Archive Result

20121118GREAATGB46

00:00

Welcome everybody. Today happens to be the concluding part of the teachings going on here with Kyabje Lochö Rinpoche. We had a really, really fantastic teaching on the Central Philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism and the “Essence of Eloquence” by Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa and we received a very, very good transmission, both oral – and teaching transmission, although the explanation may have been a little brief. So we were very fortunate. I am looking back at what we have done up to now.

For a number of years we have been able to build the compassion aspects of Buddha’s teaching in general and particularly the Mahayana part of compassion, based on so many important texts, including Shantideva’s Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. That doesn’t mean we have mastered it, but we have established quite a good ground of understanding.

Also, when I look back at the last three to four years, maybe close to five, we also built up a tremendous amount of teachings on wisdom, including the tenets of the different schools of Buddhism. We didn’t to uch any of the early Indian non-Buddhist schools, such as Carvakas and Pratyekas [??? Can’t be, Pratyekas are a Buddhist school]and so on. But we did the Buddhist points as much as we could. Within that the Essence of Eloquence gives you particularly more on the viewpoints of the tenets of the Mind Only thoughts and the Middle Path. The Middle Path is also divided into two categories and we did as much as we could on each of them. Again, that doesn’t mean we have completed it. There is still more to do.

Thereby we tried to establish the two wings of the Buddha’s path to reach to the total achievement, the wing of compassion and the wing of wisdom. This is what we have been doing for the last decades or so. Before that we had established the very basic ground, to establish some kind of pure, proper conduct as well as morality, as well as discipline. All of those, when I look back, that’s what we have done for the last 25 years. Many of you have been with me for all these years and when I look back I can’t say whether you have achieved anything or not, but I think you really came a very long way and very far.

0:05

I am saying that in the sense the Buddha used when he said gate gate paragate…’gone gone gone beyond’. So we have done that very well.

Then we also had Lochö Rinpoche’s teachings in Jewel Heart a number of times, particularly this one now has been the icing on the cake. So we have been fortunate and I am very happy and would like to really thank you.

Now, before I forget: it is interesting. We received an e mail this morning from Professor Robert Thurman saying that he is coming tomorrow to attend this teaching. We can’t contact him back but it looks like he is staying for a day. Presumably he is staying here tomorrow. We are already done, but since he is here we want to take advantage of that and that is probably tomorrow evening, at the usual time like 7.00 pm or 7.30 pm, we will have a talk by him here, with questions and answers. Everybody here, please prepare any questions you have saved for the last 10 days or so. It is a great opportunity to ask him, because it was he who translated that book 20 years ago. It is a great opportunity, because we all speak the same language and you don’t need a translator. That will be very helpful. Particularly, those of you who on the internet, if you have questions, you can forward them to Jewel Heart and they will be asked and answered by Professor Thurman. Please do check and look at the website or call. I am really presuming that he will be here in the evening. But in case he planned to stay for the day but take the last plane back on Monday and can’t do the talk, don’t blame me. Then I have to say sorry. This just suddenly happened. He kept on telling me that he was coming. Originally he wanted to attend the whole teaching and then he got so busy. Now he is coming tomorrow. So that’s that.

0:10

The other day we talked very much about the preciousness of the human life. This preciousness is so true and so important. You don’t need the Buddhist teaching and the Central Philosophy to figure out whether or not life is precious. It is the good old American expression: you don’t need rocket science to figure this out. Anybody can see it. But the question is: what do we do? Each and everybody wants to do something great, at least not do something bad.

That’s what every good human being has in their desire. So what is that good thing you want to do? That’s where we go. We say: what does good thing mean? Many people think it means to make a lot of money and build comfort and build a huge monument to look back even after you are gone. That’s what people do. That’s why people build so many things, right?

There was an interesting Tibetan poet, a very funny guy in the mid 1900s. In those days Tibet was still completely closed. But this guy sneaked out of Tibet. Tibet had a very funny rule. They would not let anybody else come into Tibet, nor did they allow Tibetans to go out – for centuries. We thought the snow mountain boundaries were a huge protection realm. No one can get in and no one can get out. They knew they were sacrificing development for the people and the country. They were not stupid. They definitely knew. But they did this to protect the purity of Buddha’s teaching. They didn’t want any contamination at all. They thought that getting contact to the outside would contaminate that. But this guy somehow sneaked out and went to India. He joined with a lot of Indian Buddhist poets. He led this crazy double life. He was a monk and later a lay person. So he led this double life, but at different times, not together. He was such a great poet. He ended up being the author to compose the national anthem of Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon.

0:15

He gave his name as Dharmarakshita or something like that. In one of his writings he said that everyone is trying to leave something behind to look back after they are gone. Some will leave children, some will leave memorial institutions. Some will leave monuments. That’s true. People will always try to build something. That something becomes your legacy. I don’t know if any spiritual practitioners try to build a legacy. Whatever efforts you put in, that becomes your legacy. So whatever efforts you put in you always try to make it something good. That goodness we see differently with different eyes. For some it is wealth, for some health, for some it is spiritual. Very few people will really have a good role model for spiritual development. This is our problem. At least we who have this opportunity will know what “good” we are talking about it.

