Archive Result

Soundfile 20011004GRNYOTF.mp3

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Jewel Heart, New York City

Topic karma, 9/11 terrorist attacks

Transcriber Todd Denton

Date 11/3/2020

[0:00:00]

[chanting, prayers]

0:07:59.7

[Discussion of seating logistics, etc.]

0:10:07.5

OK welcome for the evening today. We've been continuously talking about the karma, and how to see to freedom, and aware the level of the karma. And they didn't say karma - What umber is it, 20? 33, 34, in that level. Last time we talked about how to purify, because - am I correct? I think so, I did talk about purification. Tonight I would like to sort of give talk to you quite in general, not very specific. Even before I do that, I like to make an announcement, that is next couple of Thursdays. Couple for usual American language means two, but for me at means four, five, six, seven. When I say couple I always think about six, seven, so is the wrong language I'm using. Anyway, for a while I won't be here because, as you know I'm fortunate to have a book out, and so I have to do this book tour, and so I won't be here. But when I'm not here, I don't want to stop your study, so continue from the [Odyssey to Freedom?]. Usually we have a number of senior students who can help the round, but in New York we have Tony here, Tony King. This is Dr. King. He has agreed to do this continuing study for every Thursday continuously. And also he will be doing that. But on October 29th, 7pm at the Friends Health Center in New York there is a book signing, so I hope you people will show up there too, because I was told when the authors like me, now one, goes around in the bookstores, and when no one shows up that's the worst of all. So I hope you don't let me down. Also on October 30th there's a reception here in Jewel Heart. That probably a Tuesday. All are welcome here, and we try to have some fun here. I just wanted to make sure what's happening in New York City here, at least will people let them know. Also on October 9th in the news, it says trial the morning edition, must be radio, so if you tune in, so that's going to be there. And that's that. So I hope the teachings will continue, the discussions will continue. [Discussion of seating]

0:15:30.7

Today we're continuing, and I'd like to discuss a little bit about- i did talk about the karma a lot, but I think I have to talk to you a little bit more about what makes karma heavy and what makes karma light. I think that is one important point, because everything is karma karma karma. Karma also has powerful karma and less power karma, and heavy, not heavy, so we need to find out, we need to know what is heavy karma and what is not so heavy karma. For example, the killing of a human being is tremendously very heavy karma. Killing of enlightened beings are even much more very very heavy than simply killing of even human beings, even though it is extremely heavy. So the Buddha normally talks about five unlimited negativities. Now here this is Buddhist point of view. He comes killing of the Buddha, killing of a father, killing of a mother. Then look at me, I forgot. Can you imagine? You can't kill a buddha, so drawing blood of a buddha. Killing of a arhat, there you go. Causing schism among the sanghas. These are, they call that the five unimaginable negativities. That is the Buddhist doctrine technology. Did I say technology? I'm sorry. [laughs] What I'm thinking. So they talk about that.

0:18:24.7

We can understand killing of parents is a much more heavy negativity to the individual than killing of a human being. And then killing of arhat - that's why I say it's Buddhist doctrine. Killing of arhat is much more heavier than killing of parents for example. Drawing blood of the Buddha's body is consid- I hope Buddha never gets sick, otherwise all the doctors have a big problem to check his blood. [laughs] Drawing of the blood from the Buddha is even more negativity than all of those. Drawing of the blood actually does not mean literally drawing the blood, but getting angry with the Buddha, and I'd like to kill him, or I'd like to chop off his head or something like that, you know? That sort of thing/idea is labeled as drawing blood from Buddha's body.

