Archive Result

Soundfile 20040505GRJHNLTa02

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Netherlands

Topic Tara

Transcriber Sally Tittmann

Date November , 2020

[Dutch Tara visualization meditation]

0:36:45.5

[Long life prayers]

0:40:45.8

Doing your practice, and saying the long life prayer and particularly Therab ?? Rimpoche, and as many of you have heard, and Rimpoche’s apparently not the best health, so Therab Rimpoche has been here a number of times, particularly when I stayed away, and couldn’t come here, and he’s been coming, and for years, and giving teachings and doing everything here, so I am very grateful to him, and I hope and we pray that whatever physical difficulties that are coming at present, hopefully it’s all temporary, and all completely better and he will come back and give teachings here, and benefit many people who really need it here, as well as lots of others in Europe. And so, you know, when we pray together with hope, sort of connections, friendship, teachers, student relationships, and all of those, and it makes some difference than simply just praying by somebody.

0:42:36.3

[DT]

0:43:50.1

So now, we talked the refuge this morning, and we did talk a little bit of bodhimind, and we talked about Tara practice is vajrayana practice, and then what we did not talk about, who is Tara, and why should I be concerned with Tara, why should she help me, and all of those, somehow different chapters, you know like, “Chapter One is ‘Who is Tara’”, Chapter Two is ‘Reaching out to Tara through Meditation’” and all of those are in this tiny little booklet, and it is a little interesting, nice booklet that came out, and I was not planning to — I mean you have to, I have to share that with you, it’s not in a public talk, just internally, you know — I was sort of planning, not planning to write about Tara, and a few years ago , three or four years, five years ago, and we have a very wonderful person, Brenda Rosen, from Chicago, and we have talked about writing together, for a Tara book, and we never get to talk together, and she was attending one of the teachings, and she took notes, and got the transcripts, and made it into this book like this, and it came out with, what do you call it, a Tara Box.

[DT]

0:46:50.5

So, after a number of discussions, it’s almost the Tara transcript, after a number of discussions then we put both names on it. Anyway, and when it was all published, I looked at it and, very nice! It’s a beautiful book. Honestly, it’s small, but it’s a booklet, you can… it’s very nice, you know, I was talking with ??? Rimpoche the other day, I gave him a complimentary copy, and he sort of read through it, and it’s very nice, he said, and put it in the pocket ???, and go and sit in the train, and when you are not so busy, you can read about it. That’s what his comments.

[DT]

And I was hoping that they would be able to come out before I came here, but only advanced copies came out. You didn’t get anything here yet, right? Besides the 20 copies that we brought?

[speaker in audience, laughter]

I haven’t gotten my advance copies. It’s Walmart and Amazon. They’re already booking orders. They don’t have it yet. It’s not even come out. So, I got lucky, 20 advance copies. And I think they might have published it now. They’re supposed to be coming out with it on the 16th, and then the end of the month, I don’t know. So, anyway. So, when I really look at it, it’s really nice, you know? I really like it. I like the color, it’s beautiful, a lot of pictures there, and I do not know who those nice people in here, whoever they are, beautiful looking people there. Nice wonderful girls meditating here, whoever she is, these are the publishers, they did it. ???? But it’s great.

0:50:50.0

[DT]

So, hopefully it will be useful for people. That’s the thing. Then there’s an image with that. In the Tara Box. And the image doesn’t look bad at all. You know, really, you know why? Because it is a nonTibetan, who have no idea of what Tara ???… I don’t know whatever the painting is, it must be painted either in China, or Singapore, or somewhere, you know, they’re doing it, so, but, when you really look at it, you know, it’s a lot of copies made, when you look at it it’s not bad, it’s really not bad. It’s good. I wish it could be better, but not bad.

[DT]

And I’m not here to sell this Box. That’s not my job. This is not a book promotion lecture. You know, nothing. But it’s quite a … No, I’m not selling a book! Honestly.

So, my hope is that it will reach a lot of people, and that it will be useful and helpful, that’s what it is.

[DT]

And, if everybody had the book, then I would have gone through the book, and explain it. But, since everybody doesn’t have the book… But anyway, I’ll try to do a little bit of the book, and then I’ll go on the Tara sadhana, which everybody has it.

[DT]

0:53:18.7

OK, now, we have two types of Tara sadhana here, in Jewel Heart, right? Two types of Tara sadhana. One longer one, and one shorter one. And we call it vajrayana version and non-vajrayana versions, that’s not really correct. And what the difference is, is one has the self-generation, self as Tara, and the other doesn’t have self-generation, it’s front-generation.

