Archive Result

Soundfile 20021017GRNYOTF

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location New York

Topic Odyssey to Freedom

Transcriber Glenn Powers

Date 2021-06-19

Welcome here for tonight. We been talking here about the bodhimind. When you say may all beings be free of sufferings and all those, there’s very much related to what we’re talking about here, bodhimind. Of course, you know, these four are called four immeasurables, may all being be free from suffering and cause of suffering. Sometimes we don’t say it, cause of suffering. Sometimes we don’t say it, but it is one of them, four immeasurables and then sometimes we say may all sentient beings remain with the joy and cause of joy or sometimes we say the joy that has never know sufferings. The bottom line will come same thing, the true joy has no suffering. So, therefore they never known suffering. I don’t think they are talking about the person, because you talk about the person, we know sufferings very well. And we always have it. And there is lot of general suffering and specific sufferings and individual sufferings, we have lot of them. So, when we say joy that never known sufferings, I think we’re talking about joy, true joy, not individual person. Because, we all know suffering, anyway. And all of those. Why do we do all this? Why do we wish everybody be happy? Why do we wish everybody be free of suffering? I think there’s big, important reason, must be, otherwise why people are praying and wishing for it. Maybe I don’t know what the reason is. 0:04:21.7

Whatever it is, I don’t think anyboy wants any suffering. In this case, including Saddam Hussein. So, maybe we can say may all sentient beings have no suffering, except Saddam Hussein. Or, Iraq. Maybe it is suitable nowadays. So, anyway. Particular person as a person may not be important, but people, there’s lot. Lot of people are going to be, lot of sufferings. It’s everywhere. The consequences are, it will be coming back to us. It will come back to us. We will have a great deal of difficulties with anything. So, anyway. So, that’s our life. But, we do our best from our point. We don’t wish anybody to get killed. Or, we don’t wish that we get killed either. So, that’s the may all beings be free from the sufferings. I think we are all praying for all of those. Four immeasurables. Four immeasurables are preliminary part of the bodhimind. Bodhimind is the ultimate, unlimited, unconditioned love and compassion. People talks lot of love, lot of compassion. But, whatever the love and compassion we are talking, we always have limitations and we always have conditions. So, what the Buddha is talking about it, unlimited love and compassion without any condition, without any limitations. And we do always have condition, what’s in there for me? Even we are supporting the attack on Iraq, or we are not supporting attack on Iraq. Both have conditions. The condition is we don’t want to hurt them, we don’t want to get hurt ourself. Therefore, we don’t support. Those who are supporting war, they said we don’t want to get hurt. We get them before they get us. So, it is condition there. There’s condition, it is really the true, not true, but American way saying what’s in there for me? So, that’s what we’re looking for. That’s the condition. So, true love, true compassion, must go beyond condition and limits. Anyway. So, that is what we are talking about it. 0:07:55.0

And, I like to touch bases here, little bit before I go and talking with continously. Sometimes, if we don’t touch the bases, we forget. We forget. We forget what we’re doing. What is the spiritual path that we try to follow. What is our purpose? What is our goal? I think that is important to remember. We need to remind us very often because when we go through the teachings like this, you know there’s motivations and purposes already set at the beginning of the whatever the teaching is. So, we go through month after month, like every week, we forget what we’ve been talking about. What is our purpose? You know, we just simply go straight. And then goes through. Sometimes people think I have heard this, I understand that. That’s what I’m doing. But, for what? So, we forget for what. That’s why it need to be reminded again. So, I like to touch bases here little bit. Every spiritual practice, at least know to the Buddha, that Buddha shared, and that comes through the Tibetan tradition, by the great Tibetan masters over a thousand years. All of them had purpose. It’s not mere intellectual exercise. If we forget our purpose, it becomes just mere intellectual exercise. It is not. What is the purpose? You don’t do something unless there is reason. We don’t go to, you don’t come here, unless there is reason. We don’t go to, we don’t come here unless you have reasons. I don’t come here unless I have reasons to come here. Just mere exercise of giving a ticket to Northwest, I don’t fly. The purpose is, we all have the same common purpose, common purpose to gain some spiritual basis and some development. To some people, it is uplifting their development. To some people, it is just to establish ground. To some people, just to connect the seed, sow the seed. And to some people, the seed, let it grow little bit. To some people, it bear fruit or some flower or some branches or leaves and that is the purpose. So, that’s why I come. I’m sure you all came for that reason, too. You just did not come because, let’s go over there and just because. Just because you just don’t go. There’s no reason. It’s nice in here, but it’s not a fun place to come, you know, it’s not. So, there is reasons. The reason is, you know, every spiritual practitioner they must have reasons why they do. Just simply you don’t do because for sake of doing it. 0:12:00.0

