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SHANTIDEVA’S GUIDE TO THE BODHISATTVA’S WAY OF LIFE CHAPTER 8: MEDITATION PART I

Oral explanations by Kyabje Gehlek Rimpoche

20040413GRAABWL

Talk 7: 4-13-04

Welcome to tonight. I do have a number of things that we have to cover today. In order for us to have a good zhi ne meditation, we need to completely avoid any external wrong thoughts and conceptions. In order to absolutely clear all external thoughts you have to find out which kind of thought draws your attention the most. You will begin to find that what draws our attention most is desire. To us it may seem sometimes that is not the case. We think we don't have so many desires. But if you look carefully you will find that there are all kinds of different desires. Certain desires are for comfort, or for sexual desire, certain desires are just for certain articles and sometimes even for nothing. Some people are attached to completely useless stuff. They can have a very strong desire for that. In short, anything that draws our desire is a cause of suffering. That is the key here. Shantideva will go on for verse after verse, continuously adding up so many things in that direction. He is trying to tell us that all of those desires are causes of suffering. They bring suffering, not joy.

Then he tells you to go 'to the forest', or rather to maintain quietness, of the body and of the mind, of the environment and even the inhabitants. That will give you the opposite effect. Instead of sadness and sorrow and sourness, you will get joy. We have said that desire brings suffering. Yes, it is suffering, but very specifically desire brings you the sufferings of sadness, sorrow and sourness. This text tells us to maintain a forest life. We said last time that this means to maintain simplicity and satisfaction. This will give you the opposite effect.

Many people might say, 'I am maintaining simplicity, but that is not enough for me. I am getting a lot of suffering.' Obviously, there are degrees of simplicity. Somebody's simplicity can be somebody else's luxury and somebody's luxury can be somebody else's simplicity. It totally depends. It is not black and white. It becomes complicated. In American life we have a cut off point where the middle class ends and the wealthy class begins. It is put at $200 000 income. Then you are considered wealthy. They are talking about the tax. So that is where they draw a line. But with the business of desire you cannot really draw a line that way. It really differs from person to person. Certain individuals have some hobbies and some don't.

In order to cut that desire, Shantideva says, 'Whatever desire you have, you have to meditate and convince yourself that these desires bring you sadness and sorrow.' Under that power-point type of heading he also tells us that even if such a desire is fulfilled it is full of fear. It really is. Whatever result we get, it is full of fear, not in the sense of being frightened, not because someone is threatening us, but it is the fear of losing, of being unable to maintain what we obtained, of not being able to continue. So the result will be fear. When you look closer you will see that the desire we have is desire for bodily comfort. It could be desire for comfort, sexual desire, desire for articles and things we accumulate. Although we think they are for our mental happiness we really are doing it for physical happiness. Therefore the biggest source of desire for us comes out of the physical body. And this physical body we consider to be absolutely wonderful and clean. Particularly if you are in the medical or healing profession, you are trained to think that the body is absolutely clean. If you cut the body and look inside it must be absolutely clean. If you are not, you are sick, you have problems or diseases. As long as you are healthy, your body is supposed to be absolutely clean on the inside. We do believe that.

Buddha, on the other hand tells us that the body itself is absolutely filthy, not clean. This is a big contrast. I have been given the teaching on the Four Noble Truths a number of times and I even said that it seems to be directly contradicting the medical science. According to science it is absolutely clean. Ben Shapiro was attending one of my teachings on that, for the first or second time, I am not sure. Afterwards he came and talked to me. It was at a retreat in Connecticut. He said, 'You are absolutely right. As a medical person, as a doctor, I used to think that the body is absolutely clean. But if it is, then where does cancer come from? We mostly find cancer inside the body, not so much outside. The body is really not clean, it is filthy.' So now the top medical scientists are making statements like this, which gives me a little more confidence to say it louder.

Verse 41

I engage in fearful deeds for them

and will even consume my wealth.

But these (very bodies of theirs)

that I greatly enjoy in the sexual embrace

Verse 42

are nothing other than skeletons,

they are not autonomous and are identityless.