[DT]

And why a difference? The difference, as simply as I can tell you, a straight way: if I say “you can meditate yourself as Tara,” without having appropriate initiation, I get downfalls. That is broken secrecy. You know, the secrecy that we are protecting, saying you can’t talk…, it’s not secrecy that you cannot talk about it, you cannot show about it. It’s like officially allowing you, who have not received any initiations of this particular, sort of appropriate initiation, without which if I officially say, “you can meditate yourself as Tara,” that is losing of secrecy. The secrecy losing in vajrayana does not mean there is something secret we are hiding which you don’t know, which we are not telling you, there is something secret. That’s not what the secrecy is all about here. There’s a lot of misunderstandings. That’s not some secrecy here. The real secrecy is like, this is one of them: allowing who are not permitted to meditate themself in the form of any yidam — not only Tara — any yidam, is breaking the secrecy committment.

0:56:36.3

[DT]

And that is because, not because they don’t want you to meditate in the form of Tara, or any other deity, but prerequisite, preparation is not done. And that is the simple reason. There is no other reason than that, at all. So what I’m going to do here, is I’m going to talk on the basis, as I said, that a number of people who did have initiations, they can generate themselves in the form of a yidam, and for everybody, if you are meditating as Tara, what you should be doing. That’s why I’m going to leave the choice to you, and telling you, if you do not receive appropriate initiation as a prerequisite, you don’t generate yourself in the form of a deity, so I leave it up to you. You all are educated persons. You are not just a child who say, “don’t do it,” and they like to do it. And it’s up to you. And I’m going to talk as though, if you are.

[DT]

0:59:45.5

So, this one says “Prayer to Noble Tara.” It’s really a prayer to. OK, so, even if you are looking in here, you have refuge taking, and generating a bodhimind, and four immeasurables, we have already covered.

[DT]

And we don’t need to talk again, unless you people have some questions, some people who are completely confused, though we very very simply talked in the morning, but if you are completely confused, and you wanted to clarify something, you are welcome to ask questions now. I like to treat this as informal other than formal. That’s why I said, this morning, if you have to get up, get up, if you have to pee, whatever you have to do, do. So, just treat is as informal. It’s much easier.

[DT]

So, if you have any questions, anyone. You, go ahead.

questions:

Good question. Normal vajrayana system is they say, every deity you must receive a full initiation.

[DT]

But, there are a lot of deities who has not initiation at all, and also, it is impossible for one person to receive all the initiations. There is no way. There are zillions of yidams, and zillions of initiations.

1:02:55.1

[DT]

So, getting everything is, number one, not even possible, number two, it doesn’t really make much sense, also, individuals. In Tibetan tradition, they give those initiations, and a number of people, particularly, you know, one or two incarnate lamas, we really go out of the way to receive every initiation, so it’s becoming, sort of, keeper of initiations. The reasons why they do this, is so that the initiation may continue, and in future, sometime there may be someone with a particular link between the particular yidam, and the particular individual, so that person will still have the opportunity, whenever that person comes, maybe within the next 20 years, or 200 years. And that is how the tradition of Tibetans have maintained traditional teaching lineage, for that matter.

[DT]

1:05:05.2

And do your practice. The question is, do you practice? Most of them no. And all our practices are, of those who don’t regularly practice but receive initiation, are included in Om Ah Hung. For every practice you receive, for every initiation you receive, and — in general, each and every, but in common, we say 100 Om Ah Hung. That’s the practice.

[DT]

But it also the same thing here. It is relevant, too. If you say Om Ah Hung, actually, if you really think Om Ah Hung carefully, then again it has everything in it. Even if you look at the letter Om alone, when you say Om — I don’t know how the Dutch say it — I have no idea — I’m sure they say Om, but how does it work? — but when you are looking at Om, it is Ah-Oh-m, and there are three letters involved. A combination of three syllables, combined together, the sound of Om has been produced.

[DT]

So, what these three letters means, it represents three pieces of our body, mind and speech. So those are the three major components of a human being, as a being, so we have the body, mind and speech, combined together, that becomes a being, so these three, Ah, Oh, M together is telling the body-, speech-, mind-oriented one.

1:08:36.9

[DT]

So, the body-, speech-, mind-oriented one can be the body, speech and mind of a pure one, as well as it can be body, speech, and mind of impure one. Now, for example, if you say Om Ah Hung, Hung represents union.