Doesn’t mean anything. You really have to have good reason. So, there are like three reasons, three goals, let’s call it. Goal number one, is actually freeing ourself from the control of uncontrollable emotions that we have. Uncontrollable emotions we have, that is the sort of number one goal here. The first goal we can achieve is to free ourself from that uncontrollable negative emotions. This uncontrollable negative emotions are causing this trouble for us. Wherever you look, whatever, what we call it now, extremist. Where does extremist come from? It is uncontrollable negative emotion. It is uncontrollable. Whether it is misguided for a purpose of a service to a religion or tradition or god, a god or whatever the reason might be. But, the rages they have, people have, don’t think they as somebody else other than us. We’re the same human being. We could have the same rage they have. We do. We can. We could. We do. We do have it. We get mad sometimes, extremely angry. We do get sometimes obsession, completely. We see nothing but that thing. We get so mad, see nothing but red. We do this. They get the same thing. So, we cannot really leave them out, saying “they.” Because, could be the same thing here. Unless you know how to think carefully. You know, we could have god. I could have god quite crazy and go when this, few years ago, when Taliban shot that Buddha image in Afghanistan. At that time, my thought was, it is image. It’s not a buddha. Even the consecrations, we will pray, your wisdom beings may remain in this particular statue until it been destroyed, damaged by any elements. The moment that happens and your wisdom being may disappear. So, when it’s buried under sand, I’m sure all the wisdom beings gone. And they don’t wait ‘till the Taliban shoot them. So, you know. So, for me it was a basis of compassion for those particular ones, crazy ones, who did shoot buddha image. And also, it never even a single day required in my mind while they shot the buddhas, they got this bombardment, I never thought that. This are really great for me. I shouldn’t say great for me. That was good thing. I could have thought wrong way and do all sorts of wrong way, but didn’t. 0:16:51.3

Could have gone crazy, didn’t. We have the possibility, but we did not. Why? Because we try to have little check and counter check on our negative emotions. We just don’t let them take away and take rage. So, if you let them take rage, and then all this thing happened. Extremist, what you mean by extremist, because they just go crazy. So, just going crazy. Many of them may even be thinking of being a service of their tradition or religion or whatever. So, that is how the human beings get used by negative emotions even though a religion is supposed to be controlling or it is sort of check on the negative emotions. But, it can easily go other way round and become worse. Because so much devotion and dedications in the name of religion. It is not only the Muslims, it can happen with Buddhist, it can happen with the Jeudo-Christian followers. It can happen with Hindu, Seik, everywhere it’s happening. I keep on thinking and can’t help it, in our last century we fought so many wars. So may wars. World War One, World World Two, and then this religion’s wars on the religion’s basis. Continuously been killing people and you know, cutting the people into pieces, killing them, taking ones territory over by another one and then vica versa, pushing them back, pushing forward, backward, everywhere, everything. No one would like to live together in peace and harmony. Even in this country, if we look back, we had tremendous problem of living human beings together. We have civil rights problem. Tremendous. We had them. All of them. What happened here, you have the educated people, kind, compassionate person, leaders, and it changes. People get understand, it changes. And it’s getting better. In some places they don’t. That is, it shows we as human beings have the capacity to be able to understand and live in harmony, love, compassion oriented. If we let it go, we can be outrageous, crazy, killing everybody, all of them are possible. Why? Because of our ego. This ego whatever the ego pushed any direct, that happens. So, it pushes our hatred, it pushes obsession. That way, we are driven towards violence, always. Spiritual practitioners is supposed to be controlling that and change the direction given by ego, driving towards violence, should be changed to non-violence. Learn how to live together, the human beings. We are all human beings. We are all living on one earth. It’s not very big. We speak different language. We may worship to different, looks like, feels like, different god, but in reality it may be same. Who knows? There is no such a thing called Muslim god is not Buddhist god. There is no such a thing called the Muslim god is not Hindu god. There is no such a thing called Muslim god is not Juedo-Christian tradition god. There may be one god. May have different manifestations or different way how people perceive or there may be so many different gods doing so many different things. It is way beyond our scope. But, what our problem is we entertain our hatred. 0:22:57.8

