Archive Result

Soundfile: 20131011GRGRGT02Speaker: Gelek RimpocheLocation: Garrison, New YorkTopic: Green TaraTranscriber: Helen BreaultDate: October 25, 2013Welcome in the morning today. As I'd been talking last night, sort of carried away by the motivation and trying to talk about boddhimind and then try to see enlightenment possible. So a little over-carried I thought. I didn't know what I was saying, you know. But to make it shorter, as a motivation we have to say the Tibetan Buddhism told us, we have to think that whatever efforts we're putting, we're putting to gain state of Buddhahood for the benefitting or serving all living beings, for which I would like to learn about Buddhism in general, particularly on the basis of Tara, basis of Tara. For which I'm going to put my efforts. That's what you have to think. And that will be your motivation.[01:27:1]As I said yesterday, no matter whatever you do, whatever practice you do, whatever you do, the whole purpose is really to become Buddha. No matter wherever you look, you learn Buddhist philosophy, or you learn Buddhist ritual, you learn Buddhist self-generation, or anything, even just saying mantra or anything, all of them the purpose is to become Buddha. Whichever the direction you come, doesn't matter, doesn't matter. Buddhist philosophy alone is capable of delivering individual to the total enlightenment. Like a Vajrayana practice, like each and every one of those yidams are capable of delivering enlightenment provided if that practice talks about enlightenment. Maybe I'm making too much statement. The thought popped up in my head is this: simple basic Buddhism, like a Theravaden tradition, does not deliver enlightenment because that's not for the purpose. That's not their goal. Honestly. If you look at it. And whichever the Buddhism talks about it, becoming Buddha is only Mahayana. Not Theravaden. Theravaden has a tremendous amount of basic Buddha's teaching without which there is no Mahayana. They can do nothing. The basic Buddha's teaching is really within the Therevada teaching. However, the Theravaden teachings' goal is to become Arhat, not to become Buddha. So they don't talk about becoming Buddha at all. It's not in the their scope, scope. So when I say everything is capable of delivering, but like Theravaden reaches you up to, delivers you up to Arhat level, freedom from Samsara and suffering. And then most Mahayana comes, picks you up and then introduces your goal to become Buddha. And then they take you to the Mahayana path. Then when you look in the Vajrayana, each and every one of those yidams are capable of delivering total enlightenment. However, kriyacharya yoga will deliver enlightenment only within a number of lifetimes. It is the Mahaannuyoga Tantra which will deliver you total enlightenment, they say, within the lifetime. That's why Tibetan Buddhism is mostly, not only mostly, but totally based on Mahayana path and based on the Vajrayana path, and that also mostly the Mahaannuyoga Tantra paths. When you say, "though we make distinction, I'm not in Vajrayana but I am in the Buddhism." But every Tibetan Buddhism is geared towards Mahaannuyoga Tantra right from the beginning. Even from taking refuge onwards it was geared towards. So that's why motivation is boddhimind. Unconditioned, unlimited love and compassion[06:37:3]is boddhimind. So the boddhimind becomes first step, almost like a first step because it was geared towards total enlightenment. Then all the Theravaden teachings are as a base it will cover, but not geared towards that. So motivation geared towards boddhimind. So our purpose is to become Buddha. In this particular case, Buddha Tara because it is Tara rituals or occult or whatever. So it is Buddha Tara.So first motivation. For the benefit of all beings I'm going to do this. So we don't waste our time. Everything, after this generation of motivation, then whatever you're doing, so you're sort of leisurely walking, taking your food, talking, whatever, motivation should supposed to influence and cover it. So unless it is negative by virtue, everything neutral will become positive karma and that is why motivation is important. After generating that motivation, so you said the goal is to become Buddha, that's fine. But what do I have to do to become? To have to do something. You have to act. It's basically, it's absolutely true you have to be having right action and avoiding the wrong action. And particularly dealing with your mind. You have to deal with your mind. This is so important. In many cases, we don't deal with our mind. We are taught to deal with external materials. Even we think, our thoughts are always looking out, not looking in. Always looking out. So you see everybody else's but you don't see yourself because your thoughts is looking out. So it is so easy to see the faults of other people. Since we're not looking in we don't see the faults of ourself. Faults or quality, we don't see both of them. Presuming we have good qualities. Presuming we have good qualities. We presume whatever I'm doing I'm doing right. Very few people will ask question[10:24:9]"am I doing right or wrong?" Presuming, driving ourself. Dharma or the Buddha's message tells us always watch your mind, tame your mind. And that is really basic theme of Buddha's teaching. Taming your mind. Why we have to tame our mind? Because our mind is a little crazy, a little wild, little bit wild. And particularly we don't see our own faults. So we don't correct. We see the other people's faults and we laugh. During