Archive Result

A very happy happy new year to everybody and also say welcome to everybody. And since I left here last year and went to visit a Jewel Heart in Holland and spent some time there and did a Lama Chopa teaching at the Jewel Heart in Holland which has actually bought a new house which I think is a socks making factory and they have like a four different buildings and they bought them together and made it into a Jewel Heart and that people work so hard there actually not only to practice but they also do total volunteer work also they bought the whole center without going to a bank and they arranged the money within jewel heart itself without interest those who have money within Jewel Heart. The work they are doing is absolutely totally volunteer and this is thousands of hours by tens of people and they really have done so much work and when I went there earlier at the spring time and the meeting class was half the size and now they have completely made it huge there probably over 200 people can fit there easily and they made a wooden floor and everything and beautiful paintings and a lot of classrooms and all of them are valuable and yet upstairs has not been touched yet and so they hope to make some other thing.

And also they are running their courses and they have started their courses even before us and before we are doing Ann Arbor and so they are running very well and they way they function is very interesting during the spring time when I go in April and May and I go and give lectures here and there at that time they collect new students for the year and this is a year-round course that they run the last year I forgot the number they said they had very little students that enrolled and so it's a hundred and some and so they think a very very little because they used to be close to 200 and something they enroll every year so that's in Holland. I taught Lama Chopa.

I talked quite a detailed at the earlier part because at some of the Lama Chopa teachings here I did not do the preliminary is and the beginning part so also keeping task groups in mind for benefit of the people in the future so where I have not taught I spent quite a lot of time and the actual Lama Chopa itself since I started with the text in the last four or five days and so have been able to complete and so it is very well.

Thereafter I went to India for just two nights just to break my journey (someone’s telephone is ringing). Anyway so just make my journey break I went to India and had nothing to do did nothing except you know then I went to Malaysia almost like a Lamrim like teaching and quite a number of people divided into different ways quite well attended a Lamrim like course takes about 5, 6, or 7 days there whole day I think about 80 or 90 people attended and the last one is the White Tara Longevity so way over 300 people and so it went very, very well and so there are people who come from different parts of Malaysia in busloads and started coming for that and this is also good to see very old people.

I don't mean people who are of old age I mean people who have been studying with me and so quite a lot of new people too and so on the whole there is a tremendous interest in the teachings that we bring in that's because everybody wants to help themselves.

In Europe and in Asia they are really more open to what Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism can really give you, a little more than what we are a little more in the sense that a traditional very traditional way rather than make it easy to understand and make it easy to adapt even the language which you use is a preferred the more traditional Tibetan or Sanskrit coming into English or any other language. And the more you go to the east and this is much more in that way. And here we would like to be, doesn’t matter, whether it is Buddhist or a non-Buddhist or whatever it is we need help and where I am I going to get help and I would like to have that and a little more slightly different

I don’t think that everyone has the same desire to be helping themselves and why because I think there are two or three reasons. Number one reason the question really rises can we help to ourselves and if so how? It’s a very funny way if you can’t help yourself who else can help you? Its not, where I come from, with my background, with what little I know it is this it is absolutely one can help oneself no one else can help you if you don’t help yourself no one else can. Then the question arises can you really help yourself, can I really help myself and that is the question.

And the answer has to be yes! If not we are hopeless helpless creatures which none of us would be willing to accept that. Number one and number two no one has ever told all these great spiritual masters and people such as Buddha and all of them have never told us you are hopeless and helpless except some preachers for some very specific reasons. Other than that so it is never said and it is never true and we are not hopeless and helpless. We are hopeful and we can help ourselves we can help. Why we can help?

Because the nature of what we are is a beautiful wonderful nature. And number one all of us are beautiful human beings with a beautiful mind. Yes our original nature our mind, the basic fundamental of what we are is a pure nature. Pure nature! From the Buddhist point of view we call this a Buddha nature meaning it’s not that we are a Buddha yet if we are a Buddha yet there’s no reason to say there’s a Buddha nature number one number two why do we have such a delusional mind that disturbs us all the time, we turn around, and we get another disturbance here, and another disturbance here we have that all the time which clearly indicates that we are not a Buddha! So the Buddha nature does not mean we are Buddha’s if we are Buddhas we don’t have to do anything.