We entertain our obsession so much. Then, on top of that, couple people have it’s own agenda, manipulates everything. And makes everybody miserable. That makes may all beings not remain in joy. So, we also pray that way. So, that, whether we develop bodhimind or not bodhimind as a spiritual practitioners to reduce negativities. By reducing negativities, the postivities will gain. Since the karma is reliable, the positive actions bring positive result. The negative actions bring a negative result. So, that’s what we are counting and that’s why we are banking on that. And that’s why we try to build up the positive actions and cause of negative action is the negative emotions. Reducing that is our goal number one. Whether we are talking about the love, whether we are talking about anger, whether we are talking about guru devotional practice, whether we are talking about precious human life, whether we are talking about impermanence, whether we are talking about suffering, whether we are talking about hell realm, whether we are talking about human realm, whether we are talking about samsaric god, whatever we are doing, or whether we are talking about suffering in general in samsara, whether we are talking about interdependent links, interdependent existence. Whatever we are talking about it, we are talking, keeping that as our goal, keeping that as our purpose. We want to get that result and that’s what we’re talking, that’s what we’re thinking, that’s why we are putting efforts. Whether you’re meditating, whether you’re saying mantras, or whether you’re doing purification, and all of them has that goal as your goal number one, short time, goal number one. Then, if you can go beyond that, you have to not only once you be free, but you should be free for all the time. They will never revisit, making sure these negative emotions will never revisit. 0:26:04.4

You sort of cut them once for all. You don’t even want to invite them back for cup of tea, even. You don’t want to. Unless you know what to do with it. If you know what to do with it, and if they knock at your door, you can say, hey I haven’t seen you for long time, would you like to have cup of coffee? You can say that if you know what to do. But, when we don’t know what to do, you probably give him cup of coffee and he will probably give you glass of wine. Then, you’re in trouble. So, you don’t want revisit. That’s why getting out of the samsara completely is becomes our second purposes. Everything you do, everything single damn thing we do, walk, sit, think, prostrations, circumamblulations, moving, saying prayers, meditating, be kind to own animals, all of those are spiritual provided if you have that motivation and purpose, put together and that’s what we do need it. And if you going beyond that, then enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. Like Buddha Avalokiteshvara, Avalokiteshvara’s mind is bodhimind, is that of shepherd look like bodhimind. The shepherd would like to get all the sheep moved first. Shepherd moved their sheeps into the safe place first. And grazing place, where’s beautiful water, where’s the beautiful grass, pure water and nice air. You know, I had one interview with one radio show from Illinois, Chicago, very recently. It’s called early morning joke. Big joke. The friends, the publicist called me and saying that’s going to be joke tomorrow morning. So, if they are saying something funny, you’re aware of it. Have fun. So she wanted me update, Emily called me and say update. So, sure enough, the first thing they said, hey, you’re talking about reincarnation, do you remember your born as insects before? I said, I worked hard, tried to remember that I was born as a yak, sitting up the high mountains, taking, eating that pure grass, drinking pure water, enjoying that fresh air. They all started laughing, hey you’re cool. So, anyway, when I’m saying that, it reminded me my mind went away. I was talking about, what I’m talking about here. [..] Avalokiteshvara’s mind wants everybody enlightened first and her himself or herself, the last person. I do say herself. Because, Avalokiteshvara in another words Quin Yang, from the Chinese point of view, is woman. Not from the Chinese point of view, Chinese version [..] not only the statue, but as a person, even. They appeared as a woman, they worked as a woman, they functioned as a woman. In the Tibetan tradition, we divide into two. Avalokiteshvara as male and Tara as female. But, in the Chinese version, they’re all one and it is more, they translate as Avalokiteshvara rather than Tara, but it is the female form. It is the actually, one face of the one coin. 0:31:36.4

