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20120108GRAATB2

Tibetan Buddhism

Rimpoche: Good morning and welcome everybody to the second talk on Tibetan Buddhism. So I was thinking how am I going to present this Tibetan Buddhism in this upcoming series and particularly today. The Tibetan Buddhism is so huge, truly speaking I don’’t know where to begin.

Thinking back a couple of weeks when I gave you a couple of outlines of what and where and how. So I think that the topic we began to talk about last time was ““the what”” part. What is Tibetan Buddhism? I did mention a little bit about the historical aspects.

Tibetan Buddhism is nothing but Buddhism! I say this because if I remember correctly in the late 1950s and early 1960s when I got to India, they emphasized that His Holiness the Dalai Lama had particularly reminded us, very carefully, very strongly saying that the Tibetan Buddhism is not Lama-ism. Tibetan Buddhism is not a red Buddhism

He did this because at that time people were referring to Tibetan Buddhism as red because the monks where red colored robes. The Theravadan tradition in Ceylon at that time, which is now called Sri Lanka, the (?) et cetera wore yellow robes.

Tibetans wore red robes so they called it red Buddhism. In the 1930's and the 1940's Tibetologist and Buddhaologists had labeled Tibetan Buddhism as Red Buddhism.

His Holiness was denying that. He was saying it is not Red Buddhism it is not Lama-ism, it is not just a strange religion that one person made up - it is pure Buddhism. 000324

Tibetan Buddhism is pure Buddhism

It is true, not only did His Holiness say it but if you look very carefully you’’ll see that it is very true and I’’ll tell you why. It is because the red color is one of the colors that Buddha allows for the monks and nuns to wear as followers of Buddha.

Red, maroon, blue, and gray are the colors that Buddhists are allowed to wear. Tibet is very cold so the red keeps heat. And yellow is a cold cool color so that is probably why the Tibetans chose to wear red. They did not choose red because it’’s a red religion - although there is a Red Hat sect in the Tibetan tradition.

But it is not the red robe color, it is a Red Hat that is a sub sect that they have. Anyway the most important thing is Tibetan Buddhism is pure Buddhism. Not only that, the teachings of Buddha have really flourished and are practiced strongly in India mostly in northern India.

Nalanda and Bigramshela

When you’’re looking very carefully at those institutions which are really studying Buddhism you are going to find two important institutions: Nalanda and Bigramshela. These are the university level Indian institutions. These carry the major core of Buddhist studies. Even today His Holiness the Dalai Lama puts get emphasis on the importance of Nalanda. When he came here he gave us this picture of those Nalanda, Mahapundits and Mahasiddis. 000636

There are 17 of them. The Dalai Lama even wrote a book praising each one of these 17. The Dalai Lama signed this picture addressed to Jewel Heart. That is because the core teachings of the Buddha are studied and practiced in these two institutions. Most of these learned Mahapundits and Mahasiddis are coming out of these two institutions and particularly Nalanda.

That is why the Dalai Lama emphasized these two so much. I’’ve noticed that the Dalai Lama did not say let’’s not call it Tibetan Buddhism but he does emphasizes that Tibetan Buddhism springs from the Nalanda tradition. So very often you’’ll hear the term ““Nalanda tradition”” everywhere. That is because the core of Buddhist teaching boils down to two aspects the Sutra aspects and that Tantra aspects. 000810

Mystical Aspects of Buddhism

So I’’m using Sanskrit language but what I am really saying is the mystical aspects of the Buddhist teaching and the non-mystical aspects of the Buddhist teachings which is my interpretation. For those of you who are familiar there are mystical aspects of the Christian tradition as far as I hear it because I’’ve never seen or learn or knew it but I heard it.

Similarly the usual Christianity we see and very similar to that Buddhism also has mystical aspects and non-mystical aspects. The non-mystical aspects of Buddhism almost boils down to a bottom line of five important subjects.

