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Name of Transcript: 20050504GRNL3P05

Name of Transcriber: Sally Boyer

Start Date: 02-18-2021

Finish Date: 02-19-2021

To continue, looks like now we are moving toward actual principles. Fourth in the basic seven outlines reached to the fourth and this is now actually we are touching the first principle and that also has to have three separate points, three separate sort of outlines under this, fourth one, right? The first is reasons why first principle is necessary, second is actual development and third is the how do you know I’ve developed that as measurement. The first is reasons why we need it. Let me read this: lacking the determination to be free you remain stupefied by the samara’s delight. What does that mean? You become like stupid. Since obsession ropes all the beings to samsara first free yourself from it. Anyway, this is the reason but we are talking about renunciation here, we are not talking about renouncing our life, the language is such a thing the word renunciation sort of immediately understood but the language does not express but culture does. Immediately understood although we give up our life and everything and go to monasteries or nunneries, I think it is sort of more a culture in the West than the language expression however here we are not talking about it. What they are really talking about is renouncing samsara not renouncing life, even if you stick to traditional translation of renouncing, renouncing samsara because samsara is the problem. I think since we have a couple of new people, some new people here so the word samsara every one of us, especially those of you been with Jewel Heart a few years have idea of what we are talking about when you say samsara but I’m not really sure whether you truly understand what samsara is samsara is all about, because if you ask yourself the question and say, “What do I understand when I use the word samsara?” and then you listen to the teachings and participate in discussions with the sangha members and read the books and find out what you think the samsara is, is right or wrong, and that I think you have to understand because when we say renunciation, seeking freedom, all these are beautiful words but if you don’t know what it is how are you going to renounce? The idea of giving up every life and going somewhere, withdraw from life is perhaps you understood too well or you do not understand at all. So that’s probably coming out from towards those points. And we ask yourself a question saying, “What is samsara to me?” And you probably get a lot of good, different answers, possibility some say up and down, going up and going down, some will say rebirths and I don’t know what you think. Some may even say cause and effect and so each and every one of them you have to think carefully. Rebirths continuation of life, taking you know death followed by bardo, bardo followed by rebirth, rebirth followed by life, life followed by death, death followed by bardo, bardo followed by rebirth and you may think and that’s samsara. That’s probably most people will say when they think about it. Let us see how many people think that it is samsara. This is not formal or anything, let’s see how many hands come up those who think this rebirth is samsara after translation. Very few, that’s amazing. What do others think? Well, let’s deal with this first. Anyway it doesn’t matter. If taking rebirth is samsara then everyone who takes rebirth has to be within samsara and then you know all these great beings who are taking rebirth and you will say they are within samsara so indicates may be that’s not really what it is. And how many people think the contaminated continuation is samsara, continuation of life is samsara, contaminated? Well, we get a couple of hands too here now. A few more than last time. And let’s do this one, how many there have no idea what we are talking about? Virtually none, interesting. So we all know something about samsara but you are not saying it. All right, so what I do know from the knowledge point from the book knowledge point of view it is the continuation of contaminated birth, taking birth again is samsara, it’s book knowledge I have that. But the reason here is because if that is samsara, because it is contaminated, since it is contaminated it is totally in the influence of can we say delusion? Yes. Since it is contaminated and contamination really has a lot of ways of saying this contaminated and uncontaminated but in this case what I understand is it has confusion, it is sort of coming out of confused state, it is coming out of ignorance, traditionally called it ignorance, and that translation may not be right though the word in Tibetan is not seeing, not seeing here really means you don’t see clearly because you are confused just like when you are sick if you have jaundice, you get sick with jaundice you see all even the snow mountains you see them as gold mountains because of the jaundice effect, it filters the eye consciousness so when you really say not seeing is filtering the mind, filtering the person just like wearing those sunglasses, sunshade will filter our consciousness and when you filter you are changing something, not reality and then this case it is a big change, the filter is the combination of fear and confusion. The individual is confused so it’s confusion and fear and why we get confused I think translation you have here earlier, some kind of word we have here, stupefied. Because of that, confused sort of you, completely your status of mind is altered and changed into it and that’s why we call it contaminated. Why? Actually what is this unseeing, maripa or ego or whatever we are talking about? What is this thing? It is the biggest question, it is almost the same as “who is me? Who is the person?” I really think it is big issue for all kinds of people, spiritual people, all kinds of people will tell you really who’s me? Who is it? Even in the Buddhist teaching traditions and they also