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20131124GRNLETB37

00:00

Good morning everybody. I’m talking to you from the Jewel Heart in Netherlands.

This is the meeting hall. We have a number of Jewel Heart people from Holland as well as Malaysia here, and a couple of people from the United States as well.

I’m here in Holland, this is their November retreat. We are doing teachings on Cittamani Tara. Today I have just finished the outer torma initiation. Actually, it’s 4pm in the afternoon here, so tomorrow we’ll be starting the teaching. During the teaching, we’ll be doing the inner body mandala initiation as well.

I don’t know how much you can see. It’s a beautiful center here. The Netherlands people manage very well by themselves with Jewel Heart. There are a group of people we call the members of the board and the other group of people we call the dharma coordinating team – DCT. The board part looks after administrative aspects of the center and the dharma coordinators look after and arrange the study part of it, the academic or the path that we are doing. They are doing very well. So this is where I am and everybody here is sending their greetings to those of you who are on this Sunday talk.

00:03:07

As you know, we are doing the Essence of Tibetan Buddhism, and we’ve drawn the conclusion that the most important thing is the mind, rather than anything else. Mind is more important than material or matter because it is the mind that makes you happy or sad or miserable – not the money, not the material, not any one of them. They do make you happy, easier to a certain extent, but they cannot make you completely happy, as you all know.

Otherwise those who are very wealthy – family, kids – should not have any problem. They would have all the best in the world. So they would have best life, but they do not. Many times you find them committing suicide and doing all kinds of things, having difficulties. So, because happiness is really a mental factor rather than a material factor, we very much emphasize motivation .

Also, motivation, not just an ordinary motivation but as very strongly recommended by Buddha – the motivation of bodhimind. When you call it bodhimind, it is simply the technical word of Sanskrit language. However, when you think about it, it is very easy to say but it is very difficult to experience – and to even act accordingly because bodhimind is totally dedicated , the ultimate, unlimited, unconditioned love and the ultimate, unlimited, unconditioned compassion. So, these two are not only just compassion and love. It is ultimate and unlimited. No condition. The question of “What’s in there for me” never rises. It’s gone beyond that. Since it’s gone beyond that – which is really total dedication, total altruistic – it is without forgetting, ignoring yourself.

00:06:53

Sometimes people would like to think, when you talk about compassion, you talk about it as though there is nothing concerned about me, “I’m all right , forget about me, but what about others”. Very nice attitude, no doubt. But if you forget about yourself completely, who is going to take care of the others’ work? It’s not going to happen. So therefore, yes! It is altruistic but it is the same person. The self is the one who is committing to carry it out. Self is the one who is seeking the total development. Self is the one who is seeking liberation. Self is the one who is seeking enlightenment. Therefore, you can never ignore self.

00:8:00

Self also must be removed. But self also cannot occupy supreme position, as we always do, while denying that I treat myself as supremely important. But while denying that, we will do. While denying that, we will act and do all that. And that is shown because it was not going according to your own wishes or plans. You can see unhappiness.

You experience unhappiness within yourself. The others can witness the unhappiness. Which indicates the statement that you are issuing, “Nothing important for me, but for something, something.” Which really is actually telling you it is very important for me, and the way and how I want it, should be done!

But we deny. We will not let it go. We’ll hold it very tight. That makes it very difficult. That makes the world of difficult. At least, be able to treat equally, as equally important.

00:9:54

00:06:53

Sometimes people would like to think, when you talk about compassion, you talk about it as though there is nothing concerned about me, “I’m all right , forget about me, but what about others”. Very nice attitude, no doubt. But if you forget about yourself completely, who is going to take care of the others’ work? It’s not going to happen. So therefore, yes! It is altruistic but it is the same person. The self is the one who is committing to carry it out. Self is the one who is seeking the total development. Self is the one who is seeking liberation. Self is the one who is seeking enlightenment. Therefore, you can never ignore self.

00:8:00

Self also must be removed. But self also cannot occupy supreme position, as we always do, while denying that I treat myself as supremely important. But while denying that, we will do. While denying that, we will act and do all that. And that is shown because it was not going according to your own wishes or plans. You can see unhappiness.

