Archive Result

Soundfile        20040501GRJHNL12L 1

Speaker        Gelek Rimpoche

Location        Netherlands

Topic        12 Links

Transcriber    Dimitri Ehrlich

Date    October 16, 2020

 

 

 

[opening prayers]

 

12:45

 

Well, welcome here, everybody. The subject what I’m given to talk about today is the 12 links of interdependent system. Yeah. But let’s start with, before we even start, what are 12 links? Why? And all this. We have to definitely talk about the relevancy. Why do we need to know the 12 links and what is it? What for? 

 

While I’m looking at you, I see many of you have been here for a while studying Buddhism here or there or wherever, but there are quite a few of you not so familiar to me at least, so I like to start… even though, you who know, you already know. 

But it is good to hear the dharma as often as possible. We have a saying in Tibetan: when it is important you should hear it many times. When it is dharma matters, you repeat it 100 times. So that’s what I’m looking for.

 

15:36

 

One important thing I would like to say, those of you who have heard a number of times, don’t think. “oh, I know this.” I mean, you know it, fine. But make sure it affects you. And those of you who have not heard before, will know something about it.

 

So I like to begin with Buddhism. I don’t even know what Buddhism is all about really. What is Buddhism? Very strange.

 

You know, in the West, you do have an answer for “What is Buddhism?” You do have an answer, for sure. Everybody has an answer for what Buddhism is. So, I’m not sure whether you are going to agree with my answer or not but I like to say this: number of people will say, “I know what it is. It is some kind of eastern religion that the person called Buddha brought in India somewhere about 2000 years before,” or something like that.

 

True and not true. True in the sense that, historically, that’s what had happened. And not true because this is not a subject particularly for us, a subject to be classified and put in a little box.

 

You know in the West, people like to do, “this is Buddhism, this is Christianity. This is Protestant. This Judaism. This is Muslim. This is Hindu.” And have them put a little square box and label them and store them and then we say the situation is under control.

 

19:20

 

If you’re an observer or a librarian or if you are a cataloguer of some kind, that’s fine, that’s what you do. Or if you are sort of a university student or a scholar or a professor or whatever, that’s what you do. So you have to be objective; that is the subject you study and then you write about it, and be very critical and fair, and that is perfect for the academic world.

Or if you’re an artist--artists are a little better than academicians, academicians are very dry, cut out here, artists have a little gray area. But however you can still categorize, this is that art and this is that art, all this. And that, you do. 

But Buddhism for us, especially when we claim to be spiritual practitioners, when you think you are here to do something right, to help ourselves or to help others maybe, when you are thinking those lines as a spiritual practitioner, then leave aside categorizing. Cataloging, putting them in that category is not right.

22:11

Then you are not a spiritual practitioner, that’s what I mean. “It has nothing to do with me, I'm here to subject classification,” then it doesn't do any good to you. 

Spiritual people have to be spiritual. Spiritual is internal dealing. Internal dealing doesn't mean you are looking only internally. Internal dealing means how am I going to improve myself? How am I going to make myself better? 

Even normal western educations affect the individual person, even though it is outward

It affects the individual person’s understanding and thinking, and handling. We get improved, because of normal education and that is not internally focused but it is sort of externally focused education that affects that much for us, otherwise why do we spend the money to go to school? No point. So we do. But if external education is affecting that much, internal should affect much more than that.

 

 25:22

That also… I think I leave it there. I’m talking too much. So how did Buddhism come about? You know the historical background. There is the great Indian prince who is hoped to be a universal king. Turned out to be one of the greatest spiritual masters who has ever been. Actually one of the best masters ever walked on the earth, happens to be Buddha.

It is interesting when you are looking here, though Buddha was a prince but he was not seeking material comfort, he had all of them. Great brand new palace, beautiful everything with all beautiful wonderful retinues, beautiful handsome young men and women surrounding him with music, light and everything. 

