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20120506GRAATB19

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Good morning and welcome to Tibetan Buddhism with Gelek Rimpoche. Last night it was super moon - at least in the United States. It was not only just a full moon but bigger and better; 38 per cent brighter and 40 per cent bigger than usual. I think it was also Wesak Day. The Tibetans call it Sakadawa, the full moon of the 4th month of the lunar calendar. The Theravadan Buddhist traditions hold that Wesak Day is the full moon day of this month. But all Buddhist traditions are talking about the same days of Buddha’s life, the 3 most important events in Buddha’s life time. One was that Buddha had become buddha – his full enlightenment day – whether it went according to the Theravadan version that Buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya or according to what the Mahayana says that Buddha attained enlightenment way before but went through the process to show us and help us. So that is the day of his enlightenment.

Then it is also the day of his paranirvana, his anniversay of passing away. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradion that falls on the 15th lunar day of the 4th month, called s

Sakadawa. But they are both taking about the same thing.

There are different calendars over so many centuries in different countries and so there is a difference.

Whatever it is, it is this month that Buddha’s most important events of his life took place. The 3rd important event would be his birthday. I am not so sure about that, but the other two are very important.

Traditionally, they say that if you accumulate virtue in this month you get a 1000 or even 100,000 times more benefit. That is what the earlier great teachers tried to encourage people to do, to give them inspiration. I am not saying it is not true, it could be true, but my thinking is it is for their inspriation.

Because of the blessings and the astrological functioning it actually could have a lot of effect. Some of us do experience different feelings at full moon, so it is not strange. It is a fact. If we say too muchthough, people will laught at you too. That’s how the world is today.

So this month is very important.

In old Tibet we were meat eaters, because due to the cold and high altitude there was not much else to eat except animal products. Later there were more vegetables, but it had become a Tibetan custom.

However, though we are meat eaters, this Sakadawa month would be totally vegetarian. Even butchers couldn’t sell meat by law in Central Tibet. Particularly the full moon day of that month, people try to be vegetarian.

The late Kyabje Bakula Rimpoche once came to Jewel Heart and gave the 13 deity Yamantaka initiation, when we were in the downtown building in Ann Street. He was totally vegetarian, actually as long as I knew him ever since we came to India. He was totally vegetarian and did not even eat eggs, onons or garlic.

He said that when he was a kid he loved the dry Tibetan beef jerkeys and used to cry for them on the 15th day of this month. One of his teachers was an abbot and later became the senior throne holder of ex abbots. He told him, “You must be a deman, so here you go, demon and have your meat.” And he gave him a really big piece. Then he said, “But I tell you one thing: there is one of those huge monsters that eat small creatures. Thousands of them go in his month and he eats them. But on the full moon day of this month even this monster will not open his mouth. But here you go, have your meat.”

And Bakula Rinpoche said he did eat that meat at that time. So on this day traditionally, the elders will tell the young ones not to eat meat. So that is probably the best thing to do.

Every day we should have a very good motivation and think, “Not for me, but for all living beings, I would like to not waste my time in general and particularly this month, this week and this day. I like to be helpful for all.” We should have that sort of motivation in the morning and in the evening when we go to bed. That is, unles we didn’t have time to think or got too drunk, too tired, too rushed. But if you can think, it is good to regret and purify all negativities and if you have done something good be proud of yourself and rejoice. That way you build more positive deeds. Then when the total calculation comes you have more in your credit than in your debit.

[[[In the meantime, this is very personal, but one of our JH directors, Carole, has her birthday yesterday. We want to wish her very happy birthday and many happy returns and thanks you looking after JH and I would like to take the opportunity. ]]]

Now to continue with the subject of Buddha’s gift. We move more to what to do: try to think, meditate. Learning everything is impossible. Even being a scholar is difficult. We took the Four Noble Truths as basic principle. We are now in the 2nd Noble Truth.

So we are looking at what’s happening in our life, good and bad, everything, Actually, good, bad and beautiful things are happening, but somehow everybody is saying good, bad and ugly.

