Archive Result

Soundfile 20060319GRAAFaith

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Ann Arbor

Topic Intelligent Faith

Transcriber Matthew McKinley

Date 10/1/2021

[Opening prayers until 0:01:59.0] Good morning and welcome, My name is Gelek Rimpoche. And we begin here with a little silent meditation. Focus your total thoughts on the breath, breath that is exhaling taking out all of your negativities and undesirable karma, undesirable incidents, everything out of your system. Taking in all the good wishes and thoughts of all the enlightened beings, so breathing out, breathing in,

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kindly focus and meditate. [Silent meditation until 0:03:22.4] Thank you. First what I would like to do is turn of my cell phone. (Audience chuckles, Rimpoche chuckles) Ok, thank you. Today's subject is faith. As you are aware, as many of you are aware I've been talking here last couple of Tuesdays and talking about whether there is a necessary of spiritual practice. Does people require spiritual practice? I've been talking and discussing that for, I think like three or four Tuesday evenings here from seven to suppose to be eight, close to eight-thirty or nine whatever. And we've found that spiritual path is necessary otherwise, I don't know whether I'm telling you truth or not, I said we've found, I'm the one who's talking. So whether we've found or not, spiritual path is necessary otherwise material things doesn't really answer all of our needs. Particularly, material benefits are fantastic we can not do without it but at the same time it doesn't answer all our problems, it doesn't solve all our problems. Particularly our happiness, joy, and making sure we will continuously remain happy and joy, the material

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does not answer all, though they answer to certain extent. If they don't answer there is no reason why we need to have all kinds of insurances, like life insurance and this and that. So they do answer little bit but one thing they can never answer is the mind level, the happiness. And that is the lack of spiritual practice is number one problem we have seen that not unable to ensure the happiness. Number two, the problems we face in the United States today such as broken families, lot of single parents you know. Here there is very nice I see lot of young people here and well they have not gone through that experience but many of us, of my age and baby boomers you call it, and all of those you know you see lot of broken families and all of those. And I personally feel it is lack of spiritual practice, so that's why spiritual practice becomes necessary for our life. And if it's necessary how do we move, and who do we talk, and that's all of them we did the last couple of Tuesdays. And this talk of today is one way it is independent as faith, on the other hand it links up all these things that I've been talking. So the questions remains, where does the spiritual practice begin? So I'm sure lot of people will agree with me, particularly the good Christrian conservatives are going to agree with me because it begins with faith. And I'm sure you'll be surprised, lot of you been surprised you have come to Eastern tradition and where you're expected culture,

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counter-culture activities and you begin to hear faith so it'll maybe it'll a little surprise to you. However, if you look at this our title says intelligent faith (Audience laughs). So I like to keep my counter-culture... (Rimpoche laughs) I'm just joking. Honestly what I like to present you thing that what I learned from where I come from, what I learned. I learned that faith is absolutely important and necessary. Faith is absolutely important and necessary, without faith no spiritual development or spiritual success cannot achieve at all. Buddha gave us, where I come from Buddha told us... [Starting 0:10:19.9 Rimpoche asks for permission to stand-up in order to see people's hands for questions and thanks audience, ends with Rimpoche saying he can see everyone now and laughing at 0:10:52.8] So where I come from that the Buddha has told us faith is like mother. That if you want family and children you cannot manage... I forgot there is adoption, that is different story, but you cannot really manage and have children without mother. And that shows how important the mother really is, when I say mother you don't necessarily have to think your mother and a lot of you are mother, a lot of you will be mother, and without that family aspect of the human beings we can not produce any new human beings

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at all. Although, scientists today may find way of producing human beings out of bottle, that is different story. But where the Buddha has told us, that is 2600 years ago or 500-something, you know anyway close to 2600 years ago, told us: "As you see there can be no children without mother, so there can be no spiritual development without faith." So faith becomes extremely important. The moment we say faith the normal understanding in the West, if I understand correctly, it becomes the blind faith rather than intelligent faith. The difference is here, where I come from is never encouraged blind faith. Blind faith is actually meant for, I don't know (Rimpoche chooses his words carefully), intelligent challenged people. Intelligent challenged people that is blind faith for them because they have difficulty finding substitute and intelligent educated people, such as yourselves, the blind faith is never ever encouraged by Buddha where I come from. So how does the faith that you develop like mother? This is extremely important in our life if we don't really look in the intelligence side and develop intelligent faith, if we substitute the blind faith it is sometimes life becomes a little easy. I noticed a number, not in Jewel Heart, but outside lot of those Tibetan, Asian, Zen, lot of those Buddhist groups. I found a lot of people become lazy because they don't want to make their own decision and whatever they would like to do they'll ask their teachers or whatever, masters, or teachers, and they'll follow that. I think it's

