Archive Result

8

GEHLEK RIMPOCHE

New York – Thursday Evening

4/08/04

Gehlek Rimpoche: Welcome for tonight. And I have to apologize, last Thursday I couldn’t make it. But I did talk to you from Ann Arbor, most of you have heard OK and transcripts are available. So what we talked last time, we did talk about the quality of the clarity and what we mean for focusing. And I did give an example last time, the quality of the clarity is like a metaphor saying when you have a clean crystal-like glass, a faultless crystal glass with the pollution-less pure water when it’s exposed to the cloudless sunshine, that clarity is the example of clear mind when you are meditating. That’s what clarity means, you have to bring mind to that level. In other words, the water, the focusing mind should have that quality. So then I said also stable. Like, for example, even though I was talking from Ann Arbor to you, I began to see this pillar here. So as I was talking to you, when you look at the pillar, you should be able to bring point that “I can focus and each and every molecule of things that being part of this particular pillar.” So such a quality of clarity and such a quality of deep, sharp, stable mind, so these are correct when we say samadhi or meditative equipoise. So that is what you are looking for. And last time I did also, before I got down to the level how you bring that much level here, but last time I read it through and talked to you on the basis of the teaching and recommended that you be focusing on Buddha image rather than anything else. So I gave the reasons why, all of them, last Thursday so I’m not going to repeat that.

Today what I’d like to do is the alternative to the image is the mind. So you can meditate on the mind. So this is an important point, and that I’d like to spend time and talk to you today. As I said the other day, a few days ago, a few weeks ago, Buddha had given four different types on which you can meditate and out of fourth one, I said the first one is pervasive, which means really all meditations are in that quality. Now I’d like to talk about the mind. Instead of a Buddha image, instead of a pillar, instead of any object or anything, when you’d like to meditate on mind, how would you do that and how do I know what is it. So now I have to really bringing true from the great Buddhist teaching as well as great from the Tsong Khapa’s teaching. The other day I did mention to you Tsong Khapa’s bigger Lam Rim, the Lam Rim Chen Mo, will recommend very strongly to meditate on the Buddha’s image. But the shorter version of the Lam Rim or sometimes we refer as medium, if the Lines of Experience is considered the smaller Lam Rim and then medium-level Lam Rim recommends to meditate on mind instead of a Buddha image. So the choice is yours. The purpose is to achieve that zhi ne or the shamatha. And the choice is yours, the purpose is to achieve this shamatha level whether you focus on image of the Buddha or mind. So now I’d like to talk to you about the mind.

So particularly Tsong Khapa’s medium Lam Rim recommends to meditate on mind, which is further clarified and detail explained by the first Panchen Lama. So according to this and the first Panchen Lama or great Ganden Kagyu tradition, which means Gelugpa tradition, and before you introduce yourself to your mind, the preliminaries we talk all the time, right? We talked many times, already talked. Even zhi ne alone we talked the preliminary. Preliminary or prerequisite, I’ve been recommended to use the word prerequisite rather than preliminary because everything’s preliminary, right Jeannie? You told me to use prerequisite, so you are right. I’m thinking Tibetan, ngondro. Ngondro means you do before, so something before you do, so that is ngondro. So the prerequisite is whatever you do. If you are Lam Rim meditating, fine. Whatever you are meditating, fine.

Finally, you have to bring joy. The joy what you’re going to bring is, in this case, let’s say if you are practicing a guru yoga or if you are practicing the seven-limbed practice or whatever. So finally the object of refuge, let it be guru or let it be Buddha or let it be anybody else for that matter, as long as it is an enlightened one. Non-enlightened one you don’t want to fool around. Enlightened one, it doesn’t matter. So finally when you are dissolving your object of refuge, whether it’s guru or Buddha or yidam or anything, finally when it’s dissolving within you, you are remembering the quality of those great beings and their great deeds and their great help to ourself and to the well-being of all beings, with their joy, with their appreciation, when you are finally dissolving their mind into your mind and dissolving, becoming oneness. And I’m not going to clarify here much “dissolving oneness” what it is because that has to come out from somewhere else. But anyway, with that joy state of mind. It is even giving an example here like a reunion. The reunion of original primordial mind, enlightened primordial…I’m contradicting myself. Primordial mind and nature of the primordial mind merging into the enlightened nature with such a joy at that moment, joy is so much so that to be able to bring tears in your eyes, and your hair pores will stand, and from your heart when you have tremendous devotion and dedication and appreciation and praying strongly and thinking that obtaining blessings of those enlightened beings.