Rather than being so desirous and completely obsessed,

why do I not go to the state beyond sorrow (instead)?

The Buddha says that the body is absolutely filthy and the number one reason he gives is that the body is the source of pain and suffering, illnesses and diseases. Not only that. It was at the time a difference of opinion between Buddha and a number of non-Buddhists masters. They clashed on that point. Some of the Hindu masters would say that the being's body is clean, joyful, permanent and self-existing. Buddha says it is the other way round: it is impermanent, suffering, dependent arising and filthy.

Many of the following verses are dealing with these points. It doesn't end here. Because of desire, because of our obsession to fulfilling our desires, we will have tremendous problems, not only in this life, but even in future lives. Shantideva further intensifies this message by talking about meditating on the cemeteries, comparing the bodies there with ours.

Verse 43

In the first place I made efforts to lift (her veil)

and when it was raised she bashfully looked down.

Previously whether anyone looked or not,

her face was covered with a cloth.

Verse 44

But now why do I run away

upon directly beholding

this face that disturbs the mind

as it is being revealed to me by the vultures?

Because of the cemetery situation we can see the faults of the bodies that we are going to experience ourselves. There are 6 particular points made in that regard.

Our lives are very similar to the cemetery situation by way how we experience the result.

In the end there is nothing left but what you find in the cemetery.

We cannot protect our physical body by stinginess.

Even if you decorate the body it doesn't help.

This body is very fearful.

This body is simply just covered up. We can wear beautiful clothes that cover up the body and make it look good, but in reality it is just pieces of bones and muscles, covered up with the dry wall of skin. In that sense the body is just like a building. The construction materials in a building consist of all kinds of funny wooden parts, then gets all filled up with insulation made from all kinds of torn, dirty, rotten pieces of material. Then finally it is covered up with dry wall and painted. Then it looks nice. When we look at our body that is exactly what is happening.

The body that we are so attached to does not necessarily have to be the female body. It can be any physical body that draws our attraction, attachment and obsession. We enjoy touching and hugging this body, but it is nothing but the collection of bones. You have to think, "I did not have that body from the beginning. I didn't need it. It has no value for whatsoever." With that mind my desire for such a body should be reversed. I hope you get what I mean. I already mentioned last time that in old India people didn't even see each other's bodies. They were completely covered with cotton cloths. Yet they thought this body is wonderful. Finally, the vultures will remove the covers in the cemeteries. Why should one worry about the body and have such obsession for it.

Verse 45

(Previously) I completely protected (her body)

when others cast their eyes upon it.

Why, miser, do you not protect it now

while it is being devoured by these birds?

Our attachment can be so much. Lets say somebody is looking at your girl-friend. You get so jealous and want to protect it. But this body will be eaten by vultures and other animals. Why am I so touchy that I even don't want others to look at it? This verse addresses point 3 (out of the above list of 6). We shouldn't have such a stinginess for this body that we don't want to share it with anybody.

Verse 46

Since vultures and others are eating

this pile of meat that I behold,

why did I offer flower garlands, sandalwood and

ornaments

to that which is now the food of others?

Why should we try to protect such a body by wearing so much jewelry and so many ornaments? One should not be strongly attached and have obsession for the body.

Why is there so much focus on the body? We don't like to say it, but most of our obsession is drawn from the physical body. This is true for many people. There may be people who have gone beyond that level, but in the beginning all our attachments and obsessions are drawn on the physical body. So we like to decorate the body with all kinds of ornaments and jewels. This verse tells us that this body is just a collection of flesh, nothing but the food for vultures and jackals or coyotes. Why should I decorate some animal's food with flowers, sandalwood, gold and precious jewels?

It is simply a meditation used to cut attachment.

Verse 47

If I am frightened by the skeletons I see,

even though they do not move,

why am I not frightened by walking corpses

which are moved around by a few (impulses)?

This verse deals with point 5. This body is something very frightening. It is just a collection of bones. When we see a collection of bones that move around we will be extremely scared. We are scared of looking at dead bodies. But while we are alive our bodies are like those of zombies moved by mind. Why are we not afraid of the living zombies? This is the body that we so appreciate and take every effort to take care of and protect. We put cream and make-up on it. We decorate it with jewels. Shantideva compares this body with a dead body, which is nothing but the food for vultures and coyotes. We are afraid to touch a dead body, we are afraid to be with a dead body. So why are we not afraid of living with the living zombies?