[DT]

So, when you are looking at the Hung-union, and you are looking at the body, mind and speech of pure and impure, it doesn’t mean pure and impure mixed together becomes American chop suey! It doesn’t mean that! Actually the American chop suey is not a good example. The good example is a Bloody Mary.

So, what does the mixing here mean? That impure part of this body, mind and speech transforms and is made into pure.

[DT]

Which means, transforming the impure part of the body, speech and mind into the pure part of body, speech and mind.

[DT]

Which means, the essence of the total sadhana.

1:11:37.5

So, in one way, Om is Om, but on the other hand, Om means total sadhana. And that’s why, this morning, I say, whenever you bring Om, whatever way you bring it in, whether in the form of the Cafe, or the Yoga, or the practice, or the Om meditations, or all of those, there’s Om gong beat, they beat the gong: Om!, 9 times they beat it, some practices, somebody does that. And all of those are actually a vajrayana. That’s the reason why.

[DT]

So, to answer your question, this is side talk, right? And I did talk Om because I have to talk to you about Om Tare Tuttare, so Om goes there, you know? But, to answer your questions, to authorize, since every specific yidam does not necessarily have its initiations, so the yidams are categorized. Categorized as vajrayana, tantra categorized. So the yidams are also categorized, now, like the clear yidams, chary yidams, yoga yidams, mahayanayoga tantra yidams, categorized. So, within this same category, what that means is that they are the same family. If you receive one full initiation of one yidam, it covers all yidams of that one category.

[DT]

1:14:33.7

Even lately, even that is not possible. Now, for example, in the late 1940’s, … late 20’s and 30’s, there is no full Four Tantra initiations available in Tibet. What was short was the yogatantra. Then one of my teachers, one of my great teachers, from whom I received the teaching of this White Tara, teaching, and a long-life initiation and all this long Tara, Kyabje Lobjong Rimpoche, who, during the 13th Dalai Lama’s period, it is somewhere… must be 1920’s, or maybe a little bit before, around about that time, he went to Mongolia, accompanied by the 13th Dalai Lama. There are great Mongolian teachers alive in those day. Pre-communist. There are tremendous, great Mongolian teachers are there. And he received one of those yoga initiations called Namawonjang, and he brought it to Tibet, and he gave initiations in Tibet, and Kyabje Lobjong Rimpoche used to say, a great place of dharma such as Tibet, even does not maintain all four tantras, ???? little old man brought this from Mongolia, Kyabje Rimpoche used to boast around. ???

[DT]

1:17:34.1

And so, what the Tibetans do at that time, and when you don’t have each, even each tantra, so what happens is they consider the highest, if you have the highest tantra yoga initiation, then it covers all. It is some kind of — what do you call it? — overpowering, pushing, boosting, shuffling from the t???, whatever you call it, so that’s what they do.

[DT]

So, if you have received any mahaanuyoga tantra initiations, it covers it. So, if you have attended the Dalai Lama’s kalachakra, it covers it all, completely. And, any other mahaanuyoga tantra initiations, they all cover it. Like, you know, guyasamaja, heruka, yamantaka, or hevajra, and all this. But then, you know, like vajrayogini and these type of things, doesn’t cover it, because they are not full initiations.

[DT]

Even this Tara, has Cittamani Tara initiation, which is part of mahaanuyoga tantra. Though it is not the same deity, but, all Taras are Tara, whether it is White or Pink or Green or Blue or whatever. Yellow, or Red, or Black, or Gray, or whatever it is, Taras are Tara, you know, I mean really. Honestly.

[DT]

1:20:21.3

But, even in Tara, you know like Cittamani Tara’s considered mahaanuyoga tantra, and all other Taras are considered clear Tara. Don’t ask me why.

[DT]

Well, I do know the reason, actually! It is not that Tara has differences, but then each Tara has its own different practice, how she introduced her own practice, it’s different. That’s why. And also, it depends who receives. Like, if you are looking at the Cittamani Tara, and it was one of the great teachers called Tagu Dorje Chang. Tagu Dorje Chang asked Tara, I’d like to see you in the practice form of mahaanuyoga tantra, how do I go about it? Mahaanuyoga tantra’s system: how do I go about it?

[DT]

So, the total Tara presented to him, and total way of doing in the mahaanuyoga tantra st??. And, it is the highest yoga practice, and it doesn’t function in the clear chary way. The ritual functions in the mahaanuyoga tantra way, so it has the development stage, completion stage, and it was quite a wonderful for simple, straightforward, but really a wonderful practice of its own.

