Archive Result

89

20090715GRAANL

Heart Sutra, Lineage Prayer, Mandala Offering, Refuge/bodhimind

0:14

Do kindly generate the perfect motivation of bodhimind as described in the lam rim tradition of teachings. At least think: for the benefit of all mother sentient beings I would like to obtain the ultimate state of buddhahood, for which I would like to listen to this teaching. With this motivation do kindly listen.

The teaching you are listening to is the jang chub lam kyi rim pai ma tri tham che kyen pa drub pai nyur lam - the raw teaching on the stages of the development leading towards buddhahood. Those of you who are really interested, not just simply in the words, but deeply interested, it is meant for them.

It is talking about the lineage masters and their development and the stages and so forth. Thereafter, it talks about leading the individual on the path. The first is over, thereafter, leading the individual on the path has the root of all development, guru devotional practice, and thereafter developing ourselves. The first is over and the second, after developing ourselves, has: in order to see the importance of life, one embraces the life and takes advantage of it.

How does one utilize this opportunity and develop oneself? This is over. Next, how does one develop oneself has three:

common with the lower

common with the medium

mahayana

Common with the lower has four:

Meditating on impermanence

Meditating on suffering

Taking on refuge

Meditation on karma

The first two are over. Today we are reaching to the taking of refuge.

That has two: in session and in between:

the session has three: pre - actual - and conclusion.

Today we will be talking a little bit, not about the session as meditation, but talking. When you deal with the combination of the nyur lam (the quick path) and de lam (the smooth path), the smooth path will give you meditation after meditation. The quick path will give you a little commentary on it. Most of you know, but still, to familiarize yourself and understand we talk a little bit.

We need to understand what causes us to take refuge. Otherwise, if there is no reason, why do you say, "I take refuge" - for what? It just becomes some Buddhist way or some strange thing. I don't think there is such a thing called Buddhist way. People do take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Some take refuge to some kind of world creator. Some take refuge to someone who is a little more powerful than themselves. Maybe it is some kind of powerful spirit. Some take refuge to a person who is stronger than they are to seek protection from them.

I keep on thinking if you look into the prisons, I am sure there is one big guy in there.

0:20

Maybe it is some big Viking guy who is bullying and controlling everybody and then he will have some more people surrounding and following him and they will bully everybody. Then some people will take refuge to him and go under his protection. Some other people will go to the other side to some other group. That normally happens in human life. So taking refuge is very normal in human culture. Even nations do take refuge to each other. That's why there are all these alliances. A very vivid example is the former Soviet Union, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR. At that time Soviet Russia was the big guy and everyone around that was under that. It is sort of human nature. When we can't protect ourselves we seek protection from somebody else. That is really taking refuge. How strongly you go for refuge that depends on the person.

We talked a lot about the suffering in the lower realms, the hot hells, cold hells and so on, as well as the hungry ghosts, the animal realms and all this. When we begin to look at our own lives we ask, "Can I protect myself from falling into those lower realms?" You have to protect yourself, but here we see that we have to protect ourselves, but we cannot. So can we rely on somebody? Death is such a thing, it can happen any time. I think it was Guntang Jambelyang or the 7th Dalai Lama who said

sang dang jig den chi ma nyen mong de ka yang che me pei

sang gye chang dang ma me pa chi me dro la me par re

Whether tomorrow comes first or death comes first there is no certainty.

Therefore it is better to prepare for the future life than tomorrow?

There is no certainty. So in case I don't have any capacity to make sure what is going to happen to me and I die, what do I do? I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

0:25

Some people may say, "So what? What difference will that make?" Some will say, "Even if you take refuge in Budha, Dharma and Sangha, all they can do is tell you: you have to do the right things and not the wrong things. If you do it right you will be fine and if you don't, you will go wrong. So the refuge taking itself makes no difference."

But the thing is this: there are 11 different ways of dying that once can choose. One of them is by remembering Buddha, Dharma and the master and the yidams. Then, even if you don't know anything and then transit your life you will not fall into the lower realms. Buddha guarantees that, provided you are familiar with the Buddha and take refuge and pray. That is an important point here, although after taking refuge they will give you positive and negative advices. However, by taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, when you die, and you remember Buddha you are not going to have a bad immediate future life. That is good protection. So the question of why or whether it is circling around between taking refuge and following the refuge advice does not rise.