0:20:05.5

There is a reason, since I mentioned this I have to say it. The reason is, the state of the Buddha is in a total enlightened level. Total enlightened level means all positive karma that ever possible to be collected has been collected and is free of all negative karma ever possible. So that's why this is the most outstanding example of a pure state. It's the Buddha's state. We, you and I, when we become a Buddha and we reach in that pure state - and you and I will definitely become Buddha, no doubt about it. There's not a single doubt that every sentient beings, every human beings, particularly at this time where we can connect with Buddhism, whatever way - of course connected well with the Buddhism - interested, studying, try to apply the message on our life, and of course no doubt about for that. But even those who just simply even hate Buddhism, so sort of think Buddhism is a big troublemaker for me. there are people like that, true. Even those people who really hated Buddhism, even for them it makes good karma, not because they hate it but they're connected. [speaks Tibetan] The last verse in the first chapter of Shantideva's Bodhisattva's Way of Life, there's two words. It says even creating harms are connected with joy. That is the beauty of Buddhism. Even sort of a funny way, even sort of not the right way, the wrong way to connected in the Buddha's teaching and Buddha's message. Even those people will become a Buddha. That is the Buddha's guarantee for us. So it has to be right, because I don't think Buddha will lie. At least I don't think so. Maybe.

0:23:28.5

Some people may think Buddha would lie. I believe he's called Buddha because he doesn't lie. Anyway, that is the one beautiful part of it. We were bound to become Buddha sooner or later. It depends how much energy and efforts that we put in. If we can put in lot of efforts, we may become a Buddha very soon. Soon it says, within a lifetime. [speaks Tibetan] One of the great prayers to the vajra master is: Through your kindness, one can obtain the enlightenment within the matter of a second. That's what the text says, but that second is not a second second but a life. Compared with the life after life, a single life is almost like a second. If we are lucky enough and if you put efforts enough we could become a buddha even lifetime. It been possible before and it had happened and why not with us? We can, very definitely. But what makes us unable to do this? That is our negativities. Not so much the negative karma but negativities. The negativities that we create countlessly, continuously, we're creating all the time through our body, through our speech and through our mind, particularly mind.

0:26:09.1

The human mind is so beautiful. Its capacity is unlimited. The sky is the limit, and when it can do good things and have benefit, or it can do bad things and have disadvantage. Both are open to our mind. The mind is so wild. Normally the traditional Tibetan teachers give you the monkey that you let loose a monkey in temple. That is the example. If you let loose a monkey in temple the monkey will jump all over the place, knock down everything, drink every water possible, knock down the butter lamp, eat this food offerings, and everything monkey will do, right? No doubt. Like that, our mind is like that. It remains in the temple of our body, jumping around and creating good ones and creating bad ones. the good monkeys goes and pick up tea leaves, called monkey picked tea leaves. You have Chinese tea. The good monkeys do that, right? The bad monkeys knock down everything everywhere and create trouble. So that is our mind in the temple of our body.

0:28:07.1

It is capable of doing very good things, but equally capable of doing bad things as well. The good things we have not built our habit of doing good things. We have built tremendous habit of doing bad things. We're expert on anger. We are the hatred expert. We are the expert of our attachment. We are the expert of jealousy. It's there in our mind all the time, watching and waiting for opportunity to right over like, you know, just jump over there monkey jumping around. The jealousy will jump over and pick the weak and hit the monkey, and the monkey will become jealousy. Likewise hatred. Likewise the anger. Likewise the attachment. Why? Because the fear, confusion and ignorance. That's why it happens, because we don't know. We have tremendous knowledge but we don't know. Again, we don't know what's happening within our mind. We don't know why we have so much anger. We don't know why we have so much attachment. If we know if, there will not be so much attachment. There will not be so much anger. There will not be hatred because the lack of the knowledge. And then we build up all this. A lot of people ask me where do hatred come from, specially after the incident here 11th September. Where'd the hatred come from? The hatred came from ignorance.

