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GEHLEK RIMPOCHE

New York – Thursday Evening

2/26/04

Gehlek Rimpoche: …for this course on the meditation. It is interesting to note, we have been working for a long time to variety of topics based on the Lam Rim. We have been working on that, and somehow now we came to the point of the fifth paramita of meditation, concentrated meditation. Interestingly, in Ann Arbor I have been teaching for years for Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, and that also came to the point of concentrated meditation. So both of these, Tuesday night in Ann Arbor on the basis of Bodhisattvacharyavatara and Thursday night in New York on the basis of Lam Rim’s teaching on the concentrated meditation, which in other words we call it shamatha, right? Concentrated meditation is called shamatha in Sanskrit, and normal English we call meditation. It is funny. I mentioned Tuesday night in Ann Arbor, it is same thing. The word in Tibetan is zhine. And the word meditation, I don’t think it does anything. When you translate zhine as meditation, I do not know what shamatha really mean. The meaning of the word if you divide them, sha-ma-tha, they has to have something, but I don’t know that because I don’t know the Sanskrit. Nor I have the diligence enough to look in the dictionary or anything, so did not. But word is zhine in Tibetan, which really means something very important which I don’t think this word meditation ever conveys that. Zhi-ne. Zhi, the word zhi is “pacified, peace,” and ne is “remains.” So what they’re really talking about, when you’re talking about the meditation, what it’s really talking about is one who had pacified all difficulties, obstacles, imbalanced within your mind, you pacify that, reach yourself in the peace and then maintain and remain in that. That’s what the word zhine conveys. When you’re listening to the word zhine, that’s what it is. And that I don’t think conveys in the word meditation, when you say “meditation.” Meditation gives you an idea of being peace and concentrating or something but does not really convey that bringing yourself peace. And that also peace means when you have all the obstacles, bothering, worrying, all those, pressures, and when you have pacified them all and then remain bringing in the peace and remaining in that. There are many words in Tibetan to be able to translate as meditation. Today what we are talking about is zhine. So that conveys that message. However, the word meditation, I don’t think it does. Anyway, maybe I don’t know, maybe it does. So you people know better than I do because you are the native speakers, not me.

So we are talking here about the zhine based on these Lam Rim teachings. And I’m talking again zhine of the eighth chapter, chapter “Meditation” it’s called in the Bodhisattvacharyavatara. So when you’re looking at these and when I see it, a combination of these, what I see is absolutely a wonderful, very wonderful teaching on meditation. It’s combined together, what’s happening on the Tuesdays in Ann Arbor and what’s happening in Thursdays in New York. At the end of this, which right now we have the eight-week course; however, it’s not going to be finished in eight weeks for sure. So it will be another two or three more courses will be there by the end of the year. So I really hope it will be one of the best instructions given on meditation, one of the best instructions ever given in United States in meditation. I’m really hoping for this, and I think it’s going to happen because we’re allowing the time and the source is extremely rich. The meditation courses given in United States so far, what we know is they’re very good but it is very…it’s not giving so detail and nor it gone deep enough. So let it be that way, so I don’t want to go anything more than that. So I was hoping this will be one of those comprehensive and the best given here so far. That’s my hope. And it is all possible because there is tremendous material and resource available.

So what I’d like to now, after having said all this, like to as always I say and always you have to think, understand this. The word meditation is…another word in Tibetan is mnyamsha(?), mnyamsha again, mnyambarishawa(?) or mnyamsha. That means, if you directly translate word mnyamsha, it becomes equalize and remain. Again, I don’t think it means equalize, it means balance mind between… Again, we have too much struggle in our mind, a lot of struggle, push-pull, struggling. From any point on any level for anything, so we really do struggle tremendously. For economic reasons, social reasons, or for the sake of happiness or whatever, for the sake of name or fame or whatever, we struggle so much. So word mnyamsha or equalizing here again means balancing between the too much obsession in one side and too much hatred on the other side. Try to balance this and make your mind stable, not swept over by either the force of hatred nor sucked in by the forces of obsession. Balance in between and maintain the mind at that level, the word mnyamsha or mnyambarishawa. Because there’s people here who picks Tibetan word, so that’s what I like to say, mnyam. Though when you make this mnyam, [Tibetan] or it is m-n-y-a-m, that mnyam is equalizing, but it doesn’t talk about equal or equanimity or anything. It really means balancing, the balancing our mind. So, again, the meditation means bringing to that level of mind.

