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20070901GRAAWSW2

(Open with Rimpoche chanting in Tibetan.)

Do kindly generate a pure motivation. Jamgon Lama Tsongkhapa said in Lines of Experience

This working basis (of a human form endowed) with liberties

is superior to a wish- granting gem. Moreover, such is only obtained

this very one time. Difficult to acquire and easily lost,

(it passes in a flash) like lightning in the sky. Considering how

(easily this can happen at any time) and realizing that all

worldly activities are as (immaterial as) chaff, you must try to

take advantage of its essential significance at all times, day

and night. I, the yogi, have practiced in the same way.

The life we have is not only precious, but more precious than a precious jewel. de dra nye pa da re tsam….such a life we found just now by chance. We have found it this once. tsam indicates it is almost only this time we’ve been able to find it - not more only this time. It is difficult to find and easy to destroy; it is like lightning in the sky. Think about this situation and think how our ordinary daily mundane chores don't have so much meaning.

In the traditional old Tibetan culture during the autumn when you’re collecting the harvest you have to remove the skin from the grains like wheat and barley. There are no machines in Tibet; so after walking over and smashing the grains people carry the grains in bamboo baskets and throw them down from a higher level, like six foot down or something. So the wind will carry away the chaff. Our mundane works are actually like that chaff. The only purpose chaff has is to get rid of it. Just like that mundane works will not give you much long term result at all. So therefore we should be very careful to get the real essence of the practice to benefit our life and focus on that day and night. Then Tsongkhapa says, "The great masters have practiced that way - I, a liberation seeker, will do the same thing." But during the teachings it is customary to say, " I the yogi have practiced that way and you who are seeking the liberation should also follow that path."

So that is the basis of our practice. I am repeating that again and again in different ways. In Shantideva's writing or anywhere else the words are slightly different but the message is the same.

So the essence of our practice really is to recognize the important of life itself. Buddha says it has eighteen qualities, the ten endowments and eight leisures. We don't normally think about it, because we think, "We have them, so why think about them?" But if you think about it: this life is so important not only in material terms but particularly for the spiritual path. It is important in the essence, whether you call that leisure and endowments or whatever you may say.

If I am thinking in a very short way, this life has two important unique things. One is: we can think and communicate and the second is: we have a tremendous amount of opportunity and we can utilize the opportunities that we have.

I am not talking about Bill Gates who has billions of dollars. People may like that because we are talking about money, but other than that there is no purpose. But here our capacity is and opportunity is that we can think, understand and communicate and therefore the opportunities that we talk about are all accessible to us to utilize. We are not talking about the Smithsonian Institute having a special collection of this and having an opportunity to look at that. Yes, you can go there and study a little bit, but that’s about it; nothing more. Here we are talking about our thinking capacity, which is tremendous, unlike any other life form.

Our pets, dogs and cats, etc, may be very intelligent but give them your car key and let them go and buy you a carton of milk! You can see the limit of their thinking capacity and movement capacity and communicating capacity. We are totally different and there is no difference between our capacity of thinking and that of Buddha. There’s no difference between Einstein and us, honestly, there’s no difference. We have the same capacity, it is just a question of whether we utilize it or not. That’s what it boils down. What makes us not utilize it is the laziness, as we all know. It is such an important life where we can understand everything. But you have to remember that we have to study. In principle we are capable of understanding complicated scientific materials but if you just read it you won’t if you haven't studied and trained your mind.

Similarly we are capable of understanding the Buddha’s development and are able to duplicate that for us, but we just can’t do it without putting efforts in. Even in order to learn how to read and write we have to put efforts in. A person like me is lazy, absolutely lazy, the laziest person in the world. I have had a tremendous amount of opportunity and capacity however I didn’t put any effort to read English and write English or speak it correctly. Therefore now I can’t speak properly, I can’t read properly, I can’t write. I can now sort of slightly read just because of seeing it all the time. But I put no efforts in. So that is my laziness example.

If you do the same thing for Dharma then that’s what you’re going to get. It is like me picking up a little bit through being around other people. The Sangha is around and everybody talks about it, so you know a little bit about it, but other than that you are not going to get any depth. You need to go a little deep into it. Without that you can never be able to do it right. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as reading a popular novel or storybook or something. They have no depth and are easy and smooth and entertaining, but to me that is superficial. A superficial approach to dharma will never do any good for us. You need to go deeper in it and that begins here, looking at our own life, realizing and recognizing how important it is. Jamgon lamaTsongkhapa said it is more important than a wish-fulfilling jewel. Not only him, but also Shantideva’s bodhisattvachayavatara says it everywhere and this is where it really begins.

Sometimes people may think Dharma practice begins with folding hands and taking refuge. Taking refuge is beginning of being a buddhist but dharma practice doesn’t begin there. It begins at the looking at the life and really seeing what it is, how important it is, how it difficult to find it is, what opportunity it gives us and appreciating that.

I should be talking the whole lam rim in detail as preparation for the Wheel of Sharp Weapons because it is a lojong. Lojong and lam rim are like this side and that side of the paper. One side of the paper is lam rim the other side of the paper is lojong. They go not only side-by-side, but one is at the back and one is in the front. Lojong is whatever you are training the mind in. That is exactly the same for lam rim. You may think sometimes lam rim is some system of stages over there and we are watching it from over here. The lam rim stages are not over there but right here and they are about taking our mind and putting it on the first step, then moving into the second step, then moving it to the third step and so on.

If we think that lam rim is something over there and we are over here watching it, then it is like this example from Pabongka’s Liberation in the Palm of your Hands where he says one shouldn’t have so much gap between oneself and the dharma that a horse could run in between .

So the steps are brought inside our mind and who is claiming this step is our mind and who is pushing that mind to the next step is we ourselves. We pick up our own consciousness, our own awareness, and put it on the first step. That is what meditation practice is all about. And the first step is to look at our life look, picking up your own awareness and putting on the first step looking in our life, saying what it is, how great it is. If you are having a guided meditation, they will probably say, "I’m looking at the life, embrace life." Then you keep quiet and what you’re supposed to do is thinking that through. Right now, when I’m talking to you, you are hearing the words. So in your meditation you have to think about it. If you are only listening and taking notes, it is not enough.

Taking notes is fine - I have no objection, but if you don’t think about it how can you get it? Otherwise you can take all the notes you want and next year the notes will have a lot of dust on them. Then you have to clean it up and look at it. That's what I’ve been doing. I knew I was going to teach the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, but I didn’t look at anything else until last night. I thought the book was someplace and luckily it was there. So I had to clean the dust. If that happens it is not practice. So you have to really think about it, in this case why and how our life is precious. For us especially American life we know how important and precious it is. It looks like it is more important than anybody else’s, like Iraqi or Darfur peoples' lives. That is of course a wrong attitude, but still we are really more fortunate. Recognizing that and seeing it is precious is not a big problem, in the sense that there is not another mind that will come up and contradict that. That means there is no big struggle so it is easy.

Of course, you can try to brainwash yourself and just keep telling yourself that life is important, life is important, but if you never think about it then one day your mind will tell you, "To hell with you. What the heck are you talking about? I can buy a life for ten cents out there." In the case of a life in Iraq or Darfur they may be able to say that but an American life you can’t. So, in the context of logic and the four points of logic this is the natural logic. We have that understanding quite naturally. This is our additional advantage.

Recognizing the preciousness of our life has to make an impact on our mind.

That means mind will accept that and then next time without any effort mind should automatically think that of course this life is the most precious thing I ever had and I will ever have. If this automatically comes up the moment you think about life, that the preciousness is attached with this, then that is called gaining experience. Honestly, there is nothing mystical about it.

It is not making it mystical by releasing dry ice. In South East Asia they have this culture. When you go on stage they release dry ice and that creates a cloud and you will be coming out of the cloud. I begged them not to do that for me. Nowadays they don’t do it much anymore, except when there is some important function. We are not looking for the mystical, but want some help, anything simple, straight forward. So our life is not just important but you cannot do without. If you don't have life you are dead. But far beyond that, with this life you can achieve whatever you want to achieve and are even able to become a Buddha. That is not impossible because this life can do that.

Below that, you can do anything else you want to as well. If you want to make money, each and every one of you are capable of making money - believe me. Even if you think, "I can’t make nothing, I can only make ten cents", even then you are capable. If you search within your mind you can make it. There is no one here who cannot make money. You know that very well. Similarly there is no one here who cannot become Buddha. Each and every one of you are capable because you can think, because you can improve, because you can change, because you can communicate. Buddhahood is also not a pre-fabricated thing thrown down from the sky that hits you on the head and you are suddenly enlightened.

