Archive Result

Soundfile 20010920GRNYOTF.mp3

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location New York?

Topic 911 terrorist attack

Transcriber Todd Denton

Date 4 Oct 2020

Even you move away, eh... [audio cut]

Welcome here tonight. We're meeting here tonight sort of with a heavy heart. The feeling the more closer you get to the ground zero level, you feel it, and it is very sad indeed, terrible thing what with happened -- a true emergency 9-1-1. Really we went through that. And in addition to that, a very close friend of mine, a great friend, great Rinpoche, Domo Geshe Rinpoche [sp?], many of us know, is also passed away on that Monday this week. It's a real terrible month and terrible week. Yet, many of us are still fine and here, and that also, good to see everybody, and I must try to find, try to hear from everybody and that Tuesday, calling about doesn't go through, telephone doesn't go through. But so gradually we start hearing from everybody, from this and that and mostly the Buddhists. OK I haven't heard anything adverse. So it is sort of good news out of bad news, everybody's fine.

[0:03:04]

And interestingly my brother from Tibet called me in that time, about day later. I'm not in Michigan, I went somewhere else. I went to upstate New York, and then I'm getting that emergency message saying your brother says call, call, call, you know, they say emergency. So I thought something's wrong in Tibet, but then I gradually called. And he called in Michigan and talked to Carla [sp?], and Carla doesn't speak Tibetan and he doesn't speak that good English, but they had some long conversation. He's trying to find out whether I'm in New York or wherever,

[0:04:09]

[audio file glitch] but the conversation and ... very close. But since he called from Tibet, try to find out what's ha- [audio file glitch]

[0:04:19]

Before what we're talking, we're talking about karma. And I will just close with the karma part of it. So [audio file glitch] particular works, sometimes with people thinks that we're victim blaming thing. It's definitely not a victim blaming, but when that karma stucks [sticks?], this happens, and that's Buddha [audio file glitch?] has been saying that for 2,500 years we've been reading about it, we agree, we disagree, we think about it and we do all this, but that's another reality when that happens. That's what goes on. Very sad indeed. That's what happens. Then I've been talking about this in the last two Tuesdays in Ann Arbor. Because last Thursday we couldn't, it's not possible to be able to meet here or, even for me, it's not even possible for me to get to city, so it happened to be two Tuesdays, and I think many of you have seen that on email, and people have been talking to me. And I shared my thoughts in there. And all these terrible things that happened is only the happened. So I don't mean you have to forget it, but now the question comes, what can we do out of those? I'm going to talk to you straightforward, forgetting whatever anything the people may feel or feel sad or happy or like or dislike. I'm going to cut through that. I'm going to go straightforward from my mind, which hopefully [is] influenced by the Buddha's teaching and Buddha's thoughts and development.

[0:07:30]

So I look here [at?] two things we can do. One: For those people who died, and two: those of us who's living. So for those who died, what can we do? We can dedicate our positive karma and virtue and good deeds that whatever we do, and we can dedicate for their benefit. You know we live in the material world and spiritual world, and the material world is a world that I and you see, I see you and you see me, we talk to each other, and we help and we support and we, you know, give and we take and all this, and this is directly what we can do, the material world. And in the spiritual world, and particularly when you're passed away to can't do that. You're disconnected with individuals who are there. It is your whoever, whatever the relation we may have with these people, we're disconnected physically, but not mentally and not emotionally. So what we can really do is we can contribute then to our spiritual way mental way. And that is the dedication, dedicating our positive karma to what is their benefit. It's almost like a bank giving a loan, or, I mean you have to think in the, because we live in the commercial world, we have to think in commercial terms.