You experience unhappiness within yourself. The others can witness the unhappiness. Which indicates the statement that you are issuing, “Nothing important for me, but for something, something.” Which really is actually telling you it is very important for me, and the way and how I want it, should be done!

But we deny. We will not let it go. We’ll hold it very tight. That makes it very difficult. That makes the world of difficult. At least, be able to treat equally, as equally important.

00:9:54

Also bodhimind, when it is described by Buddhist teachers, tells you - it is some idea that you completely ignore yourself, and supremely cherish others. Which becomes very difficult. Practically, it is difficult. Particularly nowadays, it is very difficult. So it is not so simple and so easy as simply just making up one’s mind. Anyway.

10:38

Just even correcting thoughts

Motivation, itself is a great deal of spiritual work because it is the beginning that you are sort of engaging yourself for a purpose. The purpose is to serve, to help, rather than to work for me, to promote me.

11:08

So right from the beginning, this action, this motivation itself reduces the selfish interest and encourages compassion, love and caring. So that’s why it is one important point to do. As well as by having such a motivation, any work that you engage in, it makes it sort of a virtue, rather than something else. Because many times, to be true virtue is very difficult because we do have a number of negative emotions that we engage within ourself. Such as, hatred, such as obsession, such as jealousy. They are all very much within our blood. It is almost on the first doorstep. Just on the tip of our tongues. You know, the moment we open our mouth, the first thing that comes out are those negative emotional addictions.

Any physical or verbal gesture, or anything we show, these indications will send the message. Because our mind is very much controlled by those addictions. As you see for yourself. As you observe the other person. Many times it is very difficult to see yourself. You think you are doing the best. You think you are the best. But when you are looking at someone else – particularly when you have a reservation about the individual – you can see everything in there. Even though it is sincere, sometimes people read as motivated – motivated not necessarily in the good sense, motivated by the addiction.

13:59

Sometimes we will show that very clearly. So that means those people are the example. When you can see the others have difficulties, you should - must know, you have the same difficulty.

14:22

Exactly, Tibetan Buddhist tradition teachings tell you whatever you are experiencing on your own physical, mental and emotional body, whatever you feel – that much the others are feeling the same thing. They even tell you to take your physical feeling as an example and don’t hurt others. Because when you hurt yourself or somebody else hurts you, you really get hurt. It is painful, it is a difficulty. So use that as an example when you are hurting others.

15:08

So that’s really one of those old sayings:

Tibetan

So take yourself and your body as an example, and don’t hurt others.

So really, that is how they advise, but also to know how difficult it is for yourself, you have the mental, emotional addictions and how you get tortured yourself. You will not see yourself because you would like to project yourself as wonderful, as kind, as caring, as educated, as great being. So you don’t see it. But when you see the other persons are suffering with this, it shows, it tells you that you are having the same difficulties. You are even giving the same message, even though you pretend to be…

16:30

So all of these will be happening, not because of the material, but because of the mind.

Positive deeds we do are also (not) because of the material but because of the mind. Negative deeds we engage - hurt people – it is also because of the mind. So mind is the most important. Without pre-thought and pre-motivation and pre-emotion, things won’t move. Even if you want to get out of your seat and walk, there’s a thought that pushes you. You follow the thought.

17:22

10:38

Just even correcting thoughts, motivation, itself is a great deal of spiritual work because it is the beginning that you are sort of engaging yourself for a purpose. The purpose is to serve, to help, rather than to work for me, to promote me.

11:08

So right from the beginning, this action, this motivation itself reduces the selfish interest and encourages compassion, love and caring. So that’s why it is one important point to do. As well as by having such a motivation, any work that you engage in, it makes it sort of a virtue, rather than something else. Because many times, to be true virtue is very difficult because we do have a number of negative emotions that we engage within ourself. Such as, hatred, such as obsession, such as jealousy. They are all very much within our blood. It is almost on the first doorstep. Just on the tip of our tongues. You know, the moment we open our mouth, the first thing that comes out are those negative emotional addictions.