Verse 48

Although I am attached to it when it is covered (with skin)

why do I not desire it when it is uncovered?

Since I have no need for it then,

why copulate with it when it is covered?

Many of our attraction has been enhanced by the clothes that we put on. Is this body worth developing all these things for? This is the situation of life and death. Even in life, if you don't have a spiritual practice within you, the body will be totally useless. So this is the comparison between the spiritual developments that we can obtain and the attractions that we have in our body.

In this regard there are a further 5 points:

1. We like the body because we like to touch it. The next verse is going to tell you:

Verse 49

Since both excrement and saliva

arise solely from food,

why do I dislike excrement

and find joy in saliva?

Certain things come out of the body, from the one source, the one person, but we like some of them and not the others. How wrong is that?

Verse 50

Cotton too is soft to the touch,

but while I find no (sexual) delight in a pillow

I think that (a woman's body) does not emit a putrid

odour.

Lustful One, you are confused as to what is unclean!

Verse 51

Thinking that they cannot sleep with this cotton

although it is soft to the touch,

confused, negative and lustful people

become angry towards it (instead).

Yes, touch is great, because it is soft and wonderful. So why not touch a nice, little pillow?

Shantideva calls that 'stupid'. He says stupid people will reject that and will get angry. The reasons you know. They are stated here.

Verse 52

If I am not attached to what is unclean,

then why do I copulate with the lower parts of others'

bodies

which are merely cages of bones tied together with

muscles,

plastered over with the mud of flesh?

Verse 53

I myself contain many unclean things

which I constantly have to experience;

so why, because of an obsession for uncleanliness,

do I desire other bags of filth?

These verses are telling us that our bodies are not clean, that we are full of filthy things. We live in a bag of filthy substances. It says if I am not attached to what is unclean, then why do I copulate with the lower parts of others' bodies? The translation is even worse than the Tibetan! It talks about cages of bones tied together with muscles.

Point 2.This is all trying tell us that it is not a good reason to indulge in attachment, just because it feels great to touch.

Verse 54

But it is the flesh that I enjoy

If this is what I wish to touch and behold,

why do I not desire it in its natural state

devoid of any mind?

Verse 55

Furthermore, any mind that I may desire

is unable to be touched or beheld,

and whatever I am able to touch will not be mental;

so why indulge in this meaningless copulation?

Point 3. You may answer: 'But I like the flesh. I am happy with it. I can touch it and look at it.' Yes, you can look and touch, but only flesh that doesn't have mind. It is like a dead body. You can't see the mind. But then, why don't you want to touch a dead body? So you have this dialogue between yourself and you, in order to cut obsession. You have to remember that, otherwise it is a little too gross here. You may say, 'I am not really attached to the flesh and feeling the skin. I like the mind.' But you cannot touch somebody's mind. You cannot touch or see it. So, then why are you doing useless stuff like touching bodies when you actually want to see and touch the mind? Why are you touching something else?

This is telling you that body and mind are something separate. You cannot have attachment to the body by giving the mind as a reason.

Verse 56

It is not so strange that I do not understand

the bodies of others to be of an unclean nature,

but it is indeed strange that I do not understand

my very own body to be by nature unclean.

Point 4. There is no surprise to see that other people are unclean. But it is a big surprise that you yourself are also full of unclean stuff. When you realize that it is interesting. All the faults we have identified about other bodies, are also true for ourselves. It is my body, my inside, it is me who is in that condition. Therefore, I should not have obsession for my body.

Verse 57

Having forsaken the young lotus flower

unfolded by beams of sunlight free from cloud,

why, with a mind craving for what is unclean,

do I revel in a cage of filth?

Point 5. You may say, 'It looks nice, it has a nice shape. That's why I have strong attachment.' Yes, beautiful sun shine looks nice. A beautiful lotus opened by the sun shine looks nice. And you leave all that aside and instead want to have obsession for unclean stuff!

