Archive Result

Soundfile 20060404GRAAPerseverance

Speaker Gehlek Rimpoche

Location Ann Arbor

Topic Perseverance

Section 1 (total)

Transcriber Colleen Retherford, July 17, 2006

Thank you and welcome here tonight, I believe it is fourth, April. And so subject here tonight is, as you see, enthusiasm and perseverance. And enthusiasm and the ability to preserve will energize our commitment to bring positive change into our life, particularly when the going gets rough.

That’s the job description I got today from the program department, both Kathy and Hartmut. And they further clarified compassion’s energy provides the momentum to remain enthusiastic and persevere amidst the hardship and suffering in life in order to help oneself and others. Able to endure hardship, protect from laziness, the closed down the importance to be open and generous. Keep one on track of helping self and others overcomes the laziness with this positive points. So this is my (?) anyway, they’ll come back to that. So these are my job descriptions tonight.

So, enthusiasm. In these are the tools that comes out of Mahayana Buddhist teaching. This is not new to you, many of you, you went through years of Bodhisattvacayavatara, and the Bodhisattvacayavatara, or Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, we probably spends about a year talking about enthusiasm alone, maybe less, maybe more, maybe about a year. So you have a total background. However, to make it clear, and to bring it together to ourself, Tsong Khapa’s shorter Lam Rim, has said (????Tibetan Quote???) Tsong Khapa, uh… can you look in that, if you have anyone have the short Lam Rim of Tsong Khapa? Did anybody bring with any of you? Lines of Experience. Yeah, they have it there in the Jewel Heart book there, you know? Can you find it straight away, the enthusiasm? Page 41.

Okay. Since you have microphone with you, you’d better read it.

“Once you wear the armor of resolute and irreversible enthusiastic perseverance your expertise in the scriptures and insights will increase like the waxing moon. You’ll make all your actions meaningful for attaining enlightenment and will bring whatever you undertake to its intended conclusion.”

Did you hear that? Did everybody at the back heard? Oh, good.

Tibetan Quote????

And Tsong Khapa referred this with the metaphor of armory. And if you wear armory, you know old fashioned, you know we, in one way we be very proud of saying, “Hey, twenty-six hundred year old wisdom.” On the other hand, if you look for the metaphors, you have to look back, way beyond cowboy times and even beyond you know old European, you know sort of medieval period, sort of culture in that way.

And those days and the best way of the protection what we have is the armory instead of what we or armor. Armory is where you deposit all the arms. Armor. And so today what we have, what do you call it, that, when the satellite goes something they catch all the bombs in the air or whatever that is. Not Star Wars, no, no John. And Strategic Defense Initiative, yes. And so we have these days, you know, so when you have those days and when you bringing the armor as a metaphor it sounds so funny. However, that is coming from there. And that was the biggest protection what the individual can wear to protect yourself from those people who are throwing the weapons at you is the armor.

Armor not only protects weapons from you, armor returns those weapons, too, because you keep on hitting it and when you can’t hit it sometimes they go back, too. And if you add up a little magical on that so that you know it magical things on that and then they will come and zoom! go back, right? So that is sort of little magical thing on that. So what happens is, if you have enthusiasm, the objections what we get all the time, the obstacles what we get all the time, most important obstacles here what we’re dealing with laziness.

Laziness. And laziness here now, here it says four kind of laziness. Um, I can’t even pronounce this. How do you pronounce, procrastination? Procrastination. So if I don’t know how to read it, how do I, I don’t even know what is meant. And discouragement, disheartenment, wrong choice, busy-lazy. And I know what busy-lazy is, I know what wrong-choice is, and I do need a little explanation for the first one. What is that one, procrastination. (audience) Tibetan????? Alright, it’s everything is tomorrow. Alright, everything else what you need to do.

You know, we do have a friend here. She’s not here today. When I first came to United States she’s doing PhD. She was very busy doing, but she was absolutely busy, she keep herself completely busy, not to write her thesis. Not to keep herself busy and when she have extra time and she noticed and she must volunteer at different charity organizations so to show that she doesn’t have time to look in her thesis, or write her thesis.

So, I mean it’s great work to volunteer and helping people, and making herself busy, but you completely avoiding what you need to do. Somehow the person doesn’t like the subject, whatever she’s writing, or whatever the reason might be, there got to be a very strong reason. But that takes over what you really need to do for you to have a, you know, this three letter title called PhD. And which have a tremendous amount of recognition and among the people, as well as yourself, you know, can be proud of yourself, all of those.