Why is it happening? That’s what we are looking at. Where does it come from? Was it created by someone and decided to impose on us? Or was it one thing we did that made a difference? Why, how, where does it come from? That’s the real question of the 2nd Noble Truth.

Officially, we say that the 2nd Noble Truth is the cause of suffering, but it’s also the cause of joy and happiness as well. It is just cause. Why do we have good, ugly and beautiful? That’s the 2nd Noble Truth.

Buddha was just like us before. Whatever earlier sages and traditions said Buddha looked through and practiced, meditated and experimented, and found something slightly different.

The Four Noble Truths is basically this: Buddha said, “I found something nectar-like, but if I speak to people they won’t understand, so I better sit in the forest and keep meditating.”

So the nectar he found was the Four Noble Truths, particularly the relationship between the First and Second Truth and the relationship between the Third and Fourth Truth. They are called Noble Truths.

As we said last Sunday they are noble, because special persons can see. We are unable, we are ordinary, so we don’t see the hair in the palm. I can’t see them. I don’t have my glasses and wouldn’t even be able to see yak hair growing.

Our mind is great mind, but not special. Special is how much closer you are to hearing and seeing absolute truth.

Those who can hear the absolute truth are special, all others are ordinary or beginners or lay persons.

They see it and others are unable to see – that’s why they are Noble Truths. They see it as truth. We experience our joy and suffering. We know and see this but they see this as truth.

The relationship between 1st and 2nd Noble Truths is one of cause and result. What Buddha discovered was very important to him and it is very important for us - when we know. So far we don’t know. We have no idea where joy and suffering and everything comes from. Who made it?

That is the big question, if you really think. If you decide not to think you can make it easy, blame it on God or karma. Is there somebody called karma? Yael Crawford used to have a dog named karma. So maybe that dog made it? I don’ t know.

When we get into unexpected strange difficulties like 9-11, then the question is: why did God let us suffer so much? Why is God looking to the other side? It is almost blaming God. But leave God alone, it’s not his fault. He didn’t do that. He didn’t make 9-11, honestly, not. We all know that. Many people don’t like to talk about it. I had difficulty during that period. Not only the suffering of people in the US and I was part of it, but also my little book “Good Life Good Death” came out that time. The publishers wanted me to go everywhere to talk about it to sell the book. Almost everywhere people asked me these questions of why God looked the other way, etc.

For me, the answer was: the individual karma. But then people said, “The innocent people falling from the buildings, the innocent kids who died there, when did they create that karma?” Somehow it doesn’t match people ‘s minds. So I simply had to say: it was the wrong person at the wrong place at the wrong time. That was my excuse answer at that time.

When some crazy guy shot people at Columbine High School, people asked what happened to God? But he is not our body guard. So deep down, this question is nagging us. You people are educated and thinkers. When you think, you begin to see. When you decide not to think and leave it up to God, that’s fine. You can pray to God for the best. That‘s absolutely fine, nothing wrong. But if you think one step beyond that, then God wont’ be torturing us, or making this suffering for us. God would give us help and guidance to do the best. Same thing for Buddha, same answer for all enlightened beings. They are supposed to be most compassionate, most caring, so why don’t they care for me and each one of us? We can all ask that. They do care, for sure. But we ourselves, are responsible for our own deeds, honestly.

This is the difficult part. Here it is ugly and beautiful both. We are responsible for ourselves, nobody else, not even your spouse, parents, masters, children, disciples. You yourself. We are a single individual, no doubt about that. There is no question. We are very independent, all of us. We try to be and think we are making ourselves independent. But we are actually trying not to be independent. In reality we are doing the opposite, making ourselves dependent. Believe it or not, watch yourself.

I can see it in myself. If I want to get up and walk out, right now I can, but I depend on somebody else to hold me. The excuse is that it is safer. That’s’ an excuse. Just like that, you depend on others. Otherwise I won’t get up. That’s a mundane example. In our life, our way of thinking and living, we are thinking we are making ourselves independent, but it is the other way round.

Perhaps that’s what they are talking about. You don’t see the hair in your palm. The difference between special and ordinary persons. That’s what they are talking about. We don’t really see it straight. I am not saying we have delusions or a dualistic mind, but that’s what is happening with us.