Up to here the argument is made that the body is actually filthy and therefore, one should not develop obsession and attachment to that body.

Verse 58

Since I do not wish to touch

a place that is smeared with excrements,

then why do I wish to touch the body

from which that (excrement) arose?

Verse 59

If I am not attached to what is unclean,

why do I copulate with the lower parts of others' bodies

which arise from the unclean field (of a womb)

and are produced by the seeds within it?

From the reasoning point of view you should also not have attachment to physical bodies. The physical body is a source for all unclean things coming out of it. I am sure I don't have to read this verse to you. I don't really want to. Basically, the body is filthy, because the things coming out it make even the pure ground dirty. Furthermore, the physical body is the result of something unclean. Therefore, our physical body itself is unclean.

Verse 60

I have no wish for a small dirty maggot

which has come from a pile of filth,

so why do I desire this body which by nature is grossly

unclean,

for it too was produced by filth?

Our body is a collection of impure materials. Anything that comes out an unclean place, like maggots we don't like. We feel it is dirty and filthy. We want to run away from it or destroy it. But our own body is actually a collection of 326 dirty materials. Don't let me count. I don't even know what they are.

Verse 61

Not only do I not disparage

the uncleanliness of my own body

but because of an obsession for what is unclean

I desire other bags of filth as well.

Not only are we ourselves bags full of filth but we desire more filth from others as well!

Verse 62

Even attractive things such as savory foods,

cooked rice and vegetables,

make the ground dirty and unclean

should they be spat our after being in the mouth.

You say, 'Even though it may be filthy, I can put on nice perfume, so it looks and smells good.' Yes, the smell may be great but whatever that great smell is, if you swallow it and throw it up again, see what happens to it then! Therefore, even though you may apply smells, that is no reason to have attachment to the body.

Verse 63

Although such uncleanliness is obvious,

if I still have doubts I should go to the cemeteries

and look at the unclean bodies (of others)

that have been thrown away there.

By now we know that the body is absolutely filthy. If you still have doubts, go back and look in the cemeteries, where the animals have eaten the bodies and their left-overs are lying around.

Verse 64

Having realized that when their skin is rent open

they give rise to great deal of fear,

how will such things as these

ever again give rise to joy?

When we think about opening our skin we will be very afraid, for ourselves and others. We know what is in there. But when it is covered up with skin, whether it is your body or the body of a young, beautiful woman, we will have strong attachment, again and again. So remember, when you open the skin of that body you will run away. Therefore, all physical bodies that draw our attraction are like the bodies we see in the cemeteries. Therefore, it is not worth for us to suffer for its sake and develop trouble.

Verse 65

The scents with which someone's body is anointed

are sandalwood and the like, but not that of the other's

body.

So why am I attached to other's (bodies)

because of scents that are other (than theirs)?

Verse 66

Since the body has a naturally foul odor,

isn't it good to be unattached to it?

why do those who crave for the meaningless things of

the world

anoint this body with pleasant scents?

We could put nice ornaments on the body. Can that change the body into something pure? No. The smell of the body does not change. Even if you put nice sandalwood perfume on, that smell belongs to the sandalwood, not to the body. It is not the body's smell. It is something else, the smell of flowers, incense or sandalwood. Therefore, even though the smell is nice, it just doesn't belong there.

Verse 67

And furthermore, if it is the pleasant scent of

sandalwood,

how can it come from the body?

So why am I attached to others' (bodies)

because of scents that are other (than theirs)?

There is no connection between the niceness and the attractions that draw us and the body. The body is naturally decaying. Nice, beautiful things shouldn’t' decay. They are beautiful.

Verse 68

Since the naked body (left) in its natural state

is very frightening due to its long hair and nails,

its yellowish foul-smelling teeth

and its being coated with the odour of dirt,

Verse 69

Why do I make such an effort to polish it

like (cleaning) a weapon that will cause me harm?

Hence this entire world is disturbed with insanity

due to the exertions of those who are confused about

themselves.

