Archive Result

Soundfile 2004GRAAPBWT2

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location

Topic White Tara

Section 2/4

Transcriber Choonhau Ng

Date 11 Sep 2021

Rimpoche: Thank you so much for the beautiful introduction that Aura has giving. And thank you for all of you to be coming here today. And it’s wonderful to see a lot of old friends face that I have not seen for long time and I think I should say every one of you look fantastic, great! Except we are all getting a little bit older. Though we wanted to be younger but it goes other way round. So, I think I’m very much privilege to be able to introduce Tara to you and share about it. As you know Tara is female buddha. And I would like that to be the first statement today. Because people talk about buddha all the time and then the projection is they always look at the historical Buddha, but Tara has been a great female buddha. I thought this is privilege for me to say there is a female buddha. Every buddha is not necessarily has to be the Buddha.

0:02:17.9 And how does Tara come to be Tara? And the first Tara was just an ordinary woman just like any one of you. I can’t say just like me cause I’m not woman, I wish I could say that but I can’t. So, any one of you, just an ordinary woman who mind her own business and looking to help herself and help others. And why she is like any other buddha that comes through a Buddhist history. So why she is so special about it, because at that time you remember the Buddhism came to India about 2600, 2700 years ago. And the culture in India at that time is very strong male domination. So, you know the first question what I encounter a lot when I first came in United States; how come there is no female buddha, how come there is no female incarnate Lama, how come there is no female priest and all these questions are very strongly asked. Rightly asked. But the thing is the culture at that time is very much male dominated culture; those of you who knows the Indian history.

0:04:22.7 So, Tara also offered, and say hey you going to be enlightened, you going to be great so we welcome you back as a male, you know take rebirth and come back as a male. You know what her reply was? Thank you but no thank you. And she said I generated by first motivation to serve people in the female form. And I worked through contemplated every effort that I put to reach my goal; I have done in female body. Now I’m going to be enlightened, I am not willing to change. I will remain as female and I serve all beings in female form. So, this is great, she is the only one who had done that and that’s not easy if you know the culture at that time but she chooses to be in that way.

0:05:50.0 And that’s one of her greatest quality and particularly today, today because you know it is equal opportunity in the United States, I don’t know if you get equal pay or not, I hear a lot of things but supposed to be equal opportunity. And also, for long time there is not that equal opportunity, is not present at all. So, this is equal opportunity and also the feminine principle in Buddhism is also very important to be able to recognise because that is one of those little thing goes along with, you know it’s there, never sort of shown. We have a funny thing in Tibetan, we would like to see what is there so we will put a little candle light here and there but we also don’t want you to see it, so we going to put a little curtain. That’s old Tibetan saying, we want to show but not exactly you know sort of thing, she’s been that way. And now it’s very important time in my opinion that she should come out as very important the deep female buddha.

0:07:20.8 And also what is her really? What is it? I talked to you about the person as human being aspects of it but what is she? She is nothing but that of the you know collection of love and compassion. The reason why she chooses to remain in female form because she wants to share the love. The love that mothers share with children. It is sort of really there is no equivalent. Though we do not realise that and we have sometimes difficult to recognise the love that mothers have shared to us. Particularly it is mother-in-law. In Buddhism the buddhas first word of compassion is have compassion to all like mother cares for their child.

0:09:00.8 Have to share love to all like mother shares her love with her children. And if you look, many of you, of course been mother and if you look how much you care for your children rather than looking back, looking at your mom you going to get upset. But if you look at your children and see how much you care, and how much you willing to sacrifice, how much you wanted your children to be right, when you look at that angle you know what I’m talking about. Though I never been mother in this life, hopefully I did before. But I’ve seen and I’ve seen how much the mothers care for their children. Of course, father cares and all that, provides and all that. But the fathers not going to be that quick like you can push the mother you know. So it’s not going to be. It’s not that they love less but the mother is there to share everything.