And somehow you just pull yourself out of that by keeping yourself absolutely busy. So this the definition what I introduce as busy-lazy. However, that also part of what you really need to do is you don’t do it but on the other hand you want to do everything else but what you really supposed to do good for you.

So why Buddha introduced that to us or to the people because Buddha noticed people are busy and they would like to do everything except what they really need to take care of at that moment. Probably, if you’re extremely engaged with hatred, what you really need to take care of is your hatred and your anger. But somehow it becomes sensitive issue to the individual. And that’s what it is, there’s something what you don’t like it. You don’t want push that button. You wanted protect that button, no one should push it. So you put a strong sort of thing over there and keep yourself busy completely, so no where near the button you reached.

And that happens. And there’s two ways of happening this, what I personally noticed with myself. One way I experience this, very often I do. I’m very much the example of this particular, what you call it, procrastination. Sort of part of the laziness, that is very good example. For me, everything is last minute. That’s my habit. That’s my, in good way of saying, it’s my habit, bad way of saying, that’s my addiction. When there is time I will never, never prepare, never prepare. And I’ll do something else. I thought I would do the last minute. For example, I give you the example today. Today, itself, you know, when you talk about enthusiasm is my subject, I knew this. I got notice from the department, from the company and that my job description for today, I think, yesterday. So it is the enthusiasm is my subject.

So enthusiasm, there’s three kinds of enthusiasm been introduced by Buddha. And I do remember one. I don’t remember two. So and I want, I meant to look in the book. And all different activities, everything have been taking place since this morning, you know, since morning ‘til you know constantly, continuously something happened until Colleen keep on telling me, “It’s only twenty minutes now, you have to go, it’s only twenty minutes to seven.” And then you know, then ten minutes, now its five minutes. Rimpoche, come, come, go, go, go! Until then, so I didn’t get to look in the book.

And then I was trying to remember in the car. I don’t remember anything. When I walked in here and I asked Hartmut to look into English and you know I very hard to coordinate English and Tibetan. I asked Ujjen, do we have any Lam Rim book? He said yes, I do, we do have one. I said what? So he brought this book back. And this is Tsong Khapa’s Lam Rim Chen Mo. So I tried to look open. And Jamyang says, how you going to find it? You’re never going to find it. So I turned two pages. I found it. So I says, “Jamyang, here it is.”

So this is how, you know, how unimportant thing overtakes, overtakes what you really need to do. What you really need to do. And I saw it over there, I looked it. I closed the book and I gave it back to Ujjen. And I came up and said, and started thinking, I forgot! So I asked Kathy, can you find the book again? So she found it. So anyway, so this is how laziness can overtake individual. This is first type of laziness.

So enthusiasm will completely not let the laziness to come nearby. To come nearby. Even it comes, its popping up its head, saying, well let’s have, what should I say, let’s have glass of beer. And talk about it. Something is pops up and even then the enthusiasm will say, uh, no. If I have a beer now I get headache and get lazy. I can’t read it, can’t think about it. Let’s not have it now. Maybe in the evening.

So that is how it can return that effect of addiction, I say beer when it’s hot. When it’s not so hot, then you don’t have that. That sort of returns, too. And how it works, how it works, and you have to like what you’re doing it. You’re liking to your job, to liking to your purpose. You like what you need to do. You like spiritual practice. You like to overcome your sufferings. When you like it, when you enjoy, that admiration and that sort of that is desire. That is sort of mind that is seeking that one. So mind seeking that one, if it is strong enough, it can influence, it can for the spiritual point of view, for the religious point of view, that desire mind can bring faith, also.

And as I always say, when you talk about faith, I really meant to be faith with the reasoning, with the solid faith. With the reasoning when established it properly within the individual. Never encourage blind faith, because blind faith is the one which can lead individual in trouble. We don’t have to look very far. Jim Jones. Think about it. That comes out of blind faith.

But intelligent faith, intelligent faith is a result of a desire that one would like to indulge in it. One enjoys, one would like it, one would like to have it. That sort of mind. The difficulty with the Western culture is we don’t divide the mind so much. When you say mind its solid one thing. We don’t think about it. Where I come from I’m completely used to it, the mental faculties. The moment we talk about it, emotions or any emotion, positive, negative, anything, my mind straight away goes into that, tries to analyze which is that?