And then at that level, your mental state will be slightly…not slightly, quite different than the usual level. Because if you have really the proper prerequisites done properly, it really affects the individual very strongly. At that moment, the joy happy nature of the mind which is almost sort of very uplifted and it really comes out. I don’t know how to give an example here. Sometimes when you are falling asleep but yet you really cannot fall asleep, your mind is a little bit higher and lifted up and you really can’t get it but you are sort of higher lifted up, and that time in our ordinary level we have a little pain and suffering there. But this moment at the joy level is not pain, not suffering, a beautiful joy level. And that we will call it, at that moment we call it NBB state. It is nawabembrin(?) in Tibetan, so it’s NBB state. And in that moment of NBB state, the mind should be free of hope and doubt. Such a mind should be left alone by itself. You should not try to force and try to remember what has been done, nor you should look for what’s going to happen, or present level nothing changing. And such a state you should be able to focus. That state should not be like when you fall asleep and then you know nothing about it, you have a dream state and sleep state going on but mind has no clarity at all. Nor you fainted. If you have fainted, you don’t know what’s happened because the moment you fainted you don’t know until you wake up. Until you wake up, you don’t know. Your fainted mind will follow mind immediately before that, or the story immediately before that, or incident immediately before that. It looks like if you have fainted for a few seconds, it looks like the previous story or whatever it is extended here for a few seconds, and that is the fainted state of mind. Many of you know, I don’t have to explain. You know. And that should not be, should not be, because you don’t have control over, you don’t have clarity over. It should not be. So clear mind, unshakable, not forget. I use the word “not forget” or I use the word “remembering.” Remembering is not forgetting, it’s not like how to ride a bicycle. If you learn how to ride a bicycle, no matter after a little while, unless your sizes go like mine or fried it, otherwise you can ride again, you know it, right? That’s not that type. But constant, continuously touch with the thing. If you are not in touch, you lost your focus, you had forgotten your focal point. That’s what it is. So that’s why they give you the elephant example. You tied your mind like an elephant and you tied the elephant with a thin thread, not a strong, big rope. If you tie the elephant strong, big rope, elephant will break everything. You look at those Indians who train the elephants, you look at them, they will tie the very thin thread and the elephant will look at the thread and sit there, watch it no matter whatever it is. So that’s why they give you this example. The focal point is like a pillar, and you yourself like an elephant, and the remembrance or the mind like a thread always tied. So anyway, that story is there.

So no matter whatever it is, the most important thing is focusing. Focusing here, again, we use the word remembrance, memory and all this, use in Tibetan dran pa. Dran pa means just thinking, remembering. But it doesn’t mean…but you are thinking all the time. No matter how long you are meditating, you will be focusing, focusing, you are not thinking anything else, focusing. That really means remembering. And then if you have that stable focusing thing, as the result of that stable focusing thing will get some interesting little extra mental faculty, will be able to watch whether you are focusing or not focusing, looking at the mind. And when you do at that time look at the mind, what you are really going to see is different thoughts coming up. So you have to stop all the thoughts, and I’ll tell you how to stop. That will come later. I’m just remembering I was listening to somebody, I don’t know who the person is, keep on saying like peeling the orange. You have the orange skin, keep on peeling, keep on peeling. And I don’t know how many skins you can peel off out of orange anyway. [someone mentions an onion] With the onion? Oh, all right. Onion has a lot of layers, you’re right. But what I heard from that person is orange, really I remember. I do remember the person’s name now, but I won’t say it. So when you stopped all other thoughts, and then what you are left is you are left with the raw mind. The raw mind itself, by remembering that raw mind all the time, that you call completely focusing and looking and try to recognize.

