Archive Result

Soundfile 20080918GRNYNL

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Ann Arbor

Topic Nyur Lam

Section 2008.09.18

Transcriber Matthew Sisco

Date 2009/03/11

Now for the benefit of all sentient beings, one would like to obtain ultimate state of Buddhahood, for which I would like to listen and learn and practice and become Buddha for benefit all living beings. And such motivation do kindly generate such motivation. And, then, listen to this teaching. Teaching what you’re listening is the path through which all the Buddhas have obtained total enlightenment. Path that earlier for runners of the Buddhist master, such as Manjushri, Buddha of wisdom, Maitreya, the Buddha of compassion, Nargarjuna, early Indian wisdom maha pandit, and Asangha, the great maha pandita of compassion etc. Essence path.

The essence practice of earlier great Indian master Atisha and great Jamgon Lama Tsongkhapa, essence practice, known as Lamrim, which in other words, road map to the Buddhahood. How does I get to the Buddha level, what is my map? How do I go? That is the road map. Lot of people do translate (Rinpoche talks to audience for a minute). So the road map, road map here really means, how does I go, what do I see, what sort of territories I come across, and what is obstacles there? How can I overcome? How do I move? That’s exactly what this road map is all about.

And, this road map also has a very special qualities, the quality is this, if you get rough understanding of this, rough understanding of this, then you can understand all the Buddhas teachings are non contradictory, otherwise, Buddhas teachings are sometimes people can see it is contradicting each other. Many times, very interesting last week I don’t think it is Thursday but I give on Tuesday I think, give example like, I said one of those earlier Indian kings who killed his own father. But I’m not going to repeat today. Now another one, if you look into a certain tradition, certain Buddhist teachings, teachings especially Mahayana, and they will emphasize so much one has to be vegetarian, totally vegetarian. Not on health reasons, for simply from the karmic reasons. Then if you go into the Vajrayana, then its becomes compulsory you have to have meat, in especially during the Dakini’s feast. So they’re contradictory, right? So both are said by one Buddha, both are put in one collected works of the Buddha, and over here says volume after volume you have to be vegetarian, over here volume after volume you have to be using the meat and alcohol. And on the other hand, intoxication is totally objected, completely contradictory, right? I mean if you look one book here, hey Buddha says how terrible it is to be eating meat, it kills the animals, and this and that. And they’re all true. Here on the other hand you took out; here you said if you has to have it because of certain conditions, this and that. And so it be completely contradicted, and then that is one example.

Another example is if you look in the Theravada, or Hinayana teachings, are so important that you take care of yourself. If you look in the Mahayana, this compassionate love for all living beings, you should be able to forget yourself and think about all others. It is completely contradictory, so by knowing this road map, and you’ll gain understanding there not contradicting each other, each and everyone of them have a reasons, purpose, time, and needs of the individuals. One of these great qualities after getting understanding this road map all the Buddhas, Buddhism, wherever it comes, is not contradicting each other, otherwise, Hinayana contradicts Mahayana, Mahayana contradicts Hinayana, Vajrayana contradicts Sutrayana, Sutrayana contradicts Vajrayana, so this is looks like all full of what you call it. All caste, and all full of all this.

So by understanding this, one of the quality is to understand that. Every word that Buddha said, taught, is becomes transmission, to individual. We cannot get it unless we have proper understanding; this road map makes the individual to be able to get that. Right? I mean look at the Vajrayana, sometimes you have such a fearful Yidams you know and all the fangs and horns and all this, and then on the other hand they be so peaceful and wonderful and all this, looks like completely opposite each other. So all of those are by knowing this you’ll be able to understand. These are the qualities.

Most important, the wrongdoings, our actions, wrong actions, brings negative karma, will automatically be reduced within the individual, and finally you dedicate that (?). Sort of without putting efforts, these are the special qualities that one gains by after comprehensive this lamrim. Ok?