It is not like these initiation bumps you could get in Singapore. I remember once when I was giving an initiation in Singapore. The people there always want initiation, nothing but initiation. There was a temple I still go to these days to give teachings, called Dharma Chakra Society Temple. So at that place every time they wanted initiations, no teachings. There were quite a lot of members there, so a lot of people would come. But many of them would not come at the beginning of the initiation when I was giving the introductory remarks. Somehow, because they had attended so many of them, they knew the time when the actual initiation would start. So they would come at about that time and later they would only come at the time when you’re hitting the vase on their heads. That part is a must for them. If they don't get the vase touching on their head, then that's not right for them. Normally, we do very often just visualize that but that won’t do in that part of the world. Each and every person has to get hit on the head. So I suggested one day, "Soon there will be an automatic machine with the vase over there and I can leave and the vase will come down and hit you on your head." I suggested we should make a machine that can do that. And it is such a funny thing, you know. Sometimes they take these suggestions so seriously, really. So after a while I had to say, "No, no, no. I’m joking."

That society was started by a man named Tengyeling. His mind was totally set on making money, nothing else. So he thought that was a very good way to make more money.

So no enlightenment is going to hit you on the head and Buddha is not pre-manufactured and coming down. No, Buddha was one individual, just like ourselves and he went through these steps that we are talking about and reached on the top of the steps and why can’t we do the same thing? We are not lacking anything; we may have some physical difficulties but we don’t have mental handicaps. We all have little screws loose but that doesn’t mean we are mentally challenged persons. We are all mentally straight persons, most of us, each and every one of us can do it. But we have to put ourselves there by ourselves. We have to apply our mind and think. So on the level of importance of life you have to think that this life is capable of giving the result of buddhahood.

The simple logical reason is that Buddha himself did it and all these great masters one after another did it; so why can’t we? Our mind is not limited to any single capacity. The capacity of the mind is limitless. It is developing and changing, it is not static. We do have the opportunity. Information is available and experienced persons are available at our disposal. There are zillions of reasons you can think about. So then you are convinced: yes I can, yes I can, yes I can.

Then you have the realization of importance that we talk about on the lam rim level. From the mahayana point of view we are capable of achieving buddhahood and that is the most important thing this life can give us. The vajrayana says it is capable of delivering enlightenment within the short lifetime. We hope that we are in that category, but that is not guaranteed. We say this can happen, if everything is right. Then one individual person can even obtain enlightenment within three years and three months. That's what the teachings say. I remember one time His Holiness said: this may be propaganda (Rimpoche laughs)/

Logically thinking, on the basis of those four reasonings, it is possible. But everything has to be right at every point. However, even we don’t get enlightened within three years and three months it doesn’t matter, as long as we make it within a reasonable time, like within the lifetime or at least at the time when we need it the most; and if we make it there that is good enough. We are capable of doing that, honestly. So that may convince us to see the importance of this life.

The moment you realize that, it cuts laziness tremendously. You will realize that wasting time is very, very expensive and it becomes very difficult for any individual to justify that you don’t have to push efforts, that you don’t have to drag the dead, heavily-loaded donkey up the hill.

Remember, that's what we are doing to our practice; that’s where we are. So that laziness will completely go, because when you realize the importance of this life and when you realize it is extremely difficult to find such an opportunity, you can't just sit there and waste your life. Keep on thinking and analyzing what makes this life so precious, what makes my life different form that of my pets.

My pets say MEEEOOOWWW and I talk. My pets don’t read, but I can. my pets just think very little, about food and running and toilet. But I think a lot of different things. My life is different. It was produced by a lot of different causes. It is not just your parents' activities alone. A lot of eggs are produced, but not every egg has a life. It is not just the physical genes. The mental gene acted within that. What makes the mental gene get into these physical genes? It is our previous karma. We have built up a tremendous amount of karma, which made this happen.

The most important karma in that context is morality. You know how difficult morality is even for those who talk a lot about it, like Senator Craig.

Audience: And another one bites the dust…..

Rimpoche: Yes, if that is the morality anyway. How difficult even that is. Each and every one of them started falling - one after another. It was not only Bill Clinton but even Newt Gingrich too (Rimpoche laughs). One after another, the stories come out. There is nothing terribly wrong with those people. It is the clear indication of difficult and how hard it is.

You and I can sit here and look at them and laugh but then if someone else turned things around then each and every one of us will have difficulties too. And then don’t forget our true morality here is keeping our vows. It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation may be. But when we start looking at our vows we don’t even know them! We’re lucky if we know the ten non-virtues.

How many vows have we taken? In the vajrayana vows alone there are nineteen commitments of the 5 Buddha families. In the bodhisattva vows there are eighteen root vows. We don't even know their numbers, let alone their names and their definitions, how it happens, what effect they will have. We study actually study these and read Jamgon Lama Tsongkhapa's important book so due num chah - Root Vows and Downfalls. I believe it is available in English now. I think Marty Jang is translating that too. So maybe there will be an additional version soon.

So it is very important to understand morality and here we are and don't even know what is a downfall and when we don’t know the doorways to getting downfalls. Not knowing itself is a doorway to getting downfalls; not being conscientious is another doorway; not respecting it is also a doorway of getting downfalls. If you don't respect the vows, then you think, "It's just a rule and rules are made to be broken." So that is exactly the doorway of getting downfalls.

When you are looking at how the downfalls are getting to us and then when you think about perfect morality and you wonder where it is - well, it has gone with the wind. That will convince us how difficult it is to maintain the fundamental basis of this life’s causes. That alone will tell you how difficult it is to find this kind of life.

On top of that you have to have to have the six paramitas, generosity, morality, patience, enthusiasm, concentration and wisdom. Generosity makes sure that you are not just making it, but that that you are wealthy and provided with abundance. This comes from generosity, not from stinginess. The honorability of the individual comes out of morality. Patience is the cause of being good looking, handsome, beautiful or least good enough that people don't say, "I don't want to look at your face."

Enthusiasm makes you capable of doing everything. Some people, when they start something, are able to complete it. Some people can start so many things never complete anything.

The cause is enthusiasm in your previous life. Likewise some people are able to focus because they have meditated before. Some people are extremely intelligent and brilliant, which is the result of the wisdom that they have applied earlier. That’s how the paramitas makes life rich.

When you are looking at this life's importance and how difficult to find it is thing to find these are the causes and then look back to our self what do I have have I been good generosity have I been perfect morality or morality is not only the foundation but also the honorability of your future life it depends on that some people automatically respect and honor some people they say so-and-so yes yes yes yes okay yes yes good person no doubt right yes yes yes yes yes yes it comes out of because that is difficult in there that is not those people we think their fault004832

you know we always think these people looking at me thinks that way it is their fault they’re misunderstanding they don’t understand no it is my fault lack of my own morality morality remember the quality of the morality is Jampel Tsongkhapa said in that shorter Lam rim (ney bat tah bah) or something I mean the people respect you and you have a some I don’t remember the verse exactly but (neay bat tah bah) so people honor you that is how this one works and patience lack of patience will say this is temper tantrum person or this is you know lack of patience called temper tantrum person this is short tempered guy this thing that thing am I supposed to break for (Rimpoche speaks with a member) okay thank you so temper tantrum person is because of the lack of patience not only it produces beauty but also produces thank you and it produces not only it produces the beauty but it produces good quality of the individual good quality of the individual you know physically people like or not like is the physical look but then the deeperly people like or not like is the quality of the individual personality the personality of people liking is produced by the patience personality it produce result of patience so so each one of those paramitas you started looking and then look ourselves and hope if I didn’t do this time I hope I will do next life and that thought will be defeated within ourself so as the result of defeating that thought you gain realization or make it or break it I’ve got to do now make it or break it I’ve got to do now and that makes you just cannot sit idle (nee ay gah sah dan chendara doo) just cannot waste time that is how it works so you yourself is put on step one step two step three when you realize that oh yes okay that is true I become convinced I’ve been realized I know it for sure I said realizing means automatically when you think about a life you think all this are comes automatically not as somebody is telling you fairy tale story but something that inside with you it automatically picking up you know if you think about it yes Rimpoche said this this this this this it is like thinking of fairy tale story Rimpoche said so005224

Without meditation on points the Dharma is not internalized

but you’re not convinced that’s because you didn’t meditate if you meditate analyze yourself think other ways when you gain realize it automatically comes in and that automatically improves individual person not only improves make you excellent person even at that level alone makes you excellent person person who’s making tit-for-tat is not thinking those because when you don’t think those and then you think about it tit-for-tat you do this I will do that yes yes I will get you yes and playing chess so that is not a really a good person honestly because when you do this I do that hah hah hah yes I got you you got me I got you here so that is that is actually we are controlled by our negative emotions without realizing you may not be angry but however you catch you here got you here same thing when these Republican people one after another started falling and you say got you here got to here that is the effect of hatred I don’t mean I don’t mean you shouldn’t do it I mean you should not (audience laughs) honestly you shouldn’t do it honestly true but it is also important we enjoy a laugh but also you have to think about it this is effect of hatred effect of hatred the political situation became so bad and people started hating each other the hatred and it is effect of hatred should not be there should not be there and instead of that oh poor guy we have to have a compassion instead of that yes say yes yes Newt cannot run for president because the second extramarital activities and you have to think oh poor guy rather than they got you because you know go you here and so so but that is hatred effect and then if that hatred effect replaced by compassion oh poor guy he wanted to become president he could have he could have he could have he could have become a president but just cannot run because of that poor guy so we can have compassion instead of got you so poor you poor you just change a little attitude it’s improving ourselves nothing doesn’t make a difference to Newt Gingrich whatever you do whether you get say got you or hate you or poor you or have a compassion make no difference to that individual for whatsoever whatever we do here it will be showing our fist under our blanket it is not going to have anything it is not going to get in on the face but showing the fist under blanket means no effect for whatsoever at all but that makes effect for our self because for us building a negativity or building a positivity that is the choice where we have you know really it is choice where we have005627