Even within that goodness of the spiritual path, love-compassion oriented, you have so many ways of pulling – this way and that way. For some people it is such a priority. People do accept compassion and love. But we don’t really know what compassion is. We don’t know what true love really is. That is somehow interpreted and people do all kinds of things. But all are good. That’s great. Wonderful. It is good to help people and set up a society which is service-oriented. All that is great. I am not criticizing. It may sound like that, but it is just that I have something more to say. But I am not criticizing. It is great, but not good enough for us. What is really good and what we really need is to end the suffering. Honestly. That has to begin with ourselves. It is yes to compassion and yes to love and yes it should be for all mother sentient living beings. But first it is me. If you don’t care of yourself who else is going to take care of you? That’s one thing. Then if you don’t do it now, when would you do it? There will be no better time. With these two reasons our goal should be more than material service, more than helping. Helping is definitely part of it, but it is me – and each and every one of us has to point the finger to ourselves, saying “me” must at least end my suffering once and for all. That’s important.

Ending suffering does not mean destroying life. Destruction of life does not end suffering. It creates more suffering. I really wanted to say that. Any violence, anything, is definitely creating suffering. Ending life does not end suffering. It actually creates a life that begins with more pain and suffering. We don’t know beyond that, so we may think that by ending life we end the suffering. People do commit funny and horrible things, right? If you think that is ending the suffering, forget it – it doesn’t, honestly.

0:22

But how do you end suffering? That’s why you have all these spiritual paths. From simple Buddhist practices, like taking refuge, up to the ultimate central philosophy, all these paths have one target and that is cutting the sufferings. Where are they coming from? Are they external or internal? That is definitely external. There is not someone who decided to pass judgment and you are supposed to suffer. No. It is only within ourselves. I am sure a lot of people are not going to like this, but I believe it is true. Our sufferings is created by us. In other words, I am the creator of my own suffering, so I am the only one who can undo my suffering, nobody else. I created it. How did I create it? I have such a strong obsession and hatred on “me” and “my”. That is the root of all these problems. All the schools of philosophy and their thoughts and ideas are actually targeting that very ego-self, which is constantly functioning and creating pain for me as well as for others.

0:26

Seeing that, knowing that, and truly speaking, in usual American language, you really have the threaten that one. It is confused, mistaken, wrong perception. All of this falls on that. Actually what we are looking for is to negate and annihilate that one. That is the bottom line, bare bones. That is the whole purpose of wisdom. It doesn’t matter – nose or no nose, ear or no ear, this is all because of that. That becomes very difficult for people to catch that target, because it is a false invention. We do not negate something which is truly there. We do negate all false things. That’s why it is difficult to pinpoint what the target really is. It takes a lot of energy and effort and even a spiritual development. When I say: make life worthwhile, fulfill this precious life’s purpose I am talking about that. I am not talking about worshipping. This is the most important point. What does wisdom do? Where does suffering come from? Searching that, finding that, catching that and negating that, annihilating that is the task. By doing that you are left with the good parts only.

People talk about becoming Buddha and enlightened. How does this enlightenment build? How is it made? By negating all wrong things, all wrong views and deeds. The wrong deeds come because of the wrong views, because of wrong understanding, wrong perception.

0:30

People do commit negative actions, because they have wrong information. Look at the extremist suicide bombers. Most of them don’t think they are doing something bad. They think they are doing something great for their cause, their tradition, religion, race or whatever it is. It is the misperception, misinformation, which soak in their brain. Their mind is completely misinformed and their belief is coming out of that and makes them do this. Many of them, I am quite sure, think they are doing great. They think they are making the ultimate sacrifice in the service of Allah or whatever. They believe that and that makes them do that.

Similarly we also operate under certain wrong perceptions. So we act accordingly. That’s why the wisdom is so important. We talk every day, saying that without wisdom you are like a bird with only one wing. You probably heard that a hundred times from me. When you say that you get some kind of image. But truly, it is the wrong perception, the wrong information, and what makes the individual do the wrong thing. That wrong thing hurts oneself and others and that becomes non-virtuous. So if you look, it is as simple as this. What does wisdom do? It makes sure you don’t have wrong information. You cannot block information. Some people try to block information, some traditions tell you that you can’t read the newspaper, you can’t talk to people, you can’t listen to the radio, you can’t watch TV. Mind you, we are human beings and 21st century people. You can’t block anything. But you need wisdom for the individual to figure out what is really right and wrong. That is what wisdom is all about.

The Central Philosophy is so difficult and complicated because of the point where our suffering is coming within ourselves. Who is creating it and how? The normal, usual study should have traced it from the symptoms and from the causes and their causes until you can point out the root. The Central Philosophy is doing exactly that. They tell you that’s what it is. They trace it and particularly this involves the life after life – effects.