Then that is how do we, this is the, when you say please listen, so we’re telling you to listen to this. (10:51)

Now today what I don’t you know not in that Nyur Lam or the swift path, its not in there directly mentioned, but since I don’t have the book, and then I get the freedom to speak out of that book, and then there are you know you say you listen to this, and how do you listen? That is another point. How do you listen and there are you know chon ye ba sum, nya ba sum, how do you listen, how do you teach, what do you teach? All of them has to be mentioned, briefly at least.

So how do you listen is there are three faults of listening. Buddha himself said three faults of listening, three wrong way of listening, very simple, I make it very simple way. I have the glass here, that’s good. So very, three faults are, you’re going to have water, or let’s say nectar in here, but not just water, nectar. Right? The first problem will be if its upside down, then I’ll pour water, no matter how much you pour it will not go because it’s upside down. So you may be physically sitting, physically listening to tape, from here we don’t have video going anywhere, maybe somebody will be listening to tape by internet, so physically the noise is providing, you’re not paying any attention at all. You’re thinking something else. I don’t know whatever, maybe you know, maybe the crash of the stock market, or yeah of course, or I don’t know whatever you call that, anyway. The hazardous within the stock exchange, whatever it is. So all of those or maybe you’re visit to the discotheque last night, but the noise is still going. And the person sitting, or thinking something else, and that is the glass is upside down.

Second, glass is right way is up, but there’s a hole in the bucket. (L) And you know if there’s a hole in the bucket what you do? There’s a hole in bucket you say fix the hole, so you won’t fix the hole, there’s a hole in this bucket, or whatever, glass, keep on pouring, no matter how much you pour it goes. You heard, it hear from the right ear it goes out of the left, or hear from the left eat and it goes out the right and that is the second point.

Third problem is wonderful nectar, beautiful clean, sort of looks like clean glass, yet it is some little piece of some kind of human excrement or something, tiny little one stick down there, so no matter how good you may pour in there, you won’t be able to drink. Right? And that is, we have three perfected ideas of what I wanted to hear, what the teaching should say, and that’s not so bad. But there may be very strong hatred within one’s mind, or maybe there may be very strong obsession within one’s mind. So if you have those, and that is remember, there’s little bit of something in the glass, no matter whatever you have in there you can’t do it.

So the Buddha Maitreya said, the king of the heaven might have poured the shower, and if there is not a proper thing, nothing can be helpful, even the Buddhas may appear in front of you, if you don’t have the fortune you cannot get any better, exactly. So these are the three faults. Get those three faults out of our system completely, at least in that period where you are listening. These are three faults.

Then, by getting rid of three things then you maintain six things in, but whether you maintain all six or not the most important thing is Buddha recommended, three out of six, three are very important, like yourself is like patient with chronic disease, and Buddha is like a doctor, and the Dharma is like medicine, or the treatment. Whether it is medicine or surgical, it as a treatment, these three are more important than the others, though there are six. Those of you who read Lamrim you know. So these three are more important. It is in a way true, we do have chronic disease of obsession, we do have chronic disease of hatred, and we have very sick with ignorance. I don’t mean all of us are stupid, but still very close. Very very much is called chronic disease, we have. If we don’t have those chronic disease, we will not be in Samsara. We will not be subject to suffering, because of these three chronic disease. And recognize that and recognize Dharma is the medical, or the medical cure, treatment, for this disease, and look to Buddha as expert, a doctor. What is word doctor stand for? Doctorate, what does that mean? Has to be something like expert knowing something, everything well, of the subject. It’s better than master’s degree, its PhD right? So whether the medical doctors are all PhD or not, but Dr is PhD better than masters, right? It has to be. Though I don’t know the English, that’s probably should be. So look at the Buddha as really one who can, who knows how and then one who had compassion, whether we do, we give something, we be nice to him or not. So everybody helps to everyone, whether its enemy, hatred to him, hatred, person who has hatred towards him, or person who has total devotion to him, in the eyes of the Buddha, it is like a law (?), he is blind, he won’t see that way. Remember I mentioned once here, so why Buddhas called free of attachment. For him, whether someone who’s giving him with the sandal oil massaging, or someone who carries the wood chopper, that car painters have. Ax. So whether someone chopping his lamps (?) with that or someone coming and giving him sandalwood oil, for Buddha, as Buddha does not have neither attachment nor hatred. The truth person same way, and that is the quality of a Buddha, and that is the reason Buddha fit to be one of the most important Guru of our’s.