[DT]

1:23:32.7

And this year, the winter retreat in Michigan, we did that in there, and a number of people from here also came and that’s what it is.

[DT]

And, with the transcripts of that also available, but there are certain, for the last two days there are no recording, because I didn’t want to. And some few clever people with the help of computer and all of them, and they made quite a detailed notes and they compared them and made more notes, so… I was not so happy with this, and I don’t mind them making their own notes, but I don’t think they should share it when I’m trying not to have a recording of it.

[DT]

Marien Sutra is one of the culprits too!

So, anyway, that is how what initiation covers what. Does that answer clearly to you? Or is the answer too long?

Question:

If one has a Heruka initiation, that allows you to visualize yourself as Tara or Vajrayogini ??

GR: Everything. Heruka is mahaanuyoga tantra, therefore you can shuffle the meaning.???

1:26:13.2

It looks like sort of bullying, but it’s ok. It’s permitted, so people did it before, it is permitted, so therefore, it is. And it is also important in this vajrayana. There is something I would like to share with you. There are rules. There are regulations, but it is a funny thing. It is not like the Dutch, or Germans, that — doesn’t Germans… they have to be strict, and this is this, this is that, tik tak tik tak tik! So, the vajrayana doesn’t work that way at all.

[DT]

And there are certain systems, certain systems, the books will tell you one thing, and your teachers will do something else. And you know, who supersedes whom? In the German rules, the book should supersede the teachers. In the vajrayana rules, it’s the other way around. The traditional teachers, we call them lamaechache, means, “lamas, how they used to do it.” The old system. So the lamaechache supersedes theoretical books. And they even make a joke, saying that the lama can leave the bell anywhere they want to, but the bell will not leave the lama wherever they want to.

[DT]

So, it is interesting. I’m introducing something funny to you, that’s why. So don’t be so rigid about it. But then, you know, disorganized is not good, either.

OK, now, having said that, there are certain principles. There is no way you can compromise. And that is: in the foundation, love, compassion and wisdom. They are nothing to be compromised. At all. For example, saying prayers, sometimes I said earlier, sometimes I said later, order is up-down, all of them are comprisable.

[DT]

And transforming body, mind, and speech, or the orders of death, bardo, and rebirth. They are not compromisable.

[DT]

1:30:37.1

And then when you talk about the body, mind and speech, and sometimes you may talk about speech first, sometimes you may talk mind first, sometimes you may talk body first, that is compromisable, again. All things like that, there are a lot.

[DT]

So there are certain principles you have to hold. And after that, there is a lot of freedom, whatever you do. But, by saying that, you cannot have hodge-podge things, like, you know, putting things here, putting things there, like new age type of thing is not right.

[DT]

Other than that, there is a tremendous freedom.

OK, now, looking here, it ??? where it comes to visualization, according to this book. Maybe I have to touch here a little bit. The question is, who is Tara?

1:32:30.1

Ok, if you read here they tell you the diving beings and all of those, which earlier, before the lunch break I told you, Tara is a god ???.

[DT] = Tara is Tara

And, Tara and Avalokiteshvara. Avalokiteshvara is the compassion of all the buddhas becoming a physical yidam form, which we call Avalokiteshvara.

[DT]

Did you understand “all compassion”? Also, “collectively produced physical form of Avalokiteshvara”? Did you get it at all? If you don’t, please ask questions, because, you know, you are here spending time, I am here spending time, you are here spending your money, and if you don’t get it, it’s not good.

[DT]

OK, so, Mago ???, you think everybody understands what I say, it is the compassion of all enlightened becomes Avalokiteshvara? What do you think? You don’t hear me?

[conversation…]

In other words, when you say “me,” I am made out of … what am I made out of? Made out of my genes. Right? Genes that have been developed, right? So the material really ???, it will go to the ultimate little genes, right?

[DT]

1:35:56.3

Likewise, when the Avalokiteshvara you trace it, what are these, whether it is four hands, or two hands, or a thousand hands, or whatever. What does that come from? What is it made of? You know, if it is an image, we’ll say, this is bronze, or this is clay, or this is wood, or this is gold, this is silver, we can say. Just like that, in reality, we say, what this fellow is made out of. What material, what particles they are carrying, what materials they have?

[DT]

So the answer is, there is no genes, or anything. The answer is, it’s made out of the compassion of all the great ones. Everybody collected their compassion together and made a fellow named Avalokiteshvara. Or, Buddha of Mercy, that’s ok. That’s easier. Forget about Avalokiteshvara.

