Archive Result

111

Soundfile 20031030GRNYOTF

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location New York

Topic Odyssey to Freedom

Transcriber Roger Johnson

Date June 8, 2021

Good evening to you. And, uh, today, um, actually as we decided to sort of walk through with the two last paramitas, that is the uh meditation and wisdom, decided to walk through – uh walk through means run through (laughs) – ah, because we would like to keep doing a very detailed, uh, discussions and teachings on these two later. Um, as we said the other day, too, later to be next year and not, this 2003, but in 2004, and uh, probably going to be after the winter retreat. So the winter retreat is being through February somewhere…February 8th through the 15th is going to be the winter retreat. So, those of you who don’t know what the winter retreat is going to be I would like to tell you now because this is going to be Cittamani Tara. So Cittamani Tara form it is quite an important. Very similar to Vajrayogini, but in Tara. So, Cittamani Tara so that’s what it is going to be winter retreat. So, those of you who like to come um but it has to have a highest yoga tantra initiation before. It is only open to those and no one else. That is what we normally do anyway. Winter retreat is closed and summer is open. Spring, summer, autumn all open, and winter is the only closed retreat. And so, after the winter retreat we are going to start with this meditation course and hopefully detail one and attempt to spend minimum of eight weeks on the meditation. Eight weeks minimum here.

0:02:55.6

And Ann Arbor I have bodhisattvacharyavatara also came on the meditation thing and uh I cannot do eight weeks in Ann Arbor because bodhisattvatvacharyavatara it has 185 (inaudible) 185 um verses. So, normally so far all this chapters I have covered one verse a day, um, and many times one verse for two days. And lately I have tried to cover 4 verses in one day but that is what is has done so it is going to be quite a detail in Ann Arbor, but here I don’t intend to go that detailed. There I have to because it is part of the bodhisattvacharyavatara so the main text I have to cover and I have to explain what the main text means and then the questions, you know, our own questions, not the question from the audience but questions and discussions and explanations and all that so so it might be whole year, I hope not. So, that is what happens, what is going to happen in Ann Arbor. But over here at least eight weeks, maybe another eight. Or maybe five weeks or something.

0:04:31.9

And then followed by wisdom. And this time I intend to do both wisdom and um and um meditation as detailed as possible because um every time you give lam rim teachings or anything at that level it is very short because the whole time it is already spent and then at the maybe the last one session or two sessions so you just have to cover it so one time Marianne Soeters who is trying to do all this transcripts and showed me out of Odyssey to Freedom then she showed me meditation and I think enthusiasm and meditation that is one sentence each, so (laughs), so she said this is the situation. So that probably made me think and also, and also the meditation is something very, everybody is interested and everybody knows something about it but uh not really. So, as far as I am concerned, that is my view and I have my right. But everybody also has their knowledge and meditation true, you know? Anyway, so I intend to at least go little detail as possible and if that is done so maybe directly affect to the people who are here or those as least in future um it will be in the somehow documented in English. Though there is a lot of them available still so that is why hoping to be between this part of the Odyssey here of this mediation course in New York and part of the bodhisattvacharyavatara the meditation course in Ann Arbor, later combined will be one of the best books available for meditation for future.

0:06:52.1

Not books for books, but information available. Transcripts or whatever it is. So, and likewise the wisdom too. So tonight, and then I am going to be here again on November 13th and uh these too we intend to I intend to put forth wisdom part of it.

So, now the question is wisdom. Okay? And this is a very sweet name. Very exciting. And wonderful. But, what is wisdom we’re talking about it? Actually, every knowledge is wisdom, there is no doubt about it. But here when the Buddha makes this wisdom as one of these paramitas, gone beyond, paramitas, they are very specifically talking about some knowledge. Very specific knowledge rather than just knowledge, knowing. And also I think it is really boils down to when you think about it it really boils down to the basic structure of uh total of buddhas way of looking in the spiritual path. I think that is my understanding that what wisdom the Buddha is talking about it. It is the fundamental do we way base, or fundamental structure, or the reasons why and what I think this are the really the wisdom is all about it.

And when you are looking into Buddhism and what Buddha understood, Buddha gained his, what should I say, insight or experience or his spiritual development and uh what the message comes out after that based on his experience and when you look in there and then there you’ll see so many things, of course no doubt about it. But mostly there is something other than something profound just more than simply praying, worshipping, tried to be good person, tried to be kind and compassionate, something more than that in there.