It is almost automatic electronically zoom and goes in that and busy looking, which emotion is this? Where it belongs to, out of fifty-two, which category it is? It is always the five that following or is it always five that makes me perceive the object clearly? Or is it out of this eleven virtuous? Or is it out of the six root negativities? Or is it twenty secondary negativities? Or is it four changeable? It just zoom and analyzes. And that is how I’ve been brought up and my mind works that way. But in the West they don’t. The moment you say mind it is something solid or, I don’t know, funky little thing, you know not, you know sort of wave type of thing. You get one little picture and that is a problem.

So the faith is the result of that mental faculty which you enjoys, likes, and bring it to you. And that is the real one faith. The blind faith is blind faith was brought to both Eastern and Western religions bring blind faith to people by threatening, if you don’t believe this you go to hell. I mean it’s not only the Catholics who do it. Buddhists do it, too. I mean it is all religions; all both East and West religions do this, or did that, and do it. They do it with good motivation, good intentions. And they did not do it, though it becomes how do the institution controls the individual, whether it is church or monastery or temple or whatever it is. It became that way but the original motivation is leading the people in the positive path.

Slightly problem of looking down on the people, saying, “You’re incapable of analyzing. You’re incapable of doing.” They don’t tell you. I don’t mean churches alone, I mean temples, monasteries, as well as churches, synagogues and everywhere else. Everywhere else, including New Age. New Age will come into nice way. Positive, positive, beautiful, beautiful, wonderful. You know, in that way it’s not threatening but sort of nicely, smoothly, you know, buttery in a way they come in. But the other traditional churches and temples will say, “If you don’t do this you will go to hell.” And the kids get worried and say, “Hail, Mary, Hail Mary” or “OM MANI PAD ME HUM OM MANI PAD ME HUM”. You know. Oh my mother’s asking the question. Hope mother will not go to hell. Hail, Mary, Hail Mary, OM MANI PAD ME HUM OM MANI PAD ME HUM. Both the same thing, in the East or Western religion.

So they try to bring that faith forcefully, with the threat of going to hell. That’s why you don’t have intelligent faith. You’re sort of afraid. You have to believe it otherwise you go to hell. I don’t want to go to hell. I don’t want my mother to go to hell, I don’t want my kids go to hell so let’s not think about it, let’s not think about it.

And then something goes wrong. Oh, my god, how I’ve been misleaded. Nobody’s misleaded and it’s your own fault because you failed to observe right from the beginning. You did not analyze, you did not develop intelligent faith and that is entirely our fault. Not the fault of church, not the fault of temple, not the fault of the monastery. They’re fault is only looking down on us. Not treating us educated, intelligent people. Did not let us use our brain. Today’s language.

If we use our brain, we analyze, we’re capable. We may not be capable like a great professor or whatever it is, but we are capable of our own rights. We’re capable of making a good decision, each and every one of us, because we are intelligent. We are, actually, great human beings. Like it or not, no matter however, whatever you may think, each and every one of us are great human beings. Whether you like it or not, it is. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not.

If you do let anyone tell you you’re not great, you’re not good person, that comes this laziness because you don’t have enough enthusiasm to be taking responsibility by yourself. Because, you think, “Oh, such a thing, how can I do? I’m stupid, I’m naïve, I have no idea. I am not intelligent enough. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot.” So putting yourself down, putting yourself down, that is one of those anti-enthusiasm.

People do that. People play between people. People play between the companions. Some parents play that with the children. Some children play back differently. I notice this all the time, you know. A lot of parents will play that way. Children play something else, you know, begin to threaten the parents. You know, they do this all the time. Didn’t you notice? They do.

And then I also notice the companions play. You know, companions sometimes play that to control other person, saying you’re incapable of thinking. You’re incapable of making decisions. Or you’re crazy, or whatever, you know, whatever. And then, sort of, you know, repeatedly, constantly, continuously, day and night you’re bombarded that in your ear all the time and you may begin to think, “I may be crazy!” Maybe it’s true, I can’t make a decision. Maybe that’s true, you know, that’s happens.