So that is the reason, so look him as expert who can help. I’m here to show you to seek your guidance, to give me a treatment, and I’m sick with the chronic disease of those three poisons. So these are the roughly how does one listen. Free of three problems, and at least three qualities. Although if you read the books, they will tell you six, sometimes even eight, but three is the most important. With that mind one has to listen. You know when I make it very short, so in accordance to the tradition to kindly listen. In accordance to the tradition means that. So all these three faults are free, three qualities in three faults are out.

Then the teaching what you listen and outlines, we put two I think, talking about the lineages in order to make it authenticity. You know if the Dharma, if you practice, I mean when you’re taught your traditional way, and nice way, sometimes it may get hit here and there. But if does, please think I am not criticizing anybody, any religion, any tradition, any system. I’m talking about this particular teaching, this particular way, and that particular thing what it is. I’m sort of really. If you hear funny I’m not criticizing. What I’m going to say immediately is you know why I hesitated, because it looks like its going to hit, looks like I’m saying something against new age. It’s not, I’m going to tell you its not. I’m really telling you what this tradition does emphasize, needed, and not saying New Age is wrong. Ok.

So now after making that absolutely clear to you, and that’s going to come every level, so please don’t think there’s some kind of hating agenda throwing the you know we have saying in Tibetan. We put stone, hidden stone in the cloth and throw the cloth at the person actually you are throwing stone, but it looks like you’re throwing cloth, or some sort of piece of cloth you’re throwing, but you know stone in there. So which means hitting things is not, so don’t misunderstand that. Throughout this. So in order to have Dharma, that affects the individual in one’s mind, uplifting this mind, making improvement to the person it is always we go for very authentic, as Tibetans used to say, if you want to drink a pure water, the water must come from the snow mountains, glaciers, snow mountains, then you know it is pure. Likewise if you want pure proper Dharma, it must come from Buddha himself. It must come from a Buddha. So in order to prove that, that is why the lineage, lineage is simply show you how it is. It’s not that we wanted to learn the historical facts. But, at least knew there is unbroken lineage that com from Buddha to up to ourselves. Unbroken lineage. That is important because unbroken lineage is our backbone of practice. It’s not simply this thing this thing this thing put together, twist it and make it, its not. Unbroken lineage is our backbone, without which we have no support, without which we have no blessing coming, without which we have no contact, connection, to total enlightenment. Society, enlightened society. So unbroken is important, because if it’s broken, it is disconnected, so unbroken. So that is why we talk about the lineage.

So I did talk the lineage the other day, so I don’t want to repeat, but simply I tell you, very simply, Buddha himself give wisdom teaching, compassion teaching, Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom brought the kept and maintained the wisdom teaching, and Maitreya, Buddha of love, maintained compassion teachings. They giving to the forerunners of the early Indian Masters, such as Nagarjuna, and Asanga. (30:01) So Nagarjuna, Shantideva, Chandrakirti, Buddhapalitta, all these are wisdom lineage. Asanga, and all this and all other, deganaga, all of those names are not so much point for you to mention because they’re all sounds like the Harry, and Dick and Tom, and so doesn’t really make sense to me, and Tom did this and Dick did this and Bob did this and Harry did this, and somewhere three hundred years ago, so I have to keep on thinking there must be guy name Bob, there must be woman named Mary. You know something like that, so that’s why take time and doesn’t make much sense. But somehow there is continuing, and all of those lineages wisdom, compassion, is finally joined to Atisha.