0:10:41.4

And, uh, as a very often I say, we have a big question that is what is really the thing called spiritual or whatever? So people are even you know we have some friends in Jewel Heart simply just hate the word spiritual anyway. Some we do have it, because in their mind when you say spiritual it somehow connected, it connects with some kind of love light type of whatever known as new-agey thing and that is connected with that and when they get that picture it just, just, just just hate the word. And we do have some people and then there are always there is nothing to be hated about it, and spiritual and all of those are we just borrowing word. But mostly importantly going beyond the pray, going beyond simply being a nice person, going beyond love compassion. So that is I think they are linking to wisdom. Sometimes one needs to ask oneself a question. What am I looking at as spiritual what I am looking at it. A number of people will have a number of different answers. Almost, I don’t know how many people are here. 80 or 90 tonight? Each one of you will have, each one of you will have maybe 80 or 90 answers. And how many people listening on the internet? So each and every one of you will have a different answer for it.

0:12:58.1

What it means for you, that was a column if I remember correctly in Tricycle, what does Buddhist, what does Buddhism, what does Buddhist mean for you (audience member speaks to what the column was titled – inaudible).

Rimpoche: What does being Buddhist mean to you. That was a column there. It was really interesting. And, uh, then they will give a variety of answers I remember a few years ago. I don’t know if they have the column continuing nowadays. You don’t think so (directed at audience member).

So, anyway, so but the but the Buddhist or no Buddhist, what does that really mean to you? Spiritual or whatever you are doing? So, the wisdom sort of answers that question to me. To me. It is the it is the knowledge of knowledge of source of suffering. Where the suffering comes from. The cause of suffering. Actually it is the knowledge of the second noble truth. This, you know, the wisdom you can really link up with the four noble truths. It is very simple, very easy. Very easy. What happens, so what do we experience what do we feel? Mostly our experience and uh, and uh, our things that we go through are suffering in nature. Some are suffering of suffering, very painful. Some are may not be that painful. But, it creates suffering.

0:15:17.7

Some are looks good, feels nice, exciting, but however doesn’t last long and creates more pain and more misery. Especially when you are enjoying something and then suddenly it becomes more rough and more difficult. Then that pain is more harder than one going through with the continuation of pain, we all know that. So, basically what do we experiencing is the suffering. So the question really arises is there end for this? Or, is it something that I am born with it and so I have to learn how to live with it? Many of us like to settle to the second question. When you’re born with it you can do nothing the best thing you can do is to learn how to live with it. So we go for that.

And that because we did not have any information, we did not have any guidance, we did not have, we did not have an opportunity to be able to examine that. Meaningfully. That is no question, we don’t like suffering. Nobody is, nobody – there is no mistake, nobody, nobody likes suffering. We all know that. Sometimes we don’t know the suffering is suffering, so we sometimes we seem to enjoy. I can never forget the biggest shock what I encountered her in the United States (laughs). About it was ten years ago, decades ago, I’m sorry to say this but, um, sometimes people took pleasure to give more pain. I’m very specifically, you know, referring picture in mind because really shocking to me was uh you know they make two holes on the two nipples and the third hole, you know, you know where it is, so, and then pulling it right? So, people do take pleasure, some people do take pleasure think that is something wonderful thing to do. And uh which was shocking to me because I have never seen before. You know, I mean I did not seen life if you would (laughter) but uh. But uh, you know, and that is because different feelings considered more I don’t know, I can’t say it is joy. I don’t know. So people do that. And then there are also know some people I do have a friend said very often who will refuse to take any medicine because uh they think suffering is something that you know headache or whatever it is, terrible pains, and uh they think it is blessings and purifications and you know people go, some people going to that extreme. Uh, so, in the both of them, one from the one from the one point the other is from the other point. One from the spiritual point one the other is from sexuality point whatever it is. So both are shocking to me.

So, I’m making, you know, sort of strong sacrifice and uh endurance for pain which you could easily taken care of by taking aspirin or something and uh we just totally refuse whatever the reason may be. Not a health reason, just because they think that much torture suffering pain will be more purification. So, all of them are extreme, with the exception of those extremes, all of normally don’t like pains. Sufferings. So that is the conclusion with the exception of people having exceptional cases and with the exceptional excuses anyway.