And there is two kinds of meditation, very definitely, no question. Meditation that focusing, the shamatha-oriented focusing meditation, and the vipasyana or specially seeing it’s called, lhagtong in Tibetan. Like zhine, it’s called lhag tong, specially seeing. The vipasyana is basically translated in this country as insight, but the word in Tibetan means lhag tong, specially seeing. Specially seeing what? Specially seeing the true nature and the true reality. So it is really talking about the wisdom. So two kinds, again – the zhine, the concentrated focused mind, and lhag tong, specially seeing, it analyzing or analyzation or analysis-oriented meditation called lhag tong. So two of them, that’s what Buddha used for his own development and he share that with us. And Buddha himself says every quality that whatever we get, whether it is samsaric or non-samsaric, every good quality is result of either one of those meditations. That is Buddha’s word. In other words, what Buddha is saying is if you don’t have either of these meditative way of doing, then you are not going to have any good quality. And, of course, Buddha doesn’t mean that…I think Buddha looking for special qualities. Not just good quality, special qualities. Though both zhine, the shamatha, or lhag tong, the vipasyana, are a quality that one develops by putting efforts in the meditation. Still, every good positive virtues are result or, if it’s focus and thought carefully, it is a part within the category of zhine; and if it is analyzed, it goes in the category of vipasyana. So that’s the reason why Buddha says every quality is a result of one of those. Both vipasyana and shamatha, though we are talking here on the basis of Buddha’s teaching and Buddha’s experience, but basically these two qualities are nothing special with the Buddhist. It is with every traditional eastern religions, all of them carry. Almost every tradition carries these two. Depends how detail, what is focused and all this are different.

What does these two do to the individual? I’d like to basically have a couple of points here. What Tsongkhapa has did here, as he did here was sort of outline type of thing, but it’s not really an outline point. The point how he presented here is first point he says what benefits, what benefit one gets if you have this shamatha and vipasyana meditations. That’s point one I would like to touch. As we quoted what Buddha is saying, every quality is a result of these two types of meditation, so then what benefits do we really have to talk? We don’t. Every quality, whatever we get, if we do not meditate, if we do not analyze, if we do not focus, we practically gain nothing. That’s why. That’s why every quality, whatever we gain is a result of these two. These two. So I hope you notice that I’m bringing two together. I’m not try to bring two separately, I’m try to bring two together. Not only that, the second point what Tsongkhapa emphasizes here, these two are the basic formula which…anything, whatever you’re dealing with your own consciousness, with your own mind, uplifting the level of your consciousness, your mind to a betterment of, better purpose. And the normal Judeo-Christian tradition will tell you bring close to the God or something. In our tradition, we’ll say upliftment, betterment, improving, or you can very easily say bringing close to the enlightenment. So all of which the formula on which you work with your mind, it has to be either one of these. There is no third one. No third one. So that’s why a lot of people do meditate without knowing what meditation really is all about. Though they don’t make it formality of sitting down or doing all kinds of things, but they do. So anything, the formula what they give you here is the formula which is working with the mind. There is no third or extra formula that works with the mind really available. Physically, yes, you can have a lot of them. But the mind, no. Simply because mind doesn’t have a shape or color, it’s not tangible. So, therefore, for working with the mind is also has to be the method something like this. I guess I’m thinking you cannot somehow get hold of the mind and take a sample and take a piece out of it, analyze it and see what it’s made out of or what chemicals involved in that; and that thing you cannot do it because you’re not going to capture it, you’re not going to get a sample at all. So the formula of working with the mind is either these two parts. Does not really have to be pure shamatha-zhine or vipasyana-lhag tong, but sort of within its framework according to Tsongkhapa. And that is the reason why this is the formula which is applicable to anything dealing with the mind, but it’s very hard to work with the mind without either of these formulas. Second point, I think sort of highlighting point Tsongkhapa is making here is because this is the only formula which you can really use it for seeing, developing, uplifting our consciousness.