That is how we choose to live that is how we choose to make our life that is the choice okay? 005641

Life is impermanent

so and then impermanent impermanent impermanent wonderful life great but impermanent remember impermanent is clicking toc toc toc toc toc toc toc just like clock toc toc toc toc days of our lives and that is my good example when I first came in the United States got a lot of time I keep watching the days of our lives what I was attracted is the sand going down that is how our life goes other than that it is permanent still the same characters twenty years later same issue going on over there (crowd laughs) (Rimpoche laughs) except the sand

The moment you are born death is coming

in the bottle is impermanent other than that everything is permanent so but that is the real the reality of our life every minute is really going going remember you not remember we always say this seventh Dalai Lamas (kin nee kee chi mah reh) the moment you are born we don’t have a right to live even a minute are running towards death like a galloping horse (chi lah shee dee) running with whole like horse with full force galloping horse we call them living beings but truly earmarked for death so how sad all our situation is that seventh Dalai Lama said true reality the moment we born the clock has been ticking ticking ticking it has gone down to ninety nine minutes ninety eight ninety seven ninety six ninety five it is going and going the sign of going is also showing in our face in our stomach everywhere in our bones in our eyes in our ear everywhere in our hair everywhere it is showing Deb tee shi za Rimpoche when he is ten years old he wrote that when learning this Tibetan grammar he wrote this ( guya ka sah) Tibetans have a system of writing you know alphabetical order (gah kah guya todah chidah) say hey friends the invitation of lord of death has fall on your head in the form of snow so that is gray hair of course we can color it now but that does not make it not gray it’s just colored you know so these are the signs of clock is ticking ticking and then we will say what and that is the sign of clocks ticking this is the sign of clocks ticking you have to wear what you have to wear another one to look this is in our everyday life and then you know we will say well I am the nearsighted and shortsighted and all that but sometimes you wear it sometimes you don’t wear it but whether you nearsighted or shortsighted or whatever (decide it?) it is going it is very true true face of impermanent in our eye the organs of the eye consciousness sorry I’m bound to say everybody should turn off your phone but I didn’t very sorry I forgot sorry about it so so that is how it is impermanent we are not talking about impermanent over there we are not talking about the suns rising in the morning and the sunset in the evening I am talking about myself getting older day by day minute by minute our power of physical body reducing minute by minute our capacity of mental physical combination is decreasing minute by minute minute by minute finally it will disappear.

Bodhimind transforms you and the karmic effect your deeds like a gold elixir

Decay right? that is reality so now we have a challenge here the challenge is are we going to achieve what we wanted to achieve or which is going to come first the decaying of life or that one so there is every minute there’s a competition between our self within our self achieving our spiritual goal and mental physical capacity reducing up to twenty five it is growing up after twenty five it started going down even those of you who think I’m still young yes but after twenty five it started going down everything is going down people can’t keep up so that’s why we have all this problem they are using steroids this and that because they just can’t keep it up that’s the nature the nature so that is how it is and that is clear sign that thing is constant continuously ticking every minute without fail our efforts are not ticking up every minute without fail we don’t have it that’s because we don’t have Bodhimind if we have a Bodhimind within our self then it will keep on clicking positive karma keep on clicking it how strong it depends on the individual but it is (so jan tee sah) so Bodhimind itself is creating accumulation Bodhimind itself purifies our negativities10536

I don’t exactly remember the verse in the Bodhisattvachayarvara but that is exactly and so so the Bodhisattvachayaravatta says (sing ghu see yah nomba) so it’ll be like a golden solution it’s not gilded because you know everybody thinks and it’s gilding it is a traditional Indian magical power that is a sort of you know mystical power this is sort of biblical story type of thing and traditionally Indian magical power which a certain solution the moment touch the metal the metal transforms and becomes gold not gold solution maybe it is propaganda who knows gold solution put it and gilt it and all becomes gold

right unless you scratch the gilding and then you don’t know maybe that’s what it is but that’s what the mystical magical Hindu Buddhist mythological stories tells you that so this was used as an example by Shanti Deva saying the touch of the Bodhimind make this even it is not true with the gold but the mind it is true gold it is not true because of the physical condition mind is formless there’s no physical condition mind has no form no shape no tangibility so it is simply thought oriented you know remember (seh shay rig ba) clear lucid is the definition of a mind clear and lucid clear because it is like a spacious it’s empty it is clear of any physical destruction of anything lucid because it is capable of perceiving projecting remember that is what we have been talking every Tuesday night so that’s clear lucid so any thoughts will able to change and influence easily so the Bodhimind can definitely influence the mind easily and becoming of that mind

mind becoming of the Bodhimind remember the the mind is accepting perceiving the object is you know way mind producing something like duplicate of whatever you are seeing it is sort of a duplicate produced within our mind we store that remember that is how mind is perceiving what duplicate whatever your mind perceiving is making a duplicate that duplicate is becoming part of our mind remember that is how mind perceives it is you do not get into my mind and become in that but your face your physical body its you know structure is somehow I take a photographic and become a part of my mind and I store that in the mental faculty called a memory and when I’m conditions just made that mental faculty memory pops up and recognize you with or without a name if properly stored comes out with a name if improperly stored without a name whatever it is you know only the nickname may come in you know who knows but that is how mind perceives right so similarly mind looking at the Bodhimind and it becoming that you know it is a sort of taking the photo and becoming that mind influencing is much becoming that nature is much easier than physically becoming that easy but actually the Shantideva has to use the physical example to explain us so that gold solution they did it (sing goo see yah) so impure body unclean impure body is made into the great precious Buddha body that is exactly Shantideva said (ring jen jin ) it is equivalentless immeasurable value is transformed and that’s why it’s Bodhimind so that is why Bodhimind is so important (Ten eh ahh) now I remember (Ten ah sung din) now I don’t remember second word again so the first word said after developing Bodhimind even if you just keep on sleeping or not any awareness but it keep on building your merit as well as purification keep on automatically functioning that’s what Shanti Deva says anyway so so this is why the preliminary you know developing Bodhimind is if you keep on trying to develop Bodhimind straightaway it never work Bodhimind has to based on all this remember three principles are built on top of the another depends on top of the another011152

okay depend on another which means first principle seeking freedom for yourself is the fundamental basis of our own you know training our own mind that way the second principle developing Bodhimind is built on the first principle if you don’t have the first principle and then it becomes ice castle remember castle built on ice by ice and when the heat comes it melts so that becomes ice castle no foundation wisdom is the icing on cake and that helps so three principles are built on top of each other if you have a lot of icing if you don’t have a cake what are you going to do lick all this thing you know cream and that’s all you can do so that doesn’t work not even the ice cream it is just pastry (mergerings?) you can’t eat it alone so anyway it is time for take this first break here no mandala just go and we are going to take about fifteen twenty minutes and I think the (gong?) will be sounded and then come back with that start otherwise the time will not wait.

Bodhimind is the path of the Buddhas - there is no second door no shortcut

So earlier we been talking the value of the Bodhimind and basically I you know I tried to cut shortcut by saying three principle path are has to be based on top of another which is my way of cutting doing a shortcut but reality really is the first principle is common with the lower level equal to the common with the lower level and as well as common with the medium level so which means the path that Buddha had shared that comes to you through Tibetan Buddhism and there is nothing nothing without going through those levels nothing really works nothing really functions as a matter of fact the commentary of this (son jah koh lah) the wheel of sharp weapon in this commentary somewhere they said sometimes you hear instant liberation and primordial mind pure primordial mind encountering et cetera you hear but they are all then they all has to be processed it is not in really an instant and quote the seventh Dalai Lama (Mah jeh noom meh shee) it is not created primordial pure nature like lightning clear complete and but all of them is just like that of mind itself like (Sem jeh reng jeh) the nature of the mind is light nature and all faults are temporary we heard that number of times so they are all almost the same way so but all needs prerequisite of those process and procedures without which there is no instant enlightenment and that one has to remember very clear because instant enlightenment even those who talk about the nature of the mind and primordial mind everywhere and looks like instant however when you begin to look and then gradually they will lead you to the total path again so the process is this (per sum djee jow wah) it is the only path that all the Buddhists of all three times are really have traveled through this path so that is the most important so no matter whatever we do although it is not connection this but like (sheh woon yeh) like you know when they talk to you there’s no second door for liberation beside wisdom and is almost same thing you can say here though when they say (sheh woon yeh) there is no second door for peaceful peace there is no second door for peace which is really referring to wisdom however you can really look and hear and saying this is the way we know path that does not lead you to the wrong way that we know path that leads us on the correct direction and if you are looking at shortcuts and if you’re looking you know I mean there are no shortcuts even some people may say yes I’m willing to take all rough and deal and all that but still I want a shortcut I don’t think there is any shortcut is there is shortcut all the Buddhas would have gone through shortcut.011919