the Buddha's lifetime there was an Indian king and he had a very funny dream one night. There's eighteen different dreams came to him. And most of them he couldn't figure out. And one of the dreams I'd like to share here. One of the dreams was that he was going some very beautiful place, some very beautiful, environmentally beautiful sort of open field with the trees, and river, water, everything. And there are a number of monkeys round. And most of the monkeys have covered their body full of unclean things. And they're sitting together and they're pointing out to one monkey who had a little sort of human excrement on the tail. And then everybody covered their body completely but they're pointing it out to the one with the tail which had a little thing over there. And everybody's looking at him and pointing it out, "Look at that monkey. He had shit on his tail but he's not knowing it." But each and everybody is covered completely. But they're pointing out to one little one who had the tail which was unclean.[13:38:4]So then Buddha told this king, "That dream has nothing to do with you, your family or your policy or nothing. This is simply at a certain period of time, those who were following my teachings, they'll do this way. They act that way. So that's what's showing in your dream, that all monkeys covered with the dirt, but pointing out to one person who had a little on the tip of the tail, everybody's pointing out. Laughing at it." And that's what we do. That's what we do. We look at other people, tiny little fault of other person, on the tip of tail we see that, we point that out, we laugh at them. But we are completely covered. We don't know that. That's what I mean we didn't look in, we always look out. We always look out and try to find, see the other's fault. Not necessarily try to find other's fault. But we just notice, we just draw our attention, because we don't look in. So what does this dharma do to us? Dharma is like a mirror, mirror. When you look in the mirror, what you see, you see yourself when you look in the mirror. Right, you see your self? So when you look at, you're seeing yourself, then you see what's wrong with your face or what's wrong with your dress or whatever. We look in the mirror to correct that.[15:42:8]So likewise you have to use dharma, looking in there and they will tell you this is false, this is this, this is that. So the individual, when we are practicing, will look in that mirror and say, "Do I have that fault? Am I faulty? What fault do I have?" Recognize and don't have to broadcast to everybody else. But recognize, acknowledge. Tell yourself this is my fault, I am angry, I am very obsessed, I have so much jealousy, I'm filled with hatred. All this when you notice, acknowledge, and try to change it. Change it. Honestly. We want the joy, happiness. No doubt. Everybody seeks that. Joy/happiness are not result of hatred. Hatred does not bring joy/happiness. Hatred brings misery. Obsession does not bring joy/happiness, it brings misery. Some people become totally obsessed of self and then you say, "How, me, me, me. Me, me, nothing but me." And then you take a huge gasp and all kinds of things. All about me. I am, I this, I that. All about me. And then that also, when it's covered with obsession it doesn't have any logical. It doesn't have any thing. And then it sort of takes huge leaps over, huge leaps over. Now, for example, if someone says, "That might not be true." So that person, when you say "that might not be true," so if that might not be true, am I lying? Am I a liar? Did you call me liar? So see the gaps are two, three steps are taken in your own mind and make yourself miserable. Then you freak out and say, "That person called me liar!" Nobody called youliar.[18:58;6]Somebody said, "That might not be true." So if it's not true, which means I am telling lie. That makes me liar. So all these steps you take. This is obsession.Or also, fear. And all of those. So anyway, in short, hatred, obsession, jealously and that category will never give you joy or happiness, peace or harmony. And that sort of a person will have that huge lip-taking ?[19;58:8]. So there are people who like you, who not necessarily appreciates you. So in the view of the person who are over-powered by obsession, obsession, say, "You don't agree with me. So you don't like me. So you hate me. You're against me. You're my enemy." Right? All this lips are going. Those of you, psychologists and psychotherapists, you know better than I do. So that is how, what I mean obsession, hatred. These things does not bring any joy or any happiness. In this life or future lives. And that's what Buddha called them negative, negative karma, negative emotions, the reason why it's called "negative." That's the reason.Opposite of that: appreciation, doing something right, something good; will bring joy, happiness. I always say, if one could help somebody, if one could save somebody's life, how happy that person would be. Not the person who saved the life, but the person who did help to save the life. How happy that person would be. So those sort of positive emotions bring joy/happiness. We now know clearly, if we give yourself opportunity to think and then you're going to find that. And that is why negativities are not good for us, because it brings misery. Positive are good because it brings joy and happiness. What we want, each and every one of us, what we really wanted is joy, happiness, peace, harmony. That's what we're looking at.