[DT]

It’s like, some people, you have a birthday gift, and a lot of people collect money, and buy something nice, and give it to you, so all the contributions transformed into a nice gift. Just like that, all the enlightened put their compassions together, made a nice gift for you, called Avalokiteshvara. But a living one, not just an inanimate [figure].

[DT]

1:39:03.4

And, to make that even shorter, and easier, say, all the gods got together, and they put together all the compassion, and the Buddha of Mercy came out.

[DT]

Why did they do this? Because they are committed to help us. That is their job. That is what they wanted to do. They are committed. And we’re not giving them opportunity, but the moment we are giving them opportunity, they are committed and that is why they do anything they can to help anything. That’s a part of the thing.

[DT]

So now, Avalokiteshvara came out to be a male, and there is need of a female. And a female is very important. Without the female, there will be no children, you know. How great the male may be, but no male gives birth. Except us! I don’t know about you, but I’m in the 8th month! So, the other aspects of it, the 50% of it, the other aspects of it, then there is this thing, Tara comes out. In reality, it is the compassion, and it is the activity of all the gods.

[DT]

And then, Tara has something more than that, because she really holds the feminine principle, in so much in her commitment. I mean really, really, really strong.

[DT]

1:42:15.0

So, if you look into the Hindu-Buddhist mythological stories, or, the earlier, what I call the Buddhist biblical stories, if you really look at them, and look into Buddhist bibles, so looking there, and you have almost, there’s a lot of gods, right? One thousand buddhas in this fortunate eon, plus zillions of deities, and as many human beings as we have on the earth, that many gods are available. Really.

[DT]

So, all of them are male-oriented, male power, you know, everything is male, male, male. So then, when this Tara pops up, and she says, look, I am definitely going to be a female. No question. I will generate my bodhimind in the female form, and I contemplate everything in female form, when I become a buddha, I will become a buddha in female form, you know, the male was easy, it was the society where they are, and somebody asks her to pray to be male, she refused. She said, my principle is to be in that way, so she did remain, so it is one of those major female figures — though there is not only Tara, but there is a number of them, but it’s a major female figure in Tibetan buddhist tradition, at least.

[DT]

1:45:21.5

And I’ve very often considered — not very often — I consider her as the most important feminine principle of Buddhism.

[DT]

Because it is the feminine energy that she uses. And that’s why it is sort of more kinder than everybody else. I don’t mean that females are more kinder than men, but it is, mothers are more softer than fathers, as we all see. Fathers will like to be a little macho, and macho guy, and mothers would like to… is that wrong? So that’s why it becomes, much gentle, muck kinder, and even if you make a little mistake, you know, a mother always forgives, you know? A mother may say, this, that, but, you know…

[DT]

???

And you know, it is even her male parts of it, even her male parts of Avalokiteshvara, which is also compassion nature, so it is really the ultimate kindness, ultimate compassion, the ultimate love is really here.

[DT]

Even the mudras of her, you know, the mudras and hand implements are like initials in our society, our society we have initials. We put initials on paper. The mudras and hand implements in these people’s society is their seals and their implements, and their commitments, are represented by their hand gestures and hand implements. You know, we have signatures, seals, and — in our culture — we have seals, stamps, signatures, and, if you’re not, you put a thumbprint. Or maybe you put a ???, whatever, for security, you know, whatever it is, you know, for all of those, in their ???, for that society, it is hand implement, hand gestures, these are their seals and stamps and signatures and thumbprints. And eye prints.

[DT]

1:49:42.9

So the right hand going like this, and giving you the best I have. And the left hand, you know, she raises with the three fingers up, like this, you know, hold ????, three fingers up, and telling three fingers up, like this (if you look in the picture, you will see), that is, you know, for in the Buddhist world, three represents the three jewels, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It represents refuge. In other words, she is sending a message. Those of you who have no help, you know, down trodden people, who needed help, and it is an invitation from me to come and join me, I will help you. Really, she does that. And that sort of really tells us tremendously how much she cares and love she has for us.

[DT]

I think the first Dalai Lama, he wrote some prayers for the Tara, and I think one of the words, that just popped up in my head, it says — I don’t remember the previous word —

man chi ngwa in nyu to de wa sawa tsung po chel wa tch sel long

So, I praise you, because you are giving a message to the weaker and downtrodden, poor people, saying, don’t be afraid, I am here to help you, come join with me, don’t be afraid. Don’t submit to fear.