and all the Buddhas would share shortcut with us and they didn’t and they didn’t so there is no other shortcut so it is the process that one has to really go through with this so that is the three principle paths you know of practice is one brings the other one the first principle brings common with the lower level and common with the medium level both that is the liberating individual from the clutch of attachment for the samsaric goodies for this life and for future lives so that is the from the negative point that what we have to get rid of it from that angle when you look at that that is that from the positive point what you have to obtain and that is the liberation itself liberation itself cuts the attachment because attachment is the main cause of our suffering remember samsara’s glue is attachment not even ego grasping no sorry sorry it is ego grasping but not even self cherishing it is the attachment so the really at the beginning level our difficulty is to get rid of is attachment anger hatred is not so easy not so difficult we know we know anger is not good we know hatred give trouble hatred give violence bring violence violence brings violence violence brings suffering we knew we have knowledge we have understanding but we don’t recognize we don’t pinpoint it to ourselves we know but we don’t know attachment brings suffering because we enjoy attachment we always enjoy talking about dirty jokes it is a clear indication we enjoy talking about the butts and so and forth (audience laughs) and so that is a clear indication that we enjoy attachment (audience laughs again) probably at the back you don’t hear it what conversation was in the front you know so so and so so the jokes over here going is the all that type of joke which is a clear indication that we have very soft spot for attachment which is what we call it samsaric picnic spots and so that is the picnic spots so that is our problem and so when you look at this particular teaching and you have heard that number of times I’m supposed to go shorter on the beginning anyway (Goon jha song la sasa loess) the first homage to the Buddha Dharma and Sangha and then (Da wu nela abeh) it is the wheel of sharp weapons which really pokes the real the battle points of enemy012321

Enemy over here in Tibetan understanding you have two.012400

But in normal western we have only one enemy but in Tibetan we have two (soo jengeh dah Soo megee gick) so means the physical with the form physically your enemy enemy that physically literally hurt you that is called enemy with the form which is your enemy (soo meegeh dah soo meegee geck so the soo meegee geck) so formless formless in the West will know what known as spirit.012440

but here not really referring to spirit that disturbs you though in the southeast Asia and Chinese tradition there is so much influence of those spirit business and everything else every illnesses everything even you slip through if you slip on the floor and hit your butt and then they think it is spirit and you know if you have a headache it’s the spirit if your tooth falls that’s a spirit if baby cries it is spirit and it so much in the culture southern tradition culture goes that way but here really referring to to the formless is the mental enemy which is negative emotions referring to so when they refer to the enemy it is referring to two the physical enemy enemy that literally hurt you physically as well as the physically financially whatever that category and the enemy that hurt you through the spiritual or mind so (naleh nimba) so sort of the wheel of weapons that really hits the battle point of the enemy012622

Beginning of Wheel of Weapons Commentary

And then pressed to the (trow wah jah) so this as I said this Yamentaka is the red Yamentaka referring to red Yamentaka (trow wah jah) can you read the English up to that level either Anne or Hartmut or Mark or whoever you know because as I said earlier I can’t read English and I rather take your time try to me figure out how to pronounce that and make a fool of myself rather than any one of you read that will be fine012726

Peacock thrive on deadly poison and are not attached to the beauty of the medicinal plants Bodhisattvas thrive on taking on suffering to help others and are not attached to the beautiful aspects of Samsara

Hartmut: when peacocks roam through the jungle of virulent poison though the gardens of medicinal plants may be attractive the Peacock flocks will not take delight in them for peacocks thrive on the essence of virulent poisons likewise when heroes enter the jungles of cyclic existence though the gardens of happiness and prosperity may seem beautiful the heroes will not become attached to them for heroes thrive in the forest of suffering

Bodhimind develops over time Bodhisattva vows help create conditions for Bodhimind to develop

Rimpoche: that’s it thank you so here this is a traditional Hindu Buddhist mythological story which always says peacocks have been benefitting if they each poison but I don’t know in the West they never say that I ask so many people and everybody says no never heard never heard so anyway so whatever it is it is a Hindu Buddhist mythological stories so saying (chendo nah so) say when there’s a Peacock runs through the it is interesting (jin doo nah) when the Peacock runs through the forest of poison and I think this you can interpret it two ways actually normal interpretation goes the Peacocks they may be the medicinal plants may be so beautiful and wonderful but the peacocks don’t like it peacocks take the essence of the poison and that nourishes the Peacock but other way of looking in this and when the Peacock runs through the forest of poison and the medicinal plants may be very beautiful and wonderful but the Peacock don’t get attached by the beauty of the medicinal plant you can read that way too because these verses are readable so normal reading is what I read earlier that is traditional always and goes in that way but looking at here when I’m just talking to you looking at here you can read that way too you know (sen do now zo) so when these when they are running in the jungle of poison and the beautiful medicinal plants are a beautiful wonderful however they don’t attract they don’t get attraction of a Peacock because peacocks not drawn by attraction of medicinal plant because the Peacock nourishes through the poison and similarly the hero the individual hero here refers to bodhisattvas those of person who developed the Bodhimind is called Bodhisattvas not just simply attained bodhisattva vow or taking vow taking vow alone does not become bodhisattva does not develop Bodhimind but it is creating a tremendous amount of karmic connection and it links up our positive karma and the blessings of enlightened beings work together and make it possibility and not only a possibility make it probability and fortunate to be able to take a vows but rather than that you does not really truly become Bodhisattva truly does not become a bodhisattva does not become hero because bodhisattva is means one who has Bodhimind one who took Bodhimind vow is not one who have one who took bodhisattva vow does not mean who has a Bodhimind one who have Bodhimind really means one who developed Bodhimind does not develop its not like a fruit that develops and pick it up and put in your pocket it doesn’t become on that way013345

Development of Bodhimind is gradual process

It has to be gradual process within the individual it has to do that’s why we have seven stage of development exchange stage of development eleven stage of development which is this Pabonka’s Liberation in Palm of your Hand gives you all this eleven stages and if you look that carefully and meditate each and every one of those eleven steps and the prerequisites prerequisites that we been talking this morning last night all of them are prerequisites without prerequisites it won’t work no matter how many time you spend no matter whatever you do it won’t work with the prerequisites it will work then the question rises okay I’m not developing Bodhimind it’s not going to work for me until I developed the prerequisite should I not meditate the answer for this is already given a number of times not by me by earlier teachers saying no you should meditate now because this is very fortunate and it links your karmic link and it makes it possible to develop easy but don’t spend too much time putting this major focus should be done where ever your level is and this one should really have overview overview style of like you have this if you look in the Lama Chopra there’s a Lam rim stage in the prayer form if you look in the foundation of perfection it has Lam Rim stage meditations on seeking blessings form and all this so that way one should really spend time and doing this but the major time should be spent where you are really dealing and that is only known to you and so that is the point so I thought it is opportunity for me to get into this because you know so the Peacock don’t get attracted in the beautiful medicinal plants you have that Tibetan don’t you right medicinal plant plant and similarly we should not be attracted to samsaric attachment effects that includes butts (audience laughs) so I thought this is a good opportunity for me to get in here and so it is the you know I’m that is the (abow donah cha) similarly the hero went into the forest of samsara forest of samsara (dee gee beh) the field of samsaric picnics spots are beautiful the samsaric goodies are very attractive but however the heroes know that samsaric goodies samsaric picnic spots not going to help the heroes not going to develop anyone it doesn’t help you doesn’t help others doesn’t help anybody so therefore they don’t attract

Suffering reduces pride

so (bo dan yeh cha wah) instead instead the heroes enjoy the suffering (do ang nah se) why? suffering help us suffering help us one to recognize suffering help us not to continue as it is suffering help us look for other ways other ways Tepte Ling Rimpoche always says even the suffering have good quality good quality what happened? (Rimpoche speaks aside about a technical difficulty with probably the sound system) ah good quality and that good quality is that good quality is (kaza kee aw tava) so the suffering makes you sad and when it makes you sad there are also advantage taking make you sad will reduce the undesirable pride you know remember that pride like a lion one of the fear like a lion’s like pride and that because the sadness reduces this sadness shrink ego to the almost like a little what they call it in Yiddish smoosh (crowd laughs) so what did you say Amy?

Amy:(?) When you said smoosh in Yiddish and then they say it in Yiddish. He said AMY and I said I didn’t teach him that!