0:30:53.5

Hatred did not come from god, did not come from Buddha, did not even come from a good human being, from the source of a human, but it came from ignorance. Attachment is also coming from ignorance. Anger is also coming from ignorance. Fear is also coming from ignorance. It is the ignorance is the problem. The ignorance of not necessarily not knowing, wrong knowing, but confused fear all combined together. I like to borrow the psychologist word called ego. They use that for building public use for bad example, at your ego talking, so point it out for bad things. When you're pointing out to bad thing that's the real ego. Confused, natural of fear, ignorance all together think ignorantly the best way to protect me is attack the other one. Anybody before he killed me I'd better kill him. Anybody before he gets me I'd better get him. If you get him I will get you. It's just a [nascent? 0:32:48.8] normal natural cycle. Always. The ignorance doesn't know that. Ignorance think you can get it and destroy it and nothing will happened, everything going to be peace, it never had happened before. It's not working that way at all. That's how the ignorance brings ignorance. Hatred brings hatred. Anger brings anger. Attachment brings attachment.

0:33:22.4

It is time for us to stop that hatred, to stop the cause of hatred is anger. You get angry, you don't deal with the anger, let it anger burn burn burn burn, become a huge monster it's become hatred. So work with anger. Deal with the anger. Don't submit to the anger. Don't submit to hatred, but work it out. Finish it off. Get rid of it. Transform, change it into a compassion. This is our job. That is Buddha's teaching. That is Buddha's message. That is our challenge. That is a spiritual practice and that is meditation. If you can't do that, no matter whatever we claim to be, spiritual person, person like me, 60 years in the spiritual business. [laughs] I'm a spiritual business man with 60 years of experience. Even then, if I can't do this there's nothing about spiritual about me. For that matter for everybody else. What is spirituality for me? To me it is not an external thing. It is internal thing. Internally somehow change the rough, crazy, uncontrolled, untamed monkey into a kind, compassionate bodhisattva monkey. That's what our job is. And a way how we can do this is through practice. The practice not necessarily just sitting down. Not necessarily reading. Not necessarily chanting alone, but all of them together. The theme and the purpose is work with your own mind. See the faults in the mind. These are the negative emotions.

0:36:52.2

Try to make free of it. Try to get rid of it. When you become free of those negative emotions you become pure. That ultimate purity of that is called Buddha. There's nothing strange about Buddha, nothing mystical about Buddha. It's nothing that you can't, it's somewhat beyond somewhere. It's not that we cannot reach about it. It is simply that pure part of the person. When you and I become a Buddha we become the pure part of that, and that is the most pure we can get to. And that is why that is the most total knowledge, total awareness, and totally pure. That's what we can get into it. That is Buddhahood. There's nothing such a thing called Buddhahood over there which we will travel from here, go and get over there. I don't think that's how it works. It is within ourself. We can make ourself perfect. And that is the spiritual practice to me. The purpose of the spiritual practice is to improve the individual human being to be better person. To become closer to the pure, as much as you can. If possible, make it pure. Otherwise bring as close as possible. That is the spiritual work to me. And that's only by using your mind. And where and how you use your mind, technically we call that meditate. But I don't care whether you're sitting down or standing up or whatever you're doing, but I really want you to utilize your mind, analyze, think. Think - that's really what it is. You really have to think. That is meditation. If you sit down and don't think, I don't think it's meditation.

0:39:35.8

Though it's called meditation. You have to think. Pick up, like anger. Look into the anger. Look up, look down, look at upside down, inside out. Look at it. Say, what does that do to me when I have had anger? Let's look very carefully. What is in there, and if I get that inside me, what is it going to do to me, and is it going to change me into a angry person, change me into a person that hates everybody else, even yourself? So that is the anger. Try to take it out. Try to look at very carefully. Is this the thing you wanted or you don't want it? And if you don't want it, make sure you don't get it. It's in there, take it out! If you let them in there they will rule you control you completely. As far as I know, we as a pure human being, real human being, never been able to think properly, never been able to [adjust? 0:40:56.0] everything. Simply there's a false person in there called the huge I. The ego is completely controlling. Me the individual human being is completely crushed under the control of ego. We can't think straight. Everything we do after a little while we regret. We will think I wish I hadn't done that. I feel so unhappy about it. That is because we as a human being really did not make that judgment. The judgment was made on my behalf by my ego and that's why when we know it is almost half-way through the water. Then we realize oh, I'm going to sink. That is our problem. The spiritual path make us to where that and to have control to gain our own mind in our own control. That is the spiritual work.