So in order to protect from that, that sort of arrow coming to you, in order to protect, to make sure that arrow goes back to the same person who sents you, the right from the beginning make a very strong mind that I’m capable and I’m intelligent. I’m an educated person. I can do. Sort of, you know, never look down on yourself no matter how poor you may be. Truly, rich and poor is an economic calculation. Sometimes they say it is real number. But it really is, is speculation. Honestly, it is speculation and you know, the economic things floating ‘round and certain people can grab more, certain people can become instrumental, certain people can grab less. And that is the not true richness and poor. The richness and poor is the knowledge, know-how, information. And that is the true rich and poor comes on this.

We know this, if you’re very well educated. If you have the PhD you’re paid more. Or if you have MA, although it’s called Master of Art. Even though it is Master of Art, right? Even though you’re Master of Art, but if you’re PhD you get paid more because you got more information, you got more power than Master of Art. You get it? And that proves, even in our society and culture. So naturally we are really counting rich or poor on the basis of number of dollars is really a speculation. It’s not reality. In one way it is reality, but on the other hand it’s not.

I remember His Holiness the Dalai Lama was saying in Delhi, His Holiness Dalai Lama was saying in Washington in that, when they have few years ago, the Tibetan folk, something he was addressing he is saying the riches should think about it a little more and the poor. He said no matter how rich you may be you can only eat this much food or something per day. And you cannot, you can only wear, you know, couple clothes per day, nothing more, or something like that. I mean, it is in that idea in a way it is true, you know, in that. No matter how rich you may be you can’t eat the whole thing. If you do you won’t live tomorrow, you’ll die tonight.

So that’s really what that is. And so the really, the true rich and true poor measurement should come out of the information and knowledge. It is the mind that makes. Honestly, people who are making money, including Bill Gates, they making money out of their mind. They’re not making money out of their hands. No, they’re not. It’s out of the mind. So that is, whether you rich or poor…I’m losing my ground. What am I talking about? Oh, yeah, whether you’re rich or poor, no matter whatever, never think, “I cannot.” Never think, “I cannot. I cannot”

“I can!” Because you’re great human being. You’re great human being. You have the quality, quality of listening to the people, translating that into the mind, something. And think, analyze, and you can come out of the solutions and whatever it is, you can come out of it, by your mind. So you have that precious mind, therefore you’re rich, you’re intelligent, you’re great human beings. Don’t ever entertain you cannot. Don’t you ever entertain. And that is the sources of a lot of suffering, looking down on the individual, thinking that I, something wrong with me. Thinking that I am dirty, filthy, something, you know. All of those are looking down, that comes from the self-deprecation. Thank you. Self-deprecation.

So enthusiasm should completely protect individual from that. And that is, sort of, and that way you cannot have that “I cannot do it.” There is every human being is capable of doing anything whatever you want to do. If you have the desire, you can. That has been demonstrated in our history many times by so many, particularly all these artists, great artists, scientists, intellectual people, even politicians. I don’t mean even politicians, but really true. Even they have demonstrated what they can. Carter is an example, look at it. Although, it’s not that great success president, but after the president, what he could do, what did he do for the world, for the peace?

And so these are the great achievements. And you may think, in order to, Carter achieved because he was president. Excuse me, Mother Theresa was never president, but achieved. So things like that, it is the human capability and good quality within the individual. And quality-wise, there’s not that much difference between us and Carter, or Mother Theresa. But what we’re lacking is the sense of responsibility, compassion, and love and commitment. Commitment is…the strong commitment is the result of enthusiasm.

So I’m talking on the basis of the spiritual path, but that is applicable to everything. If you want, if you are an artist who cuts hair and enthusiasm of the individual artist makes your client looks beautiful and wonderful and attractive because way, how you designed hair, way and how you cut the hair. Right? And if your artist doesn’t have enthusiasm, simply just to cut hair and then it doesn’t become good artist. Just becomes some of those barber shops where the butcher like cut every hair every way. And that is the lack of enthusiasm, simply laziness. Just have to get five bucks to butcher somebody’s head. So that is there’s no enthusiasm, that’s all, at all. That is one, just example.

Same as with the cook. You heard expression, people say, “Hey, this food was made with love.” Okay, that food tastes better. It helps the individual health-wise. Gives you strength, energy, make you like it, no matter whatever it is. Made with enthusiasm and love. Or simply just five dollar hour job, flip flop hamburger, doesn’t do that. That is the difference.