0.35

These wrong perceptions and wrong thoughts are nothing new, we picked it up in this life. We have been under that addiction for so many life times. We have even become comfortable with that. If we go against that it becomes uncomfortable. It becomes swimming against the current. That’s because we are so addicted. That’s why people are happy to enjoy doing the wrong thing. And that’s why it is difficult and a hardship to do something virtuous. That’s the reason. The root of all this is this stupid ignorance. It is totally a wrong perception, which creates all kinds of faults. Truly speaking, every melodrama we see in our life is actually false. Sorry, but really true. Actually it is false. We don’t know that and to some extent it is also better not to know. But that’s really what it is.

I mentioned that because our spiritual goal is to be the best. Buddhists call it to become a Buddha. Other traditions call it ‘coming close to God’ or whatever. But truly speaking there is not that much difference. It is only labeling. But what really happens is the individual, personal aspect and that is free of all these false things. They make a world of their own. One little fault has to cover this up and has to cover that up and cover that up and that makes whole complete false picture. Maybe that is a little too extreme for me to say, but if you see it, it is.

0:40

It is almost like many of our paper currencies. I am sorry, but truly speaking, if you really look deeply, they are just pieces of paper with different numbers on them. Then we accept that and it becomes like that. But if you really search and go deeply down there we all know it is false. At least up to the de-linking of the treasury from the gold, at least there was something there. But after that you know it is just pieces of paper. The value of the country is holding that. That’s what I was thinking yesterday when two friends were talking about currencies, selling and buying and so on. That really shows you how false it is.

It is the manipulation of a few individuals that can make a currency worth 50% more or less. That really shows you there is nothing really solid behind. That doesn’t mean you throw everything out and say there is no value. Don’t do that. The relative truth should be accepted and should not be doubted. Then people will call us crazy. You can’t ignore the relative truth. Maybe that’s what the Central Philosophy is. It balances the absolute non-existence and relatively accepts everything. That’s why I believe it is called the “Middle Path” – not too much this way and not too much that way. That Middle Path sees the real faults within us which create negativities and sufferings and we are used as slaves. It also sees that me, the individual, can make a difference and reverse everything.

Maybe that is the essence of Buddhist philosophy. Perhaps we have been looking for that in the last 10 days. Have a good day!

0:44

Today we have the long life prayer for Rinpoche and I thought we might start around 12 – 12.30 – but it doesn’t look like we are going to be ready. Don’t think we are going to start before 1.30 pm or so. All are welcome. But be aware that it involves long chanting in Tibetan. If you think you are going to be bored, don’t come. Otherwise everything is wonderful.

I might as well take the opportunity here to tell you about our next important event. That will be the winter retreat. The dates are Feb 21 to March 3. This is the lama chöpa, the real root of all practice. It is like a tree has a root. When there is no root the tree doesn’t grow. When there is a good root, then no matter how much they chop down it will keep on growing, unless they use a stump grinder. If you do that you destroy the root and the tree won’t grow. So that’s what the lama chöpa is all about.

Particularly this year we are very fortunate to have sponsors for this teaching. Again, just like for Lochö Rinpoche’s teaching, again there is no charge. You heard me, right? No charge, no suggested donation. But if you can donate, you are welcome. That is not for the purpose of Jewel Heart, though it does help Jewel Heart. But it is for the purpose of yourself. Honestly. Your generosity to your own sangha community is without equivalent. Buddha said that you may go and build 100,000 stupas and feed 100,000 monks and nuns, but supporting your own sangha community makes it much more beneficial for you, from the wealth- point of view, from the future life – point of view. It is really good for you and good for everybody. But it is entirely up to the individual, whether you donate $1 or $1000,000. Whatever you do in between you can do anything you want to.

It is not like usual that it will cost you $500 or $300 or whatever. That’s not there because two very kind and very generous people have sponsored this. Whatever the budgeted amount is they have donated that money. That means it is sponsored. Even if you don’t give a single dollar, no one will chase you and no one will do anything.

It is only going to cost you travel expenses and lodging, if you are from outside. If you are local it costs you time, but that time could be worth so much. It may be a little unpleasant right now, but will do so much good in future.

0:50

So save the day and if you want to come, truly speaking it is only for vajrayana. But in the beginning there is one initiation which will open the door for everybody, for those who are really, truly interested. But if you think you are half-way through, then don’t bother. If you are just curious and like to know what’s going on, that’s not the point. We also have limited space, as you can see. So that’s what it is. I wanted to make it very clear. Feb 21 to March 3 tells you that you are free on March 4 and beginning on Feb 21 means that it starts on the afternoon of Feb 21. It begins at noon or something. Most probably the preparation for the initiation will be on Feb 21. So it is not going to be simply registration and orientation. The preparation for the initiation will be that day. So somewhere around 4.00 or 4.30 or 5.00 pm we start and the preparation will be done that day. If you are planning, plan that way. Buying a plane ticket is not so easy nowadays. That’s what I wanted to say.

0:52

Take the Central Philosophy home. That’s really what it is. The false perception of me and my activities are the target. And the key to getting there is knowing that it is false. The result you want to expect is not to follow the old addictions, but change them. That’s it. I guess I have taken a little extra time. Now we have the Four Immeasurables. Thank you.

0:53

Four Immeasurables chanting….0:55, rest of tape empty – 0:57