So, that’s what it is. So, herself or himself have the considered best bodhimind, best love, best compassion, one who really doesn’t care what happens to that individual. But, that doesn’t mean the will sacrifice the individual, if you sacrifice yourself, you will never be able to do the service that you wanted to do. Your purpose is to help all beings. If you sacrifice yourself, you can’t help anybody else. If you can’t help yourself, how can you help anybody else, right? If you can’t get up, if you need two people to pull you up, you’re not going to be able pull everybody up. How can you? So, it is the truth here. So, you cannot sacrifice yourself, but what is important, the important, is the well being of others. Like the mind of Avalokiteshvara, would like to put every sentient beings, made buddha first, then he or she herself would like to become a buddha last one, the last existing being ever to become a buddha. That’s what they wanted to do. Such an admirable mind. Really. Beyond our imagination, it’s way beyond. That sort of mind. But, it doesn’t work that way. Evem though Avalokiteshvara will say I don’t want to become enlightened, I don’t want, you want go first, you want go first, you want go first. I don’t want to. Even though she was moving backwards, she sort of reached forwards. That is how the bodhimind works. Bodhimind, if you keep on saying I, I, I, I, I, I wanted, I wanted. You going to get backwards. But, if you say the benefit of all beings, all others, others, others, others, others, you get forwarded. That’s exactly how this bodhimind works. You know, if you say I, I, I, your damaging your bodhimind. Maybe not damaging, but it is not consistent with that mind. It sort of going the other way round. So, it gets problem. So, one of our problems, we are not progressing forward on this path, is because we want to put me first. Tough, from our mouth, we say may all beings, but in our mind, I and may all beings. Not only in our mind, even in our books will say, the traditional teaching, if you read the books, I and all sentient beings take refuge. I and all sentient do this, that is in accordance with our mind, how it’s functioning. What is expected to be may all beings be free. But, what we think, I and all beings be free. That’s also okay. Not good, but okay. It’s okay. It’s not bad, we didn’t think I alone may becomes. There was a funny joke, but this is dirty joke. I don’t know. 0:35:56.3

It is joke within the Tibetans. I don’t think it’s going to make sense if you talk in English. You know, there’s, in Central Tibet, there’s a SUNG area, it’s called SUNGPAS 0:36:36.1 and then Central Tibet, near Lhasa, we call it URVA 0:36:39.3, between there, lot of jokes. So, this is one of the joke that supposed to be one of the SUNGPA nobility, noble family, came to Central Tibet and went to see this Shakyamuni Buddha’s image in the central temple of Lhasa. So, he started praying, saying [Tibetan] 0:37:14.9 It is the language joke, I don’t think you’re going to get it. But, some you get it, some you won’t get it. People made a twisted lot in there. Anyway, briefly saying, I and my wife, we may born in the center of western paradise. So, that lady says, you forgot Greggy. 0:38:00.5 So, she calls him, Master, Master, you have forgot the attendant Greggy [Tibetan] 0:38:17.0 He said that attendant may take rebirth in the corner of the pure land. Not at the center. So, there’s more than that in the language, if you know, but when you translate, there’s not so much value funny. Anyway. Our mind is that I, you know that’s first, and my wife, we may all born in the center, what about the attendant. Well, he should be born at the side there in the corner, not in the center. The remote area. So, that sort of tells you how our mind works. Why that is happening, because of our ego. Our ego really, it’s not me, it’s not I, it’s not you, it is the ego him or herself, is the one really pushing it. So, all of those are the ego’s work. And that’s why don’t have peace, that’s why we don’t have joy, that’s why we have suffering. Just like Yoda says, that is the fear that brings the anger, anger that brings hatred, and that brings all sufferings. Right? One of those episodes. So, that’s the reality. That’s the fear, because I been left or I been not cared. What is the fear of loneliness? The fear of loneliness is the same thing, I been not cared. I’ve been pushed aside, brushed away. 0:40:41.4

That’s the fear. That brings the anger. That brings the hatred. That’s where the sufferings come from. Even Yoda knows that. Right? Yoda’s right? I said right? Okay. So, when you’re working on the spiritual field, that’s what you have to reverse. The suffering, the hatred, the anger, the fear, which I will add up one more, it comes from the ego. So, that’s why wisdom is anti-ego. Because the ego is source of all problems. Suffering comes from obsession. Obsession comes from attachment. Attachment comes from attraction. So, that’s how it is. So, if you look from any angle. So, our object, spiritual practitioners, whatever you call it, uplifting yourself. Uplifting from what? From those negative emotions. Uplifting from the control of our own ego. And make it control of yourself. This is very important point. We can say ego, ego, ego, it’s just word, but the moment we really look in deeply, what is difference between me and my ego? We won’t find it. We will not find it. We have problem of separating ourself and our ego. Sort of ultimately, when we look deep inside of those Russian dolls, deep down there what we are really looking at it, we get the ego. Once we are told your ego is not yourself, then we find very difficult. Until we are told that, we think our ego is ourself. So, every efforts we put it in, we put in our ego service. That is the confusion right there. That confusion make us put every efforts to our ego service. Spiritual practitioner supposed try to reverse. That is spiritual. Just try to be holy does not become spiritual. Just by eating brown rice and drinking wheat grass juice does not become spiritual. 0:44:37.1