We should be perfectly okay. There may be some people who think we are basically perfectly okay however we have some sort of impurities disturbing us and that’s why we have that and people do think that way and people do say that way but in my opinion, excuse me, if you are pure you are pure and that cannot be like a tarnished. You are not silver you are gold. Gold does not get tarnished, Silver may. Really truly and once you get tarnished and that means something is not right you are not yet number one you are not gold you’re not platinum because you tarnish.

So if we get disturbance, negative emotional disturbance, we all do get it when we are getting that that means we are not pure yet. Pure nature because it can be pure, it is part of pure. That’s a wrong statement. It’s not a part of pure, its nature is pure! Did I speak Greek? I thought so. However we are not pure yet each, it can be pure it has every possibility of it becoming pure because basically were not bad at all including President Bush, also Saddam Hussein, even Hitler bad person yes but not bad naturally. There’s a big difference, big difference.

I just can’t forget this when his Holiness was visiting in Jerusalem and he’s talking about the Buddha nature, naturally pure nature, some witty journalist asked him straight away but do you think Hitler has that beautiful nature he was a naturally nice guy and his Holiness said yes he is naturally a nice guy and right in the middle of the Jerusalem visit (he laughs) and it is true but even if you’re naturally good and you happen to be a bad person what happened to you? I mean basically we all do we all give people the cold shoulder we do but we are not bad persons why do we do this why? Not because we were bad person here Hitler and all these people gone beyond but as ordinary human beings just like you and me we are not bad persons no but what happens is we have this addiction to these negative emotions, hatred obsession and all of those I call those negative emotions so they completely overpower ourselves and we can’t be what we are we are made into something else and Hitler and all these unfortunately made into horrible. Hitler and Stalin and all of those and made into a horrible and we become bad we do not become horrible becoming bad. first we become naughty and then it goes a little beyond that and so.

So since the nature itself is pure and we happened to be the changing place of you know influence by emotions so that’s the reason why we can help ourselves.

If the nature is bad, so what can you do? Nothing. So since we are naturally not bad and temporarily we do bad things because of the influence of emotions and that’s why we can help ourselves what we hope to help ourselves we all hope to help ourselves who is not hoping to help ourselves?

Everybody is hoping to help ourselves but when we talk about helping than we differ some people have a definition of good that is different than other persons definitions of good so that you have to ask yourself what you mean by good good life that’s a good life you have to raise that question to yourself what you mean by a good life see your definition and see if your definition doesn’t fit with the definition given by people such as Buddha all the great masters like Jesus all of those what their definition of good life and my definition of good life doesn’t tally doesn’t fit each other. I think one has to see that, many of us in our human society especially today’s society our definition of good life can be comfort.

Our definition of good life can be only free of illnesses or our definition of good life can be rich, so can be anything so that’s the number one question you have to see yourself what is your definition of good life is all about it.

I can tell you what I learned of good life it is the based what little I know it is coming out of Buddha’s teaching so for a Buddha definition of good actually does not really not much to do with wealth almost not much, happiness yes! Peace, harmony calm, all of them are yes! Joy, I yes absolutely, absolutely for the definition of good life for Buddha is one being helpful to oneself and to be helpful for the others.

Buddha considered that as the definition of a good life that raises a lot of questions it says the word but it says what he mean by help what kind of help are you talking about and that differs the layers of different help. Helping to those who are actually giving shelter to the homeless medicine to the sick and all of those food for hunger and all of those are help no doubt about it. But Buddha’s definition of help is slightly more than that of course they are, but more than that more is because Buddha looks through at the capacity of the human beings and the capacity of the human beings is such that we can do a tremendous thing, Tremendous thing we can do period. For whatsoever may be right now we have demonstrated we can do a tremendous things for our own interests and for our money we have proved again and again the human capacity are mostly we do for money mostly do for our interests, so we have a tremendous capacity and capability.