If you live in a difficult area you may take refuge and go for protection to a powerful group, you may align yourself with some kind of gangster club. You don't go there because you want to make more money, but because you want protection. Here also you take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha to be protected - from the sufferings of the hell realms, hot and cold, from the adjacent and the partial hell realms, from the hungry ghost realms, the animal realms. So the cause for taking refuge is important. If there is no cause there is no reason why you have to take refuge. If you do a ceremony and you are asked, "Do you take refuge?" and you answer, "Yes, I take refuge", that doesn't mean anything. It becomes some kind of cultural-spiritual exercise. It doesn't really have a deep effect on the deep mind of the individual. You have to want to take refuge. Why do you want to take refuge? Because you need protection. Protection from what? From the lower realms' suffering. That is actually fear, the fear of suffering in general and in particular the sufferings of the lower realms.

0:30

The second cause is trust and belief, not only understanding but also belief. You trust Buddha, Dharma and Sangha that they have the capability of protecting. That is the important cause. Otherwise you can repeat any verse but it means nothing. It becomes way beyond even a buzzword. You may not think anything. You could be running into the bathroom and sitting down, saying "I take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha" and pull your pants down or pushing your hair up. Then saying these words is not very worthy. It is not that the words and the message are not worthy, but the way we use them. We are so used to it. I do it too. We are saying our prayers every day, particularly the prerequisites, sometimes even while still sitting on the throne. You may be saying, "I take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until I obtain Enlightenment. By practicing generosity and the other perfections.." and "psheeuuw" you are flushing the toilet. That happens with us every day. When you have the commitment of saying the words, sometimes you may have to do that.

Sometimes you say your sadhana and you are sitting on the throne and then it comes to the point where you make the torma offering and say KHA KHA KAHI KAHI - please enjoy, enjoy, you are sitting there and go .........[emptying your bowels[ All this happens, right? So that is going beyond a buzzword.

Allen Ginsberg used to worry about compassion becoming a buzzword. And then we come to this level and it is way beyond buzzwords. So everything has to be taken a little more seriously. Taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is a very serious matter. Sometimes we take it a little too easy.

On the other hand, Zen and some other traditions they are so serious. In the Theravada tradition, if you say buddham saranam gacchami the words are not just going to come out. You are saying that very slowly, with focus. Sometimes it is even too serious. Whatever may actually happen in the mind of the individual, but the gestures are so serious.

0:35

Sometimes there is so much mindfulness. I sometimes joke about being mindful when the telephone rings. First you acknowledge: ah, the telephone is ringing. Oh, that is the sound of the telephone. Now I bow to the telephone. I have the mindfulness that now I am going to pick up the telephone. I mindfully walk towards the phone. It is still ringing. Now I am touching the phone. Now I am picking it up. Now I say "Hello". By that time the phone has probably stopped ringing. That maybe a little too serious. But you can't be too easy, you have to be a little more careful. The cause of taking refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha has to be there. Why do you need to be protected? You have to be clear that you want to be protected from the lower realms.

The second point is: How do you know that Buddha, Dharma and Sangha can protect you? Do you trust in them? We are very shaky on that. Why do we trust? You may say, "Because it is Buddha, Dharma and Sangha". That doesn't tell me anything. It only tells me that such a person has no reasons why they trust Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Jamgön Lama Tsong Khapa in the late 1300s wrote a number of open questions. One of them was: What is the nature of refuge?

That question did not get a reply for about 200 years. Then the First Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chökyi Galtsen wrote a book called tu we lhak sam ra ga ke trin le lo sang she pai dra yang. Je Tsong Khapa had called these questions: well-motivated questions. According to the nyur lam the Panchen Lama replied, "You yourself would have answered in the following way: kyam dro ngo wo i te wa - the nature of refuge is i te wa." Then he explains:

"rang ni lhak par jig pa tang...."

You are really afraid of falling into the lower realms, knowing that the Three Precious Jewels have the capability of protecting you. Knowing that, you learned one would have said, is the nature of refuge.

0:40

Through the combination of these two thoughts: fear of falling into the lower realms and trust in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, taking refuge becomes i te wa - the nature of taking refuge. Then it really works. There is fear, you need protection, you know someone who can protect you, so you go there. No reason why not.

As a suitable object of refuge we need someone who themselves have been free from those types of sufferings that we are worried about. We need someone who is free. We can't take refuge to someone who is already equally suffering as us. We do that these days, but that is not wise. What is the point of taking refuge to someone who is equally carried downstream by the current? One can't help the other. Maybe they can help a little bit, but you can't rely on that person who is also not free. You need someone who is free from those sufferings.