have that different schools early in India, we have different points where they make it and I don’t know later with the Tibetan schools whether they have different points, probably they do perhaps every individual person to person would also have different points based on understanding or even experience of the individual you have different points here. When we started with the contamination, what is this? We are talking about samsara, continuation of contaminated, where does that come from? What is it? Who made it? Is the biggest question for us though it is the major point of third principle whether we talk here or we talk there it doesn’t matter and that is the major point of third principle we can talk in the first principle. So what is it? And who is me? That is the real question. Who is me? What happen? Okay? Every spiritual person tries to answer that too. For example it is very clear some people will say it is some kind of indivisible entity or identity, right? To me seems like a lot of Western spiritualist people seem to agree some kind of indivisible entity which probably called where we come from and who we are. So right or wrong we can’t say however when you look at it carefully trying to find out what is this indivisible entity? Is there such a thing called indivisible entity? And when you are looking at that yes, you say it is, it is sort of thing you really cut into, looking into carefully, is it physical or mental or both? And physically, I mean of course they explain it, right? Physical and mental both or maybe none or whatever but the question of indivisible itself is big question when you look at it because existence of indivisible is not possible, not at all possible from any angle you look is not possible, it will divide no matter whatever. If you bring the most subtle, the most subtle something throw in the sky, space, the moment you bring the most subtle even a vibration even less subtle than that bring it into space, the moment you bring something in the empty space that empty space is occupied, no matter whatever you put less than a piece of paper sideway you know, not in this way in this way, whatever, even less than that, vibration whatever you put through the space will be divided because you’ve brought something in the empty space so naturally it occupies, right? It occupies, right? You bring a watch and you put it here it occupies, likewise everywhere else it occupies. Anything you put as long as it has something, form, energy, vibration how subtle you may go it has, it will divide space because it occupies, when you divide, the moment you occupy you provide direction, it is automatic, you bring you hand into space, you bring your needle into space, the moment you put in there, there is a division: east side, west side, south, north, upper, lower all of them will come, it’s not possible so therefore it is beautiful language, indivisible. I don’t think it is possible logically. Logically I don’t think it is possible and that is very clear. Buddha made it extremely clear on that and it is straight forward no mystery the moment you occupy something it divides. The moment you divide you have east, west direction sides. And that’s why indivisible is not possible at all as long as there is form. So you say mind, we are not talking about form at all, it’s mind it is not physical form at all, mind is also occupies time, just like physical form occupies space the mind, it occupies time, the time goes on changing you can’t say time is permanent and if time is permanent then yesterday has to be permanent yesterday must remain today and today must remain tomorrow so there will be no division between today and tomorrow so that’s not possible. Time divides so the division comes in different ways: past, present and future; otherwise one mind has to be constantly remain all the way through and you know that will be great obsession if you are thinking of something, somebody and that will be all the way through, that is funny, right? So it won’t work. So indivisible thing is physically, mentally or emotionally not possible, so when it is not possible it can’t be me, can’t be that me. Then what is it? Buddha says… in Tibetan there is DER CHEN TSCHE ME, meaning there is nothing called which is not dividable, in other words they say you cannot no matter how subtle you may go down, no matter how subtle it may go down, you will not find the thing called this is it. If you could find something called this is it then we have found the inherent existence and that’s why the principle of emptiness is based on this if it is not empty there is inherent existence, inherent existence here means if you found something called this is it nothing more nothing less, nothing further this is it, if you find that is the measurement of what inherent existence is all about. To be plain language, theoretically, philosophically I’m saying it wrong, the bottom line what we understand is this and this is it even the physicists they find the same thing. I mean we did find something called this is it, we call it atom or something, right? And then they found a little more so that really is it, so therefore to be identified something as self or I or me as indivisible is probably not possible so that’s quite clearly bound to ask now not only by simple logic but also scientifically. And then there are some different like early Indian schools some of them say, ”Well, it is created. It is created by principle” they called it. The point is even created that is not a problem but if you create it you have to create something you cannot create something invisible you know. If you create something invisible and then it becomes Emperor’s new clothes honestly. You know last night I had this jetlag so I couldn’t sleep at night so I was watching TV and there is a show some kind of funny fancy show there is an invisible key which you can open the black queen’s chamber. It’s a movie, just funny there’s no meaning at all, but you we were talking about invisible