[20:37:07]No one wants misery, problem. But we're creating this thinking, "The source of creating a misery is presuming that as sources of creating joy." That's what our confusion is all about it. Honestly, if you look at it. In reality, you keep me as deep, inside. And then purpose, activities are to make me better, to make me…although we deny. We make them better. But if you ask yourself, this is with a lot of people, if you ask yourself, "Why do I want to them better?" If you finding deep there, making them better is my good work. Again, if you trace it, and it is "me" there. I don't mean don't do good works, I don't mean that at all. I'm try to pointing out, to make me better person, to make me kind, to make me more helpful, so I'm doing all this. If you're keeping there, then the deep desire is "me" rather than them, though we say about "them," we do about "them," we do nothing but about "them." But again, deep mind, when you have "me" as something "I" did it, "I" have done, so then you're controlled by "me." This will be only applicable to a few people. But, people don't notice that. People don't pay attention about it.[25:32:4]As long as you have "me" as the deepest point, not necessarily help me, not necessarily benefit, but support my work or as long as "me" there, then it's a problem. It's a problem for compassion. It's a problem for love. It's a problem for enlightenment. And to recognize that and think about it, is for a long while, it will help a lot. And perhaps what Buddha says, "Tame your mind," probably is that. Our negative addiction is "me" important, very important. No doubt. I don't mean don't make "me" not important. I don't mean that. I'm simply pointing out that happens to some people. Even your good work will go to "my" service. It'll be in the long run it could have been much better. Put in same efforts, whatever you do is the same thing. But where it went, so under what category it went. So it's going to go under the self-service category. But we do the same thing. But it's simply a matter of mental attitude will make it total service of others. And that is something not visible. Something not easily popping up. You really have to dig very deep and watch often, very often. You may notice. If you're noticing that, that's what you have to switch. If you switch that, true exchange self and other exchange, that will be the true exchange. Until you've been able to switch that, we have that thing going. That is sort of deep what's happening.[0:29:32:1]It's true exchange between self and other, that's really true exchange. Other than that, anyway, that's good enough.So let's read here because the first, begin with page…oh I see, title page is page one. And that blank page is page two. Then the contents is page three. Page four is blank. Then comes page five. Okay, so now before I go in this, I have to talk to you a little more.When I talk on Tara it is same thing to everywhere, everything. Whatever practice you may be doing, right? Now these are deity practice. Whatever you do, number one the motivation which I talked briefly. Artificially you can say, "For the benefit of all beings, I would like to do this for becoming fully enlightened Tara, for which I will say the prayers and do this, meditate on it."Now, number two, who you're praying. Who is it? What is it? In this case, Tara. In some other cases, it's the same thing: guru yoga. Or some other cases: Buddha. Some other cases: purification Buddha. Some other cases: medicine Buddha. Some other cases: Manjushri, the wisdom Buddha. Or some other cases: Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of compassion. All this. In absolute reality, I don't mean emptiness point of absolute reality, deep truth, they're all same. They are all enlightened ones. They have a different identification. Some have different activities. Some people are thinking, purification; in that case like Vajrasattva or something. It has specialized activity, specialized manifestate for that purpose. The word "manifestate," who manifestate? In truth, deep truth, [0:34:07:6]the deepest truth, the ultimate mind of yours, the ultimate mind of buddhas, or ultimate mind of guru, gurus, in reality they're all same. I don't mean from the emptiness point of view. In deeply, they're all same. So it is happening now, one is ignorance, the other is wise. And ignorance seek the help of wise one to make me like you. To make me like you. This is the bottom line. Praying, Vajrayana practice. Whether it's called sadhana, self-initiation, whether it's called retreat, whatever you call, that is this. True understanding of that is necessary, particularly people who spend enough time in Buddhist practice, Tibetan Buddhist practice. They should know this. And as long as we have a separation, as long as we have a separation we do have a problem. But we cannot exactly say we're the same. Truly, deep down, it is. But in appearance, in function, in everywhere, it is totally separate. You are you, I am me, we are big difference. That's also there. So really you are enlightened, I'm not enlightened, that part is truth.