Archive Result

Soundfile 20120603GRAATB23

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Ann Arbor

Topic Tibetan Buddhism

Transcriber Sai Wei

Date 6-04-2012

Good morning everybody and welcome to the Tibetan Buddhism talk with Gelek Rimpoche. Today is almost the middle of Sakadawa, the month or rather the day in which the three most important events of Buddha's life took place. The birth, the passing away of Buddha, which in India somehow, the Indian Buddhists hesitate to call death anniversary, they use the word called mahapuri nirvana, so it is like a going through important nirvana. Nirvana being non-samaric. So they utilize that language, rather than calling it anniversary. And so...birth, death, ...look at me. I forgot the third one. Can you believe it? Huh? What?

Enlightenment, that's right. That's the most important thing. Forgot it, right? Buddha becoming Buddha. All these three are falling in, supposed to be following on one day. But this is 2600 years, unwritten story, so honestly speaking, in today's times, no one can say it's not, but at the same time, to be able to confirm is also quite difficult, I think. But also, otherwise I would not have said such a thing, but the way of counting, of what they call Baset Day by those Theravada tradition, the Tibetans, the Mongolians, the Northern Indians, and Chinese, Mahayana counting, differs. So it's sometimes a month difference. Sometimes, they get all these different. But I think the full moon, that is, I don't think that changes. But it differs. And that is why, 2600 years, counting and recording, and since there is no written record, it becomes difficult. However, in almost everything, mind is more important than matter too. Which is true reality. [5:00]

Unfortunately, I belong to that old school: the mind is more important than matters. Of course, many of today's thoughts are: matter is more important than mind. But, as we all know, today the scientific world is turning around and following the mind over matter, than matter over mind. So mind is important, that's why sometimes certain belief systems, whether it is absolutly, exactly okay for 24 hours or not. I think what they describe the benefits and this and that, I think it works well. Because it is the mind that makes difference, not the matter making difference. But then you cannot dismiss the matter either. You really have to have it, both. Mind and matter, both are very important, concerned. But who makes what? That is quite clear. Without mind, the matter doesn't function by itself. So even, every action we take, positive or negative, whatever, it is due to the mind-mattter. We know that very clear.

One thing, when you are thinking of commemorating a Buddha, the events like 12 principle events of Buddha's life ect. are very important, no doubt. And also, the 84 Jataka stories of Buddha's lives are also considered very important. They're all true. But the most important, Buddha's events of Buddha's life events, to be able to commemorate is the teaching of the Buddha. As Jekonglama Tsongkapa, a great Tibetan teacher, the founder of the tradition that I belong to, I follow, I don't belong to. They don't own me. But I follow, honestly. I emphasize that because in the West, sometimes people say, "Well, I belong to that center, I belong to that tradition." But no one really belongs to anybody. You belong to yourself. Maybe your spouse has a claim over you, that is up to you to sort it out. That is not anybody else's job, neither the government, nor the tradition, nor the spiritual path, nobody. It is for you to sort it out, who belongs to whom. Maybe nobody belongs to anybody, who knows? I like to be independent. [10:00] So anyway, but truly speaking who doesn't want to be independent? Everybody else definitely does.

So I follow the tradition, the founder of the tradition is Jelongslama Tsongkapa. He is a 14th century Tibetan great saint and sage, a most learned master, honestly. We even say: "Can Jen kepe tsuge Tsongkapa" "the crown jewel of Tibetan sages". We will say that. Jegolonglama Tsongkapa said: "Zepe Kule Songen... [10:55]. So then Jelongslama Tsongkapa said the best activity of the Buddha is the teaching. All intelligent people, if you want to respect the Buddha, commemorate the Buddha, remember the Buddha, and then, the way and the how, what you do, is to remember, and commemorate, respect, follow, practice, his teachings, the best way to commemorate the Buddha.

So when we say we try to gain benefit out of Buddha's teachings. The benefit what we gonna get out of it, the most important, is the teaching and his message. To see what difference we can make in our life, that is the benefit of Buddha's teaching.

Many people will think it the simply worshiping. For some people, yes, it is the worshipping. As childhood, there are so many Tibetans who simply worship, who simply go to the temple, and prostrate, and pray, and circumambulate. I have seen that continuously happening, when I had the opportunity, when we, a group of Jewel Heart, had an oppportunity to visit in 2007. Same old or young, the people from near and distant areas of Lhasa, come around, push themself through this huge line that holds up this center temple, simply, totally faith. Just simple faith. Absolutely. Shouting and expressing your wishes. That is what they call called prayer. And sort of believing, that is one way of practicing. [15:00] I cannot say, that is not right. Many people do that, many people do that. Simply relying on their faith.