It may be healthy, good for you. I don’t have quarrel with that. You call it spiritual, fine. But, not the spiritual what Buddha has been talking about it. That’s not spiritual what we are talking here. The true pure, true holy, is the unholy mind when that has been reduced, when that separated from ourself, then it becomes pure, clean, pure. Not just because you wash your hand 50 times a day does not become pure or clean. There are a lot of people who wants wash their hands after they touch somebody else. I keep on hearing the story, again and again. So, people do that. That doesn’t become pure. The really pure, real clean is the negative emotions reduced. Their influence not there. That is pure. Purifying really means you are separating the negative emotions and it’s consequences and it is source from our own mind stream, our own personality. That is purification, not simply just banging your head on the floor, what we call it prostrations. Yes, I have no objection. I’m not criticizing people who do prostrations and 1,000 prostration, people do, great, it’s wonderful. But, I do not encourage people to do prostrations here. A nice lady came and did prostration, I want to stop here, but she’s not looking up. And, I don’t know what to do, I can’t get up there. So, please don’t do prostration here. Prostration means you prostrate to something to admire the quality of that individual and so you seek that person’s quality. That is prostrations. If you don’t have that, it is simply become a mere physical exercise. So which you can go in some gymnastic and do anything whatever you want to do. You’ll be better off, you have better fun. But, if you have admiration, to the quality of the individual you are doing prostrations, then that physical exercise because spiritual, worth while. Just mere banging oyur forehead on the floor is as good as those woodpeckers, pecking the wood. In the commercial, there is woodpecker goes cha, cha, cha, cha and cut the door, right? So, just like that, it is not that worthwhile. It’s good exercise, but that’s about it. So, one of the best purification activities, though normally we say Vajrasattva recitation, yes that is easy for us to say it and do it. But, the most important, in this particular case, I will say development of the bodhimind. Development of the bodhimind is one of the most important. Both of them. Wisdom, bodhimind are the two top, really like the crown jewels of purification activities, real crown jewels of purification activities. Bodhimind. I just didn’t say that. Shantideva himself said in this Bodhisattvacharayaavatara [Tibetan] 0:50:00.3 Such a heavy, powerful negativities cannot be overpowered by any virtue except bodhimind. So, this is one of the best purifications. If you develop bodhimind, and you try to do a prostration, hundred thousand prostration, for hundred thousand times, counting 100,000 as one. And making it another 100,000. Even then, this mind, a minute of this mind do better job. That’s why this is so important. I didn’t just say. Bodhisattvacharayaavatara I alrady said. There’s more than that. [Tibetan] 0:51:27.0

I think this quoting Shantideva again, even a single person who would just like to wish that get better with headache. Somebody have headache and you wish them get better. Such a thoughts is also considered very useful and wonderful. But, when you have a person thinking every sentient’s every suffering may be terminated completely and bring every quality to every sentient beings. How much benefit that mind going to give? Simply, you think somebody, you wish comebody’s headache gets better. That considered to bring tremendous benefit to the individual. You know, we think, we see people are suffering, we see people having a headache. We wish them getting well. That brings us positive virtue. That is virtuous action. That is virtue. That is spiritual work. That is a spiritual practice. That benefit this person, whoever is wishing. Not the person who has the headache. So, Shantideva is saying if that is true, when one person wishes every living being be free from all their sufferings, bring quality possible, ever possible to every sentient beings. How much sort of virtuous action it’s going to be, result it can bring. [Tibetan] 0:54:02.0

When there’s somebody who has nothing to eat and very hungry and if somebody gives a little food, how much we admire that person. Or, if one person, this is traditional Indian culture, if one person tried to fat all these beggars for half day, how much we will appreciate this and how much we say what that person has done. So, here the bodhimind, will always want to fat all sentient beings with all joys and all happiness in their mind and joy in their body. How much we have to admire that. Simply compare it somebody who’s feeding, fattening a few people for half a day and somebody who would like to make joy to all the sentient beings for all the time. Compare it. That’s what Shantideva is saying it. So, in short, what does this bodhimind do? With this mind, whatever you do, whatever you do, even you give little piece of food to dog or cat or anything, street cat or dog. Anything. That brings tremendous benefit. That is the benefit of bodhimind. [Tibetan] 0:56:20.9

