Archive Result

20060624GRSR13

JH Summer Retreat 2006

Session 13

[First 45 minutes are fundraising.]

Gehlek Rimpoche: Thank you. Thank you. I understand Kathleen’s movie does not start until 9:30. So does not start until 9:30. Supposed to start 9:30, does not start until 9:30. So. We have a few minutes. Yeah.

Q: We have a question that is appropriate for what we just talked about. It is about refuge and the sangha. Could you talk about refuge in the sangha, especially ordinary sanghas in the west. What do you suggest for a practitioner that does not live in a place where there is a Jewel Heart sangha.

GR: I, you did not put me this one, so I could not hear it. Because this is the spot where all the microphones are facing that way. The sound goes. You cannot hear at all here. It is on. Here, it is on. Can you say something?

Q: Can you hear me now?

GR: Yes, yes, very good. Perfect. Thank you.

Q: Could you talk about refuge in sangha, especially us in the west, here in this ordinary sangha. And do you have any advice for a practitioner who does not live in a place where there is a Jewel Heart sangha.

GR: Very important question. Basically when Buddha selected three refuge sangha, is assembly of sages. More than four. More than four full-fledged bikshu or whatever. bikshu or bikshuni. More than four. The idea is collective knowledge. Collective quality. When there is no Buddha, then there is sangha. That is collective knowledge. That will be able to help. That will be able to guide people. That is idea of sangha as community. Rather than sangha as one individual person. About the sangha in the west, we are the relative sanghas, we are not absolute sanghas. According to the Buddhist rule, the true sangha has to be more than four fully ordained, not only fully ordained, full-fledged bikshus, the highest self-liberation vow taking, more than four bikshus. So other than that, everyone is relative sangha. And also, there is a Mahayana tradition, they also true sangha, is anyone who ever really seen, not understand, but comprehends or directly seen the emptiness or wisdom. Direct experience of wisdom, no matter man, woman or children, whoever may be, it is a true sangha. All rest are relative sangha. So whether you are relative sangha or absolute sangha, sangha has eight qualities. Eight qualities. Do not let me count all eight, I am not sure I am going to remember, but we do not have time, sangha represents role model. Role model for each other. And support for each other. And it is role model, that means, role model means role model, you understand. So provide not only guidance, but provide role model. [Tibetan] So the sanghas are expected to be very high standard. Very high standard, actually. Object of refuge. One can fold hands and pray for the future of their life and lives. And that, the quality should be there, within the sangha.

It is a collection of people, so each and every individual counts in that, and each and every individual makes a difference, each and every individual if good one, contributes tremendously, and great, and if anyone who is also not so thing, it also makes its contribution and impact to the sangha, as object of refuge, someone who will pray. We all we pray to our sangha, as object of refuge, to our future life, to our future benefit, all of them, and if we are unable to provide that quality then it is a little difficulties for us. That is why sangha is considered so important. Straightforward. Kind. Compassionate. And one who fits to be prostrated. And one who is fit to be the field of merit for the individual. So those are the qualities of the sangha, the sanghas qualities, these are. That is why it is important for us to be able to be object of refuge. That is our goal. Will be fantastic. Then each and everybody provide role model for each other. And that is great. That is the sangha quality. And those few of you, we call it solitary heros and heroines, are, again, you yourself is your sangha, you yourself is I mean the idea of solitary is, that is very hard for them to manage, however they continuously managed, and years and decades, many of you, and it is really admirable and great. And yet now with the technological thing, we are in more touch with than before, because of the teachings and the websites, we have more connections. And whether you are single or group, staying anywhere, does not matter, wherever you need support, we provided support from the program department. And their job is to support, our job is to support sangha practitioners, whether it is group, or individual. That is what we do. We give. So that is how we try to maintain sangha together. I hope it is not too long.

Q: There was some confusion about the request to remain limb in the seven limbs, the words that we say are, “we request you to remain until total enlightenment,” and one of the groups was saying, what does that mean, total enlightenment? Because it sounds like their might be a kind of enlightenment that is less than total.

GR: Sure. Sure. In the Buddhist, Buddhism, if you look, the three yanas, Sravakayana, Pratyekayana, Mahayana, each one of those yanas, vehicles, have no more learning state, five paths, fifth path is no more learning. So the two, sravakayana and pratyekayana is not total enlightenement, people call that enlightenment because it is nirvana, it is an enlightened state but not a totally enlightened state. Total enlightened state, according to the Buddhism, it is Buddha. Buddha means not one Budha, there are zillions of the buddhas. And each and every one of us hope to become a buddha. Each and every one of us will become a buddha. We will be buddha, for sure. That was Buddha’s guarantee for us. Otherwise Buddha will be lying to us. And when and how long and how soon we are going to become Buddha, is depends on our own efforts, and our own hard work. It may take a million years, or it may take three years, or it may take one life, or two lives, with vajrayana, within sixteen lives, almost guaranteed. Just by practicing Vajrayana alone, makes within the sixteen lifetimes, total enlightenment is guaranteed. [Tibetan] The worst of worst one is sixteen lifetimes. That is the quality of the Vajrayana. And therefore we all definitely going to become buddha, and if you become buddha, that is total enlightenment, if you become arhat level, or something, just enlightened, not totally enlightened. That is the difference.

