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55

20130203GRAATB55

00:00

Good morning and welcome everybody to today’s talk. While we are thinking about the Four Noble Truths, the Truth of Suffering is oriented or based or made possible or it is happening because of impermanence. Impermanence makes a hell of a difference to all of us. The teachings tell us that if you have the thought of impermanence in the morning your day will not be wasted. It doesn’t even become cheaper – in the sense that it is not really dharma-oriented or doesn’t become dharma-worthy. The thought of impermanence is that powerful. Recently one of our Malaysian dharma friends and Jewel Heart members, the daughter of one of my sponsors’ family, did a retreat here. It is the thought of impermanence which sometimes became too strong and almost difficult.

It really keeps the individual not in fear, but one needs to be very enthusiastic and do the right thing. One cannot do the wrong thing, no matter how important it is - from all aspects of life, monetary, political or whatever. To do the right thing is so important. Looking from that angle it makes you keep it completely spiritual. From the Buddhist point of view it will be dharma-oriented.

Buddha himself has said that among the thoughts, impermanence has a great impact. As an example he says that compared with the footprints of cows, buffaloes, goats, cats, dogs the elephant has a huge footprint. If you see that footprint in the mud you know where the elephant went. Buddha said like that, the thought of impermanence is so important.

It is absolutely true to us and also to today’s yuppies. The person I was talking about is one of those yuppies. But the thought of impermanence makes you do the right thing. It is so powerful, so effective. I am not so hundred per cent sure it is good for your business. I am not hundred per cent sure it is good for your politics, but from the karmic point of view it is extremely important. It is not just to create fear. But you see that everything changes.

0:07

If you put thoughts in you begin to see also what’s going to change to where and you have such a tremendous influence and such a tremendous say. As we see ourselves: the positive deeds bring positive and negative deeds bring negative. As we see: violence brings violence and non-violence gives a change to non-violence. We see that ourselves. A number of people think that violence can be challenged only by violence. To me it is not true. Yes, some violence may be able to save something, but in the overall picture violence always brings violence and non-violence gives a chance. Non-violence doesn’t necessarily bring non-violence, but it gives a chance for non-violence to take place. That is exactly why the positive deeds bring positive and negative deeds bring negative results. That’s what I meant when I said that you can bring tremendous influence. You may not buy it right now that you can shape your own future, but you cannot deny that you have an influence on your own future. They all become possible because our nature is impermanent. If it is permanent, then nothing can change. Whatever comes out will remain in that way. Whatever it is will remain forever. One of the criteria of the Truth of Suffering is impermanence.

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The second criteria [of the First Noble Truth]is suffering. It is absolutely true, whether you like it or not. Our life has tremendous suffering. Who can deny? No matter whoever you are, higher, lower, politicians, rich, poor, wherever and whoever you look, how much suffering do they have! It is tremendous. Sometimes they have much more than us. It is not very long time ago, just a year or two, remember what happened to Michael Jackson, to Whitney Houston and all of those. Not just one or two, but many of them. To us it looks as if they are great. They made it in life, became the most popular and some people may even have them as objects of achievement. Some may say, “I can’t become like them, but maybe half way like them or maybe a quarter of the way”, but it is totally suffering.

So life really is suffering, unfortunately. It is not joy. Number one: death itself is somehow on everybody. Talking about death, I remember that somebody was telling me: “Buddhism is making you so afraid, it looks like they are making a chopper over your head, ready to come down. That is death.” I don’t think Buddhism cuts your head off. It doesn’t. Some people say that and maybe they think it’s true. But the thing is this: Whether you think or not, when death comes it comes. It doesn’t depend on age or even on health, unfortunately. Didn’t we recently have one or two sport persons who passed away? One was a guy with a snow mobile. He was 25 years old, very strong and healthy, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to manage to jump with that snow mobile. But when the accident took place he was gone within a day or two. So it doesn’t depend on health, wealth or status or anything. It is just there. It is the truth.

0:15

It is so funny. George Bush’s dog died and that made headlines yesterday. But even George Bush’s dog dies. So that is the true reality. That is one of the strongest sufferings. Then think about the misery that we go through with life. Most of them are man-made, self-made. Then you have aging, death, illnesses and then you have so many mental sufferings. Again, it is the same thing. No matter whoever you are, you may be famous, but still, it will get you. You may be a known politician, but it will get you. We have so many examples. What happened to Jesse Jackson Jn. last year? What happened to Charlie Sheen? The name and fame, money and wealth can’t prevent it. There are wonderful solid people, just ordinary everyday Americans. They are totally stable and reliable. Most of you are. Honestly. So it doesn’t depend on wealth, name, fame or anything. It is a matter of how one individual thinks. So the number one, most important thing is self-esteem. Number two, make sure that self-esteem is not going beyond. We have a funny saying in Tibetan. You wear the sky as your hat and use the clouds to tie your hat on your head. If you do that you are going beyond.

So we need great self-esteem and at the same time be humble. And we know this. When I am watching television, all the politicians who win elections will say, “I am humbled”. That’s part of their political speech, whether they are really humbled or not. But their political advisors tell them that. It is all quality. You have great self-esteem, yet you are not going beyond. You are within. So they say, “I am humbled.”