0:10:26.3 So she wanted to be, Tara wanted to be that figure for us. Particularly for us. What we call it degenerated age. Where we are having today, tremendous amount of what I call negative emotions. Terrible negative emotions. Hatred, the fear. I mean there is a lot don’t have to mention so we are really playing, we all played in this terrible hatred and fear. Between this two we have been like ping pong ball, throwing between these two actually today. Look at situation in the world, and of course today is special day. The Normandy D-day and which is definitely that people in the United States care for the people and love and affection so through which people try to save the genocide that going through with the crazy Hitler. And it’s in one way it’s sad there, the day we commemorate and we remember the loss of lives and people lost lives. In one way sad day, but on the other hand it is day that we appreciate, remember their service, their kindness and you know what more precious than life what people have to give, they give that to save what we call it, freedom.

0:12:50.4 Democracy or not, but freedom is really what they did to save and we must remember that. We must pray. Pray such a way that those who give their life, those that did, and all others who had sacrifices their life, and become very worthy and whatever negativities they have may purify by that sacrifice and they all become fully enlightened. And that’s what we should pray and along with this I have to speak about the Reagan. You know Reagan represents me something, I’m not talking about his policies. During the Reagan’s presidency, that I have immigrant to the United States. I always support Reagan you know during some political jokes and arguments; I always argue with my friends supporting Reagan but it’s not Reagan’s policy that I was supporting. But Reagan represents me, personally for me, the symbolic of the United States of America. He happens to be the president the time that I join this society so for me personally he represents something. Not about his policies or anything but he represents freedom and choice. And democracy and right to live, right to have life and right to have religion practice. All these he represents me because that happens to be the time, I know the president changed, still when you first come in he happens to be the guy.

0:15:35.7 So I was very sorry, I mean sorry in the sense, everybody won’t live forever, we all go anyway, it’s a very long good life of 93 years and did everything he could and that’s good and I pray that all again his negativities, whatever he has maybe purified and obtain enlightenment. As representing the symbolic for me and I hope he will obtain enlightenment so we all become enlightened too. So that’s that happens to be the day and today and then what I going to talk to you about Tara as something completely special. Very very special. I like to touch a little about historical aspects of Tara. I don’t want to bore you about the funny long stories but it begins in Nepal. It begins in Nepal early, about 2400-2500 years ago. It begins in Nepal there was a great brilliant student who’s becoming extremely great scholar. And he has a teacher who’s great master, great scholar both. So, he the student is only interested scholarship, not so much in the practical part. He really wanted to be the guy, the most learned guy.

0:17:36.2 So one day his master told him, hey today you don’t stay there, you just go to the market area. They have this open like farmers market we have here. Like open air market go there and talk to people and see what you can find. So, he goes thinking I am the great learned guy blah blah blah with that pride he goes. And suddenly he saw a yogi and he saw this yogi, yogi is looking at him. You know yogi is like soothsayer, if you don’t know the word yogi, it comes out from the word yoga. Person who has been internal yoga practitioner is call yogis. Not psychical hatha but internal yoga. Even hatha yogas are yogis too to certain extend. So he was looking and this is special guy but what is he looking at me, what does he want from me. And he is still looking at it, and he says ohh probably he wants me to be his student. This guy somehow know that I am quite good so he wants me to be his student. So, he said what are you looking at me? Don’t look, go, I have great master, great teacher of my own. He said that’s fine, I know. That’s fine.

0:19:00.7 So then he said, then why you looking at me. He said, well you have such wonderful scholarship and brilliant person but you only had couple of weeks or months to live. You about to die. Oh, he didn’t like that at all and he also doesn’t want completely ignore that too, so he started to quickly stop shopping and went straight away to his teacher and he said, I saw a strange fellow and he told me that I’m going to die soon. And his teacher said, yes, I know. You know? Yes, I know. So why don’t you tell me? If I tell you, you won’t believe it. I want you to go and see the stranger and let the stranger tell you. He said okay I’m not interested in anymore scholarship, give me a perfect simple practice to do so I can do something and I make my, you know becomes my life worthwhile. And the mission of my life will be fulfilled. So, give me something simple to do, don’t want any more scholarship. He said don’t worry about it.