Any physical or verbal gesture, or anything we show, these indications will send the message. Because our mind is very much controlled by those addictions. As you see for yourself. As you observe the other person. Many times it is very difficult to see yourself. You think you are doing the best. You think you are the best. But when you are looking at someone else – particularly when you have a reservation about the individual – you can see everything in there. Even though it is sincere, sometimes people read as motivated – motivated not necessarily in the good sense, motivated by the addiction.

13:59

Sometimes we will show that very clearly. So that means those people are the example. When you can see the others have difficulties, you should - must know, you have the same difficulty.

14:22

Exactly, Tibetan Buddhist tradition teachings tell you whatever you are experiencing on your own physical, mental and emotional body, whatever you feel – that much the others are feeling the same thing. They even tell you to take your physical feeling as an example and don’t hurt others. Because when you hurt yourself or somebody else hurts you, you really get hurt. It is painful, it is a difficulty. So use that as an example when you are hurting others.

15:08

So that’s really one of those old sayings:

Tibetan

So take yourself and your body as an example, and don’t hurt others.

So really, that is how they advise, but also to know how difficult it is for yourself, you have the mental, emotional addictions and how you get tortured yourself. You will not see yourself because you would like to project yourself as wonderful, as kind, as caring, as educated, as great being. So you don’t see it. But when you see the other persons are suffering with this, it shows, it tells you that you are having the same difficulties. You are even giving the same message, even though you pretend to be…

16:30

So all of these will be happening, not because of the material, but because of the mind.

Positive deeds we do are also (not) because of the material but because of the mind. Negative deeds we engage - hurt people – it is also because of the mind. So mind is the most important. Without pre-thought and pre-motivation and pre-emotion, things won’t move. Even if you want to get out of your seat and walk, there’s a thought that pushes you. You follow the thought.

17:22

Unless you are a robot. Robots don’t have thoughts, right. Supposed to not. Maybe they have now, who knows.

So the most important is the mind. And that’s why we talked about the mind a little bit. Because we say, make yourself good. Do good. But how are you going to do good without knowing the mind a little bit. So we talked after basic motivation, after basic Buddha’s teaching of some sort of 4 Noble Truth, and now we have been engaging about the mind.

18:13

I don’t intend to bore you with all kinds of mental faculties. Actually, as I said earlier, it is mind itself. There is “no separate” mind called mental faculty . It is mind itself with certain way of action, certain way of functioning, certain way of ascertaining, certain way of getting in touch with the subject, certain way of perceiving. Those are divided and said, basically traditional Tibetan Buddhist teaching – particularly that of the great early Indian Buddhist master Vasubhandu’s mind and mental faculties. They talk to you about 52 different mental faculties and 6 consciousnesses etc. and principal consciousness.

19:41

But out of those, earlier I have already talked/addressed the 11 virtues, their mind and their mental faculties that I already presented. At this moment, we are talking about the 5 mental faculties that makes mind work. We call them kundro in Tibetan. Mind must always have those 5 mental faculties because if you are missing one of them, you have a lot of difficulties and problems. Mind will not function properly.

20:34

There are, particularly, 5 + 5. The 5 that always accompany the mind. That we call – feeling, acknowledging, recognition, mind (sempa – almost like mind), then contact and intention, right.

16:30

So all of these will be happening, not because of the material, but because of the mind.

Positive deeds we do are also (not) because of the material but because of the mind.

Negative deeds we engage - hurt people – it is also because of the mind. So mind is the most important. Without pre-thought and pre-motivation and pre-emotion, things won’t move. Even if you want to get out of your seat and walk, there’s a thought that pushes you. You follow the thought.

17:22

Unless you are a robot. Robots don’t have thoughts, right. Supposed to not. Maybe they have now, who knows.

So the most important is the mind. And that’s why we talked about the mind a little bit. Because we say, make yourself good. Do good. But how are you going to do good without knowing the mind a little bit. So we talked after basic motivation, after basic Buddha’s teaching of some sort of 4 Noble Truth, and now we have been engaging about the mind.