Don’t ever doubt for that because whatever you look in today what we call it scientific development, what we call its spiritual development, all of them are the result of human capacity, so don’t think twice here. It is! So using such a capacity what we have we can achieve something much more than we can even imagine and that’s why Buddha’s definition of good life has layers of it, fortunately we all are eligible, we all have the capacity to help ourselves, we all have a possibility of becoming the best whatever is possible we do have that data capacity that thing we do! So Buddha likes to call that a total knowledge or awaking state all knowing so you know the mind that what we have it has a tremendous capacity and in this sort of you know the mind can measure to the things to be known it can be equals. Do you understand what I’m talking about? Doesn’t make sense to anybody. I said mind can measure to the things to be known. Your knowledge my knowledge everybody else’s knowledge and everything to be known the knowledge and information and capacity of a rocket scientist and you know all of them put together and the one single human being such as yourself has the capacity to knowing all of them simultaneously and that’s why it’s called total knowledge. A Buddha sees that capacity within ourselves we do have it and that’s why it is measurement of good life differs.

The first sort of number one state be able to help yourself helping here is cutting the negatives down and building the positives. Negative actions down and building positives actions. I say I’m going to cut my negative actions I’m going to cut my negative actions will not help you at all. That’s not even a mantra if you make it it doesn’t become. Honestly. So which means one has to do something and not just pray. Although what do you say, you’ve got to pray just to make it today. Right? so many said that but you know it’s not praying. Prayer is one thing nothing is wrong with that it’s great but our capacity is more than that, that is we can act and function we can do it ourselves. I’m not saying that - Buddha said that! A number of you may think well he’s talking but I’m only giving you what I learned and what Buddha said and that is the true word of the Buddha.

Praying is depending on the second or third person, acting by yourself is the first person action. Basic structure of total existence is functioning on the basis of our deeds our karma and the karma of a really first-person action only so that’s why action taking action by one individual is important, is spiritual, is a meditation honestly!

We think practicing spiritual path and meditation means you have to create some kind f of space, a different area yes you do, but somewhere he has to sit and be holy about it, don’t move and sit like a mountain we may think that yes we can do that but that’s not necessarily be spiritual either according to Buddha.

Really spiritually meaning meaning cutting down the negative actions within ourselves and bringing and replacing them by positive actions. How to do that is a change of mind. The mind what we have is right now is addicted to the negative emotions tremendously if you don’t believe it I mean you better think this way.

You do not need to go to school and learn and practice how to get angry. You don’t have to meditate and go and put efforts and become how to develop hatred. We don’t have to sit and meditate and learn how to be attached! Attachment. How to be obsessed, we don’t.

We already am. We already are controlled by hatred, We already are controlled by obsessions but in order to become not controlled by hatred, not controlled by obsessions, we have to put efforts and work and that’s what I mean change of mind here. Changing that addiction of negative emotions into positive emotion that is the basic spiritual mind here, which requires physical and mental action physically you have to work and mentally you have to meditate. Meditate in the sense understand make decisions move forward.

I get a lot of people well I like it. Where do I begin. So our official answer is begin teachings of something like that anyway whatever, but the real way you begin is that! In a lot of centers you say well come in meditate with us or come and join us join you know join or don’t’ join doesn’t matter.

What you have to do is that action the mental physical action of changing the mind and changing your actions and that’s where you begin and that is the beginning of helping yourself and helping others too.

Other than that if you’re going to say, I would like to help, I’d like to help, I like to help, I like to help remember that’s not a mantra.

And I clearly give you reasons how the question I raised, can I help and the answer I give you is yes you can with reason without reason doesn’t mean yes no does not mean no and I mean anyone can say yes anyone can say no to doesn’t mean anything but here is a solid reason.