Third point is what is it? What is this shamatha? What is this vipasyana? What is this zhine? And though I explained to you what the word zhine really means earlier, way and how Tsongkhapa explained here is beautiful. I wish I have all the time and knowledge of doing way he has done it. You know, what’s beautiful he does is he just doesn’t say, “This is this, this is this,” he definitely quotes from the Buddha’s word. Somewhere he quotes from Buddha’s word, “This is this,” then he explains. This is the way the Tsongkhapa works fantastic. And not only one, but five or six or maybe ten different areas where he quotes from the Buddha and the earlier Indian masters. And then he gives you logic behind all this, and it is so beautiful, really. But if we keep on digging in those, we’ll be nowhere. So the third point what he is making is what is a shamatha and what is a vipasyana? So Tsongkhapa goes on saying shamatha here or the zhine here means to me the mind is focused on one thing and one thing only and not running around, not shifting. And because of your efforts to put a focus in one point only, somehow your mind will learn this, to be able to focus, and it becomes natural to your mind. In other words, your mind really get trained. You get trained because mind won’t run around. Right now our mind is going crazy, like everywhere. It’s funny. As I said, I don’t know what meditation is all about because…before. I do know the word zhine and mnyamsha and all these, a zillion times I heard, but I didn’t get it what it really means. And then when it goes into say meditation, and I don’t know, I don’t know.

And there was a healer, a very good healer in Houston, Texas, and later he moved to Dallas, Texas. So the healer called Norbu Chen(?). So Norbu Chen brought me in the United States, I think it’s in mid-‘70s or something, ‘70s, to give some initiation and things like that. And then he’s talking about the meditation to me and I keep on saying, “I don’t know anything about meditation,” because I don’t speak English good and doesn’t… I’m “meditation, no, no.” Then he’s going to teach me meditation, I think he was saying. So what he did is he put some incense and burn incense and we sit and keep on watching it, so looking at the incense burning. So what he is teaching me, his idea is if you could focus and sit and think about one inch of incense burning, the smoke going and all that. So apparently, by the time when he was doing that, then I began to realize he’s trying to show me how to focus the mind. He’s trying to get two words zhine side. So watching the incense burning, so it’s my learning of meditation. It’s funny. But he’s a very good healer, extremely good healer. So I really never knew such a good healer like that person. On the other hand, he’s extremely crazy. Just not crazy, extremely crazy.

Woman: Did he teach you to meditate?

Gehlek Rimpoche: So he told me to look at the incense burning, so that’s what it is. So what Tsongkhapa is telling you here, what is zhine is all about it means focusing your mind in one point, not running around, keep one focusing. Learn that. When you learn that, the mind will automatically remain. Without our putting focus, the mind will automatically do it, right? If you learn, you do that. It’s not how to do, it’s learning. I’m not talking about how to do, it’s learning. I am talking about your mind learned to sit on it without wandering around like we do now. Right now it is completely wandering mind. Traditional Tibetan teachers tells us it is monkey in the temple. That’s exactly they tell you, monkey in the temple. If you have a wild, crazy monkey in a temple…if you have an idea of old Tibetan temples, it’s a little dark room where there are a lot of images and a lot of jewelries and a lot of food offerings, a lot of water offerings. And so you let the monkey loose in there, will jump from one image to another, eat all those food and knock down every butter lamp and drink all the water or throw them off, whatever, right? So that exactly our mind does now with us. It is the temple of our body. In the temple of our body, this monkey is running around and eating everything. When you eat in, then you let something out too. So all of them, and they are doing.