18:13

I don’t intend to bore you with all kinds of mental faculties. Actually, as I said earlier, it is mind itself. There is “no separate” mind called mental faculty . It is mind itself with certain way of action, certain way of functioning, certain way of ascertaining, certain way of getting in touch with the subject, certain way of perceiving. Those are divided and said, basically traditional Tibetan Buddhist teaching – particularly that of the great early Indian Buddhist master Vasubhandu’s mind and mental faculties. They talk to you about 52 different mental faculties and 6 consciousnesses etc. and principal consciousness.

19:41

But out of those, earlier I have already addressed the 11 virtues, their mind and their mental faculties that I already presented. At this moment, we are talking about the 5 mental faculties that makes mind work. We call them kundro in Tibetan. Mind must always have those 5 mental faculties because if you are missing one of them, you have a lot of difficulties and problems. Mind will not function properly.

20:34

There are, particularly, 5 + 5. The 5 that always accompany the mind. That we call – feeling, acknowledging, recognition, mind (sempa – almost like mind), then contact and intention, right.

So now I think we have finished all three before, but contact. Though I mentioned and talked to you contact last Sunday but it was a very short time because I was talking to you about Ladakh and the tour, rather than the subject I was supposed to talk to you. That took a long time so I didn’t talk with you much about this contact. Regpa – reg pa is contact.

22:37

Now this particular mental faculty is - actually, we call it reg pa. What happens is: subject on which you focus, mind, whatever you are utilizing to pay attention, and media – either eye, or ear or nose or whatever, or the consciousness – all these three combined together and making the individual experience.

Now for example, if you are touching something very gentle, soft, and joyful nature – so the subject on which you are touching, medium of the min like the physical aspects of the mind that you have yourself, using that. And all three together makes you feel good. That feeling good will bring the sort of “like” rather than “dislike”. That “like” will bring little more desire. Wanting to have a little more experience. Wanting to remain with that condition a little bit longer.

Making it - so when they say, reg pa or contact, the contact makes it feel and that feeling makes you want to hold it. That makes this particular mind to be able to complete its work. That feeling – either joy and want to remain longer or that reject – separation. All of them are done by this particular mental faculty. Why? Because all three things connected together, gets into contact, and then such a feeling. Though “feeling” itself may be another mental faculty, that makes your body, that makes your mind occupied, engaged in that. And that’s why this is called contact. And that is how all these three.

26:40

Not only you are drawing your attention, not only you are putting yourself on the subject or object, but also analyzing a little bit. Good, bad, happy, sad, or all that. A little bit of analyzing and giving you a message. A little more than simply getting in touch.

Basically according to this tradition, that very mental faculty is also subdivided by 6 different mental faculties. So faculty related with eye consciousness, faculty related with ear consciousness, faculty related with nose consciousness. These are, if you look, form that you see, sound that you hear, and smell that you smell, taste that you taste, touch that you touch. So these are basically like six of these - form, sound, and all this that are called senses.

So this contact itself is according to the senses because when you say, it not only touches but analyzes a little bit. When you see a form, you like it or dislike it. This is a little bit done by this contact. Or the sound that you hear, it is soothing or not soothing. The smell that you experience – it is good or bad. Or like taste.

So that is why the subdivisions are, although not so much important, but basically this mental faculty of contact does that job. That’s why all the mind must have that with you. Because if the mind doesn’t have that, there will be a problem, mind doesn’t function properly. So that’s really what it is.

30:31

22:37

Now this particular mental faculty is - actually, we call it reg pa. What happens is: subject on which you focus, mind, whatever you are utilizing to pay attention, and media – either eye, or ear or nose or whatever, or the consciousness – all these three combined together and making the individual experience.

Now for example, if you are touching something very gentle, soft, and joyful nature – so the subject on which you are touching, medium of the min like the physical aspects of the mind that you have yourself, using that. And all three together makes you feel good. That feeling good will bring the sort of “like” rather than “dislike”. That “like” will bring little more desire. Wanting to have a little more experience. Wanting to remain with that condition a little bit longer.

