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Soundfile 20100423GRAAFP1

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Jewel Heart Ann Arbor

Topic Foundation of all Perfections

Transcriber Michael Hoffman

Date: 03/02/22 – 3/16/22

[Audience recites refuge and Rimpoche and others recite other preliminaries in Tibetan]

0:01:00.1 Now for the benefit of all mother sentient beings, one would like to attain the state of Buddhahood for which you like to listen [to] this teaching and practice and achieve the result. With this mind do kindly listen to the teaching. Inga (addresses translator). (Pause.)

0:01:57.9 The teaching what you are listening is, actually what we call it, Foundation of the Perfections, the basis in which the Buddha’s teaching for individual to become fully enlightened, or to get the result of the work that you do in your spiritual path. So to establish that, to build a foundation, that’s why it’s called Foundation of Perfections. (Pause.) What type of foundation you’re talking? Ah, Buddha’s teachings really are actually divided into two paths. Path that is known as sutra path, and path that is known as tantra path. Sutra and tantra. Earlier teachers say, everybody will know there is a sun and moon in the sky, likewise Buddha’s teaching has a pure sutra, means non-tantra, and a tantra teaching. They are like two, like sun and the moon. Tantra and sutra. Sun and the moon in the air, tantra and sutra on the ground. That’s what the traditional Buddhist slogans [were] in early, early in India. (Pause.)

0:04:47.0 Okay, so, both are the purpose of the result, what they hope to get out of both, is that there are a number one very excellent result, one medium and one at least what you need to get. Like three different results. Almost, it’s almost like you can say, you can get three different degrees out of school. You can get a Ph.D., you can get a master’s degree, you can get a bachelor. Like that. So three different results. (Pause.) So like Ph.D. type is becoming fully enlightened buddha. So we are all living beings and we all can become buddha, we have the buddha gene within us. The possibility is there. Every human being can achieve that, possible. So that will be the best like Ph.D. equivalent result. (Pause.) And if you cannot get that, second what you hope to, free from suffering, free from the uncontrolled life, uncontrolled birth and death, and the circle of life, and that is the second, ah, result we hope to get. (Pause.)

0:07:46.9 At least free from suffering that will be good happy life and then life after that will be good one. (Pause.) So these are the three goals, people involved in spiritual path in general and particularly in the Buddha’s way. So when we talk about it, when we teach about it, when you practice about it, we get towards the best result. We don’t want to settle for less than best so we get towards that. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get those others. So even if you are working for the best if you don’t get it, you at least get second, at least you get the third one, and that will be our spiritual practitioner’s goal if you are new in Buddha-Dharma teaching or that of the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism. So these are the goals. If you don’t have a goal, you have no purpose. So these are your goals. (Pause.)

0:09:53.1 Okay. So, and how does one get there? And there are a lot of methods, there are, but the most easiest and the most organized and most comfortable way we can travel on that road will be traditionally known as lam rim in sutra, and nag rim in Vajrayana. (Pause.) Lam rim is Tibetan name. In Sanskrit earlier it is known as prajna paramita, if you translate it, it becomes wisdom teaching. And if you go in the English it is called transcendental teachings. Almost every early traditions of Indian tradition, all of them teach this, not only a Buddhist but even Hindus do that, and you know, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, as well as all those, all these (chuckles, alludes to dropping something)…Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and all of those will teach transcendental too. (Pause.) That is really early traditional eastern religion tradition not just Buddhists who taught, but everybody else teaches too. (Pause.)