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laziness. Absolutely, we as a human being, and as wonderful as it is, we have intelligent mind, we have education and all of them we ignore and try to be, rely on, some strangers. Whether it is sadu from India, or a lama from Tibet, or whatever it is, you try to rely on their advice with the limited view, limited understanding, I'm talking about myself. I find a lot of people are asking me whether I should go this school or that school, or should I go school or not to school, how do I know?! What do I know? I'm not being in the Western school at all, I have no idea what subject you should take. How do I know? So if I pretend to know and give you advice I am doing disservice for you. You have your own intelligence mind, you have your own family support, you have your own, you know, complete support system. So you have to use those and use your mind, if you waste your mind it's a terrible thing to waste. Not only that, these rely on other people's advice only brought us terrible consequences. Do not forget what had happened with the Jim Jones, remember? A few years ago. How many people died? Heaven's Gate, few years ago in California. Some kind of ship is waiting behind the Hale-Bop or something, you can't get from here to there without dying, remember? So these are the faults of blind faith. (Rimpoche says "Thank You" to something, maybe someone bring him water) These are the faults of blind faith. In order to avoid that you need intelligence faith. Intelligent faith is very simple, there is nothing separate faith than intelligent faith. Intelligent faith is whatever the faith you are taking in,

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you have to examine that faith. I have to borrow President Bush's language, faith base. Faith base you know, anyway whatever the faith base you going to follow you have to examine that. Whoever you going to follow, whatever you going to meditate, and these are your practices of faith and that you need to examine. You know your intelligence people, such as yourself, will not wear a dress that doesn't fit you, will you? No! If you like size six-or-seven and a half you not going to size huge like what I wear, you know, you going to look horrible so you won't do it. Just like that, even you want to wear a cloth you had dress, this is what Buddha's word is, if you want to wear a dress you have to make sure it fits you and then wear it. If you want to eat something, even the dog will smell it first, forget about the human beings. Even the dog will smell if you throw a piece of meat to a dog, dog will smell first and then eat. Unless it's a crazy dog. So as a new human being, intelligent person, a wonder people like you such as yourself, so it is extremely important to examine what you are doing. Particularly in the spiritual faith because it is uncharted territory for you, you never went through. It is uncharted territory for you, you never went through and therefore it is extremely important for you to examine it. Examine it on the basis of three things according to the Buddha, if you are going to examine your spiritual path. What it was based on, what are the methods they will apply, what is the result you hope to gain? Base, actually it's what, and how, and what do you hope

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to get and this is important. When I keep on telling you exam, exam but if I don't tell you how to exam then it's not right. I can say do, do, do but don't tell you how, although you don't need it the moment I say the word intelligent you have a mind that clicks-in and you see it. But still, base on which it was standing. What do they apply? What's wrong with that? And I tell you if you don't what's wrong, if you don't, lot of things wrong. Suppose if that encourages way and how they do it, supports if they encourages violence then you know it is not good. We have seen it, the extremists what they did, 9/11 you can't forget. I don't want to repeat again and again but that's what happens if you don't see what do they do. If the path way and how they bring the people up, if it's non-violence even if its not best it's OK. Non-violence doesn't hurt anybody, including self, violence against self is violence although Gandhi had applied that a couple of times in India when he's rebelling against the British empire self-torturing little bit applied. I admire, as his Holiness his Dalai Lama does, I admire Gandhi tremendously but within the search of non-violence sometimes few things go here and there, hopefully it is not Gandhi himself at least we pretend it is not Gandhi, Gandhi's secretary did it. (Rimpoche chuckles)

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We blamed Gandhi's secretary. However, self-violence is included. The path, what you do must be non-violence because violence hurts. We all agree, don't we? We do. I can see a lot of hand going like this but a lot of people don't. But really the violence is a terrible thing, violence hurts, violence brings violence, continuous and that kills people. Does all kinds of things, poisons our kid's minds, it's terrible. Violence, hatred, those are things things which we don't want it. If any faith, when they told us intelligent faith do, that exams the practice that you are going to do that that encourages violence under any circumstances. No one may not talk violence first, but violence may come under the cloud and hitting. Probably devotion, dedication, and so much so that and also blind faith. Blind faith, I mean I was told whether it was true or not that each one of those 9/11 hijackers believe they are going some kind of heaven where, I don't know, seventy or some virgins are waiting for them. Right? So if they believe in that and that is comes out of faith, blind faith and blind dedication. Dedication, yes, devotion, yes, but intelligent, again! In other words, we are not fools, we are educated people do not entertain such blind faith. If so, we have this incident what we have Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, and 9/11 and all of them are right in front of,