Five important subjects

The first one is what we in the Sanskrit or Pali call Pranjapramita which is the transcendental wisdom aspects of it. How to transcend the individual. Then the second one is the pure wisdom or true wisdom aspects of it. Third is the logic. Fourth is metaphysics. The fifth is morality. So these five subjects are the main essence of Buddha’’s teachings when I’’m doing these five it reminds is something funny. Remember during this Republican presidential debate and Rick Perry could not remember which department he was going to close and he look next to Ron Paul sitting there so he said which was the third so.

He said no 555 so that reminds me of this. These are the five core subjects of Buddha’’s teachings that he emphasized. These are morality...... morality is extremely important it is the fundamental basis of the spiritual and everyday life development.

The fundamental base - without morality a lot of people will think well let’’s ignore the morality it doesn’’t matter. I’’ll go through I will use wisdom. I will use whatever magical means and do all that. So to hell with morality. Actually you’’re kicking the ground on which you are standing. Do you understand?

The ground on which you are standing. So the morality is the fundamental basis mystical or non-mystical particularly mystical aspects of the Buddhism morality is absolute ground.

There are people who think, some people who say even emphasize and have written books and propagate saying the mystical aspects transcend over morality.

There is something called crazy wisdom. I’’m not talking about the crazy wisdom bookstore which Aura opened in the mid-1980s and now of course it is a separate bookstore available in downtown Ann Arbor.

Crazy wisdom is based on perfect morality

We are not talking about that one. We are talking about crazy wisdom as something crazy. So that is a big mistake honestly. The crazy wisdom is a completely based on perfect, completely based on, perfect morality honestly. If that perfect morality is shaking, there will be no crazy or non-crazy wisdom at all. So there can be no crazy wisdom without morality.

I will give you a simple example of true crazy wisdom. In the 17th century unfortunately I don’’t have an equivalent Western story so all my stories have to be based on the Tibetan tradition. So in the 1600s in Eastern Tibet there was a great crazy wisdom practitioner.

So what he does is he goes on hunts. He is a hunter, he goes and hunts the animals. 001458

Crazy Wisdom Practitioner

He hunted deer. They killed the deer, cut the deerskin and he kept on saying be ““careful when you cut be careful save everything””. So he saved the skin he saved all the bones and then they ate the meat and enjoyed it and then at the end he put the bones together put the skin together and then he got his own Mala in his hand and so he is sort of rolling the Mala and then he blow on the Mala and told one of his attendants put the Mala inside the stomach of the deer. Then he said come now go! So the deer gets up and runs. So that is true crazy wisdom. Okay? That is true crazy wisdom. They killed the deer, they cut it, they ate the meat, they put the parts back together, sewed it back together. Then he put his Mala inside and then the deer ran away. The deer is alive and running nothing wrong.

That is true crazy wisdom. I do know why I am talking to you about that today but anyway. The measurement of true crazy wisdom - where do you measure? It is not that you can ignore morality and saying that you’’re above it. That is not the measurement. The measurement is truly this.... if you are looking at a fruit tree and you say let’’s say you’’re looking in an apple tree 001656

How to know when you have Crazy Wisdom

Then by your look alone not only can you take the apple down which is easy, well not that easy but easier. But can you also put the apple back? If you could do that then it is the measurement of true crazy wisdom.

That is only possible if you have perfect morality, perfect wisdom, perfect concentration and good development. Otherwise it is not possible. That is the true measurement not because you behave funny you desire to smoke you desire to go wild and crazy on sex because you decided to drink that is not the measurement of crazy wisdom.

The measurement of the crazy wisdom is not only can you take fruit out of the tree without touching it but only by looking only but you can also put the fruit back and it’’ll still function and continue to ripen and remain on the tree.

That is the measurement!. So crazy wisdom is easy to speak about but difficult to obtain. Anyway that aspect of it is the mystical aspect of Buddha’’s teaching. Not only Tibetan Buddhism but Buddha’’s teaching.

That is also not only known to the Buddhist at that time even the Hindus. I don’’t mean looking down on them when I say ““even Hindu””. It’’s sort of my old childhood the way that I mentioned to you earlier, we look down on the Theravadan we look down on the other traditions. 001920

Mysticism in other traditions also

That is my old reflection it slipped through - I said even Hindus.. But Hinduism is a great tradition that also had the same mystical aspects of it. As a matter fact, the word Tantra is a Hindu word so it is same thing not only to the Buddhism but to Hinduism as well as a lot of these Eastern traditions.