[0:37:22:2]But so the whole purpose is I try to be like you. I try to become you. But not like you, becoming you, oneness with you. So these are purpose of what we're doing. So in reality, they're all same. But then appeared differently because of our like. For example. some people like wrathful. They like Yamantaka. Or some wrathful. Some people like very peaceful. They can't deal with weapons. They can't deal with the blood or red color at all. Peace. Blue, green, pacified. That is people's desire. It is people's attitude. That's what some people wants that way, and that's why you have so many different yidams manifestate. Suitable. Some like yellow, some like red, some like this one, some like that one. Some want simple, some want sophisticated. In reality, it is all same. Not only all same, the ultimate Buddha, guru, and my own mind are all the same thing. "My" I'm not referring to "this fellow," I'm referring to self--each and every one of us. Have you ever been there before? That's a philosophical question, I don't want to deal with it. Many says "yes," some say "no." I'm the one who says, "no," because you're fully enlightened, then you fall down and you become dirty or contaminated, and then what guarantee you have now not to become contaminated again? It's not possible. So that's what it is.[0:40:27:4]So in this case, it happens to be Tara manifestation. So in reality, you know, who's Tara? It has its own story and all of those. But that's not the point. It is Buddha. And it is Buddha. It is the enlightened one. So as I mentioned last night a little bit, Tara becoming Buddha historically. Individual human being, worked, developed and fully become Buddha. Buddha Tara. And then some people are going to argue with me, "That has to be Boddhisattva, not Buddha. How can that be the same? Blah, blah." That is a philosophical point. I'm not going to entertain that. As a matter of fact, if we entertain that argument, if we do that sort of philosophical points, sometimes there are too many of them. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why our label of what is, and their label of what it is, slightly differs. In one way, they call it "extraordinary quality." But whatever, it's slightly different. Just like our functioning. Our frequencies, our way may not be exactly way all these other yidams function.[0:42:50:1]So what we needed, what I needed to tell you is this Tara, this is a Buddha. Not only I'm telling you this Tara is Buddha, but Buddha is Tara. So not only one this way. Because you may think, "Oh, Tara becomes in the pool of buddhas so that's why he's saying she's Buddha." But I'm now saying Buddha is Tara, because at that level, that level what it is is different than what we mean what it is. I don't mean the President Clinton's "is" is, I don't mean that. But slightly here it's that difference.So invocation. Before I talk about the Invocation, before we deal with the Invocation, do we have to invite? No. The true answer is "no." They're there. They're pervasive, really pervasive. They're there. They're pervasive. But Invocation makes, give ourself an opportunity to be able to work with that. So that like we specially invited. Invocation give us opportunity: a) to satisfy our rational mind, and b) provide opportunity.[0:45:13:5]So different manifestation are invited from the different place. But all of them are invited, are invited from their own natural abode. But in the case of Tara, we read here:INVOCATION AND PROSTRATIONPO TA LA YI NÄ CHOK NÄFrom the pure land of Potala,Now this is interesting. For many of us, particularly for those of us TIbetans…So if you ask, "What is Potala, what would you say?" (Rimpoche asks audience member) You are Rhodes scholar. That's why you're giving Rhodes scholar's answer. [0:47:05:6] Many Tibetan scholars will tell you Potala is in Tibet. Not only TIbetans but almost all of us, "That's Potala. That is in Tibet." We will probably say that. But that was named after the true Potala. A pure land Potala. Pure land Potala was supposed to be the environment in which the Buddha of Compassion, the Avalokiteshvara, supposed to be regimen. That is his native place, supposed to be. And that is why Tibetans consider Avalokiteshvara or the Buddha of Compassion is special sort of Buddha who cared for the downtrodden people in general, and particularly this wild crazy difficult-to-tame little crazy wild person. Sort of very wild crazy Tibetans are, honestly. And if you noticed, Chinese Buddhism carries tremendous martial art. None of the TIbetan Buddhisms carries any martial art because they just don't want the Tibetans to learn martial arts. You won't be able to handle them. They'll go crazy. So the earlier people made a conscious decision of not bringing the martial in Tibetan because they will just kick you, kick anybody's ass off. So that's why they don't. So you notice that.So Avalokiteshvara is supposed to be the person who's the most difficult to tame person: these are the people, so I will be specially taking care of them. And that's why Tibetans say Avalokiteshvara's specially committed for the degenerated-age Tibetans. And they pray. So Tara is the feminine aspects in one way, truly speaking, the feminine aspects of the Buddha of Compassion is Tara. She's independent of her own, she is a female Buddha, but also the feminine aspects of Avalokiteshvara. Briefly I mentioned last night one of the stories goes: when Avalokiteshvara was so overwhelmed and helping living beings, so begin to drop a tear, so thinking I need help. So picking one drop of tear and throwing like this, and then Tara pops up.[0:51:41:1]That is the manifestation. That's one way of story. That's why feminine aspects of Buddha of Compassion.And also, in Chinese version, bBoddhisattva Quanying Posa [?0:52;10;7] doesn't have male version. It is only female version. The name was Avalokiteshvara, so they call it Quoseem…?[0:52;28:3]…something, right. There are a number of Chinese here, right. So am I right, Dr. Chu? So thousand arm, thousand eye Avalokiteshvara the Chinese call it Chenso Chenyay Quansay Yenpo?