Archive Result

Soundfile 20090421GRJHNLA(2)

Speaker Gelek Rinpoche

Location

Topic

Transcriber Suzanne Darragh

Date 2009

0:01:27.5

So, before we did the tea break, you may call it café break, so before we took the break, we are talking all our sufferings are from negative emotions, including hatred, obsession, jealousy, fear, ignorance. So now, the Buddha’s way of cutting the suffering is because by cutting it is causeless. Cause action which brings the suffering. And then cutting the cause of suffering is the cutting negative emotions. By saying don’t do it, I don’t think it’s easy. You can’t tell; you can tell, but it is difficult for the educated person. So, if the person is educated to a joint and tell him don’t smoke, don’t smoke, don’t smoke, no smoke, it is not that easy. A person who says no smoke, no smoke, they can say that, but for the person who does, it is difficult. Persons who are addicted to hatred, don’t develop hatred, […] but not that easy. So, person who are upset is very difficult for that person, you can tell that telling doesn’t work.

0:05:02.4

Because addiction is not easy to overcome. I don’t have to tell you people; I’m quite sure you people know better. So, but can you never overcome to addiction? Do we have to submit to the addiction? The answer is no, you can definitely overcome addiction. How? The first step you have to know is acknowledgement. If you’re addicted, say anger or hatred or anything, if you keep on denying, which we all do; I’m not angry but so and so angry, so and so said so, it is using by other people, pointing the finger to the other person, and saying they’re angry you, yourself are not happy, but you don’t tell, I’m not happy. It’s hard for people to say. So, and so’s unhappy, so and so’s unhappy, also not happy, […] at the end. But truly you will never say I’m not happy. You’ll always hide [..] you know the reason why? You’re afraid that the other person may say ‘So what. If you’re not happy that’s too bad.’ And you never would like to associate yourself with the unpleasantness, although our own behavior will make it unpleasant, it is still you would never associate yourself as unpleasant. I am the mister nice one, but he is the bad one, she is the bad one. Almost like the police, they play good cop, bad cop. […] We all do. Denial is the number one protection for negative emotion. Denial means you don’t have to deal with it. If you are, some sick people never go to see a doctor, say I’m not sick, so that person never gets cured. So that person succumbs to the death because you never cured.

0:10:01.7

So, similarly an addicted person will never admit it. So, denial is the number one. Are you denying two things. You’re denying on the grounds that you don’t know, could very well be, you don’t know.

And you don’t know you’re addicted, so it is whose fault? It is your fault. You can’t say, I don’t know, it’s not my fault. It’s no excuse at all. If you break a law [..] when they catch you, you say I don’t know, that won’t work, right?

If you say I’m crazy, that may help you.

Anyway, so I think a little knowledge is important for learning. I don’t mean to become a scholar. I mean self-learn a little bit, what causes what. What is anger, what is obsession. How does that make me unhappy? Whether you learn, think, or meditate, whatever you do, it’s important to have information, to have knowledge. If you have a little knowledge, that will go a long way. So, you can think about yourself, your mind is occupied, by one of those negative emotions or positive emotions or neutral. If you don’t know that, then you have no idea about what’s going on with you.

In my case, I’m a diabetic, and I take my blood sugar. Either I don’t have my machine, or I don’t have a stick, or something, then I have no way of knowing approximately what my sugar level is.

And if I don’t know my sugar level, I will not be able to use the internet. How much and what I would guess you know, and the guess could be wrong

So really a little knowledge is necessary. I don’t have to become a doctor; I don’t have to be a diabetic specialist, but I just have to know how much my sugar level is accordingly and then supply the insulin.