Even the Western tradition carries mysticism. It is also absolutely necessary for us to have. That tradition is important to maintain because its function and purpose is to speed the aspects of individual development

It determines how quickly one attains the ultimate development being pursued. If you’’re a Buddhist then you are looking to become a Buddha. If you are not a Buddhist then whatever the ultimate achievement that individual supposed to achieve is done through the mystical aspects of it.

Mystical aspects can accelerate development

Without the mystical aspects, it is very difficult to go quickly. Even in Buddhism let’’s look at it that way. Even in Buddhism without the mystical aspects of it when the Buddha taught people he said ““I became a Buddha. To attain this, first I generated the pure mind of becoming a Buddha. Then I accumulated positive deeds and purified negativities for countless three eons!. Eons! Not years, not lives but eons! 002143

Always Crying

Then finally I became a Buddha. That is the non-mystical aspects of it. Only one example in Buddhism only one example. Some guy named ““Always crying”” he has a teacher who was a Bodhisattva.

So what he did he is invited his teacher to give teachings.

And Always Crying had the job of controlling the dust - can imagine the dust in India? It is fantastic. I’’ve really noticed the dust this time when we went to India in January right? Wow my timing is funny. So in November or December when we went to India I noticed briefly how much the dust and how much pollution was there.

Particularly in Delhi there is a huge amount of pollution. I used to live there and now it is totally different totally different.

Anyway that dust in India is fantastic. It is countless, endless so Always Crying tried to control the dust by throwing water and there was no water available.

There’’s a tremendous amount of water shortages in India even in those days. Even in those days we are talking about 2000 years ago. So even in those days there was a water shortage.

So what he did finally is he cut his wrists and used his blood to put down the dust. So Always Crying was supposed to have achieved the seven steps which probably takes one eon for a person to achieve this but Always Crying achieved the seven steps by the one deed of cutting his wrists.

That is the only example mentioned in the Buddha’’s teachings the only one out of millions. So the value of the mystical aspect of it is so important, so important.

I mentioned the other day even the earlier teachers noted this. With the mystical aspects within a matter of a minute one can achieve great bliss and a void state - referring to a Buddha state. So the ““minute”” refers to one short life of ours 60, 70, or 80 years or so. So that refers to that.002519

And that was made possible because of the mystical aspects of the practice. So Tibetan Buddhism is very rich. Not only is it very rich but engraved within the practice itself are the mystical aspects of Buddha’’s teachings.

The Unique Extraordinary Jewel of Tibet

Which is known as Vajrayana or Tantra. So the earlier Tibetan teachers are extremely proud of Tibet. Such a delicate place, such a difficult place, such a poor state, could manage maintaining the Vajrayana combined with Sutrayana together so much so that for generations they called it the unique extraordinary Jewel of Tibet.

The sacrifice that Tibet made

Tibetans are very proud of it. They are willing to sacrifice anything to protect it. When there corruption came into the country, as I mentioned the other day, even the King was willing to lose his life to maintain Tibet’’s unique combination of Vajrayana and Sutrayana.

Tibet closed its borders continuously for 1000 years to non-Tibetans. They did this not because they don’’t want the Western education and civilization.

Tibetans did want the western education and civilization. They allowed carefully selected British, Japanese, and Russian teachers into Tibet to teach. These teachers were very carefully selected and brought into Tibet but otherwise the border was shut closed.

Even President Roosevelt had a difficult time sending his envoys to Tibet because the border was closed. They had to talk to the Chinese, they had to talk to the British, they had talk again to the Tibetans and then finally the Roosevelt envoys were allowed to go to Tibet.

The Roosevelt Envoys wanted to make sure that Tibet was not used a warpath against the allies. That was the major purpose of their mission.