[0:52:54:1] Is that right? So that means thousand eye, thousand arm Avalokiteshvara. But Tibetans have the only male version, not a female version. The Chinese have only female version, not a male version. Japanese have both, both of them. So, because that feminine aspects emphasized, so we have the female version; male aspects emphasized, we have the Avalokiteshvara as a male.[0:53;44;3]In reality I told you, up there, no difference. Whether there is a tail or no tail it is the same thing. {laughs} Male or female there is not that much difference up there, honestly. So, that's really… So it is the same thing. So same thing Avalokiteshvara's palace is called Potola. There are interesting stories, such as whole Chittamani aspects of the Tara is actually taking from three generations before. It is taking from pure land of Tara by Tugbu ?[0:54:46] Dharmavajra. Tabu Dharmavajra has literally, well I don't know, literally is questionable. The physical body may be sitting in Nakshu?[0:55;07:3] but mentally he travelled through the pure land of Potola and description is such. You know the image I got after reading the description this is such a thing, like a Potola is like a beautiful hill station. The hill station, in American language we don't use much, but it is more or less British-English. They use "hill station." But some little nice cities in the cool little places, a lot of them. Like in India we have Mosori is hill station. Simla is one of those hill stations.[56:14:2]So city that established on a hill, cool area. India's so hot, so they move everyday up on the mountaintop. And then not really huge mountain, but little easy-to-communicate traveling called hill stations. So the understanding what I got is this Potola is some kind of manifestation beautiful really wonderful big hill station. Then, along with that, Tara has her own little pure land along the side. It's called "Uloka" [57:17:2] which is turquoise, the jewel in turquoise leaves. So the green leaves of tree it looks like turquoise, so Uloka. For me, the understanding is here's a big hill station and there's a little side beautiful retreated area as a pure turquoise land. So the combination of these two. It is a main Avalokiteshvara's palace is Potola and Tara has her own pure land attached to that, attached to that. It's called Uloka; that is "U" stand for the jewel turquoise; "lo" stand for leaves. So turquoise leaves which indicates it is a lot of green place. A lot of very green, wonderful environment, beautiful place.PO TA LA YI NÄ CHOK NÄTAM YIK JANG GU LÄ TRUNG SHINGFrom the pure land of Potala,one born from a green TAM letter,So all of these Vajrayana yidams, there are seed syllables, letters, words, seed syllables. Tara had one which is TAM. I had drawings in English because in the White Tara if you look you'll find a TAM there. But with the "T" and within the "T" itself there is "A". "A" is life of any sound. Any sound you make. I am sitting, I am going, anywhere there is an "A" there because it is the life of any word we produce. Really from here (gestures). And really from here Buddhist, particularly Manjushri Namasangit, the Manjushri's Tantra, also known as Jambay Sanjup [1:00:26:0] in common name, but the official name is ?[1:00:31:8]. So in that it says [1:00:37:3Tib ??]. So everything they make is clear. Or words made it clear. The life of each word is "A". So wherever you have a seed syllable "TA" or "HA" or "HRIH" or "SHRI" or "OM" or whatever, any one of those will have a "A" within that because it is the life of sound, life of mantra. Honestly, mantra is nothing but sound. When you say, "I say mantra," mantra is nothing but sound. Not the written mantra. Written script is not mantra. What you say, what sound you use, that is the real mantra. Not what is written, not what the mala, they're not mantra. Mala is counting equipment, keep your numbers straight. It is sort of equipment which counts your number. That's not mantra. Real mantra is sound. Sound is energy. Understanding of energy and sound separation is a mistake. Nan…[1:02:40:7 Tib] The secret initiation, in the initiation it's called secret initiation. Secret initiation is energy point. The energy and sound, if you separate it, that is mistake. The essence of energy is sound, essence of sound is energy. And that is mantra. So every letter, every thing you carry, it has "A" because it has life of it. So when you say "TAM", "TAH" with the "A" and "M" together becomes "TAM." Three consonants come together, produced sound of "TAM." And that is the seed syllable, which means real source of energy. Real source of power. Energy is power. That is the reason why when you have four initiations you have a secret initiation. (So I needed help from Sonam because…)[1:04:48: Tib to 1:05;03]So anyway, that's TAM. That is the seed syllable. That's what it is. So what you appeared to me, to us, to you, first what you see, is you know, and each of them we say "beautiful place," and where does this beautiful place come from? Where it is based? It's based on the emptiness, zero, nothingness. So nothingness, blank area, where you suddenly perceived, appeared and perceived a beautiful pure land. And then, when you're invoking, and then first what you notice is the source of energy, the seed syllable. Even you look at those mystical movies, not mystery but mystical movies, suddenly you see light, some kind of energy, some kind of little thing then it becomes something, those people