and there’s some guy who steals, there happened to be two keys and somehow he’s been able to steal both keys invisible keys, invisible key doesn’t work, right? So if you create you have to create something there you know you cannot create Emperor’s new clothes. It’s funny you know and they have those little boxes that share the key and then goes on there’s nothing here, that’s invisible but it sort of make me think sometimes when we do our initiations we said visualize this and that. So what happens is you know then that different schools will give all kinds of ideas even the early Buddhist schools they said there is something external nothing internal something external, and then some people say it is mind only nothing else and all these different schools have different view points of who really we are. They really give you, I mean who really they try to make it who is? Where we come from? What it is? Who really is? What is real maripa? What is it? That’s what they were trying to give you. And ultimately, in the Buddhapalita system Buddhapalita or the Prasangika Madhyamika and they will say the ji ta the real ji ta, maripa is ji ta. The word ji ta it’s meaning so what you are viewing, what you are protecting is something perishable just like perishable vegetable so what they are looking at are our five skandhas five aggregates and seeing that as me and because it is the nature of you know skandhas, physical sound, etc., those aggregates are impermanent in nature so therefore it’s going to go away, it’s going to be rotten and it becomes perishable and when you are identifying yourself with that perishable thing and then what does that do? That individual always afraid of losing because that’s where we have so much powerful fear not knowing where it comes from, what it is but just holds as stupefied manner that’s really because of that ji ta because it is views the translation will be ji ta something you are viewing as natural destruction, what it really meant is the skandhas, are sees skandhas as me and where it comes from so therefore it is perishable so always have the fear of losing it, protection, protection, protection always. Even in the spiritual path also we do so much protection, protection, protection, even refuge when it is supposed to be anti ji ta and even there you say what you can get protection, protection, protection so it is so much fear in our life because the deepest way we identifying is the skandhas, aggregates which are the nature of, perishable nature so that’s… I’m cutting short, hope I’m not doing disservice for you but we may or may not be able to revisit during the third principle but that’s the way the contamination that we are talking about it comes out, it is the confusion, it is the fear and it is the I shouldn’t say misunderstanding but it is misinformation, mis-knowledge and all of those and that contaminates our life and as long as we have this and we continue our problem and that’s I believe where we are that’s the reason why the first principle is necessary, let’s conclude that way. So the true spiritual practitioner I think is the first challenge, I mean it is one thing you pray and you say your prayers and you meditate and do one thing and do this and that and that’s one thing but when you really truly dealing with the spiritual path I think that is your first challenge it is the first challenge and we always struggle on that all the time until we are liberated and so I believe this is the first challenge because I do believe we want to get away from it but before we do, but we really want to know what we are getting away from not that little monster under the baby’s bed that’s not what we want to get away from I believe that’s the first challenge. So since this one make us fear, this one make us confused this one makes us everything goes wrong, since it is the base, since this is the first step and this is the biggest step so it is a real challenge. Every praying, meditating, I mean this is part of meditation, praying, saying prayers, meditating, mantra singing and all of them are supposed to be methods we are using challenge to challenge this one even the disciplines and the wisdom and compassion and all of them are supposed to be challenging this one so thus true spiritual practitioners and that is the real challenge here. This is the point whether we can get ourselves free or not going to be free either whether we be able to help others to get free or not to be I think that is the real challenge here. Even in Vajryana you are saying OM SOBHAWA SHUDDA SARWA DHARMA SOBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM, all empty, blah blah and rise out of emptiness this, this and that all of these types are challenging this. So you know I was reading a little while ago before I say, “Any questions?” you know and yesterday she gave me this and she said, “You put this out be able to…” in other words, indicates go accordingly and so I read it and happy to have those questjons and also as introduction to Buddhism and you know when I read that, I mean I’m not criticizing, it’s fine but when the moment when I say introduction to Buddhism, I said, ”Oh, may be the deepest in Buddhism, true, not just introduction to Tibetan Buddhism but the deepest part of Tibetan Buddhism too.” It is always something for everybody, for new ones and those of us who’s been for years, sixty years and will always find something, may be it is one of the qualities that we talk in the lam rim, you say all the teachings is like one little square cushion or something, one you pull and everything comes out, may be that’s the quality they are talking about. When you talk about it at that time you don’t really, you just have to say this and that quality you don’t mean, I mean you mean it but don’t get it and when you are talking looking back from here and you see you pick out one word and the whole thing comes up, so not only that’s the quality but that’s why something for everybody whether you are beginner or expert.