0:20:28.4 What do you mean don’t worry about it, I’m supposed to die within couple of weeks. He said don’t worry. So, alright I have a friend back in Tibet. A guy who is meditating in Tibet. You cross the mountain, Himalaya Mountain, go over there and meet that guy so he will have some method, some way to do something. Then his master said, you will have great scholarship and you will help tremendous amount of people through your knowledge and your spiritual development. So, he goes across and saw the lama who his teacher send it, and he say he go and to be able to see him for a little while, and after he saw him he said, oh very good you come, sit down, have tea, have breakfast, have lunch, have dinner. You know, everyday have lunch have breakfast, nothing is happening. He said, hey my life you know is not too much left now. Ehhh don’t worry about it have tea, that’s what old Tibetan lamas do anyway.

0:21:49.9 So this guy finally he give introduction to Tara. Give introduction to Tara and give some meditation and then told him, now you go back in the mountain, find little cave and do your practice and meditate and see how we can help you. Okay so he goes up there and he sit in the cave, meditates. Doesn’t take very long, very short time. Tara appeared. Tara appeared to him and say hey what can I do for you? Yeah, what I can do for you? Yes, you can do you know I’m about to die, you can do something. If you have something to do, do something for me. And she said, no its okay, so you make a image, the statue. Just image look like me and you will live ten more years. You won’t die in ten years. He said okay, so he made a statue and nothing happened for ten years. And ten years about to go again he went to the mountains and meditated, Tara appeared again, same thing repeat she said. Well, you make another statue, another painting of my whatever, and image of mine and so you will live another ten years. So, they had some thangka, the drawing of Tara made. These are become very important, very great holy art objects of great monasteries in Tibet too. So repeated the same thing. The guy finally lives about 90 some years. Maybe a little more than Ronald Reagan. So 90 some years, at the end of all these, then he did the retreat and Tara appeared, and said make another image of mine and you will leave many more years. Not numbers whenever there is number, he does that again. So that is how Tara affects to a practitioner in historically.

0:24:22.9 And also for me specially the connection to the Tara is this particular incarnate lama who lived 90 years some odd years, his incarnation happens to be one of my gurus, and from him I received this teachings and practices, and initiation and blessings of Tara from him. And that is sort of, there is a lot more story I’m not going to go in detail in between, but also I’d like to share one thing, because it has been personally very very helpful for me, from my health wise. From healing side and from longevity and all this. Personally, extremely helpful to me and my friends, I don’t call students I call friends. And it’s being very affective to number of my friends and particularly I’d like to mention one thing. There is medical doctor in Holland, Netherlands whose been doing this, sort of wanted to do this practice. And she had very bad, very advance stage of cancer though she did not know earlier. They open up and they had to stitch back immediately. Can’t do anything it’s so bad stage. So, they giving her very short time maybe weeks or months at most to live.

0:24:22.9 So she did practice Tara and she lived about 5 years after that with healthy life. You know when she’s not doing doctors job, but she’s doing everything in the house, cooking shopping gardening, meeting people, driving and going to, you know driving from Holland to Paris and all of those, very very healthy life. So, it does work even in modern times. Even with us, doesn’t have to be Tibetan, doesn’t have to be oriental. It works with everybody. So just because of that I would like to bring one incident because some people may be thinking, oh maybe it’s working earlier times, not working now. It may be working with Tibetan and Chinese and all that but may not be working in the west. It does work. So that’s what I would like to introduce Tara. So I’m also, I’m very privilege to be able to share this wonderful spiritual gift that I received from my masters. And who had been practising it over thousand years continuously. So, to be able to bring here, you know my new home, as Aura mentioned I’m the citizen of the United States. And I live in this area, I consider Ann Arbor my home town. Though I don’t live in Ann Arbor, I can’t board in Ann Arbor, I have to board in Ypisilanti. But I consider it’s my home town and I always wanted to present here first. And that also Tara blessing this is also first time. My book earlier Good life Good death, also you know I wanted to have the home town thing, but circumstances did not permit me, so I really wanted to be here. So I’m so glad many of you came and sitting here with all this heat that we are experiencing and so I’m really privileged to be able to share with you and I still have to emphasis, anyone who would like to practice this can do it. Doesn’t have to change your religion, doesn’t have to change anything. The question that I get very often, do the person have to Buddhist to practice Tara, no. Anyone can do it, anything. And this is really symbolic of love, compassion that somebody and really look at it and you know we have a saying in Tibetan. Live with it, sleep with it, die with it. So that’s something that you can do and hold it. And she never let anyone down at all. It is fantastic.