When you think about the Indian palace, you know look at the Taj Mahal, it’s not a joke. It is fantastic, one of the wonders of the world. That’s how Indians built that. So the Buddha had all of those, so that’s what I mean he was not looking for comfort.

29:14

So he was brought up and they tried to make him into a ruler. The interesting thing is, when he was brought up they didn’t try to make him the king of here, but sort of injecting him with “your job is to help the subjects, to protect, to lead, you are the leader, you have to lead your subjects,” that is what they were getting at. It’s not like, “you are the king, you are here to order, we are here to follow.” No. I don't think so. That was not done in ancient civilizations. I think that came as corruptions, really, in our history. I think both in East and West. Really thinking that you are there to order and others are there to follow. I think originally, it’s not like that. 

So he has the idea that his job is to help and serve and lead.  However he also has the dilemma that he is not supposed to see everything. He is not supposed to know everything. He is restricted because the kingdom was warned by a number of sages and soothsayers. 

Soothsayers. I believe that’s called tungson [?] in Tibetan. 

So the soothsayers told them, “this guy will run away, and you better protect him. If you can protect him, he will be the universal king.” So that is what they are afraid of, him running away. So they have restricted him to see anything unhappy, or sadness, so there is funny rules. I read somewhere, whoever is attending in that palace, all has to be young, handsome, beautiful.  If anyone is sick, out! Out of the job. If anybody is getting old or crippled, out of the job! So really made into a beautiful... sort of... what do you call it? Some kind of what I like to call samsara picnic spots, or delights. Better than those spas we see here.

Poor little guy was very well treated but had restrictions in certain areas, only he could go. He could not go beyond that

34:54

So it is human nature when someone told you, “you can't do that,” so you like to do so. “You're not allowed to go out of these fences,” so he wanted to know: What is beyond this? I mean it is human nature, when you're told you can go there, you really like to go! 

It sort of reminds me of Allen Ginsburg, he has a poem saying in his house there was a big willow tree, and he was always wondering what's behind the willow trees. When he was 10 years-old he was able to go beyond the willow trees and found a glue factory!  

Buddha was also told not to go out of this boundary and alway wanted to go out and finally when he got out he found suffering.

Naturally, he realized: this is what inevitably we're going to face. Himself, his royal family members, his parents, his siblings, and his subjects. So then the idea came to him: What can I do? How can I help? How can I help myself? How can I help my parents, family, subjects and all? So the guy is no longer happy in the palace. He is looking to escape, actually. And I'm not going to touch the Buddhist biblical stories, but he escaped. You can read the stories about how these gods came and made everybody fall asleep, those are the biblical stories. I like to call it Buddhist biblical stories. 

39:14

Anyway, to cut the biblical part out, what really happened is the guy did run away, whether everyone fell asleep or not, the guy did run away. And he sent back his horse and the horse man and his royal dress and even the hair was cut. And it was a big shock, can you believe it? In that sort of society, in that kingdom, when they cut hair and sent the hair back, it was a big, big shock.

If there's newspaper at that time, or 24 hour news at that time can you imagine how flashing it will be: the prince cut his hair and sent it back! 

So anyway, why did he do all this? It is because now he is looking for, when he encounters the sufferings, he is looking for can we do something against this? Or is this that we just have to accept? Or can I do something? He did find he can do something. And he really looked for a lot. First he looked for sacrificing. Sacrificing himself and not eating well. Forget not eating well, but eating very, very little.

42:49

And the biblical story part will tell you “eating a grain a day.” I don't know whether he can survive on that. Or they will also say and he has become so much like a forest, his body looked like a branch of a tree, and people couldn't figure out whether it is a human being or a tree branch. All these biblical stories are very similar you know, whether they are Christian biblical stories or whatever, there is alway some exaggeration there but we are in the 21st century and educate people like you, you always have to read in between the lines. Right?