So it begins since you know that and where does it begin it’s a changing of the mind mind that is influenced by negative emotions such as hatred and obsessions has to be changed. You may not change the mind itself, you know it’s difficult, but when mind is coated that had to be changed. Many of you might have heard me talking but I give an example of mind is like a clean and clear crystal lampshade look like and though the mind is not tangible no color no smell no shape however I’m giving an example of a lampshade, crystal lampshade because it’s clear and however the emotions such as anger or hatred jealousy and obsession and all of them are the light bulbs of red light bulbs of blue light bulb a green light bulb you know all this maroon light bulb all this type of thing and because of the light bulb and the effect of the light, it makes your crystal clean and clear a lampshade looks like appears to you as if red yellow blue green all that exactly that way the negative emotions like anger or hatred jealousy making that your self an angry person a hatred person obsessed person you’re not but it looks like it, it appears to be and that has to be changed and that is your spiritual work what ever it may takes you if it takes you to meditate should meditate if it takes you to say a mantra, you should say mantra if it takes you to do circumnabulations you should do circumnambulations if it takes you to do prostrations you should do prostrations and what ever it takes and that is your spiritual work and that is your Buddhism, and that is your Christianity honestly! That is your Judaism, your Hinduism and that is your Islam and that is the only way I know of how to help to yourself and when you know how to help yourself you help the others the same way as you do. That is the beginning of your spiritual path and if you don’t know that, not knowing not knowing that, that’s what I mean not knowing, this is how it happens if you’re not knowing that then if you are not knowing that then what we call this is ignorance.

There are two things. one not knowing that the nature is pure that is a different type of ignorance and not knowing how one can help oneself is a secondary type of ignorance.

These two ignorances are the cause of all problems and sufferings according to Buddha. There are traditional drawings in the Tibetan Buddhist culture and in the drawings and I think you’re going to put in here the traditional drawings if you’re looking at what we call a Thanga here. (He points to a Thanga maybe Heruka).

You see here like three different circles here right and don’t worry about this horrifying person over there holding everything ready to eat, perhaps it is the evil within us if we don’t take care of ourselves is ready to chew us, maybe I don’t know let’s just forget about it because that’s the traditional way of drawing but you know when you’re looking here you see like three different circles here I used to have a little pointer (laser pointer) to show the light it bit its not here tonight, if anybody has it please I would like to borrow it, if you don’t have it, does not matter.

Well anyway, one big circle inside right you’ll see a little pig and a snake and what is the other one here. (Someone from the audience hands Rimpoche a laser pointer) Hey it works, so there are three things here inside here these are metaphors, metaphors, the pig in Tibetan Buddhism, they call this three poisons

The ignorance, and the obsession, and hatred this is supposed to be a bird and the beautiful bird supposed to and the birds are dangerous birds, bird flu there. Bird flu or no bird flu that is supposed to be depicting the obsession and the snake is always hatred. The snake hides in the darkness and tried to cover the poison as much as possible so no one comes around and if anyone comes the snake hits them with the poison. So they call these the three poisons why? Because these are what I’ve been talking about emotions, those negative emotions, those negative emotions create the lower half of this, negative emotions if you want to know what is here this is the hell realm then you have the hungry ghost somewhere than the animal realm so these are called lower realms these are supposed to be a place of suffering and so people take rebirth according to the Buddha in these things because of these three negative way.

So why why you get this three from you get this three from because of the ignorance now going beyond this and this circle is giving three poison almost like a dip sauce and these are supposed to be people who were falling down to the lower realms and these are supposed to be going about to do better realms and these are the better realms the samsaric god realm, demi-god realm and the human realm whatever.