Atisha brought these, Atisha is the great Bengali scholar who was in Bigramshira, I think I mentioned to you, Tibetans did not get Atisha easily, they even had to lose the live of the ruler for all that, I mentioned. So Atisha brought that to Tibet. Started Kadam tradition, this is what call it Kadam tradition is started there. That is Kadampa tradition. Atisha, and great Kadampa Lamas. There also lot of lineages within the Kadampa, also there is Kadampa who explains very detailed from the text wise, who also explains everything short practical wise. There’s sort of three or four, or even sometimes five different lineages are there, all of those lineages are finally combined together, and a person named (? ) who is the teacher of Tsongkhapa. And finally the great Jamgon Lama Tsongkhapa is the one who have all this Kadam traditions, Kadam traditions all combined together, to him, and he is the founder of what we call it nowadays, Gelugpa or the yellow hat sect. That comes from Tsongkhapa. So all these earlier Kadampa traditions are all combined together came to Tsongkhapa, from Tsongkhapa onwards followers of Tsongkhapa known as New Kadampas, New Kadampas, and earlier one is known as Kadampas. Sometimes they call it old Kadampa, sometimes early Kadampas, they’re Kadampas. And Tsongkhapa below is known as New Kadampas. Nowadays, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s group is called New Kadampa, but they don’t have right to take name completely, we also have right to share the name (L). I just kidding. This is just totally joke, but honestly that’s what it is. And some groups take the name of Kadampa too, they don’t have right to take Kadampa either (L) I’m just kidding. So they’re like a general name, it looks like calling Tibetan Buddhist monks or something you know. So anyways, that is off the subject.

So from Tsongkhapa onwards to at least to my late masters we have received this lineage continuously, continuously from one, if you wanted to know the lineage, in the lineage prayer you look. And that has thirty forty names in there one after another, and not going to repeat because it’s going to be Lobsang something Thubten something Tenzin something and Yangsel something and all of those way. And finally during my generation it reach to the great Pabongkha. And great Pabonkgha has number of different outstanding disciples. Like they say there is eight pillars of Pabongkha’s disciples, and two, and some like moon two disciples that are Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche. Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. And they’re like eight pillars. And so let’s not go in detail on that. And in my case I’ve been able to have opportunity to meet, to be able to see, great Pabongkha, when I was a kid. And I was told I have received teachings too from Pabongkha, including Heruka Body Mandala, initation by age of four (L). So all those and that.

And so and then these Lamrim teachings, particularly Nyur Lam, the Swift Path, combined with the De Lam, from Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, first time in Loseling in Drepung. Mid fifties, no, late forties, early fifties. I don’t remember if Chinese have already come in or not. My idea is Chinese have not yet come in Tibet, don’t remember exactly, I have to look in Ling Rinpoche’s biography see if they give date in there. So if the Chinese not yet come it has to be either 1948, 49, or 50, 51. Somewhere around there, in Loseling. Give almost month long, during three week in one month. So every day, around about twelve mid-day it start, and goes till six or seven, or sometimes seven thirty, eight thirty, nine thirty, because then they bring one of those campaign light , you can pump up with kerosene oil, and it goes and that, so sometimes it must going nine nine thirty. So that is about between three week to one month, of that Lamrim teaching. Every day. Which was very fortunate for me, because of that I’ll be able to share with you because there’s continuation of lineage.

Then also I received from Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, these eight commentaries of Lamrim, plus Liberation in Palm of your hand put together becomes nine together. In that is 1957 or ’58, just behind my house in Lhasa, a Monastery built in that I have received. So as far as the continuation of lineage, its there. Beyond that is entirely up to us, so that’s what it is. So that is the first outline.