0:12:54.3 Even in the Hindu tradition, Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita says the major teaching is the transcendental wisdom. And that’s why Deepak Chopra speaks, just spoke just like Buddhist, that’s the reason why. Anyway, so, the Tibetans call it lam rim which I always say it is like a roadmap, it’s a map, you know when you drive car, you have a roadmap, the road map is a road map to enlightenment. In the sutra aspects it is the lam rim. .Continuing from that the tantric aspects is nag rim, the combination of lam rim and nag rim is the perfect roadmap to Buddha. (Pause.) You need to, Jonas you need to go up, not down, that’s the problem what I have. Because over there they sit like this, you know, and that’s why (chuckles, laughs…) Okay, so the lam rim and almost every early Tibetan traditions, Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu, Gelug, only the Gelugpas call it lam rim. Sakya call it dela rim, Kagyus call is something else, Nyingmas call kusa lami chaloon (?) or something, so they’re all actually lam rim, is the road map to enlightenment. (Pause.)

0:15:47.2 So, in the Gelugpa tradition, the lam rim originally introduced, not in the Gelugpa tradition, but in the Kadampa tradition, originally introduced by Atisha, the famous Mongolian, no Bengalian, earlier Tibetan Buddhist teacher that come in Tibet in 1100s, so Atisha introduced the lam rim, he doesn’t call it lam rim, he call it lam drun, lam drun, lamp of path or something if you translate. (Pause.) And then the kadamsarma(?), or the new Kadampas, that is Gelugpa, in the Gelugpa tradition, Jamgon Lama Tsongkhapa wrote three or four different lam rims. (Pause.) One is called lam rim chen mo, and then there’s a medium lam rim, and then there is, then the smaller lam rim, or the lines of experience, and the essence of that, three principal paths, and combination of all that is Foundation of Perfections. It is few pages but a tremendous amount of message within that. (Pause.) And once we do this teaching, and the new ones for the first time you’re coming, hopefully you can get an understanding. Second, third time you’re listening, there will be tremendous, great improvement. And many times you’re listening you may have nothing new to learn but you can get a better understanding. (Pause.)

0:19:25.1 So today we are now talking about Foundation of Perfections, I mean not today, this weekend in Holland. (Pause.) Once again I like to apologize, I’m not there personally. I was hoping that Marianne Soeters and Hartmut will carry on that weekend. But Marianne Soeters chickened out today (laughs). I think she got a little more pressure which she doesn’t want to get right now. But I told her you have to teach it later, which she agreed to of course, kindly. (Pause.) But luckily Hartmut’s there, so when I can’t do the session that you do, the morning session, you know, and it’s four in the morning here so I won’t be able to do, even if I get up and come over here, but then we have Jonas and all other friends who are helping so they won’t be able to, so that’s why I am doing the evening session only and Hartmut is doing the morning one. (Pause.)

0:21:39.6 Okay, so in the lam rim or the Foundation of the Perfections, the division of the three scopes are applicable. (Pause.) These three divisions are known, that is very common for all lam rims, three divisions are known as common with the lower, common with the medium, and the Mahayana path. (Pause.) Common with the…why you have to say common with the lower, common with the medium, Mahayana, common because the goal is to become a buddha, to achieve, to become a buddha you have to go Mahayana, because without which you cannot become buddha anyway. So that’s why the main goal is getting into Mahayana, but even that, even though the practice, and learning, meditation whatever you do here, you share with the Theravadin or Hinayana path, so that’s why it’s called common, means two joined together, it’s not exclusive but common, so the reason why common with the lower, common with the medium and the Mahayana, the word common is used for that purposes. (Pause.)

0:24:15.6 So, what do we share, commonly what do we use, you know though we are Mahayana path but does necessary absolute necessary what we have to get out of Hinayana teachings and these are called common with the lower. (Pause.) So the first and foremost comes guru devotional practice. (Pause.) Okay that is common in every Buddhist, whether you are Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana, whatever it is, that is what you have to have, is guru devotional practice. (Pause.) So in Hinayana how do you look at the guru, you look at the guru like a Buddha, like that of a Buddha. In Mahayana you look to the guru as a Buddha. In Vajrayana you look as inseparable that of Buddha. (Pause.) And that’s why guru devotional practice is [common] to all but each step is more superior than the other, that’s how it looks in.