Not only that: such a person should also know how to help others, who is wise and learned. Not only that: that person should also care and have compassion. Without caring and compassion then even if they know they may not tell you. They may keep it top secret. Then what are you going to do? Twenty years later you may hear a word. That's not right. So not only is that person free, but they have knowledge and wisdom and not only that, they are also compassionate and caring. Otherwise, some people have a lot of knowledge and wisdom, but if they don't care, why should they share with anybody? Compassion will make them share.

But even that is not enough. That person should be able to help, even if the person seeking the help is not helping them in return. In other words, whether the person needing help can pay for it or not, they should be able to get help. One doesn't depend on that. Otherwise, if I get rewarded I will help, if I don't get rewarded, why should I do it? Lots of people will normally do that. If that's the case, that's not right.

These qualities, being free from the sufferings we are worried about and knowing very well how to help others, and having equal caring and compassion for all and being willing to help, whether being rewarded or not, have to be all together in one person. Who could have all these qualities?

According to Buddhism, Buddha does. He went through, is willing to help, doesn't care whether rewarded or not. Otherwise, all the fearful deities may not be able to do it. Somewhere they are lacking something. When those great Hindu-Buddhist mythological deities like Indra and Brahma have difficulties, then these little ghosts here and there definitely will be limited. That is the difference between the master in the Buddhist tradition and the master in other, non-Buddhist traditions. Knowing that clearly, one realizes that Buddha is not only fit to be, but the best object of refuge. We have to have that understanding.

According to the Buddha himself,

sang gye chö dang gen dün nyi

thar pa dö pa nyam kyi kyab

Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are the objects of refuge

for those who are seeking liberation

That is the first basic understanding why Buddha is the best object of refuge. I think that is more important than knowing why Dharma and why Sangha. The point is: why not this powerful ghost living in a tree here? Or why not somebody in Ladakh who comes into trance and while in trance walls on the walls and cuts his tongue and does all that and nothing else happens when the trance goes away? Why not that person?

0:50

All these are big questions. Sometimes we may think, "Taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is a little slow process. Let us take refuge in some powerful ghost, so that we can make a difference immediately. If there is someone who doesn't like me, let me send something to them, something mischievous and when something likes me let me send them a reward."

There are lots of stories. Read Pabongka's Liberation in the Palm of your Hand. I think there is the story of Ra si Kar gye in there too. There are lots of different stories. In the west we didn't have so many problems with that before. In the east we do have a lot of problems. Great eastern traditions that flourish in places like Tibet and China, Mongolia and so on, have a tremendous problem with this. Some of these older people cannot even count the Three Jewels. You ask them, "Tell me, who are the Three Jewels?" and they look around and say "Aku Tu drung ta chig ches - Palden Lhamo de che yin shi lha re - maybe one is Aku Tu drung (character in the Gesar Epics, a fairy tale in which he is doing all kinds of activities, an uncle of the King of Gesar) and the second must be Palden Lhamo (wrathful goddess)". So people have that problem. So when they pray to the Three Jewels, they don't think about Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, but about some kind of powerful, effective spirit that can make a difference. That happens many times. In the west we don't have that problem. That's good.

Then the most important, our problem today is that we don't know the difference between Buddha and the earlier, non-Buddhist masters or deities, like Shiv Shankar. For us that will be very difficult. For us they all seem to be way above our head. They are all great ones and we can't make the distinction. Then it is hard to see why Buddha, Dharma and Sangha should be the real objects of refuge. You don't see the contrast. So then we have real difficulties to find the best object of refuge.

0:55

Therefore it is important to remember the qualities of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

According to the nyur lam are the body, speech and mind qualities.

Qualities of Body

Buddha's body has the 32 major and 80 minor signs of development. That's why we have this funny-looking image of Buddha, with the extra long ears, and the ushnisha, the fingers are joined up to their middle joints. The nails are red, almost copper-colored. In this way there are 32 major and 80 minor physical signs. Those who can see Buddha clearly can see them. Each of them happen to the result of tremendous virtues, of tremendous purification and accumulation of merit. In short, these 32 plus 80 signs each are achieved through a tremendous collection of positive karmic deeds. Let's say you know the qualities of somebody's watch. When you see that watch you know it is an expensive watch, such as a Rolex or Omega. You know the difference if you look at a Timex or another kind of watch. Just like that, by seeing the physical condition of Buddha you know how expensive that has been to establish - not in terms of money, but in terms of the accumulation of merit. How much merit does it take to establish the hair knot - in place of the Third Eye for those who cannot see it? How much positive karma does it take to get the ushnisha? It looks wonderful but it is not easy to get. Looking from that physical angle we can see how precious it is.