Even you have tremendous negativities, but if you have bodhimind, you have a powerful hero travelling with you, that’s what it is. Even we have, unable to purify, negativities, we carrying them around. We keep on committing negativities, constantly, continously, but when you bring this love and compassion with you, it is like having a powerful hero traveling with you, so you don’t have to be afraid of thieves and robbers on your journey. So, in short, what the spiritual practitioners practice is all about it, purifying our negativities, and building positive karma and positive activities. These are the two things we have to do. That is our simple, straightforward, cut the the negativities, build the positive. Remember, Buddha himself said [Tibetan] 0:58:02.1 So, somebody ask Buddha what is Buddhism, Buddhas say avoid negativities, build positivities, mind your own mind. That is Buddhism. Very short, straightforward. Avoid negativities means all purification and everything. Build the positivities, build merit, do whatever you could. Mind your own mind, watch your mind. Your mind can be very crazy. So why, because ego drives. So, that’s why you’re crazy. So, we fought war with ego and we lost. Ego controls us completely. So, it almost point, came to the point, that we have no say whatsoever it is the ego who dictates everything. Because, ego presume you know nothing. You always make the wrong decision. After little while, they took over completely. So, that’s exactly what’s happening. Yet, we fight sometimes without any preparation, without any force, without any preparation, against our ego’s wish. So, that is the time when you have so much pull and push within one individual. You want do the right thing, but you have to do the wrong thing and you have to. You have this pull and push which makes you suffer tremendously. It’s internal struggle is the individual trying to challenge the ego who is directing wrong direction. But, we are not really prepared, so we cannot really fight. So, that’s why we have so difficulty, we knew it. When we are unable to do this, sometimes people go crazy. All our mental problems, emotional. But, more depression, all of them are coming on that basis. Because, you want to do the right thing, but you don’t know what to do and your ego is driving you. So, this internal struggle without any preparation is the ego driving the individual. Individual could not fight. Some people have completely submitted to the ego and do completely whatever the ego wants to do. So, that’s where they go. I get you before you get me. That’s what it is. So, sometimes we think to us, to both struggle, we don’t have answer, but that’s not right. So, their better people. 1:01:22.2

Better people, because you know what’s right and wrong, little bit. You’re not totally, completely ego driven, but you are that level. You struggle lot. Because, you really don’t have strong support. You’re not prepared. The preparation here is understanding. The understanding of anything, particularly karmic understanding, you have to know good karma brings good result and bad karma brings bad result. We say, we agree, but we don’t know. Why we don’t know, because we didn’t think. We didn’t meditate. There is a tremendous precedence on our life, so many times. You see with other people, you see with yourself. But, we cannot interpret that to our deeds. That is called lack of spiritual practice. Also, spiritual practice, sometimes, is worshiping, praying and mantra saying and all of them. But, remember all their purpose is to bring that result. If you can do it yourself, with your own mind, with your own intelligence mind, to be able to bring to that level, then this praying and saying mantras and doing all of them are another important force which will help you, but that alone is never going to do the job. Unless, and until, you really think. What that alone will do is simply cut your negativities. Because, you think you can’t do that. And you try to reduce as much as possible. So, hoping you build your good karma and that will give you good result and that’s about it. When you think about it, when you try to, whatever you are seeing out there, recognize correctly, bring that interpreted to your own life and deeds and then you function. That way you knew it. So, what you know it and what you do and what you think it is and what you do is a huge difference, huge difference. You know it, I know it, we all know it. And that’s why, when you think, when you meditate, when you practice, it makes different. Practice, don’t think of saying mantras and just sitting alone, but really analyzing your thoughts, with your negative emotions, with yourself and consequences. Good way, this way. Bad way, that way. Balance and making decisions, passing resolutions, noticing your doing the wrong thing, doesn’t matter, whatever it is, change it again and again and again. Because, it’s like children learning how to get up. So, they fall three hundred times a day, they get up three hundred times a day. One day, yoy’ll walk. 1:05:23.6

So, that is how really it is. So, I want to base touch here, and also go through this benefits little bit. That also, most important, building merit and purification of negativities for both. Bodhimind and meditation on bodhimind, try to develop bodhimind. Reading about bodhimind, think about bodhimind, talking about bodhimind, putting efforts towards building bodhimind, everything works in that direction. That is your spiritual practice. That is your spiritual work because it’s going to bring that spiritual result. Otherwise, if you don’t have aim, if you don’t have goal, it is just holy, holy, holy. Then, you know, I know somebody, a gentleman, I used to know him since very long, is Tibetan government official, now working on His Holiness’s biography. He’s interesting person. He’s very sharp. His tongue is very sharp. So, I saw him Dharmasala last time, when I went there. He said, oh yeah, I saw this days a lot of holinesses in America. He said, I went around and gave lecture, they’re not holinesses, they are hollownesses. That’s what he said. That’s why I say his tongue is very, very… He told me that in English. They’re all hollownesses. So, in a way when you do this, it does not become holy, it becomes hollow. That’s what I thought about that. You know. So, that is, I think, spiritual practice is all about that. I guess that’s all I wanted to say today, unless you people have some questions, I’ll be happy to entertain a couple of questions. Yeah? 1:08:22.9

Audience: [..]