So, what did you say? (audience) I’m sorry, what? (audience) Yes, you can. And if that’s so, then you make it nicely, the food is better, tastes better. With love, you made it. And the artist can make you look different, you look better. You know, always we see that everyday. Perhaps, that’s the reason why we pay more, too, isn’t it?

Anyway, so I’m just talking about enthusiasm. That’s the purpose of enthusiasm really overcome the laziness. Laziness also have all kinds of laziness. Addiction is laziness. If you’re addicted to anything, substance or anything, whatever you’re addicted, whatever it is, that is laziness because that take the individual away from whatever you need to do. It’s always they push you towards whatever you are because you enjoy doing that.

And it is temporary, third-class feeling good. It is not first-class feeling good. Not even second-class feeling good. It is third-class feeling good. It almost numbing yourself, just numb. And then have a funny whatever it is, you know. And you get addicted to it because it is the physiological addiction and the psychologically you’re sink into that laziness.

That’s why when I say “mind” in the West you think that’s a funky little floppy, you know, sort of liver-like some funny thing, you know? So that’s the picture what you get is because of that. Because you don’t get the picture of analyzing, intelligent some kind of fantastic machine, natural machine, not man-made machine. It’s sort of, really, all source of every technology what we have today is actually sort of almost copying out of a human brain. And we could not copy as not even fifty per cent. I don’t think even twenty-five percent.

So that shows what is our really, we call it brain, in terms of scientific point of view, but that is actually referring to mind. If there’s no mind, brain is just a piece of garbage. Honestly, mindless brain, what will they do? Nothing. So, I mean, honestly.

So the ancient Chinese eats monkey’s brain and think it helps your mind become better learned and all that. That’s the idea. I mean this is ancient idea. Not necessarily I’m saying it’s great, and I’m not saying it is horrible. Maybe it is horrible. If they give me monkey’s brain I won’t be able to eat it. So do you, but in ancient time they think it is delicacy. And it is sort of mind food. That’s what they believe it. But you know at the end of the big feast the dessert is the monkey brain. I was told. I’ve never seen it, but I was told. I saw movies on that, you know. So anyway, so because you know they somehow know the brain has something to do with the mind, so if you eat the other’s brain you get your brain better. Maybe that’s wrong, but whatever it is.

So the mind is such a mechanical…not a mechanical. It is such a gadget. Not man-made, natural made gadget. It’s a fantastic gadget. Can do anything you want to. To become a multi-millionaire To become fully enlightened. The capacity human beings have is the human mind connected with the human body. Human mind connected with the human body. If it’s not connected with the human body it doesn’t work. That means brain has something to do. I never heard or read or no one told me that dogs and cats will become enlightened as a dog or cat. They become enlightened by becoming human being and then they will become enlightened. That’s what Buddha said, so many textbooks.

So I’ve been yapping at you, enthusiasm so much. But it is antidote of laziness. And to protect yourself from the laziness is you once, first you have to develop the desire and happy of whatever you want to do, in this case we’re talking about your obtaining enlightenment, or spiritual development, or completing your own PhD thesis, or whatever. It is the schoolwork. You have the deadline for the papers that you have to present or teachings or the presentations that you have to do. Don’t wait ‘til you get in the storeroom to find a book

So really that’s what it is anyway. I said there are three and I look for book. I didn’t even talk about the three things The first is armor-like enthusiasm. Second enthusiasm is collecting positive deeds as much as possible. In other words is interest to collect positive deeds or good karma. It is normal language I use, but good karma means good deeds bring good karma. They’re all automatic.

Technically karma is not deeds, however, deeds bring karma. But that is automatic. Deed is the cause, karma is the result. Karma is the cause, happy or suffering is the result. That is how it works. So that’s why technically there is slightly different, but the motivation is the cause of the deeds. Deed is the result of the motivation. And the motivation is the creation of the mind, creation of yourself. If you look in that, that’s how it works.

So you created desire to have positive deeds with you because you like it, because you knew it gives you good result. Otherwise, why should you? Why should you? Because of this like and understanding and of that, that sort of you sold your mind to a positive karma. And when you sold your mind to positive karma that mind creates motivation to create positive deeds. That motivation creates the deed, deed creates karma, karma creates joy of suffer, that’s how it works. So the enthusiasm of collecting, or as much as possible, of the positive deeds.