[0:10:00]

So, like a bank giving loan, or you're borrowing from your friend, and things like that. So even though karma is definite, and one created karma, one get result, one did not create karma doesn't get result. It is absolutely true, however we can have this thing, the dedication makes things belong here, belong there. You know, remember we're talking about negativities, and we talk about the stealing. And we talked about it, what makes the things belong to you, what makes things that not belong to me. So we draw the line when you dedicate it, when you say this is yours, when you dedicate it, whether you physically give it or not give it, that's it's term, the ownership departs from the individual, you remember? So exactly the same way here: The positive karmas, if you dedicate it, and it become available for them to be able to use it. And that's what we can do, particularly coming close to this close, I mean it's quite close here, though we're not down there, but it's very very close.

[0:11:31]

So I have been thinking, you know when we are saying om mani padme hum and all this prayers, and I was thinking all our positive karmas, we sort of really literally visualized, and making, giving to them whatever their needs are, good new life or whatever, positive, adding [aiding?] more positive karma. Whatever the needs of the people who are departed. So we've been visualizing that. I think that. I think we should definitely do that often, at least for next, you know, five, six weeks that we meet here, we should always do that, and that will be useful. And particularly, even though we don't maybe, in my case I may not directly know anybody in there, but they are my friends, some of them knows this and that, we have so many of them. And though their link, if you dedicated because there's a connection. The connection helps get it [aid?] to the point. It is like getting a right address - the zip code is right, the address is right, the street address right, you know. So it helps, that's the connection that make difference. So we should do that. And also, you know, we say normally the Tibetan Buddhism, always we say: for the benefit of all beings. Well, it's great. All beings or not all beings, it's right in our nose, right here, couple of blocks down here, it happened. So whether you get all sentient beings or not, right under our noses we have to do that, and that's what it is.

[0:13:56]

Not only our prayers that we say here, said here or we will say. But every hour [our?] positive karma that we have, we don't have to worried about it, because if I give all my positive karma away for them, so what am I'm going to use it? So this is not a material thing, so if you give it here it's not going to be exhausted. As a matter of fact, it builds up. So though we are helping them try to help them, but indirectly we're helping ourself, and that's how karma works. And there's no scientific proof for me to show you, but if karma works, if things works that way, that's what I know of it, how that works. So that's what we can do.

[0:15:05]

[audio file glitches] ... Also I have to say thank you for everybody coming here tonight. It's not that easy to get through, and particularly you chose to listen to me than George Bush.

[large section of audio file not playable until...]

[1:13:56]

[audio file glitches] [Q&A in progress…] it’s no man’s land somewhere. And when the death, something happened you slipped through and broke your hips and going to left there without anybody's help for days, and you could die too, you know. They're all there. I don't know what to say to you, but as I told you, as myself is concerned, I'm going to keep my schedule as it is, if I can. So if I die, I die. And if you don't die, you don't die. It's not my time, not my hour, that's what somebody told me on telephone. It was not my time, it was not my hour, it was not my day, right? So that happens. That's what it is. That's what I'm doing. I'm not telling you to do that. I'm simply sharing that's what I do. I cannot be afraid, no one can be. The threat s there in life, whether you are sitting here, the pillar can break. The whole building can come down. Or something happens, I can fall from this stage and hit my head and die, you know. Everywhere, these are there. That doesn't mean you don't have to be careful. You have to be careful, but then you have to go your life about, and that's what I'm planning to do anyway. If I'm hijacked I'm hijacked. If I get killed I get killed, so what? Not only me, a number of people died that way anyway, so. You had chance already. I'll come back to you if there's opportunity, ok?

[1:16:02]

[Question from audience] Understanding. I don't want to say education, information, but really understanding. you know, this is exactly hatred. You can get rid, or this must be Islamic or Arabic - oh kill him, you know. And who got really killed is Indian, right? So it shows the quality of the understanding of the individual. They could not figure out the difference between the Sikh and Islamic custom [costume?] even, you know? Somebody Sikh with the pagri on the head and somebody thought is this the Islamic customs [costumes?] or something, so it shows the quality and knowledge and understanding of the individual who [?]. So it is the lack of understanding definitely. We're human beings. We're in this thing. Human beings have good side and bad side. Both we have. Hatred brings the bad side. Compassion brings the good side. Hatred is based on ignorance. Compassion's based on understanding. So, I mean that's the reality. I'm glad you shared that.