Fortunately many of those objects to whom we put faith are good. And that's why it has never been bad, most of the time. Whether it is in the East or whether it is in the West. But then occasionally, sometimes, the subject to whom you put the faith can be wrong, can be bad, that leads to so many people who are worshiping to them in the wrong way. That has happened in the East, that has happened in the West. And we saw it's happening too, so that is one way of doing it however, it is better, just don't be faith alone. The faith must have some important reasons to back up the faith. Which is very important.

Because truth is truth, faith doesn't provide truth. Truth prevails. And that is important and seeing that, and understanding that, making difference in our life is very important task of human being. In general, and particulary, in educated persons, such as yourself. Honestly. When you're educated, when you know right and wrong. There is no reason to rely on faith alone, there is no reason. If you do so, you may land in some different situation.

Situations that we went through with Jim Jones and even David Crash, and all of those. And so many of them, are simply faith that mislead people. People lose lives, so that is not that doesn't happens. It does happens. So the reasoning is very important. And one of the most important thing is, we do have a wonderful mind. [20:00] Even let's say, someone who's not even educated, someone even illiterate, even then, that poor human being, has a wonderful mind.And if you don't utilize your mind, and just following what someone said, that probably is not right.

One beautiful thing in the Buddha's teaching, which the Buddha had stated,again and again, and everywhere" Do not just follow just because I, the Buddha, had said so. So you follow if you are satisfied, after your investigation ,investigate what I said, and when you're satisfied, you may follow. Don't follow just because I said so. For that I give and example, at that time, this is 2600 years ago. When you wanted to buy gold, look at the gold, check the gold, rub the gold with other stones that showed the clarity of the gold, cut them, burn them, and when you're fully satisfied, then buy it. Otherwise don't take it, just because I said this is gold.

Burning, cutting, or rubbing against other stones, are the three most important examples that the Buddha gave. And that is the message of the spiritual path, that what you get it, cut that with your intelligent mind, burn it with your wisdom, rub it against other logical reasons, when those three are done and you are satisfied, take it because it is going to help you. That is how the Buddha taught us.

When you thinking back to Buddha's teachings. It's fantastic. I was thinking this morning, because Sakadawa coming right? I even thought, today is the full moon day. So I was up early and doing all that. I was thinking, you know, one way, this is 2600 years. We say the old is gold, and ancient is great, and wonderful and all of that. But on the other hand, they don't have that much intelligence or intellectual university, and all this we have today. It almost is like cave man. A man that lives in a cave. They know how to eat and all that sort of thing, and I'm sitting in a movie theater. I was remembering this morning, a cave man, you know. But what they carry this attachment, obsession, anger, hatred, jealousy, ignorance, they are very much there. They might not have other intellectual things, but they are there. [25:00]

At that moment, to this idea people, that sort of, let me just be more straight forward, that sort of brain chemistry, another word is mental chemistry, right? Doesn't even know what is right and what is wrong. Ignorance is such a thing, honestly, it really stands so hard, and every step of the way, whatever they could stand. Even the racial discrimination and, you know, looking down on woman, the sexist thing. All of these things, the ignorance stays so strong. To some culture, we call it culture, another word is custom of particular areas, nothing is wrong with this, if you look down on different color, or different look, anything. Nothing is wrong, on contrary, in some culure some places, that is the right thing that you are doing. That is ignorance. Really plogging every inch of our understanding, every inch.

2600 years ago when the Buddha was first coming, how strong that will be. Right and wrong, we don't know at that time. Even killing human being in not necessarily wrong at that time. Maybe even meant to be killed because belongs to the enemy group, and that level of that understanding somehow Buddha had been able to tell and make people understand and pacify, and introducing killing a human being is wrong. Stealing somebody's property and belongings is very wrong. Sexual misconduct is wrong. Lying is wrong. To be able to tell that much, to be able to get that on that on those people's heads. Itself is fantastic. It is really something to be very grateful and appreciate. You know, if you are telling today to someone who ask as human killing a human being is wrong, it's no big deal. We all know it. Yeah, at least even I know, right? But those days, those minds of people, and be able to tell, teach, and follow continuously for another 2600 years. [30:00] And deeper message is, of mind over matter, how mind functions, what mind makes in world in somebody's life. Which are the parts of mind, making what. Such a sophisticated thing, which today we do understand to some extent because thanks to the scientists, such as Einstein and so and forth, and today's scientists. But you know, mind you describe 2600 years ago and telling these things to, honestly speaking, a bunch of idiots. [laughter] You know, a bunch of idiots, and then making sense, which is really something to be, I sort of felt, tremendous gratitude. Tremendous gratitude. Sort of tears coming around.

That's the why, not only those big sophisticated teaching, but simply, what is right and what is wrong. These 2600 years ago, telling to these people is something very big deal, very big deal. Amazing. Truly speaking, total enlightenment. What they really refer as enlightenment. Which must be true because how would you know all this sophisticated things ,which for us, for a thousand years steady we begin to discover things that the Buddha taught 2600 years before.