Our life’s consequences, good and bad, are not coming out of one deed. There are many deeds. Every minute of our life is the result of so many deeds. Look in yourself. We have been sitting here for 10 minutes. Within that time how many different thoughts have come up in your heads? How much will our mind follow those thoughts? How many right and wrong suggestions and decisions did we make in these 10 minutes? That shows how multi-tasking we are.

Each and every one of these things we are creating ourselves. I may think, “I am just sitting here doing nothing, but we are doing it at lot.

Some may think, “I am just passing my time and I am crazy”, but whether you are crazy or not, high or low, you are always doing something, you are making your future. That’s the truth of the cause, suffering or joy. It is the 2nd Noble Truth. It is our own deeds. Officially, I am supposed to say there are two: karmic and delusional causes. True, but the bottom line is that it is us, karma or delusions, it is us. We entertain our delusions and our joy. We create our positive karma and motivations and thoughts. Bare bones, bottom line, I think we have to know that we are responsible. We are independent with responsibility. We are totally individuals, with responsibility. It is up to us. It is us, at least in the common usual sense. We know that yesterday’s deed make a difference to today’s life. Last year’s action makes a difference to today’s life. We often say, “What I did at that time was good and now I have good results”. Also, “I blew it at that time, that’s why I am in trouble now.” No one can deny that. It shows how our future will be.

Just like last year made a difference to this year, so this year makes a difference to the future.

I am just introducing the 2nd Noble Truth. Next week we go more in detail. We have to talk about anger, faith, jealousy, appreciation, obsession, love, and how it makes a difference in our life, today and tomorrow. In a way, this is good and solid. No commitment, nothing, but good a opportunity to pick up so much ancient wisdom practice, up to today, a continuing living tradition. It is good and I am happy I could do that and hope it is a little contribution to your life.

In order to affect positive change, it always has to affect the negative aspects. It goes that way. See yourself being responsible. You are the boss of yourself, not even your spouse, sorry, though in our western culture we say that my spouse is my boss. But it is you.

Are there any questions?

Audience: Can you elaborate on what is karmic cause and delusional cause?

Rimpoche: The delusional causes are supposed to come from ignorance. All anger, jealousy, etc, are coming out of delusion. I don’t know whether that’s the right word. Traditionally it is called ignorance. In the Wheel of Life it is depicted as a blind old person, not knowing. All those sources of negative emotions and their consequences are coming from that not knowing or wrong knowing. That’s why learning is important. It is the like light. Negative emotions are like darkness. When light hits darkness goes. Only light can remove darkness. If you shine the light of knowing on the darkness of wrong knowing or ignorance, the effect thereafter is much better.

Audience: I have a question about individual karma. Our existence very much depends on everyone else. We can’t separate ourselves from anyone. Scientifically, every part of the universe is interactive with every other part of the universe. There are infinite life times of karmic interactions with all people , so the notion of individual karma sounds farfetched.

My other question is about God and 9-11. God is supposed to be all pervasive, all powerful. So in that sense God is involved. If he is not involved then he is not God.

Rimpoche: I have no answer for the God question. As for individuals, I didn’t say they are not interconnected. Your question already addresses this point itself. The world is communicating with everything. Who is communicating? You yourself. Who is communicating to the word? The individual. Even when people punch each other, somebody has to do the punching, somebody has to respond. There is not denial of interdependence. But who depends on who? There has to be individuals. You cannot rule the individual out. You can’t say everything is all and nobody is responsible. That’s like what these big companies do. The CEO takes a golden hand shake and parachutes out and nobody is responsible. That will not do. Somebody is responsible and communicating. There are individuals behind everything. People communicate through electronic multi media, but there is always an individual who does that, who chats, who bars somebody from communicating, who starts another communication. There are always individuals. Individuals and dependent origination are very much interlinked. If you take them out you would be in a different world. That’s all I wanted to say and thank you and see you next Sunday.

[[Thank you John, for the beautiful music last Sunday. I am in retreat, so I had to run out, but I really appreciate it.

May all beings…………………..]]]