So in our mind, that is where we are. So mind itself is trained, given training and learn how to focus. Remain by the mind mental force itself focus and remain. And if you can remain with this, because of that reason, because we are holding our mind. Because we hold our mind, we hold our energy too. We hold the air that travels with the mind. When the mind goes around, there’s air also travels together. Traditional Vajrayana teachings will tell you the air is the horse and the mind is the horse rider, one who rides the horse. You call it jockey here, right? So there’s always mind and air, or you call it energy, they travel together always, throughout, wherever. Inside or outside the body, wherever it travels, travel together. And that air or the energy has no way of holding it, but when you are holding the mind… Because there is imagery. Even you are holding…even you are not focusing anything, there is imagery. The imagery of the individual person is holding and focal of doing something, some kind of imagery, and that’s why mind be able to be able to hold. Though mind has no color, no shape, nothing, no tangible, however, there’s some kind of energy. If you look within yourself, sort of thinking your mind, you’re probably focusing in the middle of your brain, something you try to hold it. And each and every one of us will have that type of slightly different to the individual people, that type of imagery. Because of that imagery, you will be able to hold it, focus, therefore holding becomes possible. Energy is such a thing there is no imagery, it’s sort of a vibrated some funny thing. So at least all combination of the mind and the energy, whatever, we can have some kind of imagery. Because of that imagery, you can hold it. When you can hold it, it improves that very energy which combines with our mind together. Because of that, because of that, it gives you some kind of pleasure or joy in body. Because of that joy and pleasure in body, it also gives you a joy or happiness in the mind. So these joy in body, in mind, are called zhingjung(?). I don’t know what word it is. It’s called zhingjung. It’s probably Tibetan, zhindajungba(?), very well trained. And so it gives very good joy and happiness. On the basis of that joy and that happiness, then you can get samadhi in it. Samadhi is in Tibetan we call it tingenzin(?). So such a level of meditative level is called zhine. That’s what the Buddha’s words, that’s what the great Indian pandit’s word, that’s what Tsongkhapa try to present. In other words, if we are simply sitting and focus and sitting long time, it just doesn’t become zhine. Zhine must have, must have that joy of the physical and the mind. Samadhi or tingenzin, I don’t know, meditative state which develops for the individual due to the influence of this physical and mental joy and the power to be able to…power of holding becomes before the joy. Power of holding, because of the power of able to focusing, it brings the joy. Because of the joy and the power together brings the what we call it tingenzin or meditative state. And that very meditative state or tingenzin is called zhine. And zhine doesn’t have to be wisdom-oriented, it does not. Even Tsongkhapa quotes from Buddha saying [Tibetan]. He says, “This joy will develop only you be able to focus and hold your mind and energy within yourself. Only by this, this joy will develop. It not requires to have wisdom.” So the third point what Tsongkhapa is try to make here is what is zhine and what is lhag tong, what is the vipasyana. What is zhine and what is vipasyana.

So it goes on for vipasyana or for lhag tong, because of the joy what we already experience in body and in mind, on the basis of this, you have power to be able to use your mind to discriminately looking into the points. Now talking about discriminating wisdom here. Whatever point you are focusing, to be able to see it clearly, detail-ly, wholly, as a whole, and you be able to analyze it, you be able to observe it in gross level and subtle level, you be able to bear it. And when you’re able to do that, then we call this special seeing or lhag tong or vipasyana. [Tibetan] When that becomes the bodhisattvas, you have lhag tong. These are the Buddha’s words. Rather difficult, but then there’s a lot of more quotes to make it furthermore. So in other words to conclude, zhine means mind that running outside, object, external objects, or even can be internal but not what you are focusing. A good expression or the American expression, what you call it busy for nothing. You are doing something, you are...like even you are meditating, you are sitting down, and we do sit. We do sit three hours and days and sometimes weeks. We haven’t done that yet, right? No. So whatever we sit. And if our mind is not focused on that subject or object on which you are focusing, then those sittings are not necessarily directly contributing towards zhine. But zhine, there really has to be focusing mind. To be able to focus two, three seconds is extremely difficult. As I told you, when I’m looking the incense burning, I can’t sit there and watching the incense burning. Even I physically put my mind idea, but my mind is thinking something else. As a matter of fact, I sort of funny way I could remember what I was thinking. I had dinner the night before in Forth Worth, and I was really looking at the incense burning but thinking the dinner the night before. So this shows how our mind is. Here they’re presenting it, Tsongkhapa is highlighting these points: what is zhine and what is lhag tong. What is zhine, what is lhag tong. So I think that’s what we are focusing now.