0:21:23.1

So, when you don’t like it the question arises “Is this something that we have to live with forever or something we can do?” so, Buddha went through with this, right? So, according to the Buddha his finding for this was “Yes, we can do something, something.” So what we can do is tracing the pains and the sufferings all kinds, trace them all the way back to where it is coming from. When you trace it back where it is coming from so ultimately when we trace within ourself as me as a human being as a person we are going to trace ourself to self. Or to me. Or may mind, my nature, my consciousness, my soul. And of course some people may be very surprised when I call it soul because Buddhist doesn’t accept soul and all that type of thing. But theoretical point.

Just theoretical. We do accept something inside. We label it consciousness right? But it, when you go deep down what is different because consciousness…the theoretical difference would be definitely be there. But, uh, what do you can really perceive, what do you call it, a “p” perception, (audience helping search for right word “a priori” “a perception”)…

Rimpoche: A perception, whatever it is. When you reach to that level that it is something to pointing. Something to be able to point it out. Something is there. Whether it is permanent, impermanent, continued, discontinued, continued, discontinued, they are all theoretical viewpoints. But there is something there. So that something when you go to that level is that something is a pure part of it, or it is a terrible suffering or miserable part of it. That’s the question. The real question arises deep down wherever you can get as me or person or something is that pure or impure? Is that a suffering in nature or joy in nature? So, so far all these people through the spiritual path wherever you look, everyone tells you that is not bad. That is good one. Pure one. Everywhere you look you hear it.

0:25:31.9

So, the deep down the person is pure. So then where does this impurity comes because of the suffering and pains we experience, negative emotions we experience, all of them are impure part of it. Where does that come in? So, answer given to this that we picked it up on the way. But it is not part of ourself not, not me. And not a human being. Not a person. But it picked it up on the way. So they give you an example like the sky is pure, open, wonderful, I’m not talking about you (laughing) I’m just kidding (to audience). Not talking about Mr. Sky, but I’m talking about just sky. Um, and then the, then the clouds are temporary formation, and winds blow and the clouds blow collected in this and that, there is always, giving you all that pictures. So, all of those pictures are, tells us, tells us, this suffering thing impure thing or contaminated thing is not the reality of ourself.

Some people give you orange as example. The real orange is inside. The skin is not the orange, you peel the skin out and you get the real orange inside. People give you all those, all different people will give you different examples. And that’s all tells us the inner person, the inner being, the deep down whatever it is it is pure. So, everything contaminated are somehow we picked it up. Not the nature of ourself, not the reality of ourself. And that is the main reason why there is an end of suffering. We can end all of those because it is not real truth. Not the real reality. It is somehow come in picture, collected, like we collect dust when you drive our car, especially on dirt road. Brand new car, when you drive on the dirt road once you drive it is covered with dust. I live on dirt road so I know.

(Rimpoche to audience member: There is space here)

So when we stick on that so no matter how hard it may be you can clean it. So I believe the basic the principal really Wisdom 101 is to know, know, all this contaminated things are removable. Because it is not a part or parcel of our true self. It is separate from ourself. So therefore it is separatable [sic] – separable, okay? You see the reasons because it is not nature, because it is not reality, because it is so you can separate like dust from the car. Cloud from the sky. Pollution from the river. Nobody said easy. So those we know. There is something called total liberation. Or liberation.

0:32:22.6

So, so somehow we have to establish that as a some important point. Point one. Then, second question will come. So, if that is the case, how do I go? What do I do? How do I go about it? So then the comes out: Yeah, we have to know where we picked it up, those contaminated, what went wrong? Why did we pick that up, where did we pick that up, what went wrong? So did I do something wrong? I understand the nature, the reality, deep me inside, deep me is pure. Yet, we encounter so many impurity things and we uh suffer. What, where, what went wrong?

So, is it somebody made wrong? Manufactured defect? We can complain to General Motors. Is it a manufacturer defect, or what was it? And a lot of questions comes in that, you know? We probably like to blame a manufacturer defect. So, the manufacturer defect when you look at it, then we look at it is it physical aspects of the manufacturer defect or mental aspects of the manufacturer defect. Physical is very easy we can blame our parents. Oh, my mom did it. Or dad did it. You know, dad is dad, you know. Easily blamable. But then when you really looking here we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about the mind. And ourself. Self, really. You know we’re using mind as a temporary shelter, actually, for me. We have to know the, we have to know me and me separate from mind, but right now I don’t want to get so much confused on you, so we have already confused enough, so that is why we are in this trouble. So I don’t want to add any more confusion so I just use the mind. And when you, when we come to the mind the question comes who made it? Certainly not the parents. Then, you know, some people will tell you it is Creator who created. And some people don’t accept Creator. I think there, these are all wisdoms, honestly speaking.