Rimpoche: Who said Amy

Amy: John

Rimpoche: looks like John (Mericin) is the troublemaker here (audience laughs) make everybody laugh anyway so I just wanted so (doong ah nah sah) so that’s why the heroes enjoy suffering not because suffering is great but suffering have a benefit and these samsaric picnic spots it satisfied ego nothing more you know it is true more to different traditions then even Buddhism Buddhism does not take a vow of poverty Buddhist monks don’t take vow of poverty no I mean except South East Asia sometimes they do014153

Buddhism does not require vow of poverty

some monks you know they say oh we are not supposed to touch money that’s true they are not supposed to touch you know the vinaya rule says you are not supposed to touch silver and gold et cetera so some say you know I’m not supposed to touch money so they take the checks with their robes in hand they are not supposed touch (Rimpoche laughs) that is a joke! That is the truth they do it becomes joke but you know but the reality is reality is in Judeo-Christian tradition even you know some of these the monks take this vow of poverty right so it is really emphasizing emphasizing not to cheat yourself by this samara’s goodies so whether you look in the East tradition or the West tradition you see this and that is a clear indication that do some harm to us what the harm is reducing our good karma you exhausted get exhausted our good karma and nothing creating extra positive nothing creating extra it is like whatever it looks like you’re living on your savings and no longer you are adding up nothing is adding up and deducting out of your savings so that I think Americans will understand easily with that language so that’s the reason why heroes enjoy suffering because suffering have advantage if you know how to take the advantage these sufferings may not be that bad that bad sometimes we think well I am sufferings are too much horrible I can’t bear it I can’t manage any more this and that we will sort of sit and bring ourself down and just I am hopeless helpless bring down there so you don’t have to because even suffering have advantage and that advantage is recognize dislike it work for not to repeat it it’s a remind you remind you pain sometimes physical and emotional pains help us to remind ourself otherwise we’ll forget we forget especially life in the United States is such a life not only luxurious life everybody including homeless have a luxurious life compare it Darfur remember Darfur remember Iraq and even the homeless here you can nice wonderfully sleep warm in the street no one shooting on your butt or head so in Iraq and even you are in a beautiful house who knows who’s going to walk in the middle of the night when they have this sectarian fights going on you know

I mean all this happens right so in that way it is luxurious luxurious and then the luxurious life plus busy-ness plus entertainment you know luxurious busy-ness entertainment so much entertainment twenty four hours you know truly what Buddha says it’s like the old man’s beard no matter how much you pluck it will grow more or the wave of ocean keep on waiting to finish never finish same thing with the days of our life keep on watching no matter how long you watch it will never finish not only days of our life every show every entertainment every television keep on watching there never finish right never finish so and so does the radio entertainment so does all this entertainment are like that and so sometimes limited time will enjoy you can enjoy there’s nothing wrong this one don’t have to feel guilty about it one don’t have to feel bad about it limited time yes why not you have created that good fortune and karma you might well as enjoy yourself you deserve it

I remember when I was a kid there was an old abbot old abbot of Drepung called Jonmelah I mean he is very old by the time when I remember when I was eleven or twelve or thirteen I mean I don’t know he how old is he sort of hardly walk and he shakes his head like this all the time and you know and there is we get those feasts people who are doing the geshe exams particularly incarnate lamas who are doing exam and they give feasts for the feast they invite all officials including abbots as well as incarnate lamas so we sit together abbots and us.014801

and this Jungmela always look at us young ones you know kids in ten twelve thirteen and all this fancy food they will serve he said that is your good fortune when we are kids there never exist those variety of Chinese food and they will serve (normally later?) I am remembering in the late forties and early fifties and they always you know seventeen or eighteen dishes always comes in you know and that also three times all three times are put in between something like eight or three or three would give you together014849

So it is a funny way of giving feast but Jungmela always said it is your fortune you deserve it

but because when we are young we don’t have those things fancy Chinese noodles and dishes you see we only get rice soup at this time but you people get this this is you deserve it so whether you deserve it or not or he used to say whether it is good sign or bad sign I don’t know you deserve it he said always always says that good sign or bad sign I don’t know you deserve it eat eat eat he said (Rimpoche laughs) he made it eat eat eat he will say so anyway that is the same thing a good sign or bad sign I don’t know but you deserve it I mean occasionally it’s always deserved you need it people need it don’t have to feel bad about it and you can really enjoy and you know when I was giving this talk remember about twenty years ago in Hong Kong (APMT?) wants me to give talk there in the Peninsula Hotel so there’s a huge attendant and one of them guy behind there raise his hand so you say no attachment and I keep on talking no attachment maybe those days I am much more you know I don’t talk like now I am much more on orthodox much more orthodox so I must be saying a lot and the guy raised hand saying what do I do with my Rolls-Royce so I said as long as you drive the Rolls-Royce it is okay but if the Rolls-Royce drive you you are in trouble that is my reply at that time it is about twenty years ago so it is the same thing as long as you enjoy Rolls-Royce Mercedes or BMW fine but the moment BMW or Mercedes drive you you are in trouble that is how this is what it meant attraction is not be taking any samsaric goodies samsaric picnic spots and like Peacock don’t look at the beautiful medicinal plants but Peacock eats the poison and digests the poison and it grows peacocks whatever those feathers are maybe015144

How to enjoy Samsara’s goodies

so so that’s referring to us basically how we should enjoy any samsaric goodies I mean it is American people’s fortune luck it’s good karma you have this wonderful life we have this wonderful life we should enjoying it but we should not be slave of this life we should be helping our self and whenever there is a little pain here a little pain there particularly pain that given by yourself to yourself or the physical mental emotional or given by your spouse or your companion or what ever take the advantage of a pain don’t submit yourself to the pain there’s no reason why you have to have long jaw sit over there you don’t don’t because there’s no reason because you have a long jaw you make other people miserable too and every one who will look at you don’t want talk to you run away from you because they don’t want to hear it and no you want to hear it me me me me me or my my my my my my you know all talk from morning to evening everywhere whoever you see talk about me and my alone will make the other people run away from you015334

this is quite clear in our daily life no matter how noble out cause may be so that is how it is so this tells us this particular verse tells us enjoy life but remember the sufferings and the pains don’t be sad take advantage of it suffering and pains bound to have it mental physical emotional pains are natural to us as long as we have this ego attachment oriented our body is remember first Noble truth first Noble truth is truth of suffering so therefore it is suffering it will get suffering it will continue to suffer it will grow worse and worse but that should not upset our self that should not give us mind additional problem additional problem you know if you give additional problem it’s not going to help you anything you know if there is something to be done one should do it if there’s medical treatment take advantage totally no matter whatever it is pills or whatever surgical whatever it is take total advantage if there is nothing to do so why should you worry?015520

Nagarjuna said (Ke te ju se yu....) so if there is something to be corrected why you want to be sit there and sad and have long jaw and sitting there if there is nothing to be corrected what will that help us nothing so that is how one has to learn one’s life how to deal with it this first verse that tells you that is when the hero doesn’t look at be beautiful medicinal plants but they will look go and eat the poison that it is what it is then the next two verses ooops I’m looking at the different books (te chitti dekee tondo lamda yee....) Okay that verse four lines I read it

Hartmut yes those who avidly pursue happiness and prosperity are brought to suffering due to their cowardice the bodhisattvas who willingly embrace suffering always remain happy due to their heroism

Rimpoche: thank you see this itself clearly tells you right (te chitti dekee tondo lamda yee....) So they call it coward coward coward who would like to enjoy sit at the corner and do nothing and you know that’s my enjoyment do nothing and have a nice beautiful cup of tea or glass of wine or whatever so and then sit at the corner and do nothing and that is who desire that is called coward coward (te deh dit dee....)

Sitting and doing nothing is cowardice

result of this being a coward being a coward will lead you to suffering because because you don’t take advantage you don’t take advantage you just want to sit there and do nothing or do wrong things do wrong things

we may think it is something wonderful but then we know it truly truly we know it it is not wonderful our self all the time any one of those samsaric goodies that we get attracted everywhere anything we look we see this very clearly to ourselves no matter whatever anything alcohols drugs sex anything we know it is nothing in there clearly clearly we know but we can’t stop we will continue that is the attachment that is pulling us and our knowledge understanding our spiritual education or even usual education we also tell us there is no good result here we know it but you can’t (pull?) our self many times and that’s why it’s called coward cowardness brings you to the end result which is suffering ( dung eh tando lembe some bah deh...) The second verse second two lines here which already read ( dung eh tando lembe some bah deh...) The bodhisattva who accepts suffering it is not embracing I’m mean it is embracing suffering but you know you are not working for suffering way and how you embrace suffering is you embrace the suffering to be able to end it to be able to end it so it’s called (pow weh ton kess) but in the hero way heroing way hero away and (pow do ten wa yees) always bring a joy at the end it is difficult saving a life is difficult it is a suffering but one goes through that difficulties once you save a life how happy we are you know once you to be able to save one’s life how happy we are we know this for sure once we be able to resist ourselves to the temptation of samsaric goodies one time and when you are able to resist how happy we are and this itself tells us how bring the joy okay (?) I better read it otherwise (tanden der cha chendo...) Okay thank you

Hartmut now hear desire is like the jungle of virulent poisons the peacock like heroes alone can digest this but for the crow like cowards it spell death for how can the self centered digest such poison when you extend this analogy to other afflictions each similarly assails liberations life force like poison to a crow