How do I stop the thoughts? Number of ways, but one is interesting. One is that you just cut it off. The example given is interesting. The Buddha gave this funny little story. There’s two early Indian artists – one who uses arrow and shoots, another one who uses the piece of cloth and he rubs them off and stops anything that comes like a fan type of thing. Like the Chinese tradition, they use the fan to martial arts, you all know. So the Indian tradition is actually use cloth, dress, skirt they will throw. So there was a competition between…not a competition, I mean this is what I call Buddhist Biblical stories. That doesn’t mean it’s not true. So when they are competing, the arrow man started shooting and makes the arrow, got six arrows and started shooting at him. He threw this piece of cloth and whenever the arrow comes through, when he throws the cloth and that cloth cuts the arrow, push it out. So means push it out. But when the arrow man was focused and the cloth person focused, both are strongly focused, so no matter how many arrows he shoots it’s going out. So the arrow man has a wife, and he is left with only one arrow left. So his wife said, “Don’t shoot. Let me dance first. You don’t shoot, let me dance first.” So she went out and started dancing, and he is ready to throw the cloth. And when she told him, “When I look back to you, I will lie down on the ground and you shoot at that time.” So she started dancing around for a while, and she could not draw the attention of the guy. It took a little time. And when she got total attention, she lie down suddenly, look at him, and he shot and he couldn’t use the cloth because he had lost the focus. Though he throw but didn’t stop, the arrow hit the person. So he himself said, “The arrow man did not kill me, his wife killed me.” He said. So this was given as an example. Any thoughts that comes in, focus and throw it out. So throwing out, what does that do? The thoughts cannot continue. When thoughts continue, what you cut is the continuation of those thoughts been cut. So at the end of all this, all the thoughts keep on cutting and at the end of that the stable mind will come without those thoughts. And that level you should be able to focus.

How do you focus? Do I hold tight or do I relax? If you hold too tight, the problems will arise. Two problems I told you, sinking and wandering. Sinking and wandering. So in order to balance that, deeply from the bottom of the heart you should be holding little tight but on the surface you should be very relaxed. So it’s really like two layers you will do. How? If you think if I am holding too tight, then the mind will begin to wander. So then you make it a little loose. When you make it too loose, then you begin sinking your mind and in that case you try to make a little tighter. So it’s like you have to adjust. It’s like tuning of musical instruments, and when you have the right tuning…you know, you have to keep on adjusting. So like that you have to tune your mind. If it’s too tight and going to be you cannot focus, you’re going to wander, and make a little loose; and if it’s too loose, you’re going to sink, make a little tight. That’s how you adjust. [Tibetan] The great Chandragomin has said, “If I force it, my mind will wander. If I let it go, my mind will sink. So what should I do?” That’s what Chandragomin said. That’s why you balance how much you tight, how much you loose.