Anyway, the Tibetans sacrificed their development and contact in the West out of fear of losing this unique quality of the combination of Sutra and Tantra. 002915

That was the real treasure that my forefathers have kept alive and maintained for 2600 years. Today thanks to Chinese communism it is out! It doesn’’t sit in that little snowbound area anymore.

The unique treasure has arrived at your doorstep

It is out, throughout the world, including here in Michigan - Ann Arbor in the middle of nowhere - honestly sorry as well as everywhere else. Wherever you are listening to this and watching this... wherever you are - in the middle of Malaysia, in the middle of Europe, and middle of New York City, anywhere - this unique treasure has arrived at your doorstep.

That is Tibetan Buddhism. When I’’m talking about Tibetan Buddhism I would like say one thing. When I’’m talking about the quality of Tibetan Buddhism I’’m not saying that the other traditions do not have it. I didn’’t say that. Don’’t read it that way.

Every tradition has its own unique quality. If you don’’t present your tradition’’s own quality then you are at fault. When you’’re presenting your tradition’’s own quality that doesn’’t mean that other traditions don’’t have that quality. That is for them to present.

So I want you to remember this. Some people may say well he said no other religions have any unique qualities except Tibetan Buddhism. I didn’’t say that. I said this one has this and that quality so while mentioning that…… Actually it happened in India earlier, during the Buddha’’s time.

One of the great Indian Mahapundits was called Chandrakirti.. Chandrakirti was pointing out the quality of one of the schools called the middle path school. Then it hit other schools indirectly. So these schools accused Chandrakirti of having a downfall of despising other Dharmas.

Chandrakirti replied ““when I’’m presenting my own school’’s qualities and it destroys other schools, there is no fault on that... Che sho shee

So he says there’’s no downfall so traditionally even Buddhism says that 003254

But I want you to remember I’’m talking about the quality of Tibetan Buddhist I am not saying the other practices do not have that quality. So that is one thing. Such a quality is based on three important points - morality, wisdom and concentration.

Many people will say Tibetan Buddhism and particularly the tradition that we follow, the yellow hat sect or J Tsongkhapa’’s tradition has scholars, they can talk, they are great but they cannot meditate. They do not have Mahasiddhis and this and that - they will say that.

Some people say that who are outside of Buddhist tradition, some people who are within the Buddhist tradition say that and some people say that who are within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

That is the usual old Tibetan way - For 1,000 years they have nothing else to do except arguing between groups and that’’s what happened you know. Your teacher is better than mine because he said ““pot””. My teacher is better than yours because he said ““Pillar””.

So who says Pillar is better than Pot whatever. So that is an old argument an old saying - it doesn’’t mean much. Truthfully speaking all of Tibetan Buddhism and all of the other Buddhist Traditions have one teacher and that is Buddha! One practice - that is Dharma! One supporting system - that is Sangha!

So we have Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha and everybody is a student Buddha. Everybody is practicing Buddhism or Buddha Dharma. Everybody enjoys the Sangha support, so actually they do the same thing.

Some of you want to put your buttons this way and you’’ll argue with others who say no the buttons go that way . So you argue. So sometimes you do that. 003542

that’’s (?) very big deal. I also have to say that the tradition has meditation. Maybe it does not emphasize the system of meditating in a group. It does not make the individual fit into the rule of the monastery.

So it’’s makes meditation the individual’’s responsibility. The individual practitioners... The monastery is responsible for providing teaching for providing the community which can discuss and all that.

So whatever you wanted to do in your own house it’’s left up to you. No one can force you to meditate, no one can force you to not meditate - it is up to you and it is left up to you.

The education about meditation is provided. It is provided tremendously, in our case, in the case of Jewel Heart we have a book called GOM which is the total meditation. It’’s a transcript and it’’s available.

The relationship among morality, concentration, and wisdom

So it is a solid meditative state. That is one of the legs of the three important legs here which are concentration, morality, and wisdom. All three must be there. If you don’’t have morality don’’t have a foundation. If you don’’t have concentration you have no way of getting it. If you don’’t have wisdom you do not know what to concentrate on or what to think.