Man chi nga nyu te gawa zhi,

Don’t be afraid, I will help you immediately. So that is her message, that is her stamp, that is her signature, that is her hand gesture. That shows her commitment.

[DT]

1:52:50.8

So, the Tara doesn’t have a difference between male and female, between color and tradition, so it goes beyond, it translates beyond the race, religion, everything.

[DT]

Culture, too. And, according to its culture, it goes, it’s so interesting. If you go into the Chinese tradition, you will see Tara there as Kwan Yin. And the Japanese, you look in there, and it’s Canon. Actually, the Canon company and all this are named after Avalokiteshvara and Tara mix, even in Chinese, it’s all mixed together, but, it’s only Tibetan who divides it, male and female aspects, separate. And all others, the Japanese, the Chinese, the Koreans, and they all have the mixture there.

[DT]

So, in Chinese, they call it Kwan Yin, and they try to translate as Avalokiteshvara, at least as the Chinese versions that I have seen, in the, outside China. But in mainland China, all translations of Kwan Yin’s, they translate as Tara. They don’t translate as Avalokiteshvara. So, the first one stuck to me, was a Chinese movie that was dubbed into Tibetan, translated into Tibetan, so, in that movie, it says, Tara is coming, Tara is doing this, Tara, and the picture is Kwan Yin. So, they translate it as Tara. Then I started paying attention, all the publications coming out of mainland China, the Kwan Yin is translated as Tara everywhere, but outside mainland China, they translate it as Avalokiteshvara. So it doesn’t really matter. It’s the same thing.

[DT]

1:56:22.4

And, the Japanese Canon is Tara YabYum, together. And, it is one of those Avalokiteshvara called Jyawe Djan Tso ?? I think it is clear charya yoga. So, the Jyawe Djan Tso happens to be the Canon.

[DT]

The Canon company invited the Dalai Lama to Japan, to their headquarters, for a day-long visit. And after lunch, before afternoon tea, and they wanted to show their treasure to the Dalai Lama, so in the treasure, I was told, from one of them who went there, so they said, all the top executives are there, and they say, there are some steps they take, and the people started dropping. Certain people are not allowed, not allowed, dropping. Even from the attendants of the Dalai Lama, at the end, even the interpreter is not allowed. So in the end he and his brother, are the only two persons there allowed, and the Canon company said there is some person who owns the company, and then the chairman and the president, one person. Only that. And then finally, all the treasure is finally gotten into a huge safe box, and when they opened in there, it is the Dya We Djan Tso image, red color, and they bow and bang the gong and do everything and say, this is Canon.

[DT]

1:59:20.0

And so, instead of making it a public, open, they make it deeper and deeper and deeper, and the biggest treasure that is hidden everywhere, and is Canon.

[DT]

And His Holiness thought it is clay, rather than gold or anything — just made of clay. So that’s that. So it serves all the purpose everywhere, you know. And you can cross with, the most funny areas you will see Tara pictures hanging, pop up somewhere, in the middle of everything. Including red light areas. It’s really true. And, mostly unexpected, some rural area, some, you know, way up somewhere, you know, you suddenly pop up Tara image here and there, which is really, I found a number of times, that’s how she’s serving and helping, even though it may be just a picture, for those people, it may simply be a funny looking art, or whatever that is, you know, whatever it may be. It serves its interest and purpose.

[DT]

And it does happen, you know. It does happen. It’s a funny thing. You know, the late Allen Ginsberg, when he was young, he went, way before, 1959, way before, when he was young, he went to India, tried to become, before, even he becomes a saddhu, he went for that. He went to India, and he found a yamantaka thangka, in the middle of somewhere, Bombay or somewhere, a yamantaka thangka, and he bought it, and he knew it was something, but he didn’t know what it was. He told me he liked it because there is a solitary hero, there’s a dick standing there, so he liked that, so he bought it.

2:02:29.5

[DT]

So later, you know, he became in contact with Yamantaka, took initiation and practice and all this, and that’s how they work, you know, and Tara picture appears everywhere, that’s how she is really serving in every way.

[DT]

So, it is so compassionate, and so accessible. Any way, not complicated, so accessible. And that is what I’d like to say, who Tara is. And, here, you always have beautiful editors, they always say “goddesses”. I keep saying she’s a god, and they say “goddesses.” And, the last sentence here says, like Mary is the Queen of Heaven. She is dignified and fearless, though she appears to those who call on her in the form that is both beautiful and approachable.

[DT]

2:05:51.1

It is not that god, you leave it up there. It’s you can take it, you can become it, you can do it, you can function as it.