Rimpoche: here now here now it’s sort of a double word here now here now why are you saying here now I mean here now too what is this here the Mahayana mind training Mahayana mind training it is time for you to move now however without a prerequisite of a common with the medium level one cannot go it that is what we’re putting a lot of time to put the basic ground level of Buddhism so without which if you try to put now the Mahayana paths it might not work very well (silence on tape)020429

and that is one way of reading here now the another way of reading here now is this020440

here now yes it is time for you to generate to train your mind to work with the Bodhimind but simply working with the Bodhimind alone is going to take eons remember (dashya ga da yeh men tuka....) It is the basic basic Mahayana 101 says our great Buddha has first generated Bodhimind then accumulated merit for three countless eons and finally of obtained enlightenment that is the common common slogan in the normally you hear in Mahayana so you know our patience not going to give us time to have three countless eons how can we have three countless eons working not even three countless eons but three decades become very difficult for us honestly three lifetimes is impossible three decades is become extremely difficult and we want it now really now this is funny people think the only the result and they don’t think the cause they don’t think cause right I mean people think you know people think I would like to be lawyers or I would like to be doctors or I would like to be this and that but they don’t want to think how do I become a doctor how many years you spend to learn to train to be a doctor how many years you get a trained to become lawyer and how many years and efforts you have to put to put Ph.D. under your name and people somehow don’t think about that we always attracted to be able to put so and so Ph.D. the Yael puts karma DOG on her door Yael Carfort PHD not doctor Carfort right phd or something she put it020756

And then you have karma DOG so but you know you can think that way yes it’s all right if you going to put that name as a DOG and you don’t have to put too much efforts even then you don’t just get it unless you are unique and something special but so put efforts is the we don’t see that similarly we see enlightenment and we don’t see what takes it to that level but somehow that’s why we don’t put too much energy in that we like to do you know half way through almost halfway through even those who are putting halfway through half cooked half raw it’s are great many people will not just you know touch here touch there boom boom boom boom and then like a little butterfly comes out wanted to come out it is difficult in their life so anyway so (dung a tondo lamba.....) I think we finish that right (tee chen de cha....) Did we add that right? They said attachment is like that of poisonous forest (bowo mom ja deh.....) It can only digest by hero like a peacock why because the Rolls-Royce doesn’t drive you you drive your Rolls-Royce get it? (Dharma charo dah...) And if you are coward like a crow and then you will pay the price the price what you pay is a life (Dharma charo dah...) Did we read that right so meaning if you keep on attracting to the samsaras goodies and samaras picnic spots you we pay the price the consequences for this is no liberation the life of liberation is no longer exists goes off the precious human life’s purpose is defeated wasted wasted right even you have a laziness if you keep on entertaining the laziness sometimes it’s very difficult to look our usual habit as laziness we don’t but our usual habit is also become laziness because if you wanted to change it it is very hard to change the usual habit of like say if you are driving to work and if you’re taking one route if you want to change the different streets it’s a very hard you complain so much you complain to yourself and then you complain to your colleagues and then go home and you complain to your family and all this and you grumble so much I mean that is nothing but you just change one street it is but it hurts your laziness and your protection nothing but your laziness you are abusing yourself your colleagues your family for your laziness it is abusement abusing for your laziness and that is the and not only that not only that you are abusing and wasting and missing the opportunity of liberation the life of the liberation is the price what you’re paying here so (charo de ve di...) 021235

Transform negativities

So if you are not coward what else (te je di sam ba....)

Hartmut: therefore a peacock like heroes must convert afflictions that resemble a jungle of poison into an elixir and enter the jungle of cyclic existence embracing the afflictions heros must destroy their poison

Rimpoche: so here what they telling us something very interesting something usually we don’t hear usually we hear hey it is a poison don’t go near by hey this is attachment don’t go near by hey this is negative emotion negativities get rid of it and don’t go near by walk away so here the difference between the Mahayana and Theravadan Theravadan will say don’t touch the gold and the silver it may you may develop attachment and you may lose the life of liberation so then they found this little cloth and you can take it with cloth so you not literally touching but here the Mahayana says don’t run away because it is part of your life you are living with it it’s all over you it is every part of you every you living with this you are sleeping with this you are in bed with this and you get up with this you walk with this you eat with this so don’t run away take advantage take advantage so telling us (charo de je som a mum....) So if you are hero like a peacock then the forest of poison like negative emotions afflictive emotions including attachment and hatred et cetera transform them like a peacock has supposed to have some kind of special power or capacity to not only digest but to transform the poisons into a strength and whatever it is the beautyness so here if you are a hero don’t run away from those negative emotions but take advantage how how they say transform how to transform the example let us take attachment look at attachment and our own attachment to our living living state lifestyle living stage so when your living standard improving getting better so then we become happy we try to have a strong attachment and we happy joy you know you (?) for that time so also you should entertain another thoughts I did this a number of times in my lives and every time when I did this and I increased my self more difficulties to maintain that living standard to maintain that living standard I had to suffer more I had to work more I have to make more I have to pay more I have to do more I have to have take a difficulties to maintain that I have done that before so when you say I have done that before it makes me work more do more make more and then watch your mind a minute what is happening with that attachment with that attachment is not really a carrying banner and moving at this moment because it slow down a little bit otherwise you know you have this drive that drive will drive you drive you drive you drive you drive you drive you that driving may be may be may be for different reasons or reasons that are very noble however drive is drive who is driving you your self by whom by your Rolls-Royce so but yet you are still carrying the banner saying I have a Rolls-Royce here you know and yes I don’t make the payment so when you’re looking at that at that moment if you are thinking that that banner carrying mind will be not waving so much but (you have?) a second thought the some kind of some thing there is some influence coming up and that little influence that little influence comes and then you know what you think no no I don’t want the Rolls-Royce take it away that is the again the crows way of doing it not the peacock’s way of doing it the peacock’s way of doing all right I bought it I shall maintain it I shall maintain it and I’ll make it absolutely benefitting for all living beings and that is how you are transforming is not that I’m going to be big fat lazy it’s moving from there I am using this to benefit all living beings sometimes we say that is excuse particularly if you are if you’re working person say if you are I don’t know what is coming up in my head if you are a real estate agent and if you need a good car say well I need a good car because of my job and somebody can say yes that is an excuse reasonable car will do true true reasonable car will do but at the same time if you have a good car you impress more people by impressing more people may trust you more by trusting you more you may sell more and that is the truth in it in it 022155

so take that way is taking advantage this is what this particularly this particular word is telling you I don’t mean you have to do that way but this particular words will tell you it is same thing if you make more money more money and when you are making more money and that is exactly what it is here well I’m making more money it is terrible it is not terrible it’s good you are making more money you make more money you get benefit number one you get benefit for yourself benefit you don’t have to broke all the time you don’t have to be you can pay your loans you can do all that you know and benefit yourself and number two you can utilize that and become this is exactly this particular verse is telling us (de je sum ba mum....)

Meaning transform it into an elixir right the word what Hartmut read is elixir right elixir or not elixir the word in Tibetan is Chu Chu means the vitamin the vitamin of food or the whatever you get like if you eat blueberries you get antioxidants or something right so they are talking about antioxidant and they’re not talking about that color of the blueberry or the blueberry but the chu is the antioxidant and if you are eating flesh and then the chu over here is the iron and the (putting?) iron all these are the chu so that is what it is that is what it chu de gula meaning it made into this what ever the essence of benefit or the (protein?) that helps you so transform in that chu de gula and then chu de gula hasa

I better have this losing everything oh chu de gula ko ah nas jos so transform that into A the is it protein or what nutrition thank you who said that Amy oh right okay transform that in to nutrition and go into the jungle of poison022503

(Ju du ju la kola nasoon ju...) Embrace and destroy the poison remember in Vajrayana what is it (?) in the Vajrayana they tell you now the word I forgot anyway when you destroy tree-like negativities and it is not the only way that you have to cut the tree but you can go inside and eat from inside out (Simbu sich) you know go inside out and like the worms and all that within the tree eat from inside out and destroy the tree and that is one of the examples occasionally given even the Vajrayana saying they will destroy the negative emotions negativities and negative emotions by utilizing by utilizing this exactly this is not Vajrayana but he is telling you here (chu do chula ko la....)