So honestly wisdom provides the material for you to focus on. 003807

Concentration provides the training to be able to focus on the subject that wisdom has given you. Otherwise without material to focus on from wisdom you can just concentrate on the tree branch! When you look at that tree branch and you keep on concentrating you will gain a stability of mind but beside that you’’re not going to get much.

Gelek Rimpoche’’s childhood cave

As I mentioned earlier, during my younger years I had a little cave used for retreat. This cave was given to me by my father who was also a great well-known incarnate Lama. That same cave was presented to him by another great master.

All the ““Cher”” tradition, the cutting through ““the Cher tradition”” came from the Lama called Genterndeh Rimpoche. Genterndeh Rimpoche’’s cave was presented to my father and he gave it to me.

I used to go there during my study breaks with my teachers and a few friends and we would sit in the cave.

It is a very luxurious cave in a funny way. It was beautiful two caves in the rock. It had a little living room, a kitchen, a courtyard, and it even had running water. In Tibet - can you imagine? 003950

So this cave is in the middle of the rock. There was a little spring up there so they put bamboo lines through the rock which came into the cave and there was a faucet on the end. So you can turn that to get water. So I had running water. Maybe this was the first time there was running water (in a cave?) in Tibet.

The lizards in the cave

We would go in that cave to practice, memorize, do our learning, practice meditation and all this. In the cave there were a lot of lizards there - big lizards. They lived in the rock and sometimes the lizards fight, sometimes a huge fight.

I had a little room and there was square courtyard and they would fight in that courtyard. They would stand up and it was almost like the Geico lizard. They would stand up and fight that way, really.

They used to call me Kusho. So one day my teacher called me Kusho, Kusho and I said yes? And my teacher said look here. A lizard was sitting on the rock and grabbing the hot rock and the lizard opened his mouth on the peak of the rock. And the lizard was going like this. I looked at it and said so what’’s that? My teacher replied that is called lizard meditation.( Audience laughs) 004140

So the lizard is waiting for the warm air to come and heat his chest. Do you know why this happens? The lizards will fight the scorpions and swallow the scorpions. When the lizard has enough heat available that will help digest the scorpions and when they have no heat available, the scorpion comes out of the lizard’’s stomach.

So that is why they sit there and do like this. So this is lizard meditation. So if you don’’t have a mental focusing point, let me tell you this the mental focusing point is simply focusing on external matters. Even including skandas. Skandas means aggregates within you - the form the sound, the smell, the taste, the touch - is that five? So ta ti roh rikta yes the form sound smell taste and touch. Even focusing on them may not make much advance for your internal spiritual development. However this is a good way to learn focusing because there’’s no way of measuring how do you focus. So the physical points are a good way of learning focusing how to measure.

The physical focusing may not necessarily be the ultimate spiritual. That’’s why I said mental focusing point. Tibetan Buddhism provides tremendous variety of mental focusing subjects. There is also a very systematic focus where one follows the other - each step leads you to the next step

Lam Rim means step by step

So there’’s something called Lam Rim in my tradition. Lam rim which means the step by step path.004452

Which meaning a road through which you go. So there is a tremendous amount of subjects in this Lam Rim path that they give you. First master one step or at least gain experience then move to the next step, then move to the next, then moved to the next and ultimately it will lead you to the Buddha level.

So I called this now-a-days, the roadmap to the state of Buddha. Roadmap to Buddhahood because they tell you exactly where you are where you are going and what (you do?).

This is solid, very solid. Millions of Buddha’’s follower have gone on that path and become Buddhas. If we follow that path then we will achieve what they achieved. Otherwise we just wander aimlessly we go here go there go there go here go there and then what? 004607

What is a true spiritual path?

When I first came to the United States I had a friend. He is still a good friend and he’’s a member in New York. So he is a young gentleman and part of a very nice young couple. He works with electronics.

So he was working for some teacher. This teacher shows you how to walk on fire. First you meditate for seven days and at the end of the seventh day you walk on the fire pit from here to there without any difficulty.

You walk barefoot on the fire. It’’s good, no doubt! But after walking in the fire - it’’s done. You pay a hundred dollars a day plus then you are walking on the fire. This was back in the 1980's when $100 was a lot of money. But after a week, that’’s the end of it.