Making it - so when they say, reg pa or contact, the contact makes it feel and that feeling makes you want to hold it. That makes this particular mind to be able to complete its work. That feeling – either joy and want to remain longer or that reject – separation. All of them are done by this particular mental faculty. Why? Because all three things connected together, gets into contact, and then such a feeling. Though “feeling” itself may be another mental faculty, that makes your body, that makes your mind occupied, engaged in that. And that’s why this is called contact. And that is how all these three.

26:40

Not only you are drawing your attention, not only you are putting yourself on the subject or object, but also analyzing a little bit. Good, bad, happy, sad, or all that. A little bit of analyzing and giving you a message. A little more than simply getting in touch.

Basically according to this tradition, that very mental faculty is also subdivided by 6 different mental faculties. So faculty related with eye consciousness, faculty related with ear consciousness, faculty related with nose consciousness. These are, if you look, form that you see, sound that you hear, and smell that you smell, taste that you taste, touch that you touch. So these are basically like six of these - form, sound, and all this that are called senses.

So this contact itself is according to the senses because when you say, it not only touches but analyzes a little bit. When you see a form, you like it or dislike it. This is a little bit done by this contact. Or the sound that you hear, it is soothing or not soothing. The smell that you experience – it is good or bad. Or like taste.

So that is why the subdivisions are, although not so much important, but basically this mental faculty of contact does that job. That’s why all the mind must have that with you. Because if the mind doesn’t have that, there will be a problem, mind doesn’t function properly. So that’s really what it is.

30:31

Now that should be enough and the next will be what we call yi la chapa – that is, intention. Yi la chapa makes mind focus. That’s what it really is. As I said earlier, there is one mental faculty that we call mind. And we say that mind mental faculty, known as mind, what does mind do? We say, “Mind will make you focus.” And now here we have this intention, which also makes mind to focus. So what is the difference?

The earlier mental faculty called mind simply draws attention of your mind, simply just draws, nothing specific. You draw some thing. This one makes it a little more specific. So if your mind is drawn to a thing that is there, so the simply “mind” – the mental faculty called mind, will see there is a thing. This particular “attention” will make: “There is a thing – the thing is white.” “There is a thing, the thing is circled round”, or it is oval or whatever shape, color, other senses. All of those are a little more specific. Not completely detailed but a little more than that mental faculty called “mind”. That is the difference.

33:24

Mind is sort of generally mind drawn. This one will draw with the specific reasons and specific things. That is very – each one of those are very tiny little, very subtle differences. When you are simply listening, you don’t get it, very hard to get it. But if you are constantly paying attention, this will be a very detailed study of mind.

Not necessarily study of mind, but you will know your mind better, so that you can control, or help, or promote your own mind, by knowing in detail.

Even, you yourself will be the best judge about yourself if you know something about your own mind. If you have a problem, you will be the better person to judge than the other person. Because you are experiencing whatever you experience, you have the experience within you. You are feeling it; you are understanding it. You are experiencing difficulties. But if you have to talk to somebody, that somebody has to sit there and observe you and try to make the best intelligent guess of what is really bothering you. Some are great; they can do well. Some are not so great. They will make a lot of mess. When they make a mess out of your own mind, you know how expensive it is – not in terms of money but in terms of your life, in terms of yourself. So it is very important to be able to help yourself.

36:20

So this contact itself is according to the senses because when you say, it not only touches but analyzes a little bit. When you see a form, you like it or dislike it. This is a little bit done by this contact. Or the sound that you hear, it is soothing or not soothing. The smell that you experience – it is good or bad. Or like taste.

So that is why the subdivisions are, although not so much important, but basically this mental faculty of contact does that job. That’s why all the mind must have that with you. Because if the mind doesn’t have that, there will be a problem, mind doesn’t function properly. So that’s really what it is.

30:31

Now that should be enough and the next will be what we call yi la chapa – that is, intention. Yi la chapa makes mind focus. That’s what it really is. As I said earlier, there is one mental faculty that we call mind. And we say that mind mental faculty, known as mind, what does mind do? We say, “Mind will make you focus.” And now here we have this intention, which also makes mind to focus. So what is the difference?