0:26:33.8 So, even in this particular case, the… I might as well as said this first verse in the Foundation of Perfections, though tonight is supposed to be introduction though I better do that first verse, that is [read first verse in Tibetan]: Yon ten kun gyi zhir gyur drin chen je, tsul zhin ten pa lam gyi tsa war ru, leg par thong ne ba padu ma yi, gu pa chen po ten par jin gyi lob. That is the first verse, in English I think it says, ‘Foundation of all perfections…yeah….’Following the kind master the foundation of perfection’ then what… ‘very root and basis of the path.’ So following the kind master, which is the foundation of all perfections, is the very root and very base. So this tradition, tradition, whatever the quality individual going to get, good or bad, 0:27:56.9 (Tibetan.) I’m sorry, no, no 0:28:05.5 (Tibetan.) In other words, I don’t remember the Tibetan words exactly, but any quality, big or small, whatever the individual develop, it depends on the master. 0:28:31.4 (Tibetan.) Again that word exactly I don’t remember even in Tibetan. But in short whatever the quality you going to get it, good or bad, big or small, whatever, it is totally depend on the lama, that doesn’t mean depend on lama but depend on the guru yoga practice. And that’s why it is the foundation. Ah, if you see lama as a buddha, you get the blessing and the benefit of a buddha as your master. If you see a lama as a bodhisattva, you get the benefit of having a bodhisattva as your master. If you see the lama as ordinary human being, you get the blessing of an ordinary human being.

0:29:41.1 So that is why whatever the quality you going to gain it depends on that. So that’s why it’s a foundation. And that’s why it is base. That’s why it is root. Everything is grown out of that. And that’s why a foundation. Like a root of tree, when you have a seed of tree and then you put that, and then it develop a little shoot, and little comes up but then also taking ground when you have the root already, taking strong solid root so no matter whatever happens to the tree during the winter it is too cold to get, to give you leaves or flowers, but the root is holding it and when the conditions are right in spring the leaves are shooting everywhere, just like that. Just like that, this guru devotional practice works like that within individual practice, within individual. For, this is not only Buddhist, it is every eastern tradition have the same thing. (Pause. Checks to see if break is needed, suggests pressing on.)

0:31:55.6 All right. I think, we have a good number of people here, too. But you know those of you who have to go, you can go. You have to go for work you can go, you have to go to pee pee you can go, that is no problem. But those of you are sitting there can you see me? You want to come over here? Because this is really, because of this thing here, so, I don’t see you. Doug you are big so you are okay. (Audience comment, inaudible.) I can see quite a lot. It’s very dark, I don’t know, you people choose to put off the light or what. Because if you turn the lights on, then it will be very good. Because otherwise it is very dark there. (Audience comment, inaudible.) One light came on, which makes it a little better. But I still could not recognize… is this Karen in there? Sort of white jacket, not white, gray. (Audience comment, inaudible.) In the front is Karen, hi. And who is next to Karen. (Audience comment, inaudible.) Oh is Marianne de koots there? I don’t see Naomi at all. I didn’t see her coming in, it’s still too dark in this side. And Hartmut is also there somewhere. Because when he gets up I can see it. I can see near you, near Inga, in that side because there is light. The rest of them completely dark, so I can see little heads, I don’t see people. Did you choose to turn off the light or what? (Audience comment, inaudible.) That will be great otherwise we don’t see you at all. Is it? (Audience comment, inaudible.) Wow, did you cover the windows or what? This is not in the evening, is it? Oh, quarter past nine in the evening. That’s why, okay okay, I’m sorry. Because we’re in the afternoon. Do you see us? Yeah because that’s all lights there. Anyway so let’s continue.