0:38:02.3

If it is Creator who created, then there is knowingly created or accidentally created. Knowingly created why have problems? We have to recall. All recalls, you know. How much, no matter how much is caused got to make recall. If it is accidental one, are they all of them accidental, you know them too much accident then. Too many. Buddhas understanding here is no second or third creator. Buddha also goes to the extent here there is no beginning. So that becomes all sorts of old souls, no new souls. No beginning.

Then what happened? What happened is, what happened is according to the Buddha somehow we mistook, misinformation, we accepted. We don’t really see it, or know the true reality so we presume it, the perception what we give was wrong. That (“we didn’t”? - inaudible) change for long time, life after life. Generation after generation. We keep on having this same perception we don’t question our perception at al.

To audience member: In the corner there is some chair, oh yeah, chair available, okay.

So what did we perceive? The self, we perceived self, or me, as a solid entity. A solid entity. The entity that does not depend on anything. Entity that is always continuing. Although we can still go and refine, but let us easy way to look at it, and the easy way to see, what do we really perceive ourself. Number one, we won’t even think about it. We don’t even think about it. Me, me, me and me and me I’m in there where but somewhere inside me, you know? Or somewhere inside me what there is my body inside the body somewhere. Or maybe it is mind maybe it is not mind, you know whatever, wherever, and that may be a pervasive from the crown to the toe is pervasive whatever, somehow me, me, me inside we have that. So, that me what we are perceiving is we’re really perceiving an independent self solid entity.

0:43:50.5

That’s what Buddha says that’s where you, that’s where we went wrong. Then to make the matter worse, we have a, we are confused again that solid entity what we’re really thinking and ourself as a person, a human being. Just what Buddhists call basis of karmic functioning. Basis of karmic functioning, just, must, just a self. And we get confused between that, to make the matter worse, we cannot make separation between, we don’t even think about it. The moment we begin to think about it we cannot make separation just the functioning of me and something even deeper inside that someone else will be acknowledging me. And we also have, to make the matter worse we have more confusion on that.

So, the job of the wisdom here comes to clear those confusions. Yes, we can make one statement saying uh selfless, I-less, or whatever. True-less. You can say all those but it doesn’t convey anything to us. Sometimes even - oh yeah, emptiness, that’s a big one here, and so it doesn’t convey anything. In addition to make the matter worse emptiness convey message of empty. That even makes matter worse.

0:46:47.7

So, Buddha himself says (Tibetan words not audible). Emptiness. Peace. Nothing growing. By not knowing that and uh we continuously suffer, that’s what Buddha here said (more Tibetan words not audible along with discussion to assistant). So the, so the Buddha then because of his kindness and compassion and so he shared zillion different reasons and to help us to understand this. So that’s where the confusion – and that is related to the, to the, you know, the Buddhist, what do you call it…(Tibetan words). Uh, the people say Buddhist logo, Buddhist seals, four signs of the Buddhist, you know. That is tomba, as in empty, (Tibetan discussion with assistant).

Every created phenomena are impermanent. Every contaminated things are suffering. Every phenomena is, there is no intrinsic existence. Emptiness in nature. Nirvana is peace. So there are the basic Buddhas four important points. Fundamental points. Every created thing, everything what we encounter today we encounter with created things we do not encounter with the uncreated things. So everything, the life, the structure, the monuments, supposed to be permanent monuments, all of them are impermanent. Because it is created. Why is it impermanent? Because it is created. We are not talking about the divine creation, we are talking about created. What do you mean by created? Built in. If you take all of those take them into pieces, you can divide everything even smaller than items. All of them, there is nothing you cannot separate. Everything. So, every separable, so many separable particles go together and taken shape that is why it is called created. So every one of them are impermanent in nature because it is created.

0:51:43.3

Even sound is impermanent because it is created. It is famous Buddhist, uh, (inaudible Tibetan) dialectic point. So sound is impermanent because it is created. (Tibetan words inaudible). So anything whatever is created is becomes impermanent, that is why human being is impermanent. But, whether consciousness is impermanent is different question. It is impermanent. Impermanent again not necessarily mean there should be time of end. Impermanent means changing. Changing every moment, every time all the time it is changing. That is why it is impermanent. So it is important here, what it becomes important? Because it is impermanent so it is changeable. So it is changeable for for sufferings are changeable because suffering is nothing permanent. I can be happy because my suffering nature is not permanent. If you don’t have it because something to say because then it is a problem. Then it is a problem because you have no basis of your statement.