And then, first outline has two showing that lineage and then steps, stages, and sequences, and I made very simple, three outlines, three. (40:00) Common with the lower, medium level, and Mahayana. Three. Why? Because what we wanted is spiritual development, what we don’t want is suffering, misery, and difficulties. What we wanted is joy, happiness and spiritual development. Ok. So, each one of those three scopes, call it three scopes, have different goal, different purposes, different way, and who is the person it is almost like whom, whom, what, and how? So each one of those. Let us look through. First look at Mahayana level. If you look at the Mahayana level, what is the goal? To become Buddha. That’s it. Why? Because that is the best, ultimate, spiritual development one can get, according to the Buddha’s teaching, or Buddhas tradition. According to Buddha. So that is why the ultimate goal is to become Buddha, that is the Mahayana goal. Purpose, right? How? By using compassion and love, sorry wisdom and compassion. Two, by using wisdom and compassion, who the person is going to get there? Me, the bodhisattva, me the bodhisattva, I have to be person who had unconditioned, unlimited, ultimate love and compassion with me, then I become bodhisattva. So the who the bodhisattva, me. How, by using wisdom and compassion. What, ultimate Buddha level. That is the Mahayana’s purpose. So when you say I have to be bodhisattva, so question is how do I become bodhisattva? If I sit in the bodhisattva ceremony and I take name called Bodhisattva Harry, Harry the Bodhisattva, will I become bodhisattva? No. You don’t. You make it call it Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Harry, even then, if your name but you won’t be bodhisattva. I know a Indian boy who was the son of the Indian representative in Tibet, somehow he is involved with a Tibetan woman, in Tibet, in late ‘50s early ‘60s, and then he had a child, so he brought the child to India and he said this is my Prince, prince. So then the guy becomes Princey, he doesn’t become Prince, because he is not the King. So he’s not going to become Prince. He become Princey. Just like that you name yourself Bodhisattva John, Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Bodhisattva John, the Bodhisattva. Add up like ten times, even then you won’t become bodhisattva. What makes you become bodhisattva? Your mind has to become the ultimate, unconditioned, unlimited love and compassion. When that comes, you become bodhisattva. No matter whether you are a man, woman, children, even dog or cat, whatever, you become bodhisattva. So it is mental development which in other words what we call it spiritual development.

Through what, through a practice, meditative practice, we get that. How do I do that meditative practice? You have to get greater compassion. Not just compassion, greater compassion. Compassion is focused, to one or more person, focused, and desire to be lifted from the suffering, but the greater compassion is focused to all living beings, not one or two or three, but all living beings, desire to uplift from the suffering, bring to the ultimate freedom, of total knowledge. That is, that is greater compassion, and which will not grow within us unless we understand what’s going on. Honestly, what is going on, what is going on, is the samsara here, not the nirvana the peace, samsara the suffering, that’s what is going on. We are in the circle of life, we are born we die we are born we die constantly continuously. If you look back to our old bodies that we took, Buddha says if they are all collected in one area it is ten times bigger than Mount Meru, which means ten times bigger than this galaxy, our body alone, the liquid alone comes out of our old bodies, if we collected them in one area, way beyond the oceans. That is samsara. That is suffering. Something’s right today, little bit, immediately something goes wrong. Immediately we have problems, something’s not right, continuation of problem of aging, dying, sickness, taking rebirth which is samsara. (50:00) unless we understand that, we don’t have compassion for ourselves. We think “ah that may be true, maybe not true its going on, its been going on ever since, so what?” That’s what we do. That is our problem. And number one we say “that might not be true, where is the proof, what is the scientist say, where is the data, who studied that? That is our mind is conditioned only looking for that. We have so many evidences in our lives, science is right, nothings wrong with them but what they proved us is very little compared with what’s happening with us. Even our little illnesses we know, lot of them scientists can diagnosed, and can give you medicine, can cure you, can cut it, join them together, removed, do all things, make you feel better. But everything they can’t do, how much we know, how much we don’t know, from that angle we also know how much science knows today, in our own life structure, everywhere.

So science is so great, so wonderful, but science is not total knowledge. Science is not enlightenment, science is not, scientists are not Buddha yet. So there are so many law that science does not discover, maybe they didn’t look, maybe they aren’t interested, maybe they are beyond their scope, whatever the reason may be if they look they’re going to find it sooner or later. So that is the honest part of my honest statement.