0:35:23.8 The thing is this. Yes, but then can everybody be guru? Hey, what happened. Okay now they’re back, I see, okay. Ron moved the camera, that’s good. Oh I can see Peter sitting on the chair, with white shirt, right? Oh I see. Looks like Peter. I don’t see the face that’s why. (Audience comment, inaudible.) So now sit down and leave the camera alone. Okay. So we will continue to talk. Oh, I can see somebody here, face here, is it Cleo? I don’t see Naomi. There’s one face I see, two face I see. But in the, right in front of gentleman with shirt. Oh anyway, so later we’ll see. I know you people are there.

0:37:00.0 Okay, so but can anybody be guru, that is the question? Or somebody who tells you ‘I’m your guru’, okay now I can see better. Anyways somebody who tell you ‘I am your guru’, does that become guru? No, it doesn’t. Guru also to have its qualifications, criterias. All this qualifications and criterias are very clearly mentioned in lama chopa, in the lama chopa…Yon ten jung nay tsul trim gya tso che, mang tho nor but soh kyi yong so tam, ngur mik dzin pa thup wang nyi pei je, nay ten dhul wad zin la sol wa dep. I don’t know what verse it is. After the mig tse ma mantra there is a verse, what is that verse number? (Audience: Thirty six.) Verse number thirty six in the lama chopa. Can you see it? Oh thirty seven in Dutch, okay. (Laughs). Thirty six in English, thirty seven in Dutch. Okay that says Yon ten jung nay tsul trim gya tso che, mang tho nor but soh kyi yong so tam, ngur mik dzin pa. Which give you two quality, two quality of the perfect morality. Perfect morality. Which is stable and perfect moral aspects of it. Mang tho nor but soh kyi yong so tam means learned. Wonderful in the morality and wisdom in learning, learned. So these are the two basic fundamental, one cannot do without. Is the criteria of the Hinayana master, okay? Then the next verse, I don’t know, fifty seven or fifty eight, thirty seven or thirty eight, the Dutch must be thirty, I don’t know nine, thirty eight and English here thirty seven. Gang dhang dhen na dhe war shek pei lam, ton par o pei yon ten chu den pa, ma lu gyal way dhung tsob cho kiy je, thek cho ge wei she la sol wa dep.

0:40:10.9 So it is ten qualities, isn’t it, ten qualities. These are the criteria for the Mahayana teacher. I can see Hartmut’s head, shining there. (Laughs.) Now I can see he’s laughing, okay. I recognize you by head. There you are. (Inaudible audience chatter.) Okay. Then the next level. 0:40:50.3 (Tibetan.) Ten ten twenty quality double ten, you know? Double ten quality is the Vajrayana master’s criteria. And if you have that, then the next verse, (reads verse 39 of the lama chopa in Tibetan): Sang gye drang mey jon pay ma thul wei, ma rung dhul kay nyik, dhu dro wa la, dhe shek lam zang ji zhin ton pa yi, kyap gon thuh je chen la sol wa dep. And that really becomes actual, actualized, actually materialized if the masters have those qualities. So these are the criteria. Just because somebody says, ‘I’m a master’. Somebody says ‘I’m your teacher’, doesn’t become that in Buddhism. It is really the criteria of the individual then the profound faith, trust. And then combination of that establishes the relationship between the master and disciples. And then if that happens then you begin to find your root master. Foundation of all Perfections is the begin to find within you. I can see Nancy, too, yeah. (Pause.)

0:43:03.4 So when you find such a master, when you have a such a master, then I mean you must have it. Why? If you don’t have it, you have problems. There are eight disadvantages of not having such a good master. (Pause.) And then benefits, eight benefits of having such a great master. And disadvantages of wrong relationship. These are the foundation of guru devotional practice. And then developing devotion. And the devotion so much so that you see guru as a buddha. Buddha and inseparable that of Buddha or Buddha Vajradhara. (Pause.) There are very strong logical reasons why you have to see this. There are very strong logical reasons you can see that. And there are very strong points if you see why the individual get benefits. (Pause.) There is a teaching by Pabongka, it is called 0:45:44.6 (Tibetan). It says the long journey experience the raw practice of heartspun (?). It’s not the heartspun the impermanent one. This is the heartspun separate one. And if you, you can… I don’t know whether that’s translated into English or not. If you can obtain teaching on it, if you can look on that, that would be very very helpful, not for everybody, those who are really deeply involved in that sincerely would like to make a difference to your life, by yourself and they are very useful, So I would like to introduce you to that level, and then I will go to the second verse. (Pause.)