The earlier mental faculty called mind simply draws attention of your mind, simply just draws, nothing specific. You draw some thing. This one makes it a little more specific. So if your mind is drawn to a thing that is there, so the simply “mind” – the mental faculty called mind, will see there is a thing. This particular “attention” will make: “There is a thing – the thing is white.” “There is a thing, the thing is circled round”, or it is oval or whatever shape, color, other senses. All of those are a little more specific. Not completely detailed but a little more than that mental faculty called “mind”. That is the difference.

33:24

Mind is sort of generally mind drawn. This one will draw with the specific reasons and specific things. That is very – each one of those are very tiny little, very subtle differences. When you are simply listening, you don’t get it, very hard to get it. But if you are constantly paying attention, this will be a very detailed study of mind.

Not necessarily study of mind, but you will know your mind better, so that you can control, or help, or promote your own mind, by knowing in detail.

Even, you yourself will be the best judge about yourself if you know something about your own mind. If you have a problem, you will be the better person to judge than the other person. Because you are experiencing whatever you experience, you have the experience within you. You are feeling it; you are understanding it. You are experiencing difficulties. But if you have to talk to somebody, that somebody has to sit there and observe you and try to make the best intelligent guess of what is really bothering you. Some are great; they can do well. Some are not so great. They will make a lot of mess. When they make a mess out of your own mind, you know how expensive it is – not in terms of money but in terms of your life, in terms of yourself. So it is very important to be able to help yourself.

36:20

Particularly if you are interested in the spiritual field, then it is even more important to help yourself a little bit. Because if you don’t, somebody else, it is very easy to mess up with you. Many times the mad person is not really mad. The person who is dealing with mad is mad. So honestly, you don’t want yourself to be subject to that.

00:37:03

So I’d like to say a little bit, read continuously here.

All these five mental faculties are called – “always accompanying the mind”. It’s called omnipresent. Omnipresence has to be there all the time. If not, let’s say – if there is no feeling, the first thing – when there is no feeling, what happens? You will have no experience of anything. So your experience is completely deprived because that mental faculty of feeling is not there.

Number two mental faculty, which we call du she, is discrimination. If the discrimination mental faculty is not there, you can’t discriminate; you cannot make a distinction. Distinction is not there, so that’s why, if mind is to properly function, then you have to have all this.

As well, is the third mental faculty here, called “mind”. If mind is not there, you will pay no attention, you will not draw attention. You notice nothing. Forget about the detail; but even just simply no noticing. Sometimes we notice some people, when they have a little difficulty in mind, they don’t see you. Not only they don’t see you, but they don’t see many things. Just to go. It also happens with absent-minded professors too. I don’t mean the professors are crazy, but when there’s a lacking of that, they don’t notice anything.

Then, of course the fourth one.. I think the fifth one comes first, that is yi lha chapa, which is intention. When the intention is not there, then you don’t see any specifics. You don’t notice it’s white. You don’t notice it’s yellow. You might have noticed something, because mental faculty of mind functioned, but the mental faculty of intention did not function. Therefore you don’t see it is white, or it is round. You saw something but you didn’t see that.

Then if contact is not there, then you have no basis, no basis at all.

So that’s why these five particular mental faculties are so important to have mind function. So it is always, if mind functioning they have to have all this; alert and present. Present means it is alert. It has to be there. If not, then I told you the problems. And that’s why it’s called omnipresence. So if you are observing yourself, you just have to go through these five little mental faculties, and see whether your intention is intact, whether your contact is intact, whether the mental faculty of mind is intact. Each one of them, making sure it is intact. When it is intact, that means your mind is functioning reasonably good.

The next five mental faculties will be object sustaining mental faculties. This is simply noticing, drawing attention and mind making its function. So the next five will make you sustain. It is a little more refined touch. It is little more refined in the attention. So there are five of them of which I will be talking to you.

I simply say have a very good weekend and enjoy yourself . And don’t let yourself suffer and don’t torture yourself. Thank you.

43:34