0:42:14.1

That's the purpose, whether you say your prayer, whether you meditate, whether you think, whether you analyze, that's your work. That's your spiritual path. Honestly, that's a spiritual thing. If you say a lot of prayers, say a lot of matras, om mani padme hum, you know, lot of them, millions of them and be a mean person, angry person always wanting to insult other people and take advantage whatever you can. If that's happening these om mani padme hum been totally wasted. If you meditating 30 years or 60 years and your personality of the individual human being never changed, ego controlled, angry, jealousy, attachment person, insensitive person. If you remain in that way, don't care what others feel and all that, if you remain that way, wasted our 60 years of life as far as the spiritual is concerned. And that is the most important. If you are praying, the purpose of the praying is not to gain wealth and not to have success. The purpose of the prayer is to overcome your own negative emotions within ourself. Change that into a positive compassion and kindness. Which we can. I've been talking to a number of friends. They're asking me, what do you think about the September 11th incident, and I put out even the things in the website and you see all of those. But you know my main thing here is I said we must develop compassion, not only for the victims but compassion for the aggressors as well. And a lot of people think how can you say that. After all, they've done so horrible thing, unthinkable crime they have committed.

0:45:16.7

It's absolutely true. Unthinkable crime they have committed. It's true, but they did commit that crime by the power of their ignorance, the ignorance power within that and the hatred. That's why they did it. Remember, I also said compassion is not necessarily love and light alone. I have a great deal of difficulty communicating with a number of people. the moment i use the word compassion they always think it has to be some beautiful do nothing, be sitting at dark. That's what they immediately get that idea. That's not true. If you have compassion for these people, then it is also our job that. You really got to stop. If you cannot stop, they're going to hurt not only us, they're going to hurt themself. They're going to kill themself. Protecting themself from themself, protecting out from us, the people, from them. We have to stop. If we can catch them and lock them in one place, best. If you cannot, you have to stop. If you don't stop you don't have compassion for them. They're going to do more. Can't you see that? The compassion does not have to be the buttering love and, boy you woo woo, no that's not compassion. That is patronizing sometimes. Don't cry little girl, you know, sort of thing. It's not necessarily a compassion. If you really care you have to help the person. If you really want to help them, you'll make sure that you don't want them do the wrong thing.

0:48:28.8

If the parents want the children don't hurt themself, what would you do? First you talk to them. First you tell them. When they don't listen, then you take a little more stronger action and stronger action, and no matter whatever it is you will make sure they don't hurt themself. Right, don't we do that? Isn't that the work of compassion? Isn't that the work of love? It is. So we can stop their action through compassion, and I don't know what is so hard about to understand that. So that's the compassion, when I say compassion does not mean love and light, that's what I meant. Compassion always doesn't mean sugar-coated sweet. So we can, that way you can develop compassion to those aggressors, not only the victims. Victims of course is there. Not only the victim, even those aggressors you can develop compassion. How stupid they are! Really, honestly. Supposed to be educated person, [0:50:00.7 ?], whatever, and they don't even know what's going to happen there, day after, immediately when they died. They think they're going to be received by God or whatever.