44:44

Some of them cannot really be taken literally, many of them. But there’s always a truth, too. So sacrifices, he definitely made, and very little food definitely he had. And growing thin, and all that, I mean we can even see people like chopsticks here, right, so he had grown thin like a tree, that’s definitely possible.

So then I say this to emphasize here because there are a number of people who think sacrifice, when you're making it, you think it is some kind of very valuable spiritual work. Which is not only--it is in all traditions, Eastern tradition, Western tradition, we do this, we do think that. And we indulge in it, even in the Buddhist tradition. You know there are people, the stories of history tells us, there are people who been burning their fingers as a butter lamp, made use of fingers as candles then making offerings. And Hindus, they have poking themselves with a trident in their own body, or jumping over the trident and dying. And muslims beating themselves, dripping blood, and beating themselves. So you see that in every tradition. Western, Eastern, everywhere you see this. 

A lot of people think it’s great. It may be great. I have nothing to say. But the question rises, can I do it? No, I'm too fat.

49:42

Will I make an attempt to do it? No, I will not. Because I don’t see liberation at the end of that. If we can kill ourselves, if we are liberated, we all can go to Iraq. So all the Jews who have been sacrificed by Hitler, by now would have been liberated. No. It’s not. The Muslim extremists who have been hijacking the planes and killing themselves would have to be liberated and living in paradise with 70 virgins. I don’t think so.

I don’t think so. Violence in that way, violence against anybody or violence against ourselves, I do not consider that as a great spiritual path at all. 

That’s my thought. You don't have to buy it. But as far as Buddha was concerned at that time, Buddha also knew that was not an answer.

It is interesting. Buddha when he is doing all these sacrifices and working hard at that time, he had five followers. By the time when Buddha realized these sort of sacrifices is not an answer, he started taking food.

53:11

I presume, a beautiful-- but beautiful or not beautiful, I have not seen it--farmer’s daughter came by and gave Buddha milk. The biblical part of that story is 1,000 cows put together boil them and it became one bowl. You know what really happens in those ancient texts. They say the strength or the value or effectiveness of the milk to that particular person at that time is value for equivalent to a thousand cow’s milk, or how much effectiveness it’s going to be, so poetry form they put it in, right? And then they exaggerate more and then it becomes 1,000 cows put together and boil it for how many days? For how long it’s going to be? 

Maybe those cows don’t give so much milk as they do in Holland. If 1,0000 dutch cows, it’s going to be how many gallons and gallons! It’s not even possible. So anyway, Buddha took the milk and all these five persons who were following him felt cheated by Buddha. They thought Buddha betrayed, and they thought: he is sacrificing and now this farmer's daughter came by and he can’t stop himself! So they left him and he was alone.

56:59

So Buddha then took that milk and all five ran away and thought, “this guy worked so hard and finally could not make it and this farmer’s daughter came by and he got lost. Really lost.”

So then Buddha became Buddha. Fully enlightened Buddha. And the experience is tremendous, it is total knowledge, knowing everything, past present future, all simultaneously, knowing everything. 

And Buddha thought, “If I explain what I know, no one will be able to understand, so I better keep myself quiet and remain in the forest and keep my mouth shut. 

So he was keeping quiet.

Then these great Hindu Gods such as Indra and Brahma appeared to Buddha and said, Hey, you gained enlightenment. So if you want to keep your mouth shut, there’s no value, at the beginning when you were generating bhodimind, your commitment. In the middle, when you're contemplating you have bhodimind, compassion, helping others. And when you become fully enlightened you still have this compassion, care and love. But if you're keeping quiet, it will not help. So please teach and speak.

1:00:39

So, then Buddha said, “Nobody will understand.” They said, “Yes, they will, especially your old five disciples, you have to teach them.”

So Buddha said, “They left me, they’re gone, so I’m not going to go after them at all.” So these Hindu Gods--well, I said... nobody says Hindu Gods, because it is described in Hindu tradition that’s why I said Hindu Gods--they told Buddha, as you can see in Benares, it is overnight train journey from Bhodgaya to Benares, so you go over there and they are there and you teach them.