So when you will be able to bring to that level, and then you look any thoughts comes. Either you cut it, don’t let it continue, or the other choice is whatever it goes look at it carefully, look at that. And when you’re looking at it, follow it where it goes, what happens, and keep on looking at it. And if you are tracing it, tracing the thought, at the end of that tracing you will find that thought disappeared and it becomes a void. That void, when you traced and suddenly it becomes empty, that void if it’s continuing when your mind is focusing, that sort of clarity of nothing, when that’s clarity on that empty, when that is continuing, and then whether it is beginning of receiving that void or if you focus for a little while, there is no difference of either strong or weaknesses, it is the level continues. So when you are continuing and then your mind level has been changed, there’s a new state, this state is called the remaining and the thought running become one. There’s no difference of remaining and tracing the thoughts, there has become oneness. So if you do that, that will probably be quite good. Or if you keep on tracing the thought, the thoughts come up, and then you keep on tracing the thought, see where it goes, what happens and the way it happens when it happens, just keep on follow, follow, follow, and at the end it’ll come back. It’s funny. The traditional teachers will give you a very funny example. It says if you catch a birth and take it with you and go on the ship and go into the ocean. And you let the bird fly and bird will fly, “caw, caw, caw, caw,” and no place to land and he has to come back on the same boat. Because everything is water, where are they going to land? So they have to come back and land. That is the example. So that is, I believe, how you play with your mind. Even the Bengalian towas(?) will say [Tibetan]. And when you let the bird fly from the ship and they go on and on, and finally has to come back on the same boat because there’s no other place to go. So you trace your thoughts, thoughts, trace, trace, finally you find face the mind itself because there’s nothing else. Jawa Yangomba(?) adds up [Tibetan]. So the Yangomba(?) says all these thoughts, don’t consider them as a fault at all, nor you try not to have the thoughts. Leave mind alone and your meditation will land on shamatha. So that is how you look, that’s one thing.

Now what happens is there are six different qualities of looking at the mind, and each one of those six points are given to us with the metaphor because mind you can’t talk, there’s nothing to see, nothing to catch, it’s not tangible, there’s no shape, there’s no color. Even thoughts, we’ll say trace thought, don’t trace thought, but each and every individual has different thoughts and no one can talk…one person talk and have every thoughts follow, it doesn’t work that way. So how do we meditate, focus on the mind? And six points.

Point number one, you have to leave your mind just like sunshine that is free of cloud. What does that mean? So when you are looking at the sunrays, sun, when there is no cloud, it is absolutely clear, its strong rays, just like that our mind, nature of the mind is luminous. So there should not be cloud-like thoughts or sinking or wandering. When you say leave the mind just like sunshine that has no cloud, which means nature of the mind like luminous like sun and there should not be covered with thoughts and sinking or wandering. That’s one point.

Point two is do I make strong efforts of recognizing that, or do I go slow? How do I go? The example, the metaphor given here is like that hawk. When there’s big birds like a hawk and the vulture and all this, when they fly they don’t have to make so much effort of moving their wings, they can… [asks audience for word suggestions] Those big birds when they go, they sort of glide and they don’t have to make so much moving. So just like that, you should not have to make so much efforts but really focus but don’t have to be forcefully doing. Well, if that big bird when you are flying, if you don’t put any efforts you’re going to fall down, right? So likewise the mind should not be so completely forcing, yet it should not be completely relaxed either. So that’s why I said earlier you should have really tight from the deep. When you have the tightly holding focus from deep, then you really have the clarity. But on the surface, you should be relaxed. And relaxed, but completely gone out of control it’s not. Relaxed, but there is remembrance and there is zhi zhing(?) or the result of…this I couldn’t explain easily because it is when you learn how to focus, as the result of that you will pick up one little part of your mind, begin to see whether you are focusing or not, you get immediately alert. The alertness when you have that, as the result of that you will find a little mind watching whether you are really focusing or you are losing your focus. To begin with for us, we have to have some kind of alarm clock or something to go and sound every two or three minutes, and then you try to remembering back. But when you are holding the mind to that level, that mental faculty will develop and that does the job of holding.

Third point is [Tibetan]. The third point is the mind should be left very stable just like big ocean. There is wind comes, sometimes a lot of wind comes. But when the weather is OK, maybe there’s a very strong wind, even then the surface of the water may have a little movement but the water itself really remains stable. Just like that you have to keep mind. That is the third point. What does that mean? When you are focusing on mind and your thoughts will come up, maybe your attention is slightly drawn so that subtle thoughts may be there a little bit, but gross thoughts will not move your mind. Like the wind moves a little water on the surface but nothing deeply moving. Another example they give you is when you have a very clean, clear, big nice water and within the water when the fish moves, the fish can move but it doesn’t shake the water too much. That was an example too. I just add up that. That is the third point.