OK. So, but since it is coming out of a Buddhist site, and we present refuge and all this as I said earlier, so, if you look, the first visualization here, and this is the shortest one, which says, “In the space before me appears a white lotus,” right? So, this “space before me”. Space. Space represents emptiness. Emptiness is wisdom.

And it is not nothingness.

Yet, there is no solidness. And, whenever we try to imagine something, the first unshakeable solid is ourself.

[DT]

2:08:09.9

Even more solid and outstanding than that of the Statue of Liberty or Eiffel Tower in Paris, that’s what we have ??. Because of that reason, we suffer a lot. To be able to fulfill the desire of this solid self. It is the image of our ego, that solidness what we appear, we are really appearing, and we are really seeing, a solid ego. That’s all we’re seeing. We’re not seeing me. That me is nice little me hidden somewhere, but what is appearing here, bigger than the giant, bigger than the Eiffel Tower, bigger and more solid than the Empire State Building, than the Statue of Liberty, and all of those. It’s the ego, that’s what we’re seeing.

[DT]

Our egos are so big, and have a lot of demands. And we are confused between who wants what. Is this my desire or my ego’s desire? We cannot make the distinction. It appears to be my desire. But to fulfill this, we took a lot of hardship to satisfy the ego. And also, the ego appears, presents to us, in the form of fear.

[DT]

If I don’t do this, I’m going to lose this, I’m going to lose that, I’m going to lose this. To begin with, you don’t even have it, what you’re going to lose. Honestly, many times. And, to begin with, you don’t even have it. What you think you have. Even if it’s not there today, it’ll be there tomorrow: that’s what we think. So that is what we say “ego confusion.” When we say emptiness, like space, so we are looking at the ego-less. So the ego-less me is the true me. That true me is compassionate, that true me is loving, that true me is caring, that true me is open, that true me is wonderful.

[DT]

2:13:17.8

But the ego tortured me, so that I cannot be me. You get it? So, when you make it blank, when you make it empty, when you make it -less, you make less of that ego. Get rid of that ego, anyway.

[DT]

Easy to say, right? You throw it away just like you throw away old flowers. Dead flowers. And we are really afraid of throwing it, honestly, but if you keep on throwing one or two or three times, you will see, you will make it better. Honestly. Simply ignoring the demands of the ego. Simply ignore the demand of the ego.

[DT]

That’s where the freedom comes. Do what you want to do. Touch whatever you want to touch, feel whatever you want to feel, and then I don’t want to go beyond that.

So that, when you say, “space before me,” the space, open space, we’re not just talking about that space where you can move your hand. And if you look in the longer sadhana, Om Sobhava Shudda Sarvadharma Sobhava Shudda Ham, it’s there.

[DT]

Sobhava Shudda Sarvadharma Sobhava Shudda Ham. Allen has a beautiful translation called, Nature’s Empty, Everything is Pure, Naturally Pure, That’s Me.

So, that is pure nature, so the ego-less. Even if you don’t think that it’s the huge monster, solid, standing there, when you don’t think that, then it is open. It is freedom. Without that freedom, you can’t do what you want to do. You can’t touch what you want to touch, you can’t become what you want to become. So that emptiness gives you the scope.

[DT]

One time, in Tibet, a very big famous Lama called Kung Tang, or, no — Jichang Gya, who happens to be the guru of the emperor of China, came to Tibet for a visit. So, he called himself a simple monk, just like the Dalai Lama does. He calls himself a simple monk, it’s ??? Lama, it’s Long Do ?? Lama. So, Long Do Lama went and so, he is also very well known, and so, not high-ranking but very well known. So the Long Do Lama saw Chang Gya Rimpa Dorje, and so Long Do Lama asked Chang Gya Rimpa Dorje, before we did anything in vajrayana, why do we have to have emptiness first?

[DT]

2:19:38.1

And, Chang Gya Rimpa Dorje replies, saying, “It may be to develop wisdom merit.” And then he ???, “What do you think?” And he replied, “Yes, you’re right, but, more than that…” — and this is the Tibetan way of talking: “Yes, you’re right, absolutely right, but more than that…” He says, “If you don’t have a strong emptiness, and we can never challenge this crazy ego.” So, in order to challenge this ego, that wisdom. That wisdom is the destruction of ego. Nothing more.

[DT]

So, right now, we don’t know how to destroy the ego, so we destroy the ego image, that huge, giant one, and we say it’s not there, it’s gone. So move! Telling…???