So that is our problem. So we don’t know that. So the common with medium level will give us that understanding, and that structure, how it works, how rebirth takes, how does interdependent system, interlinking by twelve different links in our life, and lives, how it links, its like, just like that German car called O.D. Has a sign, something like this, one look here, one goes like that, right? So the twelve links of interdependent system circles in one way, another twelve links are mine both my clocks clicks in this, so one circle, one life, two life it completes one circle. Three lifetimes complete one circle. So when we know that system, clearly, what its call it twelve links of origination, or twelve links of interdependence system, whatever you call it. So the name is (? (54:15) ) in Tibetan, dependant with another, and continuing, that is the, that is really what pen din is really about. So by knowing that, we begin to know our bigger bigger, not Mahayana, but bigger scope of how it is happening. To know that simple shorter easy way, Buddha give us four noble truth. Two negative truth, cause and result, two positive truth, cause and result. Two negative truth will tell you how we got into our samsara, two positive truth will tell you how we get out of samsara. So once we know this, we have much bigger scope, we know how much one, everyone’s interconnected, scientists, science begins to know we’re interconnected, science begin to tell you the bottle, the butterfly moment in China makes different in America weather wise, so this is they knew this. So Buddha been telling us this for twenty six hundred years this is how its happening. So you get bigger scope, better understanding. In order to better understand bigger scope that way, you have to know, smaller scope, about me. What about me? Where I am. Who am I? What am I? How did I get in here? How do I get out here? What am I? Who am I? So me. That is smaller scope. On top of that, you build bigger scope, of all. On top of that, you build greater compassion, and everything. So they build on top of another, if you don’t have the smaller scope, me, what is happening with me, how do I help myself, what’s going on with me? I have no way of knowing how to help you, what’s going on with you, because I don’t know what’s happening with me, what’s going on with me. And that’s why this three are sequences are extremely important we Americans have very danger of always jumping on the highest level, always. Give it to me everything in nutshell. Familiar that sounds? Or give me the best you have. Doesn’t matter if its 100$, its 100$. Or maybe doesn’t matter if its 1000 rupees, it doesn’t matter its $5, we have that attitude. And that attitude doesn’t work in the spiritual path. It is good attitude, we need the best, no doubt about it, but that won’t get us anywhere.

If you claim “I’m there” you’re going to break it, you’re going to fall. (?) Says if you are clinging on old dead tree, and you know its going to break, and its better to fall from the way it is lower, rather than going way up there and then break down, falling down, it will be painful. Or it won’t be painful only, it will break your backbones. So it is very important grounding. Remember, we have language word called ice castle, the castle made out of ice. In winter we know there’s winter first of all, they bring huge slab of ice and artist come and make all this beautiful art pieces, and when the heat comes sunshine it all melts down. (1:00) And even you build a huge house of ice, there’s no foundation, its going to collapse. Even with the foundation it collapses, right? So it is so important, first enter in the common with… Why common? Because American attitude, we want the best, so we want the Buddha we don’t want to settle less than that. So this is our way, this is our goal, we’re going there. But necessary on the way to get it to ourselves. That’s why we call it common, because Hinayana path will only tell you this much, and for Hinayana people, they happy with that. And only they can cope with this, that’s their purpose. We have to be Mahayana, but on the way we must pick that up, that’s why its called common with the lower. Common with medium. And then Mahayana. So that sequence we must maintain. Otherwise everything, whatever we do, are collapse.

I may say it here, many of us, many many western Dharma practitioners, for many years, many decades, without building the foundation, try to get in over there, nothings happening. You become more louder, more angry, and more jealousy, more this, more that, rather than try to be nice and kind and gentle, and that is because foundation is not built, always try to grab the highest, so you won’t get it. Even if you understood something, doesn’t affect individual, it becomes like, if its not acknowledged (?), doesn’t become spiritual knowledge which becomes quality. So that is why sequence is important. So the common with the lower level, that’s where we begin. Number of people will ask me, sometimes, you know, individually, where do I begin? What do I say? I can’t say you begin with A B C D, people are not going to like it. Oh they telling me to start with A B C, what do they think I’m 16 years old, or what, or 7 years old they’ll say. You can’t. So then you know the only substitute, you say oh say that prayer, say this mantra, do this and do that, and that is substitute, I noticed myself is doing. But in group I can tell you, because I’m not addressing any single individual, I’m addressing everyone. So, first you have to learn how to read A B C, and then we learn how to say it, C A T cat, D O G dog.