0:50:24.1

The other day I was watching Larry King Live. It happens to be after midnight. I'm sure many of you have seen it. there's a Jewish rabbi and word of God, and there's another Muslim scholar or priest or whatever, one guy, Deepak Chopra and all of them. Accidentally I saw it. I was really thinking they're going to give me some nice things here. And one of them said, whoever it is, the moment they die God has received them. The question was, those hijackers, where are they? The answer, I think Deepak Chopra is the only person who said I don't know where they are. Everybody had some answer for that, you know? One of them said God has received them and embraced them, and I was very uneasy with that. All right, you can kill that much people and God will receive you, ah? So it's not that difficult. It's easy to get whatever that is. How to get God with God, you know? So I thought that's very interesting statement. The moment I heard that I appreciated the Buddha's idea or Buddha's statement of karma: You are responsible for your deeds. No one is responsible. I really appreciate deeply more when I heard those people who hijackers, the moment that I don't know embraced by God means becoming God or whatever it is. You don't become God but you are sort of heavenly [brought? abode? 0:53:03.4] somewhere. Then I really appreciate Buddha's not statement, personal knowledge of karma, that I am responsible for my deeds, and each and every one of us are responsible for our deeds. When we do go thing we get good result. When we do bad things we get bad result. That is the basic principle of karma.

0:53:45.9

If you do bad things you get good result, if you do good things you get good result, then why do we have to do good things which is very difficult to do? Why bother? That's my thoughts. I'm just sharing that while watching the Larry King Live and these are the thoughts going on my head. I did not call [laughs] but I admit I touched the telephone couple of times. You know why i didn't call? I realized that's the repeat, after midnight. So these are my thoughts, and my understanding of karma really means we are responsible to our deeds. Even in our normal human beings level, even in very basic normal human activities and we are responsible for our deeds. Right? Anything. the example what I'm thinking is a terrible one. I can't even say it but I'm not thinking another example. I'm trying to- my mind doesn't work. The example popping up my mind is I'm going to share with you excuse me. Let's two young people get together. Young girl and boy get together and they have the night together and happens to create a baby. If that man, a boy, doesn't take responsibility of that baby, we call them a terrible person, don't we? Has to be responsible. At least take care of what you did. We call them a good person if responsible person, if they take care of. If they just disappeared, irresponsible person, right? why? Whoever that person is, they did the work, so you're responsible. It is same thing when you did good things you're responsible. When you did bad thing you're responsible. Bad deeds give bad result.

0:57:04.9

I would love if they asked me where they are and I would love to say they're in hell. If there is something called hell, if these people don't go, who else going to go? You and I will not go there. We will refuse to go. If there is something called hell, these are there. What I wanted to ask if I pick up the phone, if it's time I'd like to ask who's going to go to hell. That's my question. Who goes to hell? If the answer is nobody, then the hell must be empty. There's no hell left, right? Anyway, so when I'm talking with karma the responsibility comes in. That is the point for us. Since we are responsible for ourself, that give us opportunity to do the good things. That prevent us opportunity not to do bad things because our responsible. It comes back to you. Whether it comes back to you or not comes back to you, that's not that important, but the really important is taking responsibility. That is important. You have to be responsible. That is a karma, and if you don't take responsibility of your deeds, you're ignoring karma. According to the Buddhist doctrine point of view, ignoring karma is called wrong view, right? Wrongly perceived. It's supposed to be sort of a heavy negativity. Whether it's a heavy negativity or not, it is something terrible, irresponsible. But irresponsible word is such doesn't really have consequences. But this responsibility and not taking responsibility will also have consequences. It is karmic consequences, natural law consequences. You have that.

0:59:54.3

If you really wanted a greatest example of heavy negative karma, the creators of September 11th is the example of the most heaviest karma that we can see today. Why it is so heavy? The motivation is hatred, the act itself hatred. It hurt so many people. Lost so many people's life and their consequences, continuous consequences. The sufferings of the human beings, not only the indirect person like us watching but directly person lost their loved ones, lost their children, lost their parent, lost their family, friend and all this. How much suffering, human suffering continuing. And the economic consequences they brought. All of this throughout the world. And all of them, so heavy. This is one of the- by natural it becomes heavy. By the natural of the act it is a huge hurting, and that's why it is very heavy action. The result is also going to be heavy. There's two kind of result. One result is the direct result. I have no doubt those people are in hell. They are suffering there. There are no - what is the story? There are no virgins entertaining them. Forget about 70, not even a single one entertaining them. There are heavy duty people who are making them suffer a lot. They are there, no doubt. That is the direct result. And even after they came out of the hell realm after a little while, let's say if they take a human rebirth. Sometime they will. When they take a human rebirth, their human rebirth is again short-lived. Lot of illnesses, lot of unfortunate incidents taking place. These are called- I don't know how to say this. I'm thinking word Tibetan that is sort of ownership result.