0:47:00.8 (Tibetan.) The long journey’s experience. Like 0:47:11.7 The raw handling of how the raw, the raw path. The raw, raw, raw is not, is it r-o-w? Raw as in not cooked. It’s raw. Raw. R-a-w. Raw. Did you get it Inga? (Pause.) And that’s not meant for everybody, those who are sort of seriously involved. Okay, now the next verse. (Reads second verse of Foundation of all Perfections in Tibetan:) Len chik nye paydel way ten zang di, shin tu nye ka don chen she gyur ne, nyin tsen kun tu nying po len pa lo, gyun cha me par key war jin gyi lob. ‘Precious human life, gained but once has great potential but is easily lost. Empower me to remember this constantly. And to think day and night of taking its essence.’ (Pause.) Oh before I conclude that, I forgot one verse up there, in the guru devotional thing, first verse, ‘Empower me to see this clearly and to make every effort to follow well.’ So the visualization over here is visualizing all your lamas in front of you, it is all, the root master and then the direct other masters and the lineage masters behind. And making strong request in that, and light and liquid coming from the body of the assembly of gurus, and reaching to ourself, purifying negativities in general and particularly that of negativity created on the basis of guru devotional practice.

0:50:31.4 Such as 0:50:33.6 (Tibetan). So whatever the lama told you, you didn’t do it. Tu tu ba (?). Made the lama’s mind, getting upset. Wrong devotion. No faith. Insulting. Etcetera. In short all negativities connected with guru devotional, all purified. Meaning it is washed away from our physical bodies’ territory, in the form of dirty laundry, etcetera, unwanted in the form of like a lot of dirty laundry or fearful, undesirable insects, virus, etcetera, or bacteria etcetera all completely washing away from our body. Meaning between the skin and the flesh. I’m thinking of washing all my fat, doesn’t go down anyway. (Laughs.) And in the physical, in mindstream it is sadness, regret, anger, etcetera all completely washed away. You yourself become perfect, pure, and the blessings of all your masters, lineage and direct, all obtained by you, by yourself, and that is how you say, that is how you think. Okay? You have to be, do two things here. Actually, three things. To study, to understand, and then to think and meditate. Thinking and mediate is whatever you understand the words about, and then empower them this thing happened, that thing happened, every word has it, every verse have it, and that time, purifying and developing and this and that stage within you. So you really have to do three of them together. (Pause.)

0:54:19.2 Next verse, ‘Precious human life,’ when you say precious there are reasons why, why is it precious? There are a number of reasons. But in the traditional Buddhist teaching, it says it has eighteen qualities, that is, eight leisures, and the ten endowments and that is why it is precious. (Pause.) Eight leisures are the opportunities. It doesn’t really mean leisure, that you’re not busy, that you have nothing to do, there are eight different ways, but it’s eight different ways of having opportunity. (Pause.) Ten endowments is also opportunity. And 0:55:55.3 (Tibetan) that is a self point of view, five opportunities, from the time when we are at that point of view, five more opportunity. So there are really eight, we are rich with the eighteen different opportunities and that’s why it is precious. (Pause.) And that’s why we embrace human life. Embrace means here we accept, we respect, we appreciate, we don’t reject, we don’t underestimate, and that appreciate and that is what embracing human life is all about it. (Pause.)