Qualities of Speech

According to the nyur lam there are 64 qualities of Buddha's speech. One of the most important ones is that Buddha may be speaking in one language, one native dialect, but each person listening will hear the communication in their own native tongue. In Buddha's gatherings sometimes there were people from 500 different dialects and afterwards each one of them said, "Buddha spoke in my language today". The next person said, "No, no, no, he spoke in my language. I heard everything in my own native dialect." That is Buddha's special speech quality.

1:01

Nowadays we get translations through electronic means. We can translate into many languages at the same time at the United Nations for example. But in the Buddha's time he was speaking in one language and everybody would hear it in their own native language. When I was a teenager and even before, the teachings given by Kyabje Ling Rimpoche or Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche were attended by thousands of people, but everyone could hear what he said, whether they sat in the front or the back. There were no electronic tools at all, no amplifiers, microphones, nothing. But everybody could hear it. Normally they would say, "Yeah, that lama has a big voice." Physically, that is not possible.

But one time the Kalachakra initiation given by Kangsar Rimpoche could not be heard by many. It was on open air venue with 15,000 people in attendance. Sometimes they could see the white damaru move, but that's all. They couldn't even hear the damaru or the bell. Many people were looking at him from that distance for three, four days. That happened too. Many teachings with 1000 or 1500 people were given where everybody would hear everything. Then, when I was about 15 - 17, the loudspeakers came in. Not for his first, but I think for this second or third initiation there were loudspeakers. So then the teachings could be heard everywhere.

One of the Kalachakra initiations he gave in the Norbulingka palace. They put loudspeakers everywhere. Many of those old Tibetans who attended presumed that they were not going to hear it. So the occasion became a picnic for them. They brought food and drink and found a nice, cozy, little area and started playing games and shouting. Then the loudspeakers were switched on they heard the Dalai Lama's voice. So they would turn around towards the loudspeaker and

fold their hands and say kyab su che (I prostrate) and then keep on playing.

Mind Qualities

That is total knowledge and ultimate compassion. Total knowledge means to access the total past and future and present in the present. They see the past, present and future, but they seem as present. The Buddha's knowledge can see how the future is going to change and ultimately what is going to happen. All this is perceived simultaneously. That is the definition of total knowledge. The quality of his compassion is so strong that Buddha sees them as the only son for one mother - that much love and care. If one mother had only one kid and had total love and attention to that kid, that much attention, love and care Buddha has for each and every living being. That is incomprehensible at our level. We have to say "Oh yeah." Is it possible? We have to say: it is. Buddha's attention is available all the time - 24 - 7.

Capability

Directly, or indirectly, openly or secretly, Buddha is functioning on all levels all the time.

These are the reasons why Buddha is fit to be the object of refuge.

Qualities of Dharma

Whatever the qualities that Buddha has is not just Buddha's quality, but is the result of the Dharma, the spiritual development. These are positive aspects of spiritual development and the corrected negative aspects. These are the two aspects: gog den and lam den.

1:10

gog den are the negativities you have overcome and the positivity gained thereby.

lam den is the path leading towards that positivity free of faults. According to the nyur lam dharma is divided into two: absolute dharma and relative dharma. Absolute dharma is the spiritual development and relative dharma is the information leading to the spiritual development. So the qualities of the Buddha are all because of the quality of the dharma. Why should these wonderful bees come to this funny colored area? Because of the flowers. The bees are attracted and drawn towards the color and smell of the flowers. The quality is the flower itself and it's scent and color, all combined together. That draws the bees. Likewise the Buddha's success is due to the Dharma. Deeply it is the Dharma.

Qualities of the Sangha

Sangha really refers to the absolute sangha. That is any individual who sees true reality. That is represented by more than four fully ordained Buddhist monks and nuns.

These are the qualities of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Knowing their qualities and understanding them better makes us see that it is way beyond an individual person, way beyond the historical Buddha alone. It is much more than we can individually acknowledge even as an example. It is very fortunate that we at this time, at this moment, are able to encounter with such identification. In the absence of that we worship trees, water, fire, clouds or anything that has a little more power, like spirits and so on. Here you can make a difference to yourself, become a solidly grounded person, instead of simply flying around.

Think about the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Read Pabongka's Liberation in the Palm of your Hand, try to understand and then next week we do the meditation aspect of this. Thank you so much. Whatever we mentioned kindly put it into practice. 1:16

Concluding Prayers as per Jewel Heart nyur lam prayer sheet