1:03:38.8

Ownership result means you have created that, you've had a direct prize [price?], but still you own it, you still owe it [people?], that's why still owe, you owe them. That's what's happening. That's one result. And that's not bad. The worst is similar cost creating. These people will build the habit and they will try to react continuously same way they did it, even in their future lives. They will try to react the same way they built it. Buddha has given example, saying some children automatically try to save lives of little creatures. Some children automatically want to kill the creatures. The instant of killing is because they have created karma of killing before. That incident they could not get rid of it even though they paid for their direct karma. They continuously carry. It's like if you have garlic, you cook the garlic. There's a smell there. You throw the garlic out, and if you smell it those cutting boards they still have a garlic smell. Just like that, instant remains with that, and that is worse. Why? That will ensure they will repeat the same thing again. And that is the worst part. Worst karmic result is that. Even you directly paying in hell realm, certain period of time you'll come out of it. You're done with it, but that instant continuously carry on. That makes the samsara remain in business. Samsaric business - really true, unfortunately. That's why it's very hard for us to get rid of our addictions. This is the addiction. That addiction continuously carry in life after life, and that is the worst part of the karmic result, unless until we’ve been able to worked out with that.

1:06:35.4

See, without working, working you cannot have instant purity. You cannot have instant enlightenment because unless you get, you really worked, you don't get rid of this pattern that's set up. you don't get rid of your addiction that you set up with that. Honestly, I don't worry whether they're in hell realm or not. They're in hell realm. I have no doubt. If they don't go to hell, who else going to go? No doubt about it. But I'm worried about there are these instinct continues the habit they build up, the addiction they build up. That will work again. That is the problem. That's what I say. You and I carry hatred. We are carrying yours and my [or some be? 1:08:02.5] enlightened within the mountains of our heart. That is that addiction, that hatred. Hatred may go down, you don't see it, but the addiction will remain. When the conditions comes again the hatred will pop up. The ignorance, stupidity, devotion, all of them, you know? Wrong belief. That's why I always have a problem with the believing system, always, because you can really believe wrong thing. there's no guarantee. If you believe in Buddha, if you believe in God, I don't care. I don't mean I don't care. It doesn't matter, it's OK. But if you believe in the wrong thing and it is a problem. It's not necessarily a Muslim problem. Any tradition, any teaching, even Judeo-Christian tradition, even Buddhism. You can have that problem. Extremist can do anything extreme thing in any faith, even in Buddhism.

1:10:01.8

During the Vietnam war, what had happened? The monks burning themself, remember? That is extremist. This has nothing to do with any tradition. It has everything to do with the individual who cannot really utilize your intellectual capacity. Simply following faith is dangerous. If people don't follow faith only, then the Jim Jones incident would not have taken place. Heaven's Gate would not have take place. I'm not really sure about this Waco, Texas business. I'm not clear with this. Honestly speaking, who's fault is it? I don't even know. But Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate I'm sure. All of those, if you just simply follow believing system that's what you can get. As a human being, and we have a tremendous, beautiful beautiful beautiful mind. If you don't use it, what is the worth of having that mind? As Buddha's teaching goes, karma, responsibility, human intelligence, human mind, using all of them and make yourself a better person. Make yourself a kinder person. Make yourself a gentler person. Bring yourself to as pure as possible that you can. We have achieved our mission of life if we could do that. If we could not do that we have failed our mission. That is the mission of human beings. Sounds like I lectured you so much, sorry.