[DT]

So you provide that huge void, by destroying that huge monster, more vivid than the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty.

[DT]

2:22:09.4

And it’s always, when you empty something, you rebuild something. Actually, when there is space, empty space, you have an opportunity to do something. When there is no empty space, you can’t do anything. It blocks. So, what we are doing here is,

Tong en alle ped rang da ji ding,

So, within that sphere of emptiness, in absolute emptiness, certainly a compassion appears as a white lotus. So you can even draw an image. First, empty, blank. Even I’m not there. Nothing is there. All empty. Within that sphere of emptiness, certainly a compassion and love of all the gods appeared as beautiful, white lotus.

[DT]

So, in other words, all the compassion and love is a beautiful white lotus, right? And you draw an image, a mental image of the best you can do. You don’t have to have limitations of the flower, so big, the stem cannot carry it, you don’t have to have those limitations, because it is the mental image. Mental image is almost like a computer image. In a computer image, the lotus doesn’t break because the stem is too weak. Just like this, there is no limitations. It is a beautiful, huge, beautiful white lotus. Almost the space filled up, if you want to, but if you are after detail, and delicacy, then you go for small, nice, beautiful, but if you are for the giant, then go for huge, giant lotus. It doesn’t matter. But, it must be white, it must be clean, and it must be fresh.

2:25:34.4

[DT]

And the freshness. And pure. And, you know, when we practice learning Buddhism, we learn three principles. So, the lotus and moon and seed syllable, or something, all three of those actually providing, representing, the three principles, that of seeking freedom, the bodhimind, wisdom, all of those.

[DT]

And then after that, the moon cushion. A moon represents coolness. Not hotness. So, it’s a nice, cooling, beautiful, fresh, crispy. Crispy if you get in the cold, fresh, high altitude.

So, “Love and compassion of all enlightened appears as seed syllable Tam.”

2:28:52.0

[DT]

Then, “light radiates from the Tam,” meaning, in your visualization, that wonderful cushion of moon and lotus cushion above that, actual person who is sitting there is the letter Tam. We have the English version of the Tam here, and you know the Tibetan version of Tam, or Sanskrit Tan, whatever Tam you can visualize, whatever is easier to you. You may make a Dutch Tam! You know, who knows. So, whatever is easier to you, and that should think that to be Tara.

[DT]

2:31:11.8

So, that Tam will radiate a lot of light. When you are thinking of radiating light, don’t think one light bulb radiating light. Think a huge amount of, a massive light that is coming out. And that light reaches to all the enlightened ones. All past and living gods. And at the tip of that light, a tremendous amount of offerings being carried. Offered to them. They happily accept it. You have to think that. Then the blessings are brought back. It’s like you are sending a messenger representative, because you are not yet — it’s a front generation, the Tara is not yet there, it’s sort of street level ??? , they’re sending a messenger, with all the messages, saying, I’m going to be appearing there, and doing this work, and, give me blessings. So, sort of that sort of thing, with gifts going everywhere, collecting blessings back.

[DT]

And, the light also goes to all people, a second time. The light radiates, and reaches to all. Those are not heaven ones, but earth ones and hell ones, and everybody else.

2:34:08.9

[DT]

Just by the touch of that light, all hells are closed. Every human being becomes happy. And even think that they become Tara. And don’t forget, the environment. Just a touch of the light purified all that needs to be purified. The toxic chemicals, and all other impurities are totally purified.

[DT]

So, in other words, the air is pure, the environment it pure, the people are pure, everything is pure, nothing is impure at all. So, this is called, “two activities.” Activity of helping self, and activity of helping others. Self, because making offerings and collecting blessings. The others, transformation of beings into pure beings, and environment into pure land. So thus, you see the beauty of the vajrayana is, even before nothing, you will be able to work that out, as transformation of purity. Pure environment, pure inhabitants, everything pure, pure, pure. And that is the vajrayana’s beauty. You do not find that in any sutrayana practice at all, and that is the beauty of the vajrayana. And don’t forget Iraq. And that’s also purified, specially. No more killings, no more abusings, no more Saddam Hussein. And no more murder. You know that yesterday that the news was about Saddam Hussein and now they are talking about murder. And 25, 30, 40 prisoners have been murdered, just like that. So, I’m sure there’s no gas chamber, but it’s almost like that.

So, in that purity, everything pure, in that purity, and nothing visualizing, you sit and relax yourself. And do that meditation before you go to bed tonight, and wake up tomorrow morning, do that meditation, and then come back and we will build on top of that tomorrow. Thank you.