who write movies scripts or all of those are people with sense. People think they know what they're doing, they know what they're saying. And that's why produce like that, you know. Even you look in the movie some kind of funny little light comes and then it's something else. Everything, whatever it's becoming, it's becoming out of the zero. Out of nothing it comes. And that's why emptiness is base of all, base of all, everything. Even we know our world is floating. Where it's floating? In the empty space. It also comes out of emptiness. And strongest elements on what we base is air, not ground, not earth. Because air is nature of sound basis. And really it is. And that's what it is the strongest out of four elements of water, fire, air. The air is very base. So anyway, TAM.1:08:15:7Whatever the shape you have in your own imagination or visualization or functioning, whether it is Sanskrit form of TAM, or English TAM, or your own TAM, or whatever it is, TAM is recommended. Some been more the sound of TAM rather than letters or anything. So when you say "TAM YIK" it doesn't have to be Tibetan, doesn't have to be Sanskrit, doesn't have to be English. Whatever's convenient for you[laughs}, maybe this is the one, it will be fine, honestly. [1:09:24] Because everything is mind and it is labeling. Mind and it is labeling, it functions everything. Whatever your mind wanted, seed syllable. But then to make it unify we base on certain languages, certain scripts that we read, that we understand. And we call that TAM. So that is how we have Green. Green because it is Green Tara. If you bring the green color from the seed level itself, then it is easier to be green. But then base is white, is fine. But then red or yellow or something and then try to make it green, you have to put a lot of blue on top. And then see how much green it's going to become. So then we don't have to do that. That's why using green seed syllable.TAM YIK JANG GU LÄ TRUNG SHINGTrung or born. What is born? The physical shape, call it Tara, and when you see it, it can be labeled and this Tara. Are you Tara? Yes I am Tara. And then you say, "This is Tara." So some sort of physical shape. Figure on which physical figure with the life for which you can label as Tara and then become Tara. Because, you know, base whatever you have, and then label, and then acknowledgement from the source as well as the other individuals. So whoever you ask, "Is this Tara?," those who know they will say, "Yes, it is Tara." So it becomes reality because it is source, it is labeling and it is acceptance all combined together, one becomes Tara.[1:12:12;3]Everything. Everybody, every one of us, whether you're John or Mary or Malotra, there's a physical base on which you're labeled by the right person. RIght labeling person. If the wrong labeling person labels it doesn't become. The right person has to be labeling. Like the name, the parents give name to the kids, right? Right? So you have children, you give name to the parents, John or Mary or whatever. Or the parents is the right person who gives the name. The parents has to give the right name. If you give the wrong name it won't work. Give you example. You have a child, you call it "Prince." "Prince," what happens? The person doesn't become Prince, person's name becomes "Prinsey" or "Prince" or whatever. The right person: the parents, right base: the kid, but you give the wrong name. That's why it becomes a nickname rather than real Prince. So there's a lot of people become "Prinsey," right? I know one person. At least I know one person. So his son was called "Prinsey." He was an Indian representative in Tibet in 1960's after the Chinese took over. And he was involved with a Tibetan woman and the kids are half Tibetan. And now we call him "Prinsey." So that is how, if you give the wrong name, even the right person, right authority, but the wrong label will make it wrong.[1:15:00:0]So the reality becomes dependently, dependent originations we call it. That is how dependent it is. So same thing TAM. But if you see HUNG and then you label the HUNG as TAM then it's not going to be right, because the label is wrong. Those who read, they'll read as "HUNG" they won't read as "TAM" no matter how much you shout, scream, yell it, declared, use your social media say this is "TAM", no matter how much you do it doesn't become TAM it remains HUNG. Because label was wrong. So the right person, right point, right name, labeling them together becomes that. Which is brief understanding of dependent origination is all about it.In Tibetan Buddhism, love compassion is fundamental basis. Love, compassion and wisdom. Compassion and wisdom is fundamental basis. Compassion we're talking about it, caring, loving and all this. Wisdom is really based on this, dependent origination. So if something wrong, you're dependent but it has to be right points at the right place. Otherwise if something's wrong then it won't work. So right label has to be on the right point called TAM. And then born out of it. What is born out of it? Actual Tara. Whatever we described. Another thing here, in one hand it looks so free you can see anything, you can do everything whatever you want to. However, there are certain, like those, what do you call it, Tara occultism. There were books on them, right? Did you get me what I'm saying? Occult. All these it has it's own little prescriptions and it's own little rules. And that's what even in Tara, you see Green Tara, you see White Tara, you see Yellow Tara, you see Red Tara. (Hey, these two little nice ones appeared here. [laughter]). In one hand, it looks free, your choice. But on the other hand it has its own little system which you have to follow. So you can't call the "Green" the "Blue," which I do. And you can't call "Red" the "Yellow." You can't. Because you may say, "It's Yellow," but no one will accept. And when no one accept, which is the sign that you're wrong. Isn't it? You're wrong because no one else accept that. Everybody says you're wrong so you must be wrong. Because everybody else can't be wrong and you're right, it's not possible. It's not possible.