1:12:47.2

Things what you should do is think every morning. Appreciate that you are in life. You really have to appreciate. You never know how life's lost. Never know. All these people who died just a couple of blocks from here -- remember my couple is six or seven -- blocks from here. They mind their own business, get up in the morning, go your work and I'm quite sure most of them didn't think I'm going to die, but they did. Just like that, every day we should appreciate that we're in life and we should be happy that we're in life. If you do so it will also help you not to have depression. If you do not appreciate what you have, then your depressions will also come. Though you don't recognize what you have good one. You only think I don't have this, I don't have that, I'm below it, I'm terrible, which is not even true, but we torture ourself in that manner. So appreciate and commit yourself to remain that day, at least for that day, a kind person, a gentle person, a person of compassionate one. And then you may pray I may be remain that way. Help me to remain that way. That is the enlightened being's job, to help us to remain that way. Then in the evening, if you had remain in that way and if you acted in that way, appreciate. And when you know it the other person, the other side of you took over in certain areas and did this, did that. Regret is must, and purify it. Tell yourself I won't do it again. Remember we talked purification last time? That's what you apply.

1:16:28.6

That's how you make your life good and compassionate natural. Total action of yours is influenced totally by love compassion. That's how you build your positive karma. That's how you build your virtue. That's how you make yourself a better person. That's how you help the other person. Putting yourself as example and letting them see how you handle it. That's how you help. Some people through action only can help. Some person through talk can help. Some people through a painting you can help. Some people you can express through music. Some people you can express through all the different arts, poetry and all this. That's how you help other person. But help yourself first. If you have something to take it out, then you can hear it. If you have nothing to take it out, you can't hear it. You may have to wake other person to hear with you. I believe that's how you have to work in the spiritual path. That's what I thought I'd share with you in general, how to live our life on the basis of karma. I think we have now talked about karma and you, Tony, move to the next, 35, and then continue, take whatever time. Thank you, and if you have anyone else want to say anything, I think we may have a few minutes.

[question from audience]

1:19:48.2

In my opening, even you can build compassion for a few second, it is a great achievement, honestly. You know, we're human beings. We can't help it to think terrible. I told you I experienced anger with those action, and I realized that by the evening when I heard there's explosion in Kabul, that's Afghanistan's capitol. I say oh yeah, good quick action, get Bin Laden out. Don't hurt the innocent one I prayed. I hope they don't hurt innocent one and get the real person out. Then I realized that's my anger. That's why I say even me who has been 60 years in the love compassion business does experience that. That's because we're human being. For you to have a short minute- I mean nobody had the problem to develop compassion for the victims, but it is problem to develop compassion to aggressors. When I really sit down and begin to think, these are the people who not only hurt us, who hurt themself, killed themself. What worse can they do to themself? Now I have to think from the Buddhist point of view, so I will look at it. I look at it, and these individuals killed themself, ended their good life completely. And their action make them, their future life miserable, most horrible ever possible. No doubt about it. When they come out of the hell realm they will have a terrible life, shorter life, poor, couldn't find food, difficulty, lot of illnesses, lot of unwanted problems that directly come into it. Yet still their addiction continues. Any conditions right they will probably react. Any sort of things.

1:23:04.0

When you put them in together one person, even that person is your own enemy you can't help it to feel sad for them, to feel sorry for them, to have compassion for them. You really can't help it. You really have to have compassion on them. So when you really sit down and think it is very serious, terrible, for them it's worse for them than for us. And that's why when that's initial reaction, quick reaction that I have. When it is over, then it is so important to overcome the hatred. Each and every one of us has to destroy their own Osama Bin Laden and that's why that expression comes out of me by those feelings. You and I have our own Osama Bin Laden hiding in the mountains of our heart. That came out of my heart after those feelings. So then this is really a compassion oriented. Whatever it takes, immediately you have to stop the aggression to help them more than to help us. Long term we have to destroy our own hatred, otherwise it will continue. Each and every individual have responsibility of destroying our own Osama Bin Laden. Yes, our compassion we can not stay on very long because it is our human mind. It will switch here and there. Sometimes anger will come up. Sometimes the hatred will come up. Sometimes all these negative emotions come up. At that time you lose that focus. When the positive emotions come up you begin to think back. The only way to help us is awareness, realize, bring it back. That is the most important thing we can do. That action will help not only ourself, also help those aggressors.