Third one is helping beings, helping self and others, self and others. I always said, every Tibetan Buddhist books will tell you compassion and helping sentient beings and all. Somehow we pick up words saying, ‘other sentient beings.’ So we begin to take ourself out. But everywhere I read, every book will say (Tibetan quote…..) I and sentient beings, mother sentient beings, like that of sky the limit, all will do these, that, that. They never seen anywhere, everybody else except me will do these and that. Never seen it. Never heard about it. So the compassion and helping is helping I and all beings. And if I don’t help myself who else going to help me? Tell me that. Your lawyer? Or your prosecutor? Who going to help you?

So these are the three different kinds of enthusiasm. And my job description for today says,”Power to develop enthusiasm, perseverance, diligence, aspiration, maintenance, steadfastness, focus, joy, relaxation.” So these are the points. In other words, these will lead you to the enthusiasm. I give you the mechanism of how enthusiasm works. That is not only enthusiasm but almost every deeds, positive, negative, all of them are coming out of motivation. Each and every motivation is result of mind immediately before. The mind has been influenced by what we wanted to do. Mind makes the decision what one wants to do. Minds do make a decision on the basis of information available on the mind. Or randomly. If you don’t have information, you just think it’s best and just go and jump that way. That’s the reason why information is power.

So it’s very simple. In our daily life you can see it, but when you put them together and when you organize within you, it makes hell of difference to ourself. So what I want you to take home tonight is enthusiasm is not only needed for spiritual practice, but this is the key to complete whatever you started. Any project, any planning, anything, whatever you want to start, to make sure that’s complete, is enthusiasm. When you don’t have that, opposite of that, is absolutely dead-tired, overloaded, drunky, driving towards uphill. That is the opposite of lack of enthusiasm.

So you are intelligent, educated person, so you make your own choice and choose wisely and enjoy the enthusiasm for not only your spiritual path, anything you do, including your daily jobs. Your life will be much more happier if you enjoy what you’re doing. And if you keep on hating your job then your mind will be quitting the job, looking for new job, not finding it and financial problems and all kinds of things will pop up. Good luck!

Next Tuesday we’ll be here. Next Tuesday, unfortunately I won’t be here, that’s right. And so Hartmut’s doing the subject what I’m supposed to do. What is the subject? They’re the people who issue this job description to me, now goes to him. So what are you issuing to him? Morality Today. Morality. Well, morality is very important. No one would like to be immoral. Let’s think that way, okay? No one, whether you’re liberal or conservative, whatever you may be, no one would like to be immoral. So morality is extremely important. Hartmut will share with you next Tuesday. I’m sorry because I have to attend somebody’s memorial service. And that’s why I won’t be here, but I will be Tuesday next after that.

So that’s one thing, and I keep on meant to talk to you all the time which are going to experiment old Buddhist tradition of studying debate system. But we’re not going to do debate like clapping or using the (Tibetan….) all these languages without using. I would like to introduce the debate system here without those clapping or anything, as a discussion. And that probably helps tremendously to get deeper into the subject what we’ve been trying to study. So drawing on the model of learning from the traditional monastic model, we propose three evenings during May to experience analyzing the dharma through open and stimulating discussions. And I will, there are no supervisors. There are no, no one who telling you what to do, where you sit, what to do. They will provide you couple of chairs and cushions, whatever.

So you can come in at the time, sit down, pick up your partner. And as a minimum of two, maximum of five. And then you start subject whatever you have doubts or any questions, started engaging a conversation. Don’t….you talk anything with about the dharma and you study. Don’t talk about the weather, please, or don’t talk about Bush, or no politics. Just simple dharma discussion. And so we hope to have these to deepen what we learned. When you deepen what you learn, we draw conclusions. When you draw conclusions, you actually found meditation points, points of meditation.

I was talking to somebody from Canada, a press interview today, because I’m going there next, middle of the month, fifteenth. So the guy asked me, “Why do you think all these artists are very interested in Tibetan Buddhism? Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and all of the beatnik boys and today’s musicians and so on forth, and movie stars, and all of those. I said they have a great way of expressing their experience. But when they have a better experience they can express better, and they’re looking for better experience. And we the Tibetan Buddhist practitioners have a better experience, lack of expression. Especially those great learned monks and abbot and so on forth who lives in monastery are lacking the way of expression. And they have a great material for expressing.