Q: Rimpoche, do enlightened beings have karma, and how does karma function for enlightened beings?

GR: Absolutely. Some people think enlightened beings have no karma, absolutely wrong. Enlightened beings, the more you become enlightened, you reduce the negative karmas, you inrease the positive karmas, at the end of that you are left nothing but the positive karma, alone. Continuously, constantly, limitlessly, you have the positive karmas, and that is how it is functioning.

Q: Rimpoche, you mentioned jigta in relation to self-grasping. Could you mention more about the term jigta?

GR: Hhhmmmm. Jigta. Jig—that is the Chandrakirti’s [Tibetan]. Actually, you know, jig stands for perishable. Da is for look. So looking for perishable. Perishable here is our skandhas. Skandhas are sort of perishable. Perishable. So the fear of losing the object of identity. Identity. So that is why, that is why ego is always like this, because they are holding their object, identifying self is the perishable skandhas. That is why looking at it, holding it, something that is going to be jig and destroy, so holding that is jigta. What does ego do? Ego thinks there is something called self, and try to hold it very tight, and when you try to talk to the ego, and say, which is the self? What they produces is skandhas. The skandhas are perishable. So that is why it is called jigta. Very brief way, otherwise it is very complicated. As Jim said. Complicated.

Q: There are just a couple more, Rimpoche. Could you talk about how developing compassion for yourself involves self-discipline. And then the second of us, the second question, many of us have a background where we were taught to be disciplined out of fear of authority. Could you comment on how self-discipline could be a tool for balancing the mind.

GR: Thank you. That is very important. I think it will be my subject tomorrow too. But what I like to say here is , when you love, when you have compassion for yourself, and we like to protect ourself, help ourself, what does love mean? Wishing be well. What does compassion mean? Separating from the pains and sufferings. So when you have compassion with self, we would like to separate the self, ourself, from the pains. Then love wishes well. When you wanted not to have pain, suffering, and be well-being, well, then we are clearly showed, practical level, from a karmic way, negative actions cause negative karma. That causes suffering, pain and deprive us joy. Positve actions provide joy and remove the sufferings. So we are engaging. We are engaging in action that is going to give result. And that is how we have self-discipline. And that is how self-compassion works bringing joy and happiness to ourself, that very clearly, spend three, four days, try to talk with this, this causes this, this causes this, this action the direct result is this, so we do have the information, making use of this, and that is how you have the information, making self-discipline, self-discipline removes ourself from the negative actions. There is someone within ourself, to tell, no, hold it, do not do it. And that is self-discipline. And that is how it is help. I thought it is quite clear. That is it. OK.

So again, because if you do not care for yourself, then does not matter whatever happens. And the moment you do not care for yourself, everything goes down. Down the road, you know. You know very well. As long as you care for yourself, you work, you maintain, you build up, you push up, that is beginning of way up. And self-compassion, when you strongly generate it within you, that should be the force behind ourself to be uplifting ourself through karmic way, through accumulation of merit way, through compassion way, through wisdom way. And all of those are actually force that pushes us forward is the compassion. Without which, as we can see, the moment you do not care for yourself, everything goes down, from your health point of view, from your wealth point of view, from your responsibility point of view, we know that. We do not have to be showing that we know. So exactly the same way in the spiritual life. Self-compassion is the really force behind us. If you do not care yourself, then who else is going to care for you. That is number one.

Number two, our love, ourself, really make us, it is really the sort of life behind within the life, is our love. And that is the beautiful wonderful things to uplifting, pushing forward. Opposite of that is the hatred. Hate ourself. If you hate yourself, then what you do, you started punishing yourself, physically, mentally, emotionally. As a result of that, it goes worse and worse, no matter how much you punish, it is not going to be done deal at all, day in, day out, night in, night out continuously. Our life, wonderful life we have, it is fragile. And if you keep on abusing and hating yourself, then our life can no longer take it one day. And the result of that, we lose life. When we lose life, we die. We die. If you die, you think it is going to be nice, thereafter, no pain, absolutely wrong. There is a tremendous suffering within, not only within the death itself, you know, the Buddha himself tells us, the narrow passage of bardo. Narrow passage of bardo. Means full of suffering. Pains. Tremendous. Tremendous. You know the sounds and features, whatever you see, are tremendously exaggerated, the sound within our ear, inside, how much it is exaggerated. And just like that, tiny little wind blowing, it almost looks like huge cyclone or something. You are caught in it, cannot hold it. And tiny little moment is almost look like earthquake, that earth is cracking into the pieces. So all of those are there, so if you think by ending life you are going to end our suffering, that is absolutely wrong. Guaranteed, it is wrong. That is why, punishing self, physically is not good. Punishing self mentally it is again even worse. And that makes you like a crazy person. And you see how the crazy people act, and that is putting yourself at that level, and that is not going to be happy and good. At all. So, to avoid this, and developing compassion for yourself, love for yourself, which pushes you upwards, not only this life, in future lives, key is in our hand, way is Buddha showed us, I share with you, and that is how we should move in our life. And tomorrow as I said, I am going to talk about the four actions and the five powers. And conducting our life. And with this, I once again like to thank you so much for being here, and do not forget upgrading your membership and becoming member, OK? Thank you. So we just do a short migtsema and then go for the….

2006 Ngawang Gehlek Rimpoche