So, Buddha went over there and five of them saw Buddha coming. And they talk among themselves and said, “Look who's coming now. He couldn't stay there, he’s trying to follow us. Let us not get up. Let us not give him any respect. Let us not bow down to him, let him sit below us.”

So then Buddha came by and Buddha has become a Buddha and has extraordinary capacity. They all agreed not to get up and not to bow down but they all got up together and said, “welcome and come up,” and they put Buddha up.

1:03:57

And they said, “What happened to you, Gautama? You look somehow different.” So Buddha said, “Don’t call me Gautama, I’m a Buddha now.” 

So anyway, so then Buddha begins to teach. That first teaching is called Four Noble Truths, as you have heard already. So it is exactly according to his experience, what he has encountered first in life. Really, look at it. He had encountered suffering so as he experienced, as he discovers, as he understood, as he managed, so he shared that. And he said, “The first noble truth is the truth of suffering.”

And you know what that Buddha discovered? This was 2,500 years ago and it was absolutely relevant and true in our lives even today. After 2,500 later, it is absolutely relevant and true. Suffering.

Some people thought Buddhism is a religion of suffering. Actually, once I was going back from Holland and a guy sitting next to me in the plane is a Dutch musician. So he told me, I was reading my prayers and he says, what is this? I said Tibetan. He said what religion are you? I said it is Buddhism. He said, oh, that is the religion of suffering. He told me exactly.  

1:07:53

So yeah, it deals with suffering because it is our reality. But it is not the religion of suffering.

So when you look in our situation today it is suffering, no one really is free of suffering no matter who  you might be. Whatever profession you might be and whatever financial citation you might be, whatever sexual orientation you might be, everything, we all have sufferings. Nobody has freedom.

It is in the West, some people think, “I'm not suffering. Suffering is meant for those under developed and developing nations, it’s not for us.”

Unfortunately, it is.

Collectively, as well as individually. Individually, we have this constant continuous suffering. Collectively, we have suffering. And even more today because add up so many more in Europe today. How many countries have been added to Europe? So you are going to see all these former Soviet people are going to come into Europe, and that’s going to add up suffering, no doubt. I’m not saying it’s bad. Anyway, so that is the reality of our life.

1:10:40 

So when Buddha says this, this is true. You know, it’s very interesting: the first teaching or almost all the teachings that Buddha gives, never said “Worship me and I liberate you.” Never, ever. On the contrary, he said, “Don’t believe it because I said so. But check with yourself. Check, and if you’re convinced take it if you’re not convinced or you’re convinced the other way, reject it.”

This is the principle in Buddhism. This is really a fundamental principle in Buddhism. Though many of us, particularly the senior ones, senior in the sense, the old ones, try to bring our belief, and force our... sort of you know pujas and mantras, we believe it. We do! But however, in true Buddhism, buddha said, check. Never said, believe it because i said so. He said, ``I said so,” but you check, find out yourself. If you find the truth take it. If you did not find the truth, throw it in the garbage.

1:13:17 [Rinpoche quotes a sentence in Tibetan, it sounds like Lebra kala ka-na-nee]

If you really look those words, Buddha said, check very carefully and then accept; don’t accept because you respect me.

So it is very much unlike religion in the sense, in the West we are so used to it. Religion, that you have to believe it, you have to worship. And you know of course, in monotheism, that’s what we are so used to as a religion, we look in that but compare with Buddhsim, not even qualified to be a religion, as we really look from the Western tradition.  But I'm sure if I say, Buddhism is not a religion (inaudible, makes a joke) I’m just kidding!