You know, I’m not talking about a statement as statement, I’m talking about statement as a fundamental basis on analyzing, thinking. You have no basis to hold on if you don’t have reasons to give because.

0:55:09.5

If there’s no because then you simply have to pray. You have got to pray just to make it today. (audience laughter). That is because (laughs) what else can you do? Or believe it. Or you can sit in the corner of the street and say you got to pray just to make it today (laughs). So you can do that. I didn’t say anything wrong with that, that is fine. But Buddha has showed us so much there’s, there is really a tremendous there. Every single damn thing that we follow has reasons. Reliable reasons. Reasons that cannot be contradicted by reliable mind. Everybody can say any reason again. But the reliable reasons cannot be contradicted by reliable mind. It becomes reliable reason. It is contradicted by reliable mind then it becomes unreliable reason.

Dharmakirti (Tibetan phonetic: Ka Za Sa Ma Lu Me Ge She Ba…). That, (laughs) Sa Ma Lu Me Ge She Ba, Ka Za. But, I don’t remember the words anyway. (Tibetan words) Anyway, I don’t remember the words, but what it is is, it is, what it is, it is the reason, the reason four reliable means one who will not cheat you is the reliable. The definition of reliable is one will not, one doesn’t cheat. One doesn’t cheat means the reason what you using does not cheat you. Cheating means it is contradicted by reliable mind and then it becomes unreliable. So, anyway. So the debate is all about it. The reliability or not reliability. So that is all they go deep down to that level.

Though we are supposed to have symbolic debate between Thurman and me on December 6th I don’t know how it going to go, because both of us and especially not used to it in English language (laughs) so who knows how it is going to go. So anyway, so I’m going to try. So, all of you are welcome. And this time I don’t think it is going to be unreasonable price either, so, so, so that’s why, you know. (audience member: I think it is going to be $25).

Rimpoche: $25 dollars? Is that all? Alright, good.

So you can fit about 900 or 1000 people in there, so that’s good. And that’s going to be interesting, the 6th, December 6th evening it is going to be interesting. I was talking with Philip the other day how this thing was going to go. Uh Philip and Rebecca were talking the other day and Philip said I’m really interested to see how this Tibetan, or (tantic? Inaudible at 0:59:28.7) instrumentals how does musical thing religious musical thing, how it is really played? How does it really play and how does it really go you know I just don’t wanted to see the monks come up with their, with their dresses and goes (clang clang clang clang) I’m not interested in that. I really wanted to see how is there any notes or how does it follow or how does it really go? I’m really interested in how does that play different instruments and how it is going to play.

1:00:11.5

So we’re going to begin with that. Begin with that, and then we have debate, and then little entertainment, then debate, then little entertainment and some conclusion, conclusion speech then. And so that is going to be very interesting evening on um 6th December, so. Just save the day.

Oh, you got to pray…(laughs).

So the wisdom is uh all about that. So it is impermanent, it is changeable. What does impermanent mean? Because it is changes reality. Our live, our body, our mind, or soul, consciousness, all are impermanent. Our negativities are impermanent, positivities are impermanent. Now, the idea of emptiness, people have great, a lot of people have interest. But if you think of emptiness as empty, then it is going to be gig trouble. I don’t really understand whit Buddha chose to call empty. Even in Tibetan, Sanskrit, everything is empty it is not translators problem. Even in the sutra, what I just said, it says (Tibetan phonetic at 1:02:15.2 Tongpa chur). Tongpa means empty.

1:02:22.5

(Inaudible: Both are?) chose to call empty because lack of what we think we really are. Lack of what we think what really are I think that is why he called this empty. Then of course we add up, it is not empty it is emptiness. Then we add up emptiness is not empty, emptiness is full, you know. It is fullness, and all of those are the the later editions comes in. Mostly in the West in English. Because normal English language understanding of it empty is a void. I learned that by watching a Never Ending Story, that movie, kids movie, Never Ending Story. I kept on watching that. And it gives me a very good understanding of what empty is all about it, it just disappears, everything, except that dragon if you have seen it, right? Until that dragon picks the boy up. Except the dragon, everything disappears, everything falls apart and nothing is left.

In a one way it is true. In one way it is true because whatever we perceiving what we really exist all of them is going to go because they are all not true. They are all not true. It is accidental incidental everything that is what is happening because it is impermanent. Accidental incidental have, is a, when we cannot control that it is functioning control-less. It looks like somebody else control it. But if you can get a hold of the steering in your own hand then you can drive. And how to get a hold of the steering is to understand. To understand the collectiveness. To understand interdependentness. Interdependentness is a big key for this. Extremely important key.