[question from audience about the victims’ karma]

1:26:49.4

The thing is very strange. Karma is a karma, is there. Some karma do materialize and give result. Some karma don't. What made the karma determined is the condition. It's the condition that had come up that way. Actually, every one of us have a tremendous amount of good and bad karma is there with us, each and every one of us. What happens is the condition. Whatever condition the hijackers came to made them into a horrible person, though as a human being they are wonderful, natural. There's a Buddha nature. There's all of them there, but that condition changed the person all the time and shaped into this terrible act they could commit. That is the problem. That is our problem, not the karma. The karma, we all have it, but what is really wrong is letting the individual went into influence by this horrifying condition. Unable to help, didn't care for themself - or if you don't care for others, doesn't matter - but didn't care for themself. Went through this horrible condition. And make yourself conditioned to be able to commit that much crime. That is the problem for me.

1:30:54.4

Karma is in one way, it's very - a lot of people thinks direct hit. Might not be. Everybody have a lot of karma, good and bad lot. That's the reason why I like to call the hatred within ourself our own Osama Bin Landen. And there are, if we don't watch ourself very carefully, there's some kind of negative instinct within us as well also lot. Within ourself, that's you and me, we have a lot too, but we don't let it go in the terrible condition. They did. That's the problem for me.

[clarification of question from audience]

1:32:11.8

That's a different question. Victim may have karma, but certainly it's not the fault of the victims, for sure. It is the fault of the condition and a hatred of those people. Victim will not die without [dying?] karma. That condition connected to that dying karma, so it's not the fault of victims at all. Lot of people thinks victims may have karma to die, it's also their fault equally. That's totally wrong. that's not their fault. It is the condition, unfortunately they met with that unfortunate condition, and then they're connected with that particular karma. That's what it is. It's not their fault.

[question from audience about how victims died and the result]

I hope so. There's no reason why they have to have bad rebirth unless they have very heavy karma themself carrying something. You never know. But it's not their fault at all. So therefore, they happened to die there. We all pray that they have good rebirth. We should- as my job, not only to pray the victims have good rebirth, but even the aggressors have good rebirth. But that's not possible, I can only pray. Honestly speaking, if I'm not praying that I will be discriminating human beings. But my praying them to have good life, that not necessarily guarantee they have good life either. So that's what it is.

[question from audience about what individuals can do about government aggression, feeling scared]

1:36:47.2

Thank you to sharing your feelings. I don't think you are the only one person who feels that way. That's why I'm urging, I'm seeing every action, whatever we have to take, we have to take a compassionate way, from the compassion point of view, from the point of compassion only, not from the point of hatred. Even the word justice also is slightly problem for me, and punishment is a big problem for me. Stopping the action is through compassionate is ok. If you hurt innocent people, that is terrible. Also most important thing is also, so you know, I don't know whether I'm right. I don't know whether I should say it or not, but I- the right place to say it or not. I think the most important thing as Americans we enjoy is our basic freedom. I think statue of liberty supposed to symbolize that. If there's any difficulties comes up for this freedom, the destruction of the freedom can come from outside as well as from inside. If we are under any circumstances, if we lose our freedom. Now for example, freedom of talking, freedom of our conversations through various means, through telephone, through this, through that. If we have any curbs that comes on our freedom, then the Osama Bin Laden has won the war, my feeling. Our goal is to protect our freedom, our everything. So I thank you for sharing your thoughts, and those are my thoughts too. I don't know what to say more than that.

[comment from audience about aggressors being human beings, therefore worthy of compassion]

1:41:37.8

There's no doubt they are human beings, but when we see a human being hurting another human being, then we have to hold that human being and let that anger go and don't let them hurt. And that also a human reaction. Thank you.

[announcements and chanting]

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