Fourth point is they give you example saying if you take a little kid, a child to a museum, how the child will observe the museum? They will see all this bright color or big things, they will not go and see the detail of a painting or whatever, they won’t be able to see but they will see the bright ones. Just like that, when we are focusing our meditation on the mind, although we may be able to see gross level of the mental thoughts like attachment or hatred or obsession, but those gross thoughts you just acknowledge but should not be able to disturb your mind, you will still keep on focusing. So you don’t see the details what it’s doing, so you’re not letting the mind be allowed to interfere or be influenced by those strong negative or positive emotions. I think that’s the fourth one, right?

Fifth one is interesting. Again, it’s a bird. When the bird flies in the air, it will leave no footprint at all. Just like that, when we are meditating, the meditator should not be moved by the joy, suffering and even equanimity, should not be moved. In other words, yes, you will experience joy, yes, you will experience…you will see the suffering, yes, you will see the joy, but don’t let mind be influenced by that. Don’t let mind go under their control. That is the fifth one.

Sixth one is shirt. Pure cotton shirt, it is rough at the beginning; keep on washing, becomes soft and soft and gentle. So the mind is rough at the beginning. Keep on meditating, it becomes soft, soft, soft, and we don’t have roughness of hatred, roughness of obsession, or even wandering or sinking. So it becomes nice, smooth, comfortable cloth. That’s how you look at your mind.

These are the six different ways of observing, looking at the mind. There’s more there. But those of you who are really interested in that, I did a teaching on that a while ago. Quite a while ago I did teaching on that. It’s part of the Lama Chopa teaching, at the end of there. So I have done that, I think there’s transcripts available if you are interested. But that much roughly will show how you look in the mind. And after looking on the mind that way, what are you going to find? The first Panchen Lama said [Tibetan]. So while you are looking at this, so the mind has not been blocked by any other thoughts or sinking…there are thoughts anyway. Sinking, wandering. So you will be able to…it’s really a pure, raw and clarity. The clarity I gave you an example earlier. If it is some physical you say, “I can clearly see.” It’s not, they’re not a physical point. So clarity. And so since there is no physical at all, therefore, it should be empty like space. You will be able to see all good and bad, suffering, joy, etc. But you will see them like you are seeing reflection in mirror – it is there, you see it, but doesn’t affect this one. So such a level of concentrated equipoise if you have it, that is possible to be able to gain in our ordinary layperson level. And that is quite a strong and quite good focusing. And on top of that, if you develop physical and the mental joy, what we talked the other day and we will talk more when the course runs through…physical and the mental joy, and that will be called zhi ne or the shamatha. If you don’t have the physical and mental joy, it’s not. When you have it, the basis is focusing clear like this. And on top of that, when you have physical and the mental joy, then it becomes shamatha. The shamatha is basis of all clairvoyant, all of those.