We don’t get it. Nothing about interdependentness until Einstein begin to pick up theory of relativity. The theory of relativity really presents interdependent nature-ness. No wonder why the science going very well going very well with Tibetan Buddhism. When His Holiness we went to MIT for that Buddhism and Scientific, uh, whatever that is call it. I don’t think it was a conference, what was it? They call it a conference, but it is Mind/Life presentation I think. So, anyway. So it is really shows how it works. The Einstein has tremendous contribution to us to be able to talk this today. Otherwise, no matter whoever even Dalai Lama whoever talks about it everybody will think that is what Buddhist believe or it is whatever they say, oh yeah they talk about it whatever that mean doesn’t matter or something. It is their belief or it is their system or something like that we will dismiss.

And never think on the reality. And the Buddha did not present his wisdom as a religious thing. Buddha presented his wisdom as a reality thing. Lack of understanding of the true reality made us confused. Confusion what we have causes us to do wrong thing. Wrong doing creates suffering. And the bottom line, that is how it works. If we understand the true reality it will stop the wrong doings. It will, when they do, when they stop the wrong doings the consequences of wrong action swill stop. The consequences of the wrong actions will be the suffering, that stops. Buddha had interesting chart to show, it is called (audience member says something inaudible).

Rimpoche: The twelve links of interdependent originations. (Laughs). Alright…Interdependent origination. Okay. It doesn’t linkage. The linkage will say so this grows, this grows, this grows, this this grows this. That is the, when you are going to the, when you are going to the clockwise. But then you go to counterclockwise by stopping this you stop that, by stopping that you stop this, by stopping that you stop this, by stopping that you stop this and at end of twelve the total twelve running clockwise completely stops. When that stops then there is a chain of uh what do you call that samsara, it dismantles. It is no longer functioning. It stops. So for that we call liberation.

1:10:29.9

So thus the definition of samsara really is the continuation of the contaminated form. The form, physical form of sound, or whatever, smell and all those. The form. The continuation of the contaminated. The continuation, it is not, it is not one or two or three but continuation, sort of like almost you can the rosaries, and the rosaries go through but a thread within that, so that’s continuation. The continuation of the contaminated form is samsara. And when we talk about samsara we say “Ah, yeah, what a samsara. Oh yeah that is life after death, death after life, suffering.” All this are blah blahs. The true samsara is the continuation of the contaminated form.

That continues, cause of suffering and suffering both, because it is contaminated. It is contaminated because it is, comes out of confusion. It is confused because, because we could not really identify the self properly. The true self, the true self is just a combination. A combination of the parts and parcels. Nothing more than that. Nothing more than that combination. But we think there is more than combination there is something solid that is where we go wrong. So that is why, that is why we all search for that. We send search team out for searching that, where is it? Where is the culprit? But we’re never going to find it because it is not there. And when you found it is not there then we begin to find what it Buddhist theological theologists call it, uh, um, objective refutation. What you refute.

(Tibetan phrase for objective refutation – inaudible at 1:14:10.7).

That is the wisdom (audience laughs). That really deals with all our existence. That makes you your spiritual path is solid. It is not just good feelings. Not just “I feel good.” “I think it alright.” There are all invalid reasons. I guess I had better stop here.

You people are going to have some meetings here, right? I had better stop. And, um, I’ll be here on 13th I will not be here…(to audience member) when are you starting?

Audience member: The course?

Rimpoche: Yeah.

Audience member: The twentieth. November 20th.

Rimpoche: November 20th.

Audience member: Thursday afternoon.

Rimpoche: Okay. November 20th and then they are going to start Good Life Good Death course here. Mark Magill is going to be the one who will be presenting course. And, uh, this is our first course running in New York, so I hope it will be good one and um I hope you, a lot of you have time to be able to attend that, participate in the course. And those of you people will pick up information you people will pick up your own spiritual practice, you people will pick up your own wisdom and uh after you pick up you begin to teach others that’s how you serve people. That is how you develop yourself. And, uh, I guess that’s it, and uh, thank you.

Audience chant: By this merit, may I quickly attain the state of enlightenment. And take with me every being without exception. Mig me tse wey ter chen chen re zig, dri me kyen pe won po jom pal yang du pung ma lu jom se sang we dag, khang chen khe pe tsu gen tsongkhapa, losang drak pe shab la sol wa dep.

Rimpoche: Thank you.