0:57:17.7 And it is also not easy to get it. We think, but we didn’t do this time very well, but we start, but next time we can do better, but that doesn’t happen, not necessarily. (Pause.) We thought we go away and then we come back easily, but sometimes we come back with four legs and horn on the head. (Pause.) And so, so that’s why ‘gained but once’. And has great potential but is easily lost. Easily lost is introducing impermanent here. (Pause) So when you talk about precious human life you should be able to meditate, appreciate your life and be proud of human being, be very excited about it, because the capability, human capability has no equivalent. You know, honestly, it’s almost has the capability of what Buddha has, almost human beings, as human beings you have the potential to be capable just like Buddha, we all do, just like god, we all do. (Pause.)

1:00:09.0 This maybe sounds very strange, but whatever the god can do, human beings can do. Whatever god cannot do, human beings cannot do. Whatever the human beings cannot do, the gods cannot do. Honestly, that’s the truth. It sounds very strange to so many people, especially when your background is Judeo-Christian tradition, so you have that. But it is the truth. Not because I’m Buddhist and looking at it, but whatever anything by anybody anywhere can do, human beings can do. Whenever, whatever humans cannot do, nobody else can do. That is the truth, and that is human quality, that’s what we are. We’re not god, not better, but not worse. (Pause.)

1:01:41.2 But what I said now, is I’m talking about god and human beings, I’m not talking about “a” human being like us, individual. I’m talking about human beings in general. (Pause.) Anyway so don’t misunderstand me. If I have the same equal level as god then why should I work, you know? So that is not the point, the point is human being as human being as whole and that capacity, and the Buddha as a whole, Buddha’s capacity, they’re all equal. (Pause.) And we are, sorry, we are accessible to such a great potential. But that can easily [be] lost, too. (Pause.) So, empower me to remember this constantly, and to think day and night to taking advantage of it. (Pause.) And the next verse we’ll talk about impermanent in more detail. (Pause.) Next two verses. And the verse after that will tell you, Che pe mi ngom duh ngel kun gyi. It tells you the faults of life, fault of samsara life. (Pause.) So anyway, up to this impermanent level, up to the impermanent, common with the lower level teachings. (Pause.)

1:04:46.9 And then you know this che pe mi ngom, ‘sensual gluttony is gateway to suffering’ is they give you the common with the medium level, the next two, next one verse more, nam dah sam pa de is also that. (Pause.) And then the Rang nyi si tsor lhung wa ji zhin du. That is encouragement to enter into the Mahayana path. (Pause.) And from that and above is the Mahayana path. Okay, so any questions now? We’ve got like five minutes or something.

1:05:57.6 Audience member 1: (inaudible.)

1:06:35.4 Yeah? Why thank you I’m much better and I’ll be there on next Wednesday, no, no no, Thursday, sorry, not Wednesday, or Thursday or Friday, or something anyway. So I’ll be there.

1:06:56.2 Audience member 2: (inaudible).

1:07:01.0 Thank you. And then Hartmut will fill the gap and then when your Sunday morning, I’ll be there, right? Sunday afternoon, right right. Morning will be four o’clock right. Sunday afternoon I’ll be there, so… Then I have to do the oral transmission of it, but I may do that, I can do today. It’s easier, few more minutes. So can I do the oral transmission now? All right. Yeah. (Pause.) That is providing, presuming there are no other questions, right? Okay. So then I’ll do the oral transmission, I’m not going to listen until I finish it, okay?

1:08:29.4 (Rimpoche provides the oral transmission in Tibetan.)

1:10:41.8 That completed the oral transmission. And now, I think, oral transmission she doesn’t have to translate. I got it. Oh. Okay. All right so that’s it. So whatever we talk to you, though short, try to remain that into your practice and then Hartmut will go through the 1:11:31.2 and however he does, and then I will do the Sunday afternoon, the conclusion, and whatever you learn do kindly put them into practice.

1:11:47.0 (Rimpoche leads group in dedication verse and short mandala offering and other concluding verses in Tibetan, then resolves some small logistics)

(End of audio file)