The body is of decaying nature. The hair and nails will grow longer. The gums get dirty. All that is the reality of the body. Therefore it is in the nature of fear. Though it is very harmful to ourselves, why do we go out of our way to create more harm?

Verse 70

When my mind rises ( above worldly concerns),

through having beheld nothing but skeletons in the

cemetery,

will there be any joy in graveyard cities

which are filled with moving skeletons?

Here we are talking about skeletons again. This is talking about ourselves. I would like to leave it here for today.

To draw the conclusion: Why can't we develop shamatha or zhi ne or proper meditation? Our mind cannot focus, because it is pre-occupied by all kinds of thoughts. The number one preoccupation is: it is extremely difficult for us to get rid of attachment. Attachment is something we enjoy. We get a feeling of comfort from it. It gives us a cool feeling or a feeling of emerald green light. The reason is that there is a feeling of coolness; it doesn't feel hot or difficult. We enjoy these samsaric delights. But as a matter of fact they cause us even more harm than hatred and anger. Hatred and anger is hot. We see and feel it. When people get angry, their body is shaking. We can clearly and easily see that it is not good. But attachment and obsession doesn't look that bad. It doesn't make you mad. It makes you feel cool. But it has a long-lasting and harmful effect. We don't realize it and we don't want to realize it. We enjoy certain parts. We think there is a little comfort in the midst of total misery and we enjoy that comfortable feeling.

In a way, it is true. An immediate nice feeling is there. But that 'happiness' lasts only a few seconds. For the rest of the time we have to go through more pain and suffering related to it. Many of us enjoy and endure even those pains for the sake of something that we consider to be comfort. But that comfort is getting weaker and weaker and shorter and shorter and instead there is more and more dissatisfaction. That is the nature of reality, of emotion itself and it is the nature of the physical body itself. In other words, the physical comfort can not satisfy our needs at all. Yet, we have the very strong attachment for it and put ourselves through a tremendous amount of torture for its sake.

In the long run, attachment is even more harmful for the individual than ignorance, confusion or hatred. Buddha didn't say without reason:

Attachment is the glue of samsara

The samsara or suffering continues for the individual, because attachment makes sure it remains. That's why, when the meditator begins to meditate, it is so important to deal with attachment and that is why Shantideva spends over 40 verses on this, just simply attacking the subject point on which we develop attachment. That is the material Shantideva gives us to meditate on. No one likes to hear this. No one enjoys this, because everybody thinks that it is joy. We think it is wonderful. But when we really look into our personal experience, that wonderful feeling is jus a tiny, little portion of the experience. The major part, 99.9 % of everything is physical, mental and emotional suffering. You know it if you look yourself. Review your life. We all have experience with this, except the little babies who haven't gone through it yet. But they will too. We all know this. There is nothing mysterious about it. It is just something we don't like to hear about. We enjoy persisting with it. Spiritually this is wrong, because of the reasons I have given you today.

That doesn't mean one shouldn't have love and affection. What it does mean is that attachment shouldn't overpower all your needs. It is just a tiny, little portion of your needs. Your major need is your spiritual needs. Not only you have to balance that, but you have to manage well. Otherwise, attachment will completely overpower you and you will become its slave. That is how we lose our freedom to attachment. That’s why Buddha made the point of what is traditionally called 'renunciation'. We like to call it 'Seeking Freedom.' We have to claim our freedom from our attachment, from our hatred. Attachment uses us like a slave. Why do we get attached? You don't need any descriptions more graphic than what we just heard. If we are not careful somebody might say that this is a pornographic book! But pornography actually works in the opposite direction. We are going backwards rather than forward in that respect. Spiritually, we are going forward. That is the difference between the spiritual and the material world.

That is the level on which we hope to give you the material to meditate. Last Thursday in New York I explained how meditate on the mind as object of concentration. It was short and sweet and quite good, although my English is so terrible. But it gives you a good introduction to the relative mind. I am sure all of you have been listening and the transcripts are also available. They are on the web as well as available as printed materials. Please make sure you read it and understand it.