So therefore hero goes into should go into the forest of samsara and embrace those negativities and destroy it by embracing and destroy it so did you get it this this is the first segment I think we are covered okay now (pan nih rah ooh....) Okay maybe that much

Hartmut from now on I will distance myself from this Demons emissary self grasping which makes me wander helplessly and seeks only selfish happiness and prosperity I will joyfully embrace hardship for the sake of others

Rimpoche: so I think it is the general explanation is over and now specifically we are talking about it here I mean I think I’m going to go a little faster (tan neh ra oh....) How did that begin with I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention

Hartmut: from now on I will distance myself from this Demons emissary self grasping

Rimpoche: and then

Hartmut: which makes me wander helplessly

We are truly homeless

Rimpoche: okay this is what I needed wander helplessly wander helplessly wander helplessly is referring to ourselves in our present position in the present position we are actually wandering in samsara helplessly honestly if you look and think our self how did we born how did we live how are we living how we going to go how you how what’s going to happen how I am going to go all these are actually we are wandering in that no doubt about it022938

no question about it we call some place my home my workplace my this my that my this and that but we are really truly wandering even we are in this world we are wondering truly wandering true homeless is we are punk the real punk is ourselves we don’t look like punk we look like someone but wandering definitely we came in by wandering we are living here wandering we are helpless for sure no doubt about it we really don’t know what’s going to happen next minute can be dropdead can get hurt physically mentally emotionally but physically anything can happen anything we have no control of our life we pretend to we struggle to control our life but things doesn’t work that way things doesn’t work that way it’s always true I remember I remember when we have the first Gulf War one of one friend is Italian first secretary in Dehli Italian Embassy first secretary in letter she’s begging in Italy and after the first Gulf War I met her I don’t know where somewhere I don’t remember and she was telling me you know about the war she said the first fifteen minutes the war is over she told me I said what you mean first fifteen minutes the war is over it is continuing shooting continued she said that’s because this crazy guy didn’t stop (Rimpoche laughs) referring to Saddam that crazy guy didn’t stop when he knows they are already done it is already done he didn’t stop he gone back to the old method old method of using people on the horses and using mirrors and try to have second communication using and he didn’t stop so I mean in their planning in their idea it was done but it literally didn’t stop didn’t done because the other person doesn’t go along with it and so that’s exactly what in samsara we try to control everything we try to function everything but it doesn’t go that way and then we say oh you are not supposed to do that that is not supposed to be happening but it happens all the time supposed to or not supposed to happens all the time

it becomes miscalculation of others and these are clearly indication we cannot control even our life but that does not mean you should not plan anything excuse me we are going up to one thirty right Kathy right okay 023419

and that doesn’t mean we don’t plan anything we do plan we do work but however we remember we have no control over we don’t we don’t what is supposed to may not necessarily be happens I mean it’s also true I see huge difference of culture difference culture difference in American culture what is supposed to happen it is not (abounding?) on any other cultures at all but we presume it is it is I mean we make a huge mess we blame Bush by reality is reality is is what is supposed to happen doesn’t happen it goes other way around so you can’t count on supposed to so which means we have no control over so helplessly wandering in the forest of samsara is true statement for us that is where we are because we have no control over helpless we don’t know how we come in here even we know we can do nothing different in American culture we say oh we have experience if you do it again how would you do it okay but here you can’t you keep on repeating it again helplessly helplessly helplessly helplessly helplessly continue we say it’s good learning good experience yes we keep on learning and we keep on experiencing continuously good learning experience continue and that tells us we are hopeless no not hopeless helpless that’s right helpless so who made this who made this (ta na row me vah ko ah nee....) So who made this self grasping ego grasping self is that do you word the translation

Hartmut: self grasping023656

Self grasping

Rimpoche: self grasping self grasping or ego grasping is the one who is making us helpless it is the emissary of evil or devil what is it evil or devil

Hartmut: they say demons

Rimpoche: Demons okay evil devil demons it doesn’t matter so the emissary of unwanted one unwanted one is ego or self grasping so what you need to do whatever that self grasping wanted you should always do opposite be a bad person to the I’s of ego grasping if they tells you go to the east go to the west if they tell you go to the right go to the left if they tells you go up go down if they tell you go down go up that is exactly so what you are doing is you’re not depriving yourself any of those joys but you are separating the ego of yours from that ego’s desire so (shen de ka cha tondo....)

Hartmut: Propelled by karma and habituated to the afflictions the sufferings of all beings who share this nature I will keep them upon the self that yearns for happiness

Rimpoche:(shen doh ka cha tondo... ) for the benefit of others one should take difficulties isn’t that some word there

Hartmut: That was the end of the previous.... I will joyfully embrace hardship for the sake of others

Do the opposite of what your ego wants

Rimpoche: I joyfully embrace hardship for the sake of others that very hardship what we are referring is exactly doing the opposite of what ego wants you to do go to the east when they say go to the West that exact opposite one is a hardship not easy difficult to do but for the sake of others one should take it that embrace that (lege day je noon....)

Therefore for when we say when ego wants you to go east go to the west what are you talking about it the ego or we are driven by our karma and our addiction is negative emotions or he use afflictive emotion?

Hartmut afflictions024034

Rimpoche: afflictions our addictions are we are addicted to afflictions we are driven by karma so that’s why way opposite is extremely difficult we talk this morning even driving (Ree dik que yong geh.....)

Suffering is due to ego grasping

Collect all sufferings so so far what ever we have experienced in this samsara:

one we have been wandering without any control

two we experience countless continuations of suffering these are all due to this ego grasping or self grasping has created negative karma and it is result and we are very addicted to the afflictions and that’s why this is what is happening so from now on so all the pains and sufferings are I needed to put all this very mind who says I must enjoy I must have this me and my must have this me and my must enjoy and that is and that is we have to get all pains and sufferings because they created they deserve it I have to (pull?) on them that is what this one says (Ka deh ran due to wah...)

Hartmut: When selfish craving enters my heart I will expel it and offer my happiness to all beings if those around me rise mutiny against me I will relish it thinking this is due to my own negligence

Rimpoche: in case in case why you say in case because bodhisattvas when you have a Bodhimind commitment vows and saying it is totally altruistic blah blah blah so we are not supposed to have it but in case it happens anyway happens for us all the time but here they say in case it happens in case it happens in case it happens so then you say (Kah deh ran due to wah....)

In case if you have developed the desire of this you have to do the just exact opposite opposite here means how horrible you are I did not expect you the me will do such a thing I brought I came up up to this level came far away from the points of embracing human life to impermanent to recognizing the sufferings and the desire to have liberation taking refuge and the meditation on the sufferings in particular lives and the general samsara seeking a liberation and seeing it and not only me but others and loved ones near ones dear ones having the same conditions and I am committed myself to developed and I developed love for all beings I developed compassion to all beings I have developed special mind I developed Bodhimind I have come up to this level and now again all over again so that’s why why they say if again so how horrible you are so sort of really telling yourself how ashamed of you shame on you right that’s how we say shame on you your you so this is that’s why it says shame on you and so just do opposite what you wanted to do (dollas) (ren ke de gi.....) So whatever you wanted I give it away to people I give it away to people what you want happiness I give it to the others don’t even think about it that’s what it is (chi ti dol lah.....) Okay actually we are going fast but not going fast enough okay

Hartmut: when my body falls prey to unbearable illness it is the weapon of evil karma returning on me for injuring the bodies of others from now on I will take all sickness upon myself

Rimpoche: I think you might have read it earlier the verse that I did not explain is if your retinue will return something to you the two lines there (chi ta dah lah....) There are two lines what did they say can you repeat024846

Hartmut: if those around me rise in mutiny against me I will relish it thinking this is due to my own negligence

Rimpoche: thank you that’s what I needed suppose if you’ve been helpful to someone someone always whether it is your children or your student or disciples or parents or whatever someone or no one no one whether it is the Mongolian kid or whatever it is and try to be try to be good and try to bring it up and try to be helpful but when they started when the word they use is mutiny but whatever they’re going against you and whatever happens so it is the fault of what

Hartmut: of my own negligence

Rimpoche: my own negligence it is the fault of my own negligence negligence here is not an ordinary negligence negligence that you cannot focus strongly watch the ego self grasping when you are you forgot about it you relax it you neglect it that ego self grasping overpowering you so that is a fault of this and so so that is what it is so then do what this particular verse do what

Hartmut: I will relish it

Rimpoche: relished so this is may be a culture it is a culture in Tibetans you know and when the kids fight among each other and when somebody did something wrong and when that was facing the consequences the other one will say did you enjoy that they have this talking here and which means you know meaning giving you message that’s what you deserve it you enjoy that that is the relish they are talking about it that is what so meaning and this is culture I think it is culture in the West you don’t do that right you don’t do that

audience: the thinking is the same

Rimpoche: oh the thinking is the same you don’t do this (Rimpoche laughs) not this way but that way that way isn’t that helpful because you got to eat here (?) so this is you know satisfying your itch meaning that’s what you deserve it that is the culture so but relish here meaning do that to yourself so because you entertained ego grasping and that is what you deserve it did you satisfy now did your itch is over now did you get that relief now this is what it is um they continuously (lu lu min dah nah za ju.....)

So when we have this sufferings of physical physical sufferings and (dro a lu lah nu....) So that is the results when we have hurt other people physically on their body physically it is the wheel of sharp weapons that we have I have created by hurting other people physically that is getting back to me now (lu lu min dah nah za.....)