Rimpoche: Well, you have to wish them well. If you don’t and if you wish them ill, I don’t mean evil or something. Wish them to die. You create a tremendous amount of negativities. If you wish them, even you unable to make them well, that’s okay. That’s because you’re not god to fix it. You are a human being, so what you can do is wish them well. And dedicate, just simply don’t wish alone. Dedicated all our positive karmas, whatever I have, past, present and future will be dedicated to making it well, to materialize the well which you have wished it. To be able to materialize. That is one great activity. It is the activity of generosity. It is the activity of dedication. It is the activity of positive thought and specially it is motivated with bodhmind, it is even better. Not only simply wish and well at that moment, simply not to get well illnesses alone. Illness, along with all their negativities, may vanish. They themselves, they may have not only a joy of free of that pain, but may have permanent joy of buddha level. That’s what we wish as practitioners when we say I wish you well, that’s what you should mean. And when you dedicate your positive karma, that’s what you dedicate for and it’s also very important, don’t think twice, if I dedicated all my good karma, what will I be left out. When I need it, I may have nothing left. So, don’t worry. Nobody takes anything away. So, whenever you need it, you have more than what you have. Because, when you dedicate in that way, not only they don’t go away, it multiplies. Not only have them when you need it, you have much more than that. It is great investment. No risk of stock market ups and downs or moving from bottom line to bottom line. You don’t have that risk. That’s what it is. When you say wish well, just simply our usual, I wish you feel better, that is not Mahayana spiritual practitioner’s wish is not only illnesses and cause of that illnesses and all other negative karmas be free. May all beings be free from sufferings. That is what we are wishing. May they have the joy, do we say forever, what do we say, joy that never known suffering. Yeah. Okay. Dimitri first.

Audience: Skeptical question, how can it be that by sitting in my apartment, without lifting a finger, just wishing that all beings become enlightened, I would develop more merit than if I got out of my house and fed homeless people in New York for half a day, actually physically relive their suffering. Just the thought, without me doing anything, have more impact. 1:14:03.4

Rimpoche: I did not say have more effect.

Audience: Didn’t you say if you fed beggars for half a day, it would be far better to develop bodhimind.

Rimpoche: It is. I did say that. But, if you fed the homeless for half day with bodhimind, it’s even better. No doubt about that. So, you know, the value of this mind is fantastic. You know, after a little while, you will find that a great so many Tibetan masters continuously said [Tibetan] 1:14:39.9 So purification also done by that, accumulation of merit is also done that, that is the beauty of the mind important points. You know, there’s two points, the material important and mind important. The material importantness has to have literally everything has to be done. The mind importantness point literally you may not be able to do everything, but mentally you be able to do everything. It is not that you put efforts for nothing. That, really, it is true for that. Dianna?

Audience: How do you cut down ego, but leave enough intact to be able to function well? In other words, how do you cut down your ego, but not become a dish rag? A pushover.

Rimpoche: That’s a very good question. Lot of people have that question. It is interesting. Ego does not make person great. Egolessness makes the individual great. The greatness of any individual for doing anything good for anyone is really comes from egolessness service, not ego oriented service. Ego oriented service always have agenda. Even you want to do something good. Ego oriented agenda will have I wanted to do something good, not by you people, but I wanted to do something good. Even you don’t think not you people, but I wanted to bring. I is important. Egoless person will see this is need to be done, no matter who does it. Whoever does it, it needs to be done. I don’t have to be the person who’s doing. We see this very many times with so many people, that differences. But, even you don’t think I have to do, that doesn’t become I useless. That doesn’t make the I, I can’t even speak English now tonight. That doesn’t make the individual I useless. But, we may think I have been reduced, but it’s not. On the first place, I was not up. It is ego boosting. I become pop. I’ve been popped up by my ego, by my anger, by my hatred, by my jealously, by my obsession. It’s not me who has been really up there. It was the ego putting up that fearful mask and dancing round. And when you take off that mask off, it doesn’t look like that fearful. Then, you see the real person. The reality. I don’t think it becomes the doormat of individual. 1:20:04.4