0:29:49.2 So here we are. That is the introduction of Tara and Tara box. And before I do Tara blessing thing, and like to say if you have any questions, yes sir?

Wonderful I’m so glad you asked that question. Thank you. You know what, the hand gesture, this one is invitation. Invitation, extending to all of us and particularly those of us few who thinks we are hopeless, helpless, we can do nothing. So, she’s saying, hey don’t feel bad, come join me. And I will help you. Then you look at left hand. And left hand there are three fingers up, right? Two goes like this, three of them the symbolic in Buddhist tradition is, three represents protection. Buddha, dharma and sangha. Protection. So, she is extending invitation to all of us and particularly, down treating people who doesn’t really have help or hope. And then what she gives is the protection, protection from illnesses. Protection from negative emotions. Protection from mental, physical, emotional difficulties. That is her hand gesture. Both hands are giving that message. I’m so glad you asked that question otherwise I won’t have remembered. So that’s the hand implements, I mean hand gesture.

0:32:10.3 Any other questions? Maybe not so, and then we shall begin with Tara blessing. So, any other practice whatever you do, you need a little more, little bit of relaxing so I’d like to suggest you to sit few seconds, we don’t want to hold too long because it’s getting too hot here. Or is it only me or everybody getting hot? So just a few minutes silent, you don’t have to sit down. You know when you want to meditate, it’s very interesting you can, Allen Ginsberg says, sit on the ground, grounds not there so sit on the chair. Exactly that’s what you do. Keep a little silent for a few minutes please.

0:34:21.3 Thank you, now in Buddhist tradition and particularly that of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, every meditation whatever we do the first and foremost important what we do is checking the motivation. Why am I doing this? So, it is so important to have love and compassion in our daily practice, daily life. It’s easy to say love, compassion. It becomes almost buzzword as Allen Ginsberg used to tell me, buzzword. It’s true it’s become buzzword but not to make it buzzword. So, whenever you think what am I doing here? You have to think I am doing this to help me and to help my associate, my family and all human beings. All living beings. And even we don’t have that, we have to think that few minutes which is very important in the spiritual practice. So can I have a few second just to think, whatever we going to do, going to this to help benefit myself and all other living beings.

0:36:04.6 Thank you. To help myself and to help others I also need a long healthy life. You can visualise that, you can meditate that, you can just listen to me whatever. So long and healthy life is necessary so that I can help myself and help others. So how can I make myself healthy? Through the help of Tara, I would like to do healing, basis of my life. Basis of my life. My consciousness is based on my physical being. My physical body, when you look in my physical body is made of four elements. It’s that of earth element, that of water element, that of fire and that of air. Here is why. All our bones and flesh and all those, nerves, veins, nadis and all of those are earth element. All the liquid in our body is water element. The heat, digestive power all are fire element. The circulation, movement all of them are air element.

0:38:36.3 When those elements are functioning well within us, we are well and doing great. When they are not functioning well, we have physical problems. So, healing here will be our total devotion dedication to the enlightened beings, all general and particularly that of Tara. Tara in front of you, whether it is big painting like this, or small statue in your altar or photo or mental image alone. All will do. From that Tara’s body, radiate light, reach to all great mother earth, not only one mother earth. There are multi zillion galaxies. The power of earth elements are collected in the form of yellow light and liquid. Dissolved to Tara’s body as well as to yourself. From Tara’s body yellow light and liquid comes just touch of light and liquid alone, corrects all, or heal all the faults whatever you may have physically. You can specially focus if you have very specific physical problem, you can specially focus on that point.