That evening I emphasized that this is the introduction to the relative mind, not the ultimate mind, although many traditional Tibetan masters have said that this is the ultimate. They say that you see this and keep on watching it and you will be liberated. But this is simply the introduction to the mind. Once you know your mind you still have to investigate the reality of that mind, the wisdom part of it. That’s why you need zhi ne and lhag tong. You can develop zhi ne on the basis of the mind.

Generally it is recommended to use Buddha's image as object of zhi ne. But the mind is also recommended. The mind meditation has been given a little lower profile. I have given you the reasons for the benefits of meditating on Buddha's mind. Actually, the mind meditation is quite simple. I mentioned the state of NBB. This is nawang ben bun. This is classic, old Tibetan language. The modern language would call it nyö nyö bun. It means that somehow your mind is already in a sort of drunken state. You are almost drunk with joy and happiness. At that level you begin to see, without any correction or suggestion, you leave it there and observe. By observing you will see some kind of clear lucid nature. It is quite obviously clear. That is the introduction of the relative mind. I don't want to go too much beyond that. If I say more about that it may affect somebody else's teaching. Therefore I have to leave it there.

We have one more Tuesday as a make up day due to one day we lost due to snowy weather. We will be meeting once more next Tuesday. That will be the end of this 8 week course. Then I will go to Holland and meanwhile many of you will go to the Kalachakra teachings and initiations of HH the Dalai Lama. Then many of you will come to the Guhyasamaja initiation and teaching. Then we will continue this series with a 5 week course beginning June 8 and June 10 in New York. I will continue wherever I have stopped here. I want to really complain both explanations on zh ine, the sam ten meditation chapter of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara and the meditation course in New York, some time around Thanksgiving this year.

I would like to encourage you to listen to Robert Thurman on Friday 16 April in Ann Arbor, where he will do a talk and a book signing. He seems to be the best Tibetan scholar, Tibetologist and Buddhologist available. He has translated so many great texts, both in the prequisite sutrayana and the actual vajrayana. He is also the Je Tsong Khapa chair in Columbia University. The New York Times called him the 'Billy Graham of Buddhism'. He didn't like that though. Now he wrote that book 'Infinite Life-Seven Virtues of Living Well'. He will do a talk and sign books afterwards. The cost of getting in is $5 and you can get the tickets at the door. So be there early. I am supposed to be introducing him. I don't know what his book is all about but I will find out in the mean time.

Are there any questions?

Audience: When you recognize attachment what can you actually do?

Rimpoche: Literally, truly, word by word, what is written here. that's what it is. When you have to cut attachment, that's what you have to do. I told you that in Thailand they keep dead bodies in water and show them to people, not only in order to bring home the nature of impermanence and dying, but also the nature of reality of the body, how it becomes rotten and so on. The only difference between ours currently and the dead body is that one has mind and the other doesn't. You may say, 'I like the mind better.' But then the body is not the mind and vice versa. So this is a technique to cut attachment. That doesn't mean you should cut love. It is very hard to distinguish between love and attachment. It is very subtle. Love is pure. There are no thorns. Attachment comes with a lot of thorns. They stick into you. Then you know that it is attachment and not love.

Audience: Can you talk more about the NBB state?

Rimpoche: NBB is a state of mind. It is mind. That state itself is the introduction to the mind. But then you take the mind at that level and focus on it by clearing all the thoughts. Then the luminous, pure nature will be clear. You eye doesn't see it, but your mind does. It is a different thing to see with the eyes and to see with the mind. The traditional culture uses the term 'seeing' for a reason. In English it may be better to say that you feel and understand the mind. But understanding and feeling will not give you the full value that the word 'seeing' gives you. That doesn't necessarily only relate to eye consciousness. Even with visual seeing there is a difference between knowing what we see and what we actually see. Just physical seeing means seeing things upside down and a picture that is projected twice. So if you physically see it that does not mean you really see it.

When you reach to the NBB level, it doesn't mean that you already know the mind. You have to focus and clear all thoughts. I introduced 6 different ways, like sunshine free of clouds, like birds soaring in the air and so on. When you look into the mind in that way you see its luminous nature. When you see it you see it. I don't know what else to say. When you don't see it you don't see it.

Thank you