should be pinned (? 40:13), then you are wasting your life. This is one of the most important way you lose and waste your life, in other words, your precious human life without getting any results. And that very clearly mentioned here. (? 40:30) And these sorts of things are normally not shared so much in the West because the ground of the concentrated Shamata is not well established and then if you add up these analysis too much, it is the fear of confusion and that’s the reason why people have not shared so much of this information in the West. 41:03

41:03 And the new teachers that come out of that have no idea about it. They have no idea about it, so that is (? 41:18) important for me, not that I am (? 41:23 important) or anything, but I have spent sixty years as a born-again Buddhist and with the opportunity. So, perhaps this is one of the important points that I must say clearly. So, thinking about the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha very often meditating, learning and analyzing. If you do that, then what does that become? That becomes a thing called (In TB), remembering Buddha. Remembering Buddha (In TB). It is not really remembering … When you do those analytical, what you tribute to the Buddha, is remembering the kindness of the Buddha. This is the most important. 42:31

43:21 And that also, not only remembering kindness but the message that Buddha gave, is one of the best tributes to the Buddha. So, by doing this, particularly seeing the quality and saying how wonderful if I become like that. How wonderful if I can get that. I would like to have that (I want that). So with that thought it becomes a part of your daily life, day and night, instead of thinking about the rejections you received from your boyfriend or girlfriend, but keep on thinking that. Then that particular meditative work makes you be able to see the real Buddha in your real life as a Buddha. 43:40

43:40 I remember when His Holiness was giving the Kalachakra here in New York. One question came up, so the question asked was “If you can go back in history and wanted to see, who would you like to see.” Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha and the third person I forgot. And also, what would you ask, what questions would you ask? He said, I would like to see Buddha. But if I see Buddha, I may be too shocked and happy and I may be frozen, and I might not be able to ask questions. That’s what H.H. said. But the point is, when you reach in the Second Path, out of the Five Path, to the Second Path, part of Action. It is divided into four and at the third level, if you read, your images will talk to you, which I have mentioned before. The Images are now talking to you. The actual Buddha is talking to you. Whether it is Buddha Shakyamuni, or Yamantaka, or Haruki, or Yogi Tara, they literally talk to you. So, that particular karma is built, like this refuge and thinking the qualities of the Buddha also and brings this direct cause of the karma related to that. And that’s why refuge is so important. 45:42

45:42 Not only that… (? 45:56) if you don’t see Buddha, you die. We die. At that time, by the time that you are really dying, you will not forget Buddha. You will remember it, Buddha. And Buddha, Guru, Yidam in oneness, which is absolutely important. The moment you are separated, you’re in trouble. No separating, the oneness is so important. Even in Western tradition, they call you, Thee One, whatever that means, I don’t know. I remember I was in Texas, in ’77. And they asked me to speak in the Unitarian Church. I think so. It must be Unitarian Church. The priest told me, before I spoke, whatever you want to say is fine but don’t (? 47:14) Thee One. I said, fine. I said for me The One is the Enlightened One. For him, it is whatever may be, you know, I don’t know. So, for me The One is the Enlightened One, like in the Lam Chopa we say: You are the Guru, you are the Buddha. You are the Yidam. You’re this, all of them are one. That’s Thee One for me. So, I won’t lose that. So, whoever Thee One is. For him that’s Thee One and for me Thee One is another thing. So, both will have Thee One (? 47:54). So, I don’t know whatever the reason is. So, that’s what it is. 48:02

48:02 So, you remember the Buddha at the time. And by remembering Buddha, it is one of the best ways to overcome the fear and suffering of the unknown. You know there is a narrow passage in the bardo that talks about it. So all of them to overcome is one of the best ways, simplest way. At least you have nothing else, that’s not memory going together. (? 48:33) Even you have nothing, remember in emptiness you don’t have transferring your consciousness, you’re transforming your body into something extraordinary, even you don’t have that, even if you just have the image of the Buddha along with that. Traditionally in Tibet, when people are dying, they definitely bring a Buddha image and leave it near the dying person and making candlelight, butter lamp offering, and they leave that there. Lately, people are using the Dalai Lama’s picture rather than Buddha image and that is after Tibet after in there. So, they do that. But the real thing is the Buddha. The Buddha thing is there. 49:35

49:35 So, when that mind, when the consciousness, let’s call it soul, when the soul departed from the body, so when the awareness of the Buddha, nothing can go wrong. The negativities cannot raise or connect to another negativity and that’s the one way of simply going the easy way, if you can do nothing else. And that has become possible even no one reminds you if you have a strong refuge and strong inclination of thinking about the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, Oneness with the Yidam and Gurus and whatever. And that really delivers. And that is the bridge to the transit from one to another (transition between one life to the another). And that is the easy, simple, uncomplicated and the best insurance because at that time we do have a weakness, a tremendous weakness, of mind. Mind becomes subtle, very subtle. So you lose all the other mental faculties, such as memory. Such as memory removed. That’s why we don’t remember things (deeds), that’s why we don’t remember person before you die. Many do, many don’t. Because mind will become subtle. It will be withdrawing, disconnecting. So, that’s what’s happening. 51:38