0:41:14.5 And you have to think it’s been healed. Similarly, the light continuously goes from Tara’s body, reach to the great sources of all water. All the great sources of water wherever there may be, multi galaxy universes. All the water power was brought in, in the form of milk look like light and liquid. Dissolving to ourself. Dissolving to Tara, from Tara’s body tremendous amount of white light and liquid comes. Dissolving to our body and all the water element has completely rejuvenated. Similarly, light goes out from the Tara, goes to all the fire power, fire which be able to destroy all universe and all that great fire, and their energies are completely collected in the form of bright red orange, like Chinese red form of light and liquid. To the body of Tara and from there soothing wonderful soft red light and liquid come and dissolve to our body. Heal any difficulties that we experience.

0:44:21.9 The last circulation, that is air. Light goes out from the body of Tara, reach the foundation of all universe is based on the air mandala. Collect air power in the green light form. Green light and green movement, liquid dissolve to the body of Tara. From the Tara’s body soothing beautiful green light and liquid get to our body and all our circulations wherever there are difficulties, blocks, anything, has pushed through and opened up and all of our circulations are completely restored. Finally, the light goes from the body of Tara to all those great beings who have achieved accomplishments of all the buddhas and all bodhisattvas, yidams, and from all the traditions, all great beings their blessings are collected in the form of flower, light, liquid and tremendous amount; you have to visualize their blessings are coming like snowstorm and dissolve to our body. Dissolve to our body and blessings of all great beings, all great traditions, great masters, great beings all of their blessings are we now received.

0:47:17.7 So when you visualising that I will say few prayers with this. Unfortunately, I have to say my prayer in Tibetan, I can’t say in English.

0:50:47.0 Now the last thing what like to do is give you the mantra. If you’re interested I give you the mantra, if not interested just ignore. Those who are interested they will pick up. So, the mantra of Tara, you know what you work with is the mantra. What is mantra mean? Mantra means protection of mind. That’s really what it is. They will say some words they call it mantra. You repeat like mantra they say. But mantra really means protection of mind. Your minds been protected from negative emotions such as hatred, and obsession and all those. If you look in that little book behind, within Tara box and I have giving protection of eight fears, eight different negative emotions and with their metaphor and all of them there, I’m not going to speak here. So, mantra really protects, protect from outer obstacles and inner obstacles. Outer obstacles are of the devils if there is, and all that type of any physical obstacles are the outer obstacles.

0:52:28.4 inner obstacles are inner emotional difficulties. So Tara says I give protection and that protection what we going to look for. So, I just give you the mantra, and way and how you do is pick up the mantra and you may say it and then meditate. Whether we talked today or you read the book and it is in there quite detail, easily mentioned. Easy to do. So, then you can see how the result affects you but if you expect today you say one and tomorrow something happen, it may not. But you need to be you know, constantly continuously if you work it make big difference in our live which is my experience. And I’d like to share that with you. So, the mantra transmission is, the mantra is Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha. So, there is two ways of getting that transmission, one if you listen to me and you hear the sound three times, it gets transmission. Some Tibetans or some Asians particularly are not happy enough with that, they would like to repeat after, so I don’t think we really need to repeat. What mantra really works is with sound, the continuing that mantra you have heard from the Tara’s time, continuously, one live person to another. With mind of giving a transmission and with mind of receiving transmission with that it will do. So those of you who are interested do please think you are receiving the transmission and I’m going to repeat three times.

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha, Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha, Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha.

Okay so that’s what I plan to do for the Tara blessing and I guess we going to going to have a little chanting of the mantra since you receive the transmission. If you want to sing along and we have a little chanting of the mantra and then next is probably if you want something I will sign it and that’s about it. I guess before I don’t want to say so much, I really want to thank you for coming and I hope this will do a little help, ease our pain and suffering little bit and that will be great contribution to our life and our friends, companions, family. They are all you can do that and there are lot of meditations different ones but I can’t say everything in short time here, plus when it’s so hot, so I think that’s about it and if you are more interested there are workshops and finally, we will like to have nice retreat in next year in Michigan so you all are welcome and you can make a difference to your life, to your family, to everybody, thank you.