The other day in Garrison last week retreat, we were talking about the Five Aggregates and out of those five aggregates, form. And then, we also talking about it. Simply, form is form. [laughs] Our physical body, every part of our physical body is the form. Including eye, ear, nose, all of those are form. And that Buddha 2600 years ago, telling us, taking eye alone and he is telling us 3 different things in here: the actual eyeball we see, then there is inside there some kind of light, natural some dot, which he calls "the eye consciousness base", then eye consciousness itself, then he talks about it. Eye consciousness seeing with the help of that base, which handles of this eyeball.[35:00] Retina, what we call it, right? And he's telling, if you are missing one of them, you are going to see, the physically upside-down. Human beings upside-down and all that. This is,mind you, 2600 years ago, some crazy Indian guy with a little bit of sarong around and dusty sandal shoe, and telling us that. I mean, this is of course great scientific discovery in the West after 1000 years, you know. Which makes you think, you just cannot know enlightenment. Total enlightenment.

One gentleman asked me a few years ago, one Asian gentlemen asked me a few years, elderly gentlemen. Looks older than me. Asked me and said, "I have only one question for you." I said,"Yeah? I don't know whether I have an answer." He said,"The mind of the Buddha, the enlightened mind, does that really know each and every sophisticated scientific, the physics detail down there?" And that's a very good thought And I have no basis to think, except what little information I have. And I said," According to, Buddha's teaching and enlightenment means total knowledge. They should supposed to know everything." He said," Very difficult for me to buy that." That is honest. I mean, at least he thinks about it. I don't even thought about it. Now you are thinking like this, how detailed those, like, ear, nose, throat. I mean, even Buddha, these teachings of the Buddha comes out of 2600 years ago, saying these three little dots are sitting on the parallel line inside somewhere. One is ear, one is nose base, one is eye base. So, they tell you that. They don't have any scientific thing that looking, they do not do operations. They may have dead body's head, but dead body's head doesn't maintain those, those light nature bases disapears. So all of those, sort of, begin to think, yes, enlightenment does really know every detail what the scientists came to know through microscope underneath.

So which really, sort of, brings more appreciation of Buddha being in this world. If Buddha not being here, at least for me, not only the experience but information alone would not be available. [40:00] And those information are fortunately, very sophisticated, and happens to be correct, happens to be leading the individual, maybe taking a couple of lives, if fortunate enough, but somehow, ultimately, it will match and even get mastered. So all of them become possible. And particularly, hope, hope of overcoming this sufferings, hope of overcoming the pains that we experience.

Because we create our own sufferings. Without any doubt, we see with ourselves, repeatedly doing what you yourself not supposed to do. Repeatedly. That because of our negative emotions make it. I mean, people do smoke, just an example. Smoking people, they do smoke.They know that smoke harms them. And they already choked, still then they are continuously smoke. No matter how cold it may be, choking and smoking, and trying to finish. This is one example, we do in every field. Every field. Every field. We know we're not supposed to. We know this is not good. Yet we can't help it. That is perhaps called addiction. So that's what is happening.

So we create pain, misery, problem, suffering, to so many people, so many times. Almost all the time, we do. So we need to have, solving the problem, solving the pain, relieving. It's almost like hopeless. But, when you are reading, and understanding, and thinking about the Buddha's teaching. Even you don't relieve the pain, but hope is strongly establishing in there. There is hope, it is not hopeless. All these are the kindness of the Buddha.

So those thoughts occupied me this morning, thinking it is the 15th today, confused myself, okay? So I like to share that with you. Similarly, whatever little message I've been able to bring to you, it's also the Buddha's message, coming from India, went through Tibet, and 1000 years it maintained. We call it 'developed', it really maintained, importance here is maintaining it's authenticity. And now it is brought out in the West, and I, myself, is happy and grateful to be a part of this. And each and every one of you who are listening or reading about it. [45:00] So do hope, a little relief of suffering, I do hope you get, a little relief of suffering, if possible, total. But little relief of suffering, even then, it is tremendous worth for us. And that hope, we will be able to maintain, and hoping for total relief of suffering. And which we hope we will all be able to get it.

And these are my thoughts. Just remembering not only the sophisticated, detailed Buddha's teaching, but the simple little even in our life, knowing what sort of mindset 2600 years ago what we have, and looking today. And really think, it is fantastic job Buddha has done. And hope we all benefited out of that. Thank you. Next Sunday I will be in Holland, so I'll be talking to you from the Netherlands. Thank you.

May all beings have happiness,

may they be free from suffering.

May they find the joy that has never known suffering,

may they be free from attachment and hatred.