[1:19:39:52]So the green is green, you can't make it blue. The blue is blue, you can't make it green. That's what it is. So Green Tara.Green, yellow, red, white are the color. When you talk about the color green, so you're talking about the physical color of Tara rather than the dress. For us it is dress, we can't change our color. But still when you talk about Green Tara it is the Tara whose physical color is green. So when I was in Tibet, I only know yellow people. I thought every human beings are yellow because I only saw yellow. I didn't see Caucasian person until Henry, Harrah and Abusshunah [1:21:14] showed up. I did not see [1:21:29:6] Madam Macdonald[?] that French nun, right? She was in Tibet when I was a kid. And she was in Tibet and no Tibetans know, except they noticing a little toilet paper on disposal. They noticing every disposal has a little toilet paper. You know in those days, they're not so many toilets. People use open air. So there are a lot of toilet paper on, so people started talking, "Somebody's putting a little piece of paper on top of it." But she used toilet paper, so that's how they know there's a French woman in Lhasa. Nobody knew, she dressed like a Tibetan. But when Henry, Harrah and Abusshanah came [1:22:40] it was very open, so then everybody knew. So it's make a big deal out of it because the British government insisting to deport those two into India. And one Tibetan family called Sarome family [1:23:03:0] is protecting them and saying, they keep on telling the Tibetan government, "Over our dead body." So that becomes a big issue and so everybody knows. There's two Caucasian people. Until then I'd never seen white, never seen African American, never seen green. [Laughs]. I thought every human being's yellow. But I mean I never even think about it, but when I think that I think that's it. But now you know it's possible, different. So Tara must be green. So we know that time. But the deities is different than the human beings. That is my justification. But it's not different.TAM YIK JANG GU LÄ TRUNG SHINGSo, Tara with one face, two hands. We say, "one face, two hands" because there's some with many faces, many hands. That's why, one face, two hands. Like Tara description whatever we have.Ö PA ME KYI U LA GYÄN[1:24:40]So that very living Tara, the picture we have, the tangkha here with the Twenty-One is too small for you to be able to see it nicely. But if you go close afterwards, you see, but most of you know Green Tara. Who does not know Green Tara here? There'd be nobody, perhaps.(You don't? Okay. Come have a look.)In the Tara has Buddha Amitayus or Infinite Light, Buddha of Infinite Light representing her guru sits on her forehead. So "Ö PA ME KYI U LA GYÄN" that means, your head adorned with the Amitabha. Amitabha means infinite light. There are Buddha Amitabha and then, also in the longevity, Buddha is Amitayus. They're two separate identity. However, it is interchangeable. That is funny. For any purposes, Amitayus becomes Amitabha. Amitabha becomes Amitayus. That is interchangeable, interchangeable. So usually as Amitayus. Ö PA ME KYI U LA GYÄN means representing guru, the Buddha Amitayus on her crown.DÜ SUM SANG GYÄ TRIN LÄ MAAction mother of three times' BuddhasActually, activity of Buddhas of past, present, future, the activity, the actions or they have the word "action" here, mother of three times' Buddhas. It is true it is mother. But also, the word here really is "activity." "Activity" means one who functions, one who does the work, one who does whatever the work is, protecting from fears or protecting from threats, and helping, or giving longevity or healing or any, any, any, making sure things do right. Functioning right. So there's a lot of unseen, for us it is unseen activity,[1:28:27:]which is beyond material and mechanical, but something beyond that. So, beyond material. More sort of at interpersonal level. It is sort of more. So the Buddhas have a job to do. Person who does the job is Tara and that's why call it "activity of Buddha" or even here you have the word called "action." Also, the mother. I don't know whoever translated this, I don't know what the person think about it. DÜ SUM SANG GYÄ TRIN LÄ MA, but they brought mother in, which is not wrong. Which is not wrong. All the female Buddhas are mother of all Buddhas. Not necessarily physical mother or a physical Buddha, but the Buddha-ness was brought. The Buddhas, whatever makes Buddha, was actually born out of wisdom-emptiness. Wisdom-emptiness is the basic feminine aspects of all. So that's why every female enlightened beings do carry as a mother of all Buddha. They do. Many of them say it. You can't say it's wrong, but the Tibetan really doesn't say "mother" here. It says DÜ SUM SANG GYÄ TRIN LÄ MA. I hope that is the right language, anyway.