And then likewise here first we learn motivation, second we learn purpose, why you want to do. And third you begin to pick up the how. And how is begin to pick up from there. There is no way, no one can tell you, anything else, other than compassion and wisdom is the only two things you can do. Nothing else, no matter whoever says what, you can fly in the air, you can sit under the ground, do whatever you do, you can stare at each other, whatever you do you can stare at the air, whatever you do wisdom and compassion, is the only path, according to the Buddha. Again, I’m not saying the others, ok.

Wisdom and compassion is the only, nothing else. You want to say mantra, you can say mantra, try to develop wisdom and compassion. You want to say sadhana, say your sadhana, try to develop wisdom and compassion. You want to meditate, to meditate, try to develop wisdom and compassion. You want to do analytical meditation, do analytical meditation, try to develop wisdom and compassion. You want to do concentrated meditation, do concentrated meditation, try to develop wisdom and compassion. Just don’t do concentrated meditation to reduce your blood pressure. (L)

It does, believe me it really does, if you do little concentrated, if you visit doctor they’ll tell you oh your blood pressure is up, and then give yourself two minutes, and say could you check again. Or its down now you relaxed. Whether you relaxed or not, just do little concentrated meditation, just think everything is lowering down, and relax even inside your brain, everything’s lowering down, and then check your blood pressure, five six number different. Or just always happens, I mean its more than ten fifteen times happen to me. So just don’t do for blood pressure reduction, no point. You can take the pills. If doesn’t work, little bit meditation, right?

So anyway. So common with the lower level also begins with the root of all development, guru devotional practice. And along with that on the basis of guru devotional practice, training your mind, leading individuals in the path too. So the guru devotional practice also has two, beginning the session and in between session. In session also has beginning, actual, conclusion. Somewhere around there you keep on looking outline there, somewhere. Session also has beginning, actual, and conclusion. Beginning of the session is six prerequisites. That’s what you call seven limbs is one of them.

First and foremost, clean the place where you’re sitting, meditating, sleeping. I’m sorry the time is beyond my control. It is after nine. Is that right? Its at nine, this one says 9:04. Anyway, so six prerequisites. Cleaning, cleaning your room is important. Do you clean your room? Good. (1:10) Honestly, I said last Tuesday, I think in Ann Arbor, I don’t think I said on Thursday, there are number of reasons why you clean your room, we think oh why should I clean, bother to clean, I have more important to do. But in my opinion, cleaning the house is very important, room. There are spiritual reasons, emotional reasons, environmental reasons. Environmentally, you know how impure things are how difficult it is, how wrong the hazardous in our environment, is how horrible it is. How harmful it is. I don’t have to tell you because there are enough environmentalist will tell you more than you wanted to hear, always. So, that’s a fact. We see that. I tell you emotionally, how important it is, if you don’t clean your room, you don’t have sort of looking forward, outward looking, alertness looking, you know. Cleaning the place, cleaning yourself, making yourself presentable, wonderful, and that will uplift your mind. When you uplifted your mind, you can do your work material, or spiritual, both are better. If you’re dirty, filthy, clumsy, sloppy, and then you come and your not presentable, materially you cannot do well, equally, spiritually you cannot do well. Especially in your room no body is going to come here, why should I, I will clean it once a month, so starting throw your old underwear and socks everywhere else, and then I tell you who comes in there. You start to say your prayers, so then you say MA LU SEM CHEN, what is that English? Buddha with retinue please come over here. So you’re inviting Buddha to walk through with your dirty underwears and socks, do you expect Buddha to sift through that? So that itself is enough spiritual reason. And that will also uplifting your mood, that’s the word I’m looking. It’s uplift your mood. You have to get up early, honestly, you have to get up early, I don’t mean like His Holiness get up like 3:30 or 4 in the morning, but I used to do that. I have been spoiled. I don’t do that now. No.