By saying this actually I should announce this. When I’m away, during the end of April and we do have the abbot of Loseling, the present abbot of Loseling, coming here for a weekend. And there not having a Friday night, right? Saturday full day workshop on three principle aspects and especially focus on the wisdom part because I didn’t do two wisdom teachings here. So try to convince that by better person than me, abbot of Loseling. Loseling is the great monastery in Drepung and over ten thousand monks, at least in old Drepung. Even today, I think there are like five, six thousand monks. So the abbot of that is well qualified.

And he will be doing the full day workshop on Saturday, Sunday afternoon too. Oh, I see, Saturday, April twenty ninth and Sunday he is also doing the Sunday morning address, too. So that will be great. And so I think I hope you all enjoy that. And he’s going to focus more on wisdom, based on three principle path root text. But focus on wisdom. You know why? If you focus on the first principle, the first principle you can spend how many days, you know. So you know there’s no point. And we want focus on wisdom. So almost hopefully he just read it, the first principle and translations. I’m going to tell that to Geshe-Lha, “Do the translations, read the translations, as they did in Garrison for the Guhyasamaja” So read the translation and then focus talking on the wisdom teaching. So if you could write email and tell Geshe-Lha that I announced that.

So that will be, and why am I talking that? (audience) oh yeah, so that’s why gaining a better experience. If you gain better experience you can express better. And that is immediately their desire. But then you know they may have. Some of them definitely have it, wanted to become total enlightenment. Many of those artists we know they call us nothing more than total enlightenment. And many of them you can think. But many of them are to have better expressing and so that’s why they’re interested in that. That’s why I told them. And some of them may not like it when it came out in the Canadian press. I hope the Americans don’t read Canadian papers anyway.

So I think that’s it, right? You have announcement. I think I had something to say but I don’t remember. Anyway, I did give you what you take home, right? The enthusiasm, overcoming laziness. And it’s possible, anyone of those lazinesses that hit you, to be able to return back not just armor, armor with magical power to be able to return those, protecting yourself from the negativity, particularly laziness, addictions. Addictions are important. Addictions, you know? I get addicted to a number of things. TV is one. But that taught me English. “Days of Our Lives” taught me English. “Days of Our Lives” taught me melodrama of our life. “Days of Our Lives” taught me impermanence. And “Days of Our Lives” all shows me lack of enthusiasm will continue year, decades later, same subject, same character, continuing. Okay? So that’s it.

This discussion I do hope you really take interest. First few days, these three days are experimenting. But first three days some of you may have effect, many of you may not have effect, but that is one good way of practicing the dharma. Not only practice is sitting meditation… ha, now I remember! And also, the same guy asked me a question. “What is the biggest problem the Western Buddhists face? Or Western, what the, he’s not Buddhist, his idea is counter-religions or counter-culture or something. Anyway, referring to us. That’s what I heard. So what is it? And I said, “Yes. And meditation…“ Oh, yeah, he’s talking about meditation then he asked me the question, “What is the biggest problem?” And I said, “Meditation is something wonderful, and people taking up quite well now, like yoga.”

Yoga is almost becoming like a mainstream practice. Almost. But the moment you say yoga you get Hatha (sp?) Yoga, physical exercise. There are like seven different yogas if you look into the yoga tradition. The most important, the ultimate yoga, is seventh yana yoga, yana, and that is wisdom. And no one talks about it today in the West. Even yoga centers do talk about physical exercise. Even yogis who do the physical exercise don’t talk much about it.

Likewise, meditation, we do have gesture and posture of sitting, meditating. But we don’t have a subject, or things, what you meditate. That is what is lacking today. That’s our problem. And today’s spiritual so-called teachers, or practitioners, job is to fill that gap, what you meditate on. And you don’t, your meditation is something you can look at the other person, how the other person’s sitting, breath, taking breath, you look at it, you can copy. But you can’t copy what the other person thinks. And that is where the gap comes in. So it’s our job to fill that. That’s what I keep on forgetting.

So I want to share that with you. And it’s our challenge to fill. Like the yoga is the only Hatha yoga, no yana or other six at all. So likewise, meditation also should not become physical and breath only. It should really be true meditation that deliver the goods. That’s our challenge. Thank you. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you time to question and answer. My apologies, but, next time.

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© 2006, Ngawang Gehlek 20060404GRAAPerseverance

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