1:16:08

So when you're looking at suffering, what Buddha said and what we have in our life, this is true. And again, you have to judge. I’m not going to tell you it’s true, you have to find out. Yes, we enjoy ourselves to a certain extent, and we do have a lot of sufferings every day. We have worries. We get tired. We get old. We get sick. Nobody’s lying here, it’s the truth. We die. We fight. All this are there. Even if we don’t get sick, even if we don’t die, even if we don’t have big problems, but then we’re unhappy. We have jealousy. “I am more important than you. You are more important than me.” You know? Everybody is fighting for everything. Even your home. Between the husband and wife, I’m sure they fight. They’re not statues. If they’re statues, you put them on the altar and they sit like this, all the time. And there’s a struggle between children and parents. Who’s listening to whom. “I don’t want to listen to you.” And of course, mother in law!

All of them are there.

1:19:20 

Even when everything is going wonderful, even in small dharma groups, even then, we have a problem. It’s human nature. If there’s two people, you have some disagreement, it is human nature. It’s suffering, whatever you do.  Even if there’s no problem, they’ll fight over what soup we should have. Asparagus? Or… Potato leek? Whatever, you know what I mean? 

Or it should be a white wall, or red wall, green wall, blue wall, or yellow wall. That’s it. Always. It’s never going to be free of that as long as we live in this world. Or whatever. Driving too slow too fast. Even if you’re sitting too close to me, too far from me, think about it, there’s no end to this. They are all suffering.

So what Buddha said was, what I discovered, everything, everybody is suffering. It’s absolutely true. In the traditional teaching system we have to say, we have all kinds of suffering, eight different types of suffering. Or at least we say we have three different types of suffering.

The suffering of suffering. Which is pain on top of another pain.

And then they call it changing suffering. It looks like joy but it changes into suffering.

Almost everything, whatever we experience as joy, all are changing suffering.

Your boyfriend is changing suffering, your girlfriend is changing suffering. It’s all suffering. Otherwise, it all should be great, right? 

And if it’s all great, it’s also suffering. It’s boring. No excitement, right? Fall asleep.

Anyway, the reality is, everything, even going to a dharma center and sitting is suffering.

 

First you have to take trouble getting there, wherever it is. Second you have to take the trouble of sitting on the hard chair with pain in your butt. And back. 

And most important, you didn’t understand what this strange fellow is talking about. It’s some kind of greek you never heard before. Or hungry. Dissatisfaction. All of them there, all of the time. Un-excitement, worry, I haven't paid my bills, and I haven't done my phone calls, or I’m so tired all of those are there. Dharma is supposed to be giving you relief of suffering. Even then there is suffering there

1:25:55  

So now I should say, welcome in dharma center! 

Instead Of saying this morning, gee welcome everybody, now i can say, welcome! 

If you don't do anything, there is suffering, it will continue, it will increase, sometimes it will decrease, sometimes big, sometimes small. It will always be there.

It just doesn’t end there. And on top of that we are all not getting younger. We are all going to get older, and many of us are wearing glasses, which is the sign of suffering. 

You know, glasses are a sign of suffering. Why? Because your eye doesn’t see well so you wear glasses right? Though we make the best out of it, buy the lightest glass possible, and you know whatever, most expensive, all that type of thing, prescription--all this are there, but it is a sign of suffering. 

And gray hair. Another suffering. You have to put color in it. Color’s sometimes doesn't do well!

1:28:25  

The color’s don’t do well, right? Even if it did well, the hair grows, the white comes from underneath. And some don’t have that problem, they are too bald. Shining! Radiating! You can’t even look at it, you’ll go blind.  

So you make it a joke, make light, but if you think it carefully, it’s a problem. It’s painful.  These are a little easier, then you get the wrinkles. 

Then you get cracks in your face. By suffering too much. Then you have to cover them up. It’s wonderful there’s something called make up.

Can you imagine if there is no make up? Really true. And then it doesn't end there. 

Continue, the sicknesses, all continue, we all die, finally.

I mean think about illnesses, people who have no problem whatsoever, suddenly something happens, you became cripple.