So I don’t mean that, but you cannot sleep even till twelve, you don’t even know what’s going on. You know. So you know the traditional disciplinary people in the monastery will tell you, the sun is busting on your butt, but your head is not even, not even started yet on your head, the sun is bursting on your butt, but your head is not even reach till dawn yet. So that is invitation if you are in old Tibet, invitation for lash. In America no one can lash anybody. So, you know honestly, it is invitation for lash. But you know if you getting up early, reasonably early, and up and clean yourself, clean the place, you mood is up, when your mood is better you can achieve a lot, material work, spiritual work, everything you can do better. And that is not only that, is uplift your mind, and you don’t have sadness, it helps a lot to have sadness. And you know going through depression, and all this. You keep on getting up early, be back yourself in a good mood and looking forward. Even you are borderline personality, or even you are bipolar, that will help you to keep up all the time, all the time, if you put efforts. And if you let it go, go, sleep 14 hours day, 15 hours day, 20 hours a day, you get sick. Every undesirable things will happen, naturally. That’s always we know. So even that first prerequisite has a lot of importance. Spiritual, emotional, everything. And then along with that, laying the altar. Altar, the altar. In this order, the most important, the most important, the most important is guru, so Guru is at the centre. The most important guru is Buddha. So therefore in the middle, the highest, the best place, you put Buddha Shakyamuni. Buddha.

Then the order is Lama, yidam, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dakas, dakinis, dharmapalas. That is the order. So according to the altar you lay your altar. And it is me adding up, important to have a nice clean handy altar. Don’t have a huge altar you can’t handle it, dust covered and , its not good. Some people put all sorts of photos, postcards, and everything on the altar, it becomes junkier, covered with the dust it becomes junkier. So why? This is here Gendun (19:20) the quality of the altar is fortunate ones to be able to uplift their mind and get attached. And those who can you know each and yourself and others who can also make offerings and created good karma, so these are the two qualities the altar must have. So it has to be someone uplifting your mood, nice to look at it, beautiful with art decoration and that is what you do. You don’t want to put every funny things in every, all kinds of flowers, plastic flowers, and electrical lights moving, you know everything, it is not good altar. Lot of people do, a lot of people do, they would like to put everything. And that’s a little better than collecting all the post cards, and covered with dust, that is junkier, I would have picked up garbage bag and put everything in there. And put it out and then burn it. I do that all the time. I’m known for that. Honestly. No matter people leave things in my house, used to, so you know when I was in first came in Ann Arbor, I had a little house, it was full of junk, also from everything. And I kept on telling the teachings, whoever this belongs please take it and I give one month, or two months time, and certain date, I’m going to throw out if you don’t pick up before. No one believed. So on that day I hired one time two men, you know, picked everything up, put it on the truck, and throw it out. And when its going out, (? ) told Aura, you know you never know these Tibetan Lamas are sometimes crazy, they will throw everything. So (?) came and there was a truck going with three of his bicycles in the junk yard its going, so he ran his bicycle after that truck and at least he got two bikes back. So now what I do I do that, and also you know in my house, every food stuff, and old one I get garbage bag and put out. And lucky colleen didn’t kick me out yet. Nowadays you know I’m saying I need garbage bag, she will say not my things. So anyway. So you know even the altar, what is this dust, dirt, and it is field of merit , it has to be something that you appreciate, look at it, how wonderful, see the quality. Instead of that you see dust, and dirt and you pick up and soon it will go what is this, not even altar, it is garbage, and throw it away. So I think I should stop, because its 9:18, I’m sorry. And I won’t be here next Thursday. I won’t be here, I’m not talking to you through the video either. So again, no meditation, but I want you to think what we talk about it, and that’s my problem. When there’s a week long gap, I cannot give meditation, that’s not good. Ok, do the motivation business, do your seven limb, do your OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI YE SVAHA, do that, and think about these outlines, outline we say outline but outline is the new territories that you are recovering, your getting into new territory when you’re getting into one each outline, your getting into new territory, when you’re on the road map moving, you’re getting into the new town, new city, new area, so that is why it is important to see. Don’t think of outline of book, this is not outline of book, it is the steps that you getting into it, your development your going to get into it. Ok. Thank you so much. (dedication)