There’s two different things, letting the individual become a doorman and not boosting ego is two different things. I really think it’s two different things. Accepting certain points just because of compassion or because of any reason does not really become that individual is weak person. As a matter of fact, it becomes stronger person. And we project, we especially the American culture, we do not make distinction between the ego and self. So, so many thing, ego boosting and using hatred and obsession as key to pop up the individual. That is ego working, not individual. When you take that mask off, you really see the beauty individual inside. Some another ego guy may try to bulldoze you. But, the real, good human beings will appreciate and see the beauty and individuals qualities will build up after that. As long as ego popping up, you don’t build you qualities much. Every efforts will go to be boosting ego. That’s my experience, I’m sharing that with you. Not only from the teachings point, but it’s reality. When you really become, you know, the real person, real thing, real nice, and that is the wonderful, beautiful person within that will shine. Which makes lot of difference. As long as we put up this face, this ego face, then it’s something else. So, what do you do? You just let it go. That’s about it. Yes? 1:22:54.6

Audience: There are times that you spent being, feeling compassionate. This is what you want to do, just because you want to feel the goodness. And there are people around you that if you walked away from would consider you cruel and yet when you’re with them, the negative karma is destroying you. To walk away from it, you’re not being kind, especially if it’s people that are close to you. And by more kind you are, if you were, so to speak, being a dishrag, but not really. You just being taken advantage of. How do you work your goodness without loosing yourself?

Rimpoche: Number one, you have to make sure your judgment is correct. Lot of people goes on that wrong on that judgment. Judgment of that person bringing negativity and I’m going to be completely lost, controlled by the negativities. Making sure that is right. Because you have to have cross check, counter cross check, like 2nd opinion, 3rd opinion, 4th opinion, 5th opinion, making sure. That is the most important and once that is really true, then you have no choice, but depart. But, depart with a happy, heavy heart, depart with love, with compassion. Not just because, ah, free! Out from here, walk away. That doesn’t work. It becomes more ego controlled than pointing to the other person’s ego. It’s very difficult for us to really judge who’s ego is talking, my or yours? It’s very difficult judge. When Buddha was in life, not this Buddha, three eons before. There’s like 1,000 official buddhas in this eon or something. So, during the second or third, third Buddha’s time, he has benefitter, a king, The king has a funny dream. And funny dream is group of monkeys crawling, fighting with each other. There’s one monkey fall in the pit of, excuse my language, shit. And got out of that, went to the otherside and is walking round, with completely covered with you know what and walking round and look to the other side, there’s one monkey has little thing on tip of tail and started saying, look at that monkey, look at that monkey, what is he having on his tail. So, he had completely forgot that he himself fall in that, covered completely with that. That king got so worried. He went to that buddha at that time, saying what is it? It’s going to be what? Is this mean my kingdom going to fall in pit, or the royal family is going down or what. And that Buddha said, I don’t think it is looking for us. This is looking for future Buddha. And during his period, when it’s degenerated age, all this followers will do that. So, that is us. 1:27:19.9

So, we have to be really careful, that’s why whatever our judgment that’s making sure it’s correct. So, after that, whatever you have to do, you have to do. But, first it has to be making sure. That’s what it is. And then, I think I go there, Andrea.

Audience: I’m confused about what you were talking about with Avaloketeshvara and Tara, about wanting all beings to be enlightened before them. On two counts, one is that I thought our whole motivation for wanting to be enlightened is that it gives us the best possible way to serve all sentient beings. The other is that really each individual has to achieve that enlightenment his or herself, but mostly it’s that I don’t understand wanting to put everybody else first ‘cause I thought we were supposed to be seeking enlightenment because it’s the best way to help everyone.

Rimpoche: Yeah, but you’re seeking enlightenment, you need it immediately for your own purposes or you wanted, your mind is so powerful, that you really want to be last one is actually maybe the fastest road. Really, true. So, Elizabeth, you are the last one.

Audience: Going back to the monkey story, you said make sure you know, that your judgment of ego is correct. Whether it’s your ego or the other person’s ego.

Rimpoche: I don’t mean your judgment of ego is correct. Your judgment is correct. That’s why I said check, counter check. Get 2nd opinion, 3rd opinion, 4th opinion, 5th opinion and making sure what best you can.

Audience: Get the opinions from where?

Rimpoche: From anybody, from you, me and anybody else round. Everybody can not be wrong. If I think I’m doing correct, but then you tell me I’m absolutely wrong and Karuna tells me I’m absolutely wrong and then Amy I’m absolutely wrong, though it doesn’t really mean much. Just kidding. And everybody tells me, then I can’t be right. That means something’s wrong with me, too. Definately something is wrong. Because, you know how can it be possible that I’m right and all of you wrong. That’s never true. Even though, you may think no one can really judge, true, but everybody cannot be wrong. That also true. Thank you. So, I’m going to conclude here. [..]

[dedication]

[end of audio]