A spiritual path

A) does not depend on money

B) ends when you become fully enlightened

That is available to you when you follow the path of Tibetan Buddhism. Any questions?(Audience laughs) Honestly! Yes 004750

Questions

audience: In the Lotus Sutra Manjushri says that Maitreya is going to be the next Buddha. Then I read that he’’s not coming for billions of years. So if that’’s true how can we attain enlightenment in one lifetime or 16 lifetimes if the next Buddha is Maitreya and he’’s not going to attain enlightenment for billions of years?.

Rimpoche: Very interesting and you are very literal. Number one Maitreya Buddha doesn’’t take a billion years. Number two - Maitreya Buddha is already a Buddha. You know Buddha doesn’’t have to be an official Buddha. When they are talking about the first and second Buddha they are talking about the one thousand Buddhas in this fortunate eon. The next official Buddha is Maitreya Buddha that doesn’’t mean all Buddhas are official Buddhas.. I am quite sure among us there are Buddhas! So definitely. So that’’s why I said ““too literal””. Thank you, any other questions anybody? Yes? (?) Namaste

audience: you say Broka the five important points Broka, Buddi, wisdom Yupti logic. What would be the English translation for Broka?

Rimpoche: Parenja Paramita - transcendental wisdom

Audience: Thank you

Rimpoche: Thank you. The Maharishi teaches that right - Transcendental Wisdom. Well if there are no other questions I have a couple of other things to talk to about.

There is good news and bad news and the bad news is first. The day before yesterday, I was walking with Kimba who helps me, she is my assistant. We were walking together and Kimba received a phone call from somebody. The person was not sure if they were calling the right place or not. But the caller said that my aunt, Joan Hurley, who used to go to Michigan for retreats, passed away yesterday with a massive heart attack. 005131

So we acknowledge that. Joan Hurley is one of our very senior very very senior almost number two senior in New York at Jewel Heart.

The number one is Luis and number two is Joan Hurley. So it’’s very sad news and I immediately said some prayers and I pray. So we would like to ask everybody to pray and dedicate our positive deeds for the well-being of all living beings or all human beings who have passed away - particularly Joan Hurley.

We do this to purify any left over negativities and we will urge Buddhas, Buddha Dakinis, to the lead Joan Hurley to an appropriate pure land without any difficulties through the narrow passage of Bardo.

So I would also like to take this opportunity to convey our condolences to their family. Incidentally she lived alone in New York but she had family in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was visiting with them. So that is one good thing. They’’re going to have some services this coming Thursday and Friday in New Jersey and on (Staten Island?). If our members in Jewel Heart in New York could go, please do.

Also I would like to say one thing which is my mistake. Last night when I was busy some Makarata called me from New York saying are we going to do this prayer today together with the New York group. I said no as I was rushing out of the door.

In thinking it over a second time, I think we should. That would be an nice way to do. So after this meeting is over those who would like to stay back please stay with us. We will join with the New York group and say prayers.

The prayer that we will say will be the dedication prayers of Vajrayogini and the dedication prayers of Yamantaka.

So that will be after this meeting at 1130, so together we will pray with the Jewel Heart people in New York. That is the sad news. 005612

Now the good news. We would like to congratulate one of our friends and colleagues Kathleen Ivanoff on her opening a new psychotherapy practice. I have no doubt that she’’ll be very helpful because she’’s very grounded in this tradition and she’’s very good psychotherapist.

So I don’’t know how to get it but probably there is an e-mail going around there may be an announcement. So we will be looking forward to more help. Those of you who need it in the psychotherapy with the background of Buddhism that of unique Tibetan Buddhism which we already have a number of it.

Aura is doing that too and incidentally Aura is also going to open another institution called ““Inside the Sky”” am I right or wrong? Inner sky! So that will be very helpful. Some people may think Aura may be going away from Jewel Heart that we had a fight and we are separating - no that’’s not it. That is one good way of serving people 005813

So I really welcome and so you will benefitted - Oh I see I am sorry so her website is www,KathleenIvanoff.com - this is how you find her.