[1:31:34:1]There is something written here. In this Tibetan, I don't have it, this particular verse printed.DRÖL MA KOR CHÄ SHEK SU SÖLTara, please come with your attendants!This is nice simple translation, but whether it is "attendant" or "retinue" I'm not sure. So that is invocation.So in your own visualization, by now you invite Tara and actually appeared. So the description of Tara you have to have as one face, two hands and one right leg is stretched in, left is slightly stretched out. Two hands: one is hand implement of protection, one is hand implement of giving or inviting. So these things will come detail in later. So that is why [?1:33:37:1 Tib] So you have to think that way.Then when you invite some object of refuge, some friends, and it is the culture, particularly Asian culture, you have to be polite when you invite a person. It's not like American culture, where you want to meet somebody and you may be standing in the parking lot and then talk and go away or whatever. But it's slightly different culture, you praise. Or you be sociable and you be gentle. So the the first is praise. Praise here is:ལྷ་དང་ལྷ་མིན་�

ོད་པན་གྱིས། ཞབས་ཀྱི་པད་མ་ལ་བཏུད་དེ། ཕོངས་པ་ཀུན་ལས་སྒྲོལ་མཛད་མ། ལ་མ་ཡུམ་ལ་ཕྱགས་འཚལ་ལོ། LHA DANG LHA MIN CHÖ PÄN GYIZHAP KYI PÄ MA LA TÜ DEPONG PA KÜN LÄ DRÖL DZÄ MALA MA YUM LA CHAK TSÄL LOGods and titans with their crownsbow down to your lotus feet.Liberator from all problems,Mother Tara - homage to you!Oh! There is a mistake here. "Drol ma" in Tibetan, Drol ma is gone. There's [1:35:00:5] not "gro" is missing. I only have LA MA YUM LA CHAK TSÄL LO. But in a transliteration, oh, La Drol, it is type mistake here. Both the Tibetan and English. So probably transliterated, looking at that very Tibetan whether that Tibetan is correct or not correct, right? Probably that's what happened. Maybe. Looks to me. DZÄ MA LA MA YUM LA CHAK TSÄL LO. Both gods and what is this word? Titans? That means?...In other words, where you're praising is Tara, you are the person, not only a gods but even others, all of them, including gods will treat you like their crown jewel. And they "all bow to your lotus feet." Lotus in the sense, because the lowest part, people, most of those yidams are sitting on the lotus cushion or standing on lotus. So the lowest part you see is the lotus. So, refer your foot as lotus.ZHAP KYI PÄ MA. ZHAP KYI PÄ MA. [1:37:42:2]LA TÜ DE All gods and others, all bow to your foot. The lowest part of your body, highest part of our body is the crown. "DE" means not only a bowing down and touching and that is how you're praising. And liberator from all problems. There is a translation problem. The reason why they bow down is not only respecting Tara, but also they wanted something. What you wanted, you know why we admire to something, we appreciate. And then we express our desire to gain same quality because we admire, because we want it. So similarly, when you're bowing down to Tara, which means you're not only admiring the quality of Tara, also I'm expressing to have your quality for me. I want your quality so I am buttering you. [Laughs]. Maybe not buttering, but similar to that. So liberator from all the problems.LA MA YUM LA CHAK TSÄL LO. So you're the mother of all, Mother Tara. You're the mother of all enlightened ones. The word "homage" here in English, or sometimes bowing down, I don't know whether that really does good justification or not. Word we are looking for in Tibetan is "Chak Tsal", Chak Tsal, if you just ask normally "Chak Tsal" what does that mean? It means your physical gesture of respecting, whatever the way you do. But physical gesture of respecting. Actual there is a meaning, "Chak" and "Tsal" is two separate meaning. "Chak" is total respect, total homage, total admiration. "Tsal" word is seeking the quality by me. The Tibetans, when they do prostration, they just simply touch the ground because the highest point of your body, most important points of your body touching the ground and showing respect.[1:41:59:5] But some Chinese system they will bow down, turn their hands round, and does this way (gestures). Means, "I want it." Seeking, I want it. So the word in Tibetan, "Chak Tsal," "Tsal" word is actually seeking, I want it. Wanted what? Wanted your quality, however, whatever, you have. Whatever you have I want that. I want to become like you. I'm seeking that from you. That's really word "Chak Tsal" in Tibetan, though physical gesture doesn't do this. Chinese, some traditions does that, and some maybe even do this (gestures). [laughs]Gimme, gimme. But they turn their arms down, means seeking. What is seeking? Seeking your quality. So "Chak Tsal" in TIbetan means I respect you because I admire your qualities, I like it, I want it, and I'm seeking it. That's really, people who do 100,000 prostrations and all of them, each and every one of those prostrations are giving that message. It's not just exercise, though it is great exercise no doubt.(Talks to Ujjen)So she does 300 prostrations every morning. Ujjen-lha's mother-in-law. So she does that, every day 300 prostrations. So that's why she's a little fit. [laughs] Good exercise, that's what we see.But the reality is seeking the quality. It is also purification. It is also accumulation of merit. So that's why PONG PA KÜN LÄ DRÖL DZÄ MA LA MA YUM LA CHAK TSÄL LO[1:44:37:8]This is not a LA MA YUM LA CHAK TSÄL LO. It is DOL MA rather than LA MA YUM LA.So invocation and praise. Now the next is Seven Limb. Before we go into these Seven Limb, this Seven Limb and Jewel Heart's Seven Limb "I bow down in body, speech, and mind" is slightly different in the words, but meaning same thing. So I'm going to explain this in the afternoon.