So now what should I do take all pains on me take all pains on me because earlier I keep on thinking I keep on thinking that I give the pains to the others especially those I don’t like it especially those my enemy wishing that they get sick they get collapse they get drop dead they have heart attack they have this they have that a stroke this thing that thing whatever you have been thinking about it and now because of that thoughts that is what you’re getting that is what you have your own stroke that’s why you have your own heart attack that’s why you have your own this that every kind of physical suffering is the result of this so to avoid this in the future take it all the suffering don’t think of giving to other people by giving by wishing you have no power to give but we only wished it we only wished it we only wish it we only wish it that opposite the open end of yours or your side is drop dead or similarly on that because of that consequences and we are having this suffering knowing this recognize this embrace all pains all physical pains don’t give it to the others don’t wish it to the others get it wish I take it I get all of them so that others don’t have to suffer my illness will substitute for all who have to suffer that is how Lo Jong teach us025537

Lojong

So Lo Jong teach us if I have a cancer so my cancer will now may grow bigger may grow stronger may destroy me my ego and thereby no one should have to experience that cancer I may be able to substitute all beings that honestly you pray with this but if simply thinking doesn’t mean what you say it doesn’t become honestly from the bottom of your heart when you think this then you become a hero hero because you become tremendous virtue tremendous karma tremendous negativities been purified and that is that is the hitting thing here that is a hitting thing here anyway so you know our culture will tell you why me why me why me why me why me why me and that’s not bad that’s not bad but the the bad people will think he should have it not me he should have it she should have it that because he is opposing me he is opposed to me right when you run for president and then you wish all other person who is running are drop dead. Right John?

John: No

Rimpoche: No (Rimpoche laughs) you know John is running for president025732

John Moran is running for president that’s what it is honest truth so when you run for president if you wish all your opposite people (?) are drop dead and then thats you going to get it (Rimpoche laughs) that’s what they’re talking about it okay now I had better go for little more otherwise (ran ghe som la dong....) This is simple yes Hartmut

Hartmut when my mind falls prey to suffering it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for definitely causing turbulence in the hearts of others from now on I’ll take all suffering upon myself

Rimpoche: that is it (ran ghe som ah dong....) When you have the you know the mental suffering is so painful you know that I don’t have to tell you you people are more expert on that (crowd laughs) honestly the mental tortures will make you literally cry unable to stop can’t even take a breath in between you have to continuously cry you have physical pains you do that but you can’t do that much the mental pains they literally make you cry so badly continuously I’m quite sure you all have that experience and so when you have that instead of of you know get a shock surprise cry and continuously maintaining that sadness and surprise and then hide then hide then hide pretend not to have it put little powders on the face and cover up put little lipsticks and cover-up by the hiding inside inside and so that’s what we do so this one is telling you don’t do that they say don’t do that when we have this suffering we have to think what did that come from and then you know when you think where did that come from oh so-and-so made me mad so and so insulted me so and so dumped me Oh I hurt so and so I did this I did that so either this way or that way depends how the people are playing with you honestly it is nothing but a game they are playing sometimes sometimes it is a little more serious than that but more or less all our mental pains are why I suffer so much some reality consequences you know love or lost or you know these are the reality these are real I’m not talking about those these are real these are mental pain too if you trace the (karma?) There maybe tracing something but that’s not the point there’s no point it is the reality such a reality what would you do what would you do it’s interesting what can you do you can’t change the situation you can simply pray this had happened to me and my virtuous my positive karmas may fulfill the wishes of lost loved ones give your virtues and pain that you experience may substitute all other people under similar conditions so it doesn’t have to suffer so much may be substitute my suffering will that going to happen no it’s going to ease your pain no but what will that do that creates opportunity for you to make a tremendous virtue over here this is what this Lojong tells you that’s what you do and then man-made suffering is different so-and-so hurt me I hurt so and so sobbing crying nonstop stop and then you know maybe it’s a reality somebody’s playing with you or whatever it may be it is I’m suffering now because I’ve played the same trick to the same person or others earlier this is consequences that I’m experiencing this this I may have more severe pain than what I have now and that may substitute everybody else who are suffering (eng ne ber oh shengi sim joh...)

Wheel of sharp weapons that I created

This is the wheel of the sharp weapon of my own creation is now hitting me and (ko ah ye tonda dung em bah luh....) So I like to accept embrace all embrace all pains (tonda dung em bah luh....) (Rang ye tek cum tah.....) they are almost the same thing can you read this English

Hartmut: when I am tormented by extreme hunger and thirst it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for engaging in deception theft and miserly acts from now on I will take all hunger and thirst upon myself.

Rimpoche:(om eh sheng je que....)030438

Hartmut: when I am powerless and suffer in servitude to others it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for being hostile to the weak and subjugating them from now on I will employ my body and life in the service of others

Rimpoche: we are good at those hopeless and who can’t challenge and we like to act like a hero in their presence and hopeless people we we take advantage we do that all the time in the higher-level in lower level in every level we taking advantage of hopeless situation is we use so much and so (me lah dan je tan du quo wy eez)

Rich and famous

So taking advantage this is traditional culture so the weak ones you utilize them as a servant or something that is traditional culture but what really is is and you know ( min um tam je chu poo poo la gass....) So we we you know we will always like to love the rich person’s sons that’s what the Tibetan saying and everyone you like everyone who talks to you the word that what you like to hear030622

So that is how our life sometimes and we do in America and we like the rich and famous and when they do something we like to copy it and that’s why all this business people have those rich and famous to do their commercials so whether it is Nike shoe or Nike shoe or whatever Fedora hat or eyeglasses or whatever we see all these commercials done by those rich and famous including what Simpson that

audience: OJ Simpson

Rimpoche: OJ (Rimpoche laughs) so people do that right so that’s how we how we like it so some movie star you know I mean movie star how many people come into Tibetan Buddhism because of Richard Gere or other so many so many and because of Stephen Siegal yes so many so all this and that is how we function we function I don’t know what I’m talking about it anyway

Hartmut: exploiting others’ weakness

Rimpoche: yes so we follow the rich and famous and we look down on the weak and the sufferings you follow I mean we do have sympathy to the people who are in Dahrfur but then when you sit down and the moment you begin to think you begin to think oh it is their fault somehow in deep or it is the fault of their leader or whatever you know why did they elect that guy anyway number one they will say that I’m quite sure you say that right

Hartmut: Why did we elect that guy

Rimpoche: yes yes that’s true we say why did we elect Bush we say that you know so anyway so we do we do we look down on the weak ones and taking advantage of those (Om me shen je quo jay...)

More verses from the Wheel of Sharp Weapons

The next one says the same thing what I’m explaining anyway

Hartmut: When unpleasant words reach my ears it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for my verbal offenses such as divisive speech from now on I will condemn flawed speech.

Rimpoche: (?) you read the one verse before me okay anyway that is fine (me nyeh sin no now wha chew wa na....) So it doesn’t need much explanation so let’s go one more verse (kay yah mah dah you do....) You know the most impure land what I know is Ladock but Ladock is less stuck by (pure lead?) Anyway can you read that

Hartmut: When I am born in a place of impurity it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for always cultivating impure perceptions from now on I will cultivate only pure perceptions

Rimpoche: (pay jen sah gah tor.....)

Hartmut: when I become separated from helpful loving friends it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for luring away others companions from now on I will never estrange others from their companions

Rimpoche: we do that sometimes (tom bah tom tche dol lah....)

Hartmut: when the sublime ones become displeased with me it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for renouncing the sublime ones and seeking bad companions from now on I will renounce negative friendships

Rimpoche:( too orah chen je tek so.....) One more verse

Hartmut: when others assail me with exaggerations denigration and so on it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for disparaging sublime beings from now on I will never belittle others with disparaging words

Rimpoche: (ko wah ja lah tzu chu....)

Hartmut: When my material resources waste away it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for being disrespectful towards others resources from now on I will help others find what they need

Rimpoche: (seg meh sa sheh nying....)

Hartmut: when my mind becomes dull and my heart unhappy it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for making others accumulate negative karma from now on I will shun enabling others negative acts031250

Rimpoche: (see meh sah shey...) Our own minds not clear we are not happy and that is the result of creating negativities for the others so sometimes we wonder when we’re not happy why I am not so why I am so sad why I’m not so now why I’m not happy so here’s the answer so that is the answer not given by our self by Buddha (tah ne say jee....) So creating a condition for others to create a negativities making that thing happens the next one is (chow ah mah too sem...)

Hartmut: When I fail in my endeavors and feel deeply disturbed it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for obstructing the work of sublime ones from now on I will relinquish all obstructive deeds

Rimpoche: and then whenever we try to do something we couldn’t complete and we get sad and get mad sad mad all of those and it is because we disturbed other people’s work and that is the will is hitting yourself (kahn der ah che jah....)

Hartmut: When my gurus remain displeased no matter what I do it is the weapon of evil karma turning upon me for acting duplicitously towards the sublime Dharma from now on I will be less duplicitous with respect to the Dharma.

Rimpoche: okay so we stopped here and well this needs a little explanation but when we come back we may be able to do it and before I stop before you get up I believe Kathy needs to talk to you and so here you are

Kathy: (she discusses jewel heart business and they close with a prayer)