51:38 So when that builds up as a sort of refuge, where you’re light, dealing with that (? 51:48) every day at least three times or six times or whatever. That’s why everywhere (in TB) everybody says the Refuge Prayers before you even open your mouth. The first thing that comes out of your mouth is, “I take refuge Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.” Always, that’s the reason why. That’s why disconnections build and is subtle mind and then that works… This is the worst, the lowest (? 52:32) way of working. Even at the time of death, even we have nothing, nothing to think, nothing to do, no one is praying for you, no one’s even (? 52:44). That’s how they do it. So, that is important. 52:48

52:48 Even in this meditation, both (? 53:00 Pot wan Lama) says (In TB) So, Pot wan says that’s what you should think about very often. And the more that you can think about that, you get a better understanding. When you have a better understanding, you can develop intelligent faith that will (? 53:32). If you don’t have intelligent faith, then it becomes blind faith. The blind faith is minus, the intelligent faith is plus. You know what I mean? 53:45

53:45 The blind faith is minus. Don’t rely on blind faith unless you consider yourself studio. I really mean that. You are incapable of analyzing, incapable of thinking, incapable of doing anything, incapable of learning, incapable of reading, incapable of meditating. Then the only thing is you have blind faith. That is (? 54:30), the lower category. Worse than that is nothing. Lower category, even then it works, meaning it works. It is not what I recommend, particularly, (?54:55), educated, smart. Don’t underestimate your own capability. I told you, I don’t have experience and you can’t say much and whatever you say, people won’t get the message. People will not understand. So, when it becomes totally (? authentic 55:50) and it became the (? 55:57). You’re educated you have that mind. You’re smart, each and every one of you, I am telling you not to think you are studio (Don’t think I’m stupid) 56:07 You are not. 56:15

56:15 So, I can talk to about these qualities. I can talk to you how you can think. I can tell you what this could be. So, if you are incapable of that (?56:31) then you have blind faith before that hand and then that’s about it. Maybe you can say “Om Mani Padme Hum,” maybe without knowing, whatever you say and that is the lowest category of spiritual practice, the lowest. But it works. You cannot think too many things. You really have to have to know what you are doing, and you have to talk to one person and follow that person wherever they tell you, wherever they point a finger and think this is East. (? 57:12) And that thought, this is the East. You have to do that because you are incapable. You can possibly show your cat and dog about that. They can probably do that, too. So, you are not going to compare yourself with that. You’re intelligent person. And many of you are (? 57:38). So don’t waste your life by you know, I can’t help myself, I can’t think. Even if I do so, it is unnecessary thought. It is sharpened by (? 57:52) … It is to make your Shamata stronger.

57:58 If you don’t know how to handle that then you have a problem. You have to make your Shamata strong. It looks contradictory. It makes you stronger. So, anyway, so Pot won still continues to say, so this is what the Buddhas quality is mind. And we don’t trust Buddha that much. We trust more for the fortune tellers rather than Buddha. For the fortune teller will tell you, you don’t have any problem this year. Or somebody will read Tara cards and tell you that you have no problems, so you’ll be happy. And then some people say you have some problem here, you know whatever some card showed up. You’re going to get sick. You’re going to have an accident. Then you’re going to worry much more. So, Buddha had already told us, if you solve your negativities, If you have negative emotions uncontrolled, uncontrollable negative emotion taking over you, you’re in trouble. We don’t worry about that. 59:26

59:26 We say that was good old time and we can’t do that (? 59:32) but we will limit, you know. We will suffer with cuts Buddhas here and there and make into our own cloth that fits us good uniform. Right? 59:43. Like those in Star Trek uniform. That’s what we do. So, this really indicates that we trust the fortune tellers more than Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, which is ultimate refuge. And is (? 60:12) and Pot won was saying that. That is the everything world to me as everything world to you and the everything world to all of us. We have to make an understanding of that. And we have to know there. 60:24 It is almost true, to the fortune teller. Perhaps it would even be cheaper. 60:56

60:56 So when we know the quality of the Buddha and we know the Buddha is good, using that as reasons and come back and use as Dharma as good because Dharma produces Buddha. So, these productions good, so this particular manufacturing has to be good. So, using Buddha as a being Great. So, what makes Buddha and then Dharma is the vehicle great. 61:46

61:46 Now there achieves a peace called forgetting. So, remember the last reward (? 62:31) but I don’t remember the first verse. So, anyway, whether I remember the words or not, I lost (last) word the previous presentation. 62:41 But, if I remember the words or not, I remember the message. That is the same thing I am telling you. By knowing the Buddhas Perfection and knowing that the Buddha has been well traveled, seeing everything, knowing everything. So, using that as a reason and using knowing, that dharma is thoughtless, is the one way of knowing. 63:21

63:21 So, remember I mentioned the Sangha the other day, my time is pushing me 63:33 (Long pause from the 63:33 to 69:08)

So, hello everyone, we have lost contact with New York. We have been cut off, so that ends the session for Thursday. Thank you. Good-bye. 69:17 to the end at 70:19