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right under our own nose. So don't forget those. So non-violence is something which you can live with it. Compassion is something with which we can live with it. Not only that we are told, where I come from compassion brings happiness in our life and where I come from life after death because I come from the background of reincarnation. Do I have proof? No. However that's where I come from. Not only this life but the after our happiness and joy brings out of compassion. Violence does not bring anything to us. So when you are using intelligence as faith examining, first and foremost, foremost you have to exam whether that encourages violence. Sacrifices, it is a fact, traditional some Eastern religions do have sacrifices. You know we see these funny movies here and there, it is not completely baseless, it is, it is base. So that's why non-violence is extremely important that's what you exam. You also exam the people who are on the path, people who are practicing this. This is very good way of examining, whether there is spiritual teacher or spiritual followers or practitioners, observe them. Are they good enough? Are they kind enough? Are the gentle enough or are they very snobbish? Or full of pride, or whatever, you know any faults because that is clear sign that whatever is effecting

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to the individual who are practicing, it is the influence of the path. And that's where I give you two challenge here, one challenge - those who are outside the practice does the way and how you observe. Those that've been practitioners, challenge for you - your not only responsible for yourself you are also responsible for others and for the path. So what I want you to take home is just don't follow blindly anything, particularly today! Today all the spiritual paths are on the market here, it is on the market and each and every one of them advertise. And when advertise they have hired the best person in the PR job, and so they put in such a word and such a way it is all misleading. No one will say "We have difficulties, we have problems!", no one will advertise that. Everyone will say "This is Heaven", no one will say it is hell, there could be hell too and that is your job to find out before you get involved. And that is intelligent faith is all about it. Thank you. Any questions? Doesn't look like it! Yes, sir? Did I see a hand? Yes sir?

Audience: Blind faith is one thing, but it sounds to me that we could also easy to go get too skeptic. So can you give a few word of advice for that? You know what I mean? We are educated people and we have a kind of habit to criticize everything. So where is the thing to draw the line?

Rimpoche: And yes, you know one thing I've been talking last Thursday in New York. The one big problem we face is we don't have critics, I mean really there is very little

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critiquing people in the spiritual path. So when there is not critics and everybody can make everything, whatever, heavenly, I don't know, rainbow, covered in heavenly something, something. Because there's no critics, so I think it is as everything other thing in this world, in this country particularly, there are a lot of critics. I think we are very grateful for those critic people. And they critique everybody, they did critique President Clinton when he was going wrong and I hope they are not afraid of President Bush but whatever they are, you know, they're critic. Because of the critiquing, people have information, information becomes power, information is power. We all agree, people have power but people if don't have information, you don't have power, information is power. So both side information you need, critics are necessary. When lack of critiquing made all kinds of crazy things within the spiritual path has allowed, had been gone through, with the, in particularly in the sixties because no critic. Your question, Sir, is saying where will draw the line, do we keep on asking critiquing all the time? That is another problem, that is a big problem where will draw the line, intelligent faith gives you an understanding, good or bad. You may reexamine three times, again and again, but after a little while then whatever your understanding is, when you've reconfirmed three times and then you should be draw the line there. Because if you keep on doubting everybody, human mind is such that doubt will never go away. We doubt Buddha, we keep on doubting Jesus,

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we doubt God, we doubt everything and then it becomes too extreme there is no basis to hold. We doubt everything, nothing to hang on and that is also extreme other problem. Intelligence faith means you not only exam, check, and gain understanding, draw conclusion, holding that conclusion is your faith it becomes intelligence faith. So I think the line is draw right there within the word intelligence faith itself. Faith is faith, so intelligently developed not blindly. I hope I've answered your question. Yes sir?

Audience (Johannes): I know it's the anniversary of the our entering the war and I don't know what, I'm torn between protesting and just keeping quiet. I don't know what to do.

Audience (Not-Johannes): Protest is just a gathering... sorry. It's a small effort....