All right. So that is what is called mind. So we can sort of clearly understand and imagine yet you cannot catch and introduce, neither we can really explain. So it’s there. So many people will say when you have that, and then you recognize your mind and you will become enlightened and this and that and all of those. But first Panchen Lama says [Tibetan]. He says, “Many people will tell you this is a teaching that will deliver the total enlightenment in your hand.” But first Panchen Lama says [Tibetan]. This is a very good point where you can develop the shamatha meditative point, and this is introduction of relative mind. Introduction of relative mind. This is mind introduction, it’s introduction of relative mind. Nothing big, nothing, it is just introduction. What we have it we just told, this is what you have it, that’s how it is, that’s how you look it, and that is relative mind. This is nothing big, just simple mind. And on top of that, you have to look emptiness and all those. So how would that mind look? Well, I think it’s quite clearly mentioned here, I don’t need any more explanation here. [Tibetan] This is the reality, the nature of the mind. So we can almost see it when you follow it, what we talk about it. Follow the talk, follow the thoughts and you almost see it, yet you cannot catch it and you cannot say this is it. And that is not further delivering mind at all. It is the mind, that’s it, simple mind. Capable, tremendously capable. You can make that mind a wisdom nature, you can make that mind compassion nature, you can make that mind hatred nature, you can make that mind obsession nature because it is very neutral, lucid state. No color, no shape, nothing. So any color you put in, it will change. So what it is? It is the mind. When you are really focusing, when you really get into it, there’s really nothing to be explained. So it looks like, people may look like, “Oh, yeah, it is wisdom emptiness.” Does that have a quality and the capability of delivering total enlightenment? Yes, it has. Does everybody have it or except us and others don’t have it? No, every single sentient being, living beings have. Not only a special human quality, it is every living beings have it. And we never had a single moment ever since we exist without this one. When do I see it? I see it when [break] or I see it if I meditate it. When I meditate it, when I collect all my airs in my central channel and then I’ll see it. When I’m alive I cannot see it. Whether your life is a good one or bad one, whether you are a human being or whether you are a tiger or snake or something, that doesn’t change anything in this quality of that reality. It is pure like sunshine, like gold. Even normally gold doesn’t get much tarnishment, even if it does because of other materials mixed, even if it does, the nature of the pure, clean shining still remains. Likewise, we all get all these negative emotions, but that doesn’t tarnish the nature of this itself. [Tibetan] And that’s why the mind nature is luminous, all the faults are temporary. Because of that, we have a chance, opportunity to be able to make ourself pure what we are. In the Hey(?) Vajra Tantra it says [Tibetan]. So since that’s nothing so much in words to be able to explain, nothing really to talk, but like introduction given by the masters. And my good fortune, I may be able to find it.

I guess that’s it, and that’s a brief introduction of mind as focusing point to develop shamatha. The other day I introduced you the Buddha image, now it’s mind, so you have both. Now what would you like?

Woman: I’m wondering, Rimpoche, I think you said that reaching this focusing mind…

Gehlek Rimpoche: Reaching, what does that mean? Did you say reaching or what?

Woman: Maybe recognizing this mind is pure mind and reaching the level of shamatha.

Gehlek Rimpoche: No, I didn’t say that. I said introducing mind as basis focal point of meditation.

Woman: Introducing, OK.

Gehlek Rimpoche: Thank you.

Woman: And you said, Rimpoche, that this was the introduction to the relative mind.

Gehlek Rimpoche: Yes, this is absolutely introduction to relative mind. Nothing…not absolute mind.

Woman: There’s just something that I’ve heard you say in different ways in the past about understanding relative mind and understanding karma and relativity being much more difficult than understanding emptiness or the absolute.

Gehlek Rimpoche: I don’t know whether I have said mind. I definitely said karma for sure. I don’t know the mind part of it. So I thought Condoleezza Rice is on hot seat, I didn’t realize I’m on the hot seat today. I’m just joking.

Woman: Rimpoche, I have a much easier question. You mentioned that you gave a teaching after a Lama Chopa and that there’s a transcript of it. Do you know the name of that transcript?

Gehlek Rimpoche: It’s a Lama Chopa teaching, I think. Transcripts of Lama Chopa. If I’m not making mistake, I think it’s called “Road to the Primordial Mind” or “Way to the…” Do you remember? You gave this title.

Woman #2: I think it’s “How to Integrate the Primordial Enlightened Mind.”

Gehlek Rimpoche: OK, there you go. You heard from the horse’s mouth. Well, I think there will be one more Thursday and so I’m going to be able to have this nine stages, I don’t think I’ll be able to do that. So whatever we would cover the next Thursday on that straight away. Then we have a break for a while, and then the second set of courses we will introduce. We will be carrying the subject continuously because I don’t think I can finish this in a year. It’s going to be a whole year, so for sure. This is first eight-week course, then I think we have two five weeks or two three weeks or something. I will be able to tell you detail when I come back on next Thursday. I will pick up from our program people, so they will tell me how many weeks it’s going to be, OK?

[announcements]

Gehlek Rimpoche: OK, then, thank you.

[END]