[1:19:32]

[Answering a question] I think Colin Powell knows, and Bush is Bush's business. Whatever he does, that's his business. You know what i mean? Bush is Bush's business; it's not my business. It looks to me Colin Powell knows. Powell has dealt with it a whole lot longer, whatever maybe.

[1:20:56] One of the important people that we, the Jewel Heart, we use to look is Allen Ginsberg. So that is how he used to do. It is not a mystery to us, and it's not a secret, you know? Whatever the way we can contribute, and that also has to go with the compassion not with the anger - because you don't listen to me, I have to fight with you. And that is the compassion key changing into hatred and anger. There's always this thing. So that's the reason why, even in Michigan the other day, you don't have to prove what you say, you know. You don't have to go there and try to prove it. You do whatever you express and then you contribute and you have to move forward. Otherwise, that positive thought, compassion action will change into anger. Then it's all wasted. Instead of contributed for the compassion, you have contributed for the hatred. That's my thinking. Otherwise, OK you've been raising hand for very long time, OK.

[1:22:33]

[audience asks question]

It's not only our collected karma but our collected money as well. We pay tax. Not only collected karma but collected money too. So I agree with you. I said Buddhism is some different reasons I have, you know. Very true. Anyway, thank you so much for coming here tonight. And again, when we chant this [?], and during this [?] you have to visualize all our positive karmas collectively we dedicate, and even sort of visualize, think our collected karmas went in the beautiful now here comes light and love, ok? Goes into the form of positive light and wonderful nectars, and in that manner to those departed consciousness, and we dedicate them, and hopefully they give them best result. So we at least say [?] three times. Thank you.

[1:24:43]

Oh by the way, before I do that, I have two things: I will be here next Thursday, and there's an announcement you have- On October 9th, you know we have planned to have my book release. A number of friends, Philip and Paul Simon and all of them have very kindly agreed to do a concert [unclear] very kindly. And everybody worked so hard, Diana and everybody. Everybody, really, everybody. In fact, don't mention any individual names. I did purposely not left it out, ok? Please remember. So, that's what's happening. And now, the number of people thinking are we continuing that or not, but I was thinking, we never thought we're going to change it, but we are continuing going. And also there's going to be more spiritual thing, and if you look that book of mine, I didn't write that book purposely for this incident. But one of the theme in that book is anger, hatred creating suffering. So it's a vivid example that book shows, this incident shows how anger, anger create. And that book talks about that. That book talks how to deal with your anger. That book even talks how to deal with mad person even, mad by anger and hatred. So that goes in there, and that gives you some practice, and that gives how we put our mind in that, so I really think this has some use and some service, may be helpful for people. So I thought we will continue, we will go forward to do that book opening, and the proceeds, if at all left, will go to benefit of Jewel Heart, and that's what we're going forward so I request everybody to kindly put your energy behind that push. And it will have some service and benefit for a lot of people, particularly after [?]. Particularly whatever's going to happen now, and this will have some very relevant things to think, to analyze our mind, to understand even how practice to do, all of them there, so it be very spiritual healing and some service, that's my hope.

[1:28:53]

That's what the true reality is. I did not write that book because this is going to happen, but it is hatred and anger does that. And it also talks about the reincarnation, good life, good death. And a good life is life free of anger and hatred. And there was a chapter, chapter 3 is anger and hatred chapter, and we will talk about the solution and all this. I really hope honestly this will have some service for people. And also people can read and try to help themself not to go into depression, not to- how to manage your mind. So I really think there's a hope for that, and that's what I like to share with you. And then there's another thing.

[announcements, chanting prayer]

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