Then the fourth point, he goes on and saying, “Do I need both?” Do I need both? These are good questions. Do I need both? These are important question and good question. What do you think? Each and every one of us will have its own answer. The answer we simply say…some people will say, “Yes, I think we do.” Why? “Because the great teachers have said we do need it.” And that is an absolutely invalid reason we are giving to ourself. So what will be the valid reason? So you have to really think about it. And I give you what the traditional teachings tells you here. It is very interesting. The old teachers, this is 2,600 years old teachers, they give example, they said, “Hey, there is a beautiful painting in the temple.” Right? The painting, beautiful paintings. So you want to see the paintings. So it is old temples are normally dark, though they say at night, forget about night. Even at daytime you won’t see it anything. If you’ve been in Tibet, even during the daytime you probably need a flashlight nowadays. In those days, we don’t have flashlight. Anyway, when you really want to see it a painting and you need light, the best source of the light possible is like a candlelight or something. And if it’s not good candlelight, a very weak candlelight, are we going to see it nicely? No, because there’s not enough light so you’re not going to see it, right? OK, the candle is good. All right, good candle, so there’s enough light. But then if there is wind, wind blowing, the candle will keep on flickering, going up and down, and so you’re not going to see it. So there the traditional…you know, 6,000 years before they give you this as example. So when you want to see that beautiful painting on the wall, you need nice light. And you need the light burning well, not wind blowing the light. Just like that. The beautiful, the reality, the truth, you want to see it so you like to have good light. That is the special seeing vipasyana, but stable. Even it’s good, if they’re not stable, the wind blowing, it won’t work. Stable. So you need the concentrated meditation, shamatha. Shamatha makes it stable, and vipasyana makes it to be able to strike and penetrate and see it nicely. So this is an old example. And even those old example is very good for us today, though we don’t depend on candlelights. But when the light goes off, we do. We get into a lot of trouble when the power goes off.

And then Tsongkhapa further goes on and saying quote from Buddha, [Tibetan]. Without vipasyana, if you keep on analyzing, analytical meditation only, that makes you develop, good, but you will never be able to get yourself free from the wandering mind. Your mind will wander no matter how much. So which will be like the candlelight in the lot of wind blowing, in the miserable wind blowing. So not only you need the wisdom, but you also need the stability. That’s why you need both. So because of the zhine, it will be like candlelight free of air. The mind will be free of thoughts and doubts, so it becomes stable. You know, the wind blows to the candle, the wind. The wind-like thoughts, doubts, that’s what it is, make it not stable. So because of the vipasyana, you cannot go wrong. You cannot be influenced by the wrong things, cannot go wrong. And that’s why both are necessary.

So to conclude this, what they are saying is if one can balance the mind between the wandering and sinking… Now I’m not…I’m shifting from the attached, from the hatred and obsession to wandering mind and sinking. You know what I mean? Wandering mind, you can’t think straight. Your mind goes travels, we have a wandering mind. We also have a sinking mind. If you begin to focus something, you’re going to go to sleep. You begin to snore, and your own snoring will wake you up. So that’s what we do. So it’s a very gross level of wandering, very gross level of sinking mind. So mind balancing between the wandering and the sinking will be free…that is balancing, free of imbalance, zhi, or the peace, ne, remains. With that stable mind, if we can utilize analyzing, then there will be no difficulty to the individuals. That’s what the Buddha talks about. There are some people who will tell you simply mind wandering and not focusing alone…not focusing, it has to be judged from the clarity. When there is clarity of the mind, then it is a zhine. And not only clarity…not only stable but clarity, and then it is lhag tong. So there are some sutras already caught, that means Buddha’s words some of them, some earlier teachers have caught this and try to explain that way. And Tsongkhapa goes on and saying this is they are talking about subtle(settle?) sinking mind, not really talking about zhine itself. So maybe it’s too early to mention to us right now.

So these are the points. And what is vipasyana, what is shamatha, what is vipasyana? Why do we need all both of them? So basically point what I did is tonight is point introduction of this and talked to you what is zhine and what is the benefit, how it becomes the formula of all meditations, what is zhine, what is lhag tong, why do we need both. So the next I’ll probably have to deal with your point what Tsongkhapa deals here and who goes first and why, what we need it, and then finally how do we pick up. So until we get to the final point six, and it will be the important points, the highlighting points that for an individual who will like to learn, who will like to meditate, who will like to have those joys that I told you, physical-mental joys. These physical-mental joys not only gives you physical and mental joys, but it also bring a lot of clarity in the individuals. And not only a clarity, to certain level they will also bring some power, power to be able to read other’s mind, power to be able to know what’s going to be in future, what we call it clairvoyance. There are five types of clairvoyance, and they’ll be able to bring them all of them by just bringing mind within ourself. Shamatha is capable of delivering that, even pre-shamatha because of at the level of this body and mind joy level you’ll be able to bring all this clairvoyant type of thing, be able to bring them. And these are the facts. And you don’t need…to have clairvoyance, you don’t need to have some highly developed at all. It is simply at this level you can bring it. And so that’s why it is important for the individual.