So these are the better realms and these are the three lower realms and they are all possible because of here the drawing here is a guy who’s poking his own eyes with a bamboo pen poking his own eyes because making you stupid making your not knowing not knowing two things I told you in the nature is pure and if you don’t know that in the cuts are completely out and that is one of those ignorance and the second if you don’t know how to help yourself you get under the control of this sticking your own eyes and because of that you produce these three poisons and that makes you run around and do all this and yet get nowhere that is exactly what it is because I am supposed to be reviewing what you have learned in my absence. You know a great many people here worked very hard talked to you Tuesday after Tuesday and share their knowledge and that’s what I’m supposed to review very briefly. So, so this is what this the number one link and these are called tri-links and here you have called ignorance/confusion I normally say here is the fear and the confusion combined together makes you stupid, not knowing really.

Even if you are not it will make you completely confused and not knowing what to do, not knowing whether you can really be perfect or not, not knowing your nature is pure or not, because of not knowing because of the confusion, because of the fear because of that and then it moves to the second link I am presuming this is the second link.

Second link it is action and not necessarily karma. The metaphor here is creating a part a part of creating and is nothing wrong with the part the idea is because you don’t know what you’re doing you do something you have to do something so naturally you have been influenced by these three poisons, you do something wrong and you do something wrong because of the fear you want to protect yourself when you want to protect yourself you want to destroy the enemy first. We don’t have a problem with that George Bush taught us very well he said pre-emptive actions right? That’s where it comes from. This action is preemptive action I’m joking okay so don’t take everything serious I’m a big joker. Oh, I begin to realize that’s the part that Secretary of State brought the United Nations (he laughs) in this is in 45 minutes you can get this. Anyway and this is what the first links to the second links this activity action because action done by the influence of ignorance and fear and the influence of those negative emotions so naturally you do like a killing people or something like that in a negative way and in a positive way not killing saving a life or doing something and then it builds a positive link counterclockwise here if you do negative clockwise here that’s why the moment you add action and go to the third link.

Anyway the third is, we call that consciousness. I don’t know why they call it consciousness, actually it is imprint. Any action that you do the second-level any action that we do we do it just doesn’t waste somebody tries to call it a storage house, it doesn’t get wasted and the moment you take action and immediately you get an imprint wherever the monkey is.

You get an imprint which means whatever you do it leaves a mark it just doesn’t disappear all the work gets done you did everything whatever, and then those comic detectives come in and they start digging and they’ll find it because you know why you leave an imprint it doesn’t disappear its left their not only left there you left there twice twice you left there once it becomes capable of twice one it will really remain as an imprint in the second is not only as an imprint and that imprint actually materializes later and that’s the reason why the third link was divided into two so that is how we get into it actually if you know how to get into it you know how to get out of it.

And I may not have time to talk to you about all of them tonight because I’m getting signals saying that I should stop the time is over the monkey is looking from here, even this one is gone now, it is giving a looking from there and getting a signal and so.

So anyway the idea of the basic nature of the being of the human being and how we function these very beautifully fits into each other so whatever the next Tuesday’s subject may be but I have to finish this so just a brief conclusion so. So I wish I could finish maybe I could spend a little more time to talk about pure nature and why can you help and all that.

I’ll talk a little more time, however and those of you who have been coming here for years you know those are you who are new and you come here and you hear a lot of these things probably don’t know what to do when you go back and remember changing of mind change your mind and change your action from negative to a positive. Hurting anyone is not good, it is bad it is the last resort so no pre-emptive So change your thinking change your way of functioning and you have begin your spiritual action. Well I’m sorry I didn’t give you time to question me and I’m sure Cathy has some announcements too so I have to conclude here and thank you. I’ll be here next Tuesday as a matter of fact I can look in here I can tell you. Cathy has given me very nice things I’ll be here January the 10th the 17th (they discuss to heart business)

So as you know I’ve changed the wisdom into weekend because it is very tough and people comes on Tuesday to pick up something and sometimes it may be doing a disservice for a lot of people so it is a continuation of 4 to 5 years may be more. A continuation of almost 10 years so I have to finish but it has become very tough and is not so easy to talk on Tuesday evenings that’s the reason why we made Tuesday’s in that way any yet to continue that on Saturdays and that’s what we’re doing and thank you.