0:15:10.6

Similarly, for all of us, in order to handle our disease of negative emotions, we have to recognize things, we have to have knowledge of their consequences. We have to have positive result of overcoming those. Some idea, some knowledge. If you have that, you can help yourself, if you don’t have that, you won’t be able to help. You may be able to go to temple or church or mosque or whatever and pray, that’s all. And that’s good, but not good enough. You are educated wonderful intelligent perfect human beings with all your qualities; you can make a difference to your life and lives with […]. Because not only one life, but thereafter, continue. We had, day before yesterday, Sunday, or day before, we had a catholic and the world he said was […] and loving the talks about emptiness consciousness, he’s not a religious person, he’s a scientist. He’s a medical doctor and he was talking about emptiness consciousness. He’s a Dutch scientist, I was told he was very popular these days. He’s not a worshipper, he’s a scientist. And not only him, but there are also a lot of businesses, in the United States, institutions like MIT, Harvard, Stanford, the top universities are now putting millions of dollars trying to find out. Mind, mind, mind. They are not religious worshippers; they are fact finders. So that is exactly what the Buddha said twenty-six hundred years ago, and that’s what they’re searching for. Twenty-six hundred years ago, this little Indian man with a sarong around and a […] in the hand, leg and walking around with dust, give those funny messages and there’s now a subject for scientists in the twenty top universities in the west. […] The subject is studied to death; it is top subject. The largest grant ever […].

0:20:30.7

That’s what I said, right from the beginning, it’s not religion. So, anyway, so that’s what Buddha talked about. And Buddha tried to give ourselves the key to help by ourselves for ourselves. BY saying you are responsible for yourself. The tools we have a little knowledge, a little bit of effort, a little discipline, little life, little effort. And that way you can make a huge difference in your life and lives. That’s what Jewel Heart does. And that’s what the Jewel Heart represents in Netherlands. How many trained staff here? […].

So, if you interested to help yourself, it’s available right in front of you. There’s no demand to become Buddhist, there’s no demand to change your religion. At Jewel Heart it’s not for Buddhists, honestly. No true. Jewel Heart [………………………………………]. Other than that, it’s not required.

But the Jewel Heart has one demand […] If you’re crazy then don’t come. So, anyway, today do both happiness and [..] right? You know how we generate our suffering, our emotions, actions, consequences. So, reversing that is ending and changing at the level of emotions, mind, and emotions and then we’re reversing your actions. Not telling you not to do it but to understand to get it familiarized to work on yourself and to not doubt it as a part of your life rather than making you do something which is difficult.

0:25:38.7

And which you can do it. Why can you do it? Because you can interrupt the cause of suffering. It’s in your camp. Interrupt the cause of suffering. And when you interrupt it, there are […]. When cause is interrupted. And it reveals cause of all suffering are enough. Ignorance is […].

And antidote of ignorance is wisdom and wisdom interrupts ignorance because wisdom destroys ignorance and that’s how you help yourself. So that is how you can overcome your suffering. Not only complete it, end it.

So, the ideas about mind and the emotions, which is we have a […] […] we can’t and that is last weekend. There’s a picture too, different emotions and how does that affect the mind, so we try to talk about it. Sometimes it’s positive, others are negative, and we try to be helpful. If you have time […] come to America. Earlier during the introduction, I heard thundering. Obviously, you have no idea what it does mean. It is the roadmap to become Buddha. Buddha says that everyone can become buddha, and the Buddha never said everyone should become Buddhist. You can become buddha by not becoming Buddhist. Honestly, you can become buddha but not required to become Buddhist. But it is required to be good, and it’s required to be sincere it’s required to be honest; it’s required to be moral. So, if you can do that, you can become a Buddha. Doesn’t matter whatever you are. […] can become Buddha.

So, any questions?

0:30:10.7

Our normal human expectation is that parents will die before, kids will die later, and something will even the kids will look out and there’s never guarantee. When there’s taken by surprise, the surprise can be painful. It is really painful. Especially when you love your kids. And especially when they have been taken untimely. Way before they should and the pain, I believe is unbearable. It never gets over, on and on, even you’re lucky if it goes on and off. Some people have it constant and that is the reality. You have told their friends or parents, ‘get over it’, but the understanding, you are not only one, the understanding the reality’s changed, the understanding of impermanence of natural life, with the understanding it is based on cause and condition. Things happen due to cause and condition and that may contribute to reducing their suffering. And then there is religion as a religion itself, so pray, worshipping, dedicating, may give a little relief to their emotional suffering. So, these are the little things that you may be able to do.

Well, if there are no other questions, I’d like to thank you so much for everybody coming tonight and thank you for the organizers and thank you for the Jewel Heart people who volunteers are, staff, everybody. Thank you so much. (And say hi to your mum).

Rinpoche, thank you very much for your lecture this evening, thank you for giving us some practical solutions for dealing with our negative emotions which brings us suffering and where we can cut down the suffering maybe there’s some more space for happiness. So, thank you very much for your lecture.

0:35:49.1