And also, one of our biggest problem of struggle is laziness. We don’t want to do it. Even we want to do it, we want to do it but not right now, not right now, later, later, later, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. And because the priority what we have is different. Traditional those people, they don’t have other priorities. I don’t mean they have nothing else to do, they have a lot to do to obtain enlightenment and all that, but it is their priority. And when you go down, they will lead you to this. Even a requirement of learning actually how one individual can develop that, then they will talk to you to what kind of a place you want, what kind of materials you want. And so if you look in there, they try to tell you as simple as possible because the simplicity makes easier. Sophisticated, complicated things requires a lot of work, a lot of work, and a lot of work will take time. So really they will still try to make it as simple and as livable as possible, as simple as possible so that time will be in our hand. So the priorities are not wrong. So we got it all wrong priorities, wrong in the sense of this. In our life point of view, it’s not necessarily wrong. What they don’t have what we have is paying the bills. Those people go and meditate either in the forest or in the caves and the mountains, and no one is climbing up there with the bills trying to find them in the midst of forest or the thing. So they don’t have to do something to be able to pay the bills. So for us, we have to, we have to pay bill, otherwise they’re going to get us. So forget about the meditation, we’ll be landed in...or maybe that provides you as a good opportunity to meditate. Maybe not. So that’s why we have a special problem, because of additional balancing point. We have to balance our life because we have to have a reasonable, respectable good life. Along with that, we have to have an opportunity. Some people are lucky, especially when you are retired from the work. So you are lucky, you have an opportunity. But if you utilize that opportunity for something else, then it is nobody’s fault. So anyway, I think I said enough. And if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to…I don’t know, I don’t have an answer, but I’ll be happy to talk about it. Well, I see no hand. So very quickly we can dismiss. Yes, you do.

Man: Rimpoche, is there a particular text by Tsongkhapa that’s been translated into English (inaudible)?

Gehlek Rimpoche: Yes, you’re right. I think it might been translated because the Lam Rim chenmo has been translated, right? And I don’t know whether this level has been translated or not. I think if you look at that level you will see it, and this fifth paramita… You know what the Lam Rim chenmo works, they works with the common with the lower, common with the medium and the Mahayana, the six paramitas. Within the six paramita there is a short explanation on meditation and wisdom. And after that, that especially explaining two last paramitas. So if that is available, will be great to read it. If not, there’s a little bit of thing in the Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, there’s some. Not very much, but a little on that. And I have recommended in Ann Arbor people to read this chapter eight of Bodhisattvacharyavatara. It is commentaries in English available are one by…the Meaningful to Behold by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and which really was a very good book at the beginning. Then…I don’t know at this level. And then the Dalai Lama’s…

Woman: Flash of Lightning in the Dark.

Gehlek Rimpoche: Flash Lightning in the Dark. I think there’s two pages or something.

Woman: You have a whole chapter in your book on that teaching (inaudible).

Gehlek Rimpoche: Is there? Oh, which one? This one, oh. This one may not give you this much detail. OK, thank you. So those are the things. Well, there’s a chapter on that, that will help you really truly because it’s a very simplified way of explaining, that will definitely help you.

Man: In terms of practice (inaudible), is there a work assignment?

Gehlek Rimpoche: I do expect…hope that we will be able to exchange the transcripts between the Ann Arbor and here. So weekly hopefully, hoping to. I don’t know whether if anybody worked anything. Working on it, OK. So maybe not the next week, but maybe the week after we may be able to switch the transcripts around, make it available in both side so whatever has been taught. Because I can really see the opportunity here, can be able to provide one of the best course on the meditation, really. Because as a source, what you get is Bodhisattvacharyavatara, and the Kamalashila’s Middle Path of Meditation, and then Nagarjuna’s…so almost everything will sort of link up together. So can be very good.

Woman: I just want to know on a daily basis is there a certain amount of time that it would…something that we should do on a daily basis.