0:20

That shows us that we have to have self-esteem, yet keep very humble and have humility. Balancing these two, mentally, physically and emotionally, who else can do that besides you? No one. You can do it. These are the positive and negative consequences of talking about the Four Noble Truths. We maintain self-esteem and humility together. Is that possible? Yes. I remember that funny commercial about doing two things together. That little kid is shaking. I am sure many of you have seen it. So one can do these two things together. Not only that, but one should always do that and always remember that in the morning, afternoon and evening. That itself will make you a good person. That itself will make you get along better with your companions. That itself will make it that even your kids will respect you. That itself makes you get along better even with your mother in-law.

The third criteria [of the First Noble Truth] is being empty. That doesn’t mean the wisdom of emptiness here. Here it is really empty, meaning that no one really owns that. Everything is almost like circumstances, conditions being right. It is not you who owns it. It is made by conditions and circumstances. That is reality. When conditions and circumstances are working you have a lot to say and to do with that. Maybe I am going too far, but it is almost that you are the driver. No matter whoever the person is doing the backseat driving and whatever they tell you, you do whatever you want to, right? We all know that. I don’t have to repeat. I will be the backseat driver, telling you, but you are the one who is driving and wherever and however you want to go that’s what you do. You don’t own it, but you are the driver. You have a tremendous say, power and influence.

0:25

That’s why it is important for us to do right. If you do wrong, the wrong will bring wrong. Violence brings violence. Non-violence gives a chance for non-violence to take root.

The fourth criteria [of the First Noble Truth] is dag me pa, the lack of a solid self. Not only do things happen because of conditions, but even we ourselves do exist because of the conditions. Our life is extremely and totally conditioned. When the conditions are right we live and are strong, healthy and wealthy and all of those. When the conditions are wrong you lose everything, even your life.

This is the First Noble Truth from four points. Anything truly controlled by the self is joy, anything controlled by anybody other than self is suffering, anything solid could be joy and not solid is shaky and suffering. That is a very simple way of looking. When we look in our life all of them are absolutely true. I talked to you with examples and that is really what it is. This is what you have learnt in the First Noble Truth. What do you do with this information, this knowledge? It is not there for you to look at like a beautiful flower arrangement. That information is for you to think about.

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Remember the three steps of learning, thinking and contemplating. They don’t come one after another. The very information you get, think about it. Think by yourself, compare it with the situations happening to other people, with yourself, in the world. When you begin to realize it is true, then what do you do? Then you do this as your guidance. That is year wealth, your guide, your teacher. That will shape your life. That will change your life. That will make you a better person. That will make you a little more – I hate to use this word – superior. That is not very nice, right? But it does make you slightly different. I don’t know whether that is superior or inferior, but I like to think it is superior. I certainly don’t want to say it is inferior. The way of thinking will influence the way of living. That will make it the way you come out, exposed to other people, dealing with other people. So you begin to see. The contact with the person you didn’t get along well before seems to be getting better. That is the reality. That happened to people dealing with me so many times, so many times. And it is true. Probably the First Noble Truth alone makes you a better person. I don’t know whether better or worse, but it makes you different.

Those of us who don’t have goals in life, those of us who don’t have a purpose in life, will find a goal and a purpose. Those of us who have wrong goals, such as young kids wanting to be like Michael Jackson, they correct those goals so that they don’t waste their life.

0:35

Life becomes purposeful and truly makes a difference to you and your future. I suppose that’s probably true spirituality. You can worship, nothing wrong, but that alone will not get you anywhere. You can meditate, you can say mantras, but again that alone will not get you anywhere. The change must take place within us. The nature of our self is has to be change from the negative nature into the positive. The way we talked up to now, if you start thinking, then even today’s talk alone, if you think carefully, will make a big change in you. That will establish the root of spirituality within you. Normally we say that the root of all development is the guru devotional practice. That’s true, but this is more important. It is definitely rooting your spiritual practice. So then you have a solid root within you, even if you have nothing else. If you have a nice root, it will start growing nicely. If you expect that to change by next week, maybe that’s not happening. It takes a little time to think about. Particularly, when you are day-dreaming, think about impermanence, how much impact it makes. Then think back to what Buddha said, that it is like the elephant’s foot print. That creates little inconveniences. It is not like you are going to go out and kill all the competition. It doesn’t become that way. You begin to think slightly differently. Good old Buddhist countries like Tibet and China will say, “Well, we have to die.” Even that Burmese general, who was that big dictator for years, torturing people and so on, apparently was so afraid of dying and going to hell that he was willing to have democracy and let people do whatever they want to do and willing to challenge his own military commanders, telling them, “Look, whatever we have been doing was wrong.” Again that is the influence of impermanence.

0:40

The idea of impermanence is really good for you, good for society and good for everyone. It is reality. I am sorry I chit-chatted and wasted your time, but think about it.

Does anyone have any thought and anything to say?

Audience: I didn’t get the fourth element you mentioned.

Rimpoche: I purposely didn’t make that very clear. It is selflessness.

Audience: You mentioned knowing about impermanence and saying that maybe it is not good for your business but can be good for your karma? I didn’t get what you were saying…

Rimpoche: I didn’t say that it was not good for your business. I said I don’t know whether it is the best for business or not. I guess, when you roll the tape back we will hear something else too. I guess that’s it. And I will see you next Sunday. That is the Chinese New Year and the day before the Tibetan New Year. We will be meeting here next Sunday. So there are two more talks before the retreat. During the retreat we are not going to have Sunday talks. That’s between February 22nd and 3rd of March.

That’s it. Thank you very much

0:44 Four Immeasurables – 0:46 end of file