Rimpoche (jumps in): It doesn't matter whether your protesting or you don't protest, to me it doesn't matter. But what does matter, you know, I mean this is third anniversary of Iraq war, ok now I know what you're talking about it. Yes, there's tens-of-thousands of people in London protesting and everywhere else in the world, less in the United States. Understandable, we got our kids there, we got our troops are there, people are afraid if we protest the war they may turn out to be protesting against our own kids. So whether you protest or not protest, doesn't matter, I think what does matter is one should not agree with the violence. And the killing. We have killed so many. We've lost our own, two-thousand, what is it, three-hundred, about two-thousand three-hundred. Maybe not yet three-hundred, two-thousand two-hundred

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something, our numbers are there. That's what we lost, our own kids there. How many Iraqies? Does anybody really knows how many? And how many what they call it foreign fighters, they also human beings, how many we killed them? So if you think of those, keep on counting this, this is tremendous human, I mean we just killing ourself for nothing. Honestly, nothing. Am I happy that Saddam is gone? Sure I'm happy Saddam gone, he's another killer but when and how Saddam gone, do I agree? No I don't because how many people lost their life just to get out of it. There's a lot of other ways and ways that are actually working, as we can very well see. Saddam pretend to be having weapons of mass destruction, probably in his deep mind he is afraid of Syrians taking over and Iran is taking over so he pretend to be having weapons of mass destruction. And we are, our intelligence is so poor, they couldn't figure out whether the man is blabbing or really having! I mean it is quite clear! And he been able to fool everybody, Tony Blair, President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, everybody else he fooled. Pretend to have weapons of mass destruction, he lost himself, we found him in ditch. Honestly, but however along with that how many lives are wasted? Our own two-thousand, whatever the number is, three-hundred or nearby there. Iraqis and others and all of them. Is it necessary? For me no, I'm sorry to say but is not necessary all this life, even the one loss of life is too much. And that also human life, not just life, they're not cockroaches you know over there. Although we may look like it. What does this, what does this really do this television does tremendous

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disservice by, you know, showing you something, not showing the correct, you know all kinds of things. It just give you all kinds of wrong information, misinformations, and sometimes make the human beings are like cockroaches over there. That's bad! Anyway, so, whether you practice physically or not physically, I do believe we don't agree with violence. Honestly, yes thank you.

Audience: Someone from class last Thursday wanted to know what you opinion might be on the monks that set themselves on fire during the Vietnam war.

Rimpoche: Violence is again, I'm against any violence whether the monks burning themself during the Vietnam war is a terrible thing, it is terrible thing. I wonder whether the monks who burning themself are really wanted burn themselves or they made into it and they can't get out it. You know you never know, I still think even those terrorist who come with all the bombs around and burning themselves, some are put in that condition and pushed out. Remember there was a woman who couldn't burn herself in Jordan, remember? And so that indicates they're not all like that, but then they made circumstances such that you can't get out of it. So, so I'm against even Buddhist monks burning themself during the Vietnam war. I'm very much against because it's violence, particularly Buddhist monks who happens to be the promoter of love and compassion, and burning themself is the wrong way. (Rimpoche laughs to himself) Wrong way because I'm terrible on the road. So when I was in New York, only yesterday morning, and I don't know whether I'm suppose to go this way or that way, I'm going to the wrong way, three-times happened. A friend of mine says "Rimpoche wrong way", my name is becoming Rimpoche wrong-way!(Rimpoche and audience laugh) Whether the Rimpoche is a wrong way or not, monks burning themself is definitely the wrong way. Sir?

Audience: It occurs to me that faith dependently arises. So my question is what terms and conditions bring about the most optimal, critical

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faith which will lead to the non-violence?

Rimpoche: Interesting question. The question says faith is dependently rise and what are the terms and conditions, critical terms and conditions, that brings the ultimate faith. Good question.. good question. I don't know how to answer. I think it depends on the individual's luck, fortune, opportunity, and intelligence, all of them. Even they are great path if the person doesn't have opportunity it doesn't work, it needs opportunity, and great path or great faith, it has to be existing. Fortunately in our level today, the today the biggest, you know, the biggest thing is in the United States. Take Buddhism, where I come from, originally it is the probably the largest religion in the world then the communists wiped out everything. Whole China, whole Asia, whole northern part of Soviet Union, all of them are completely wiped out. Right? But then every other faith, like Jewish faith, is taking root in the United States and breathing here. So this is the greatness of the, great quality of the constitution of the United States, really! To give such a freedom, such a choice, such an opportunity for its citizens. I always appreciate that, always, hopefully we don't lose it. Inside, internally or externally. I think these are the conditions that leads to, and we do have the best opportunity, that's what I meant. And I'd like to say thank you so much for coming here and we do have interesting programs in Jewel Heart and these are meant to serve you all. I hope you'll enjoy it and wish you all the best. Thank you!

[Programs announcements 0:48:11.8 to 0:50:19.7]

[Closing dedication 0:50:19.7 to END]