Gehlek Rimpoche: Well, she has been guiding on meditation shamatha here for over a year, years. And then people have its own little commitments. In other words, these try to tell you. When you have your commitments and try to tell you “focus,” just do not try to be like parrot. You know, parrot goes “pa, pa, pa, pa, pa.” So we also say everything, “pa, pa, pa, pa, pa,” the sadhana, six-session yogas, and Ganden Lha Gyema or Lama Chopa, or we… If you sort of think a little bit, even not all of them, rotate, think something rotating think, it will be very helpful, extremely helpful. Like you have a six-session yoga, Ganden Lha Gyema or Lama Chopa, something, so you can’t think all of them every day. So you may say a few of them, blah, blah, blah, so that you don’t break the commitment. But one you focus, and then let that be next week something else. I don’t think you should change daily, but if you change weekly it will be helpful. So then the focusing will be build up. And I do expect at the end of this course everybody not only be able to meditate, but able to fly. (laughter)

Woman: Rimpoche, when you were talking about the Sanskrit word shamatha and you said that…

Gehlek Rimpoche: What?

Woman: You were talking about shamatha and then zhine in Tibetan (inaudible) and you were expanding on the meaning of zhine. Then there was a word that you used in Tibetan that’s the equivalent of vipasyana (inaudible).

Gehlek Rimpoche: Lhag thong. Lhag thong. l-h-a-k or g, t-h-o-n-g. Lhag thong.

Woman: And how does that meaning (inaudible)?

Gehlek Rimpoche: I said specially seeing, remember? I spent time to explain that, specially seeing. You’re welcome. So it tells you vipasyana does just not necessarily mean just insight only. But it is insight, deep insight. Anyway, so I guess that’s it. Oh, you have announcement, OK.

Woman: Everybody should have gotten a sheet on their cushion about the spring program. There are two other courses besides this one that are taught by senior students, and they start pretty soon. If anyone has any questions about membership and course fees and all of that, please see Mark at the table outside afterwards. And CD recordings of all of this will be available for order at the bookstore also. And Michelle will be teaching every Thursday night from 5:30 to 6:30.

Michelle: It’s really just a meditation session.

Woman: It’s a meditation session but it’s all that Rimpoche is talking about, vipasyana and shamatha. So if you want to come an hour early and sit with us, that would be great. And I think Andrea…where’s Andrea?

Andrea: I wanted to thank all of the people who showed up to help clean the place. We really got a lot done, and unfortunately there’s a lot more to do. And some of it we can actually do ourselves, and some of it we can’t. So I’m just putting a little shout out for help with the things that we can do. And there are two basic categories. One is on a weekly basis we like to try to keep the temple space cleaned on a weekly basis. So if people can come either before to help set up, vacuum the floor and set up the cushions, 6:30 after the meditation is done. It’s going to be a little bit tight. I know ideally it would be nice to do it before the meditation, but because it starts at 5:30 I think that’s going to be hard. So we’ll just do it quickly. Then afterwards we could use help as well cleaning the bathrooms again. We’d also like to give the bathrooms a quick clean before and just get everything put away and in order and get the place neat before we lock up. So that’s one thing. So anybody who feels that they have time, and we can think about it in terms of the courses like for this course, for this eight-week period, if you feel like you could come and help on a regular basis, please stay after the teaching is over and meet with me and Fran and we’ll talk about it, see who shows up and what we can do and get your contact info. The other thing is, I think, and I know that there was a sheet that was handed out when you registered. We’re going to have some beautification projects. We want to paint the bathrooms and the kitchen and the area back there and do a touch-up painting on the yellow part of this wall. And we don’t have an exact framework but because they’re small enough projects that we could do them on a weekend if we get a nice crew of people, it would be nice to try and do this maybe during this course. So please fill those out if you feel like you could lend a hand with that. And also please print your contact info clearly because sometimes we get e-mail addresses and the emails just bounce back because we actually haven’t read them very well. Thank you very much for everybody. And anybody who had already signed up to help with the weekly thing, if you could stay afterwards as well. Thank you.

Woman: There will be a Lama Chopa and Tsoh(?) this Sunday at 2:00. And there are sign-up sheets in the front too if you want to be on our e-mail list. Again, please print clearly. But if you want to get mailings or e-mails, there’s sheets in the front.

Gehlek Rimpoche: Thank you so much, and be here next Thursday. Thank you.

[END]