Archive Result

20131223GRAAETB41

00:00

Good morning to you and good morning, everybody. Welcome to this Tibetan Buddhism talk. Looking at the date, today is the 22nd December. That means it is the end of the year…..again. So the year goes so fast. Since we began these Sunday talks it has been a little over two years. When you look back, we have built quite a good background of the basic importance of Tibetan Buddhism.

0:01:31.1

The other day, I think last Friday, somebody asked me, “Well I am involved with the Tibetan Buddhist studies here and there. Tell me, what should I really do? What is the first step?” My suggestion to that person was this: Tibetan Buddhism is dealing with the mind. Anything that makes your mind kindler and gentler, that’s what you should engage in. Learning, yes, is very important. Without learning you cannot meditate and without meditation you cannot have any spiritual development, which is the result of meditation. Meditation is the result of learning. That’s very true. However, the most important thing is dealing with the mind. If you have the choice between learning something and improving something in your mind you have to choose the mind improvement. After all, the mind is the one which does everything. Mind makes you happy, it makes you sad, it makes you angry, it makes you trust, it makes you not trust. All this is done by the mind.

0:03:52.7

In one way, our mind is our mind. It is under our control, we think. But on the other hand, our mind controls us so badly that if you don’t care of your mind, your mind will make you like a yoyo. It picks you up and throws you down. It makes you go up and down. People do that very often. And that is done by your own mind to yourself. The mind will manage you in various forms. Number One, it will tell you, “It is good for you, so you must do it” or “It is not good for you”. Number two it tells you, “It is your right, no one can bully you. It is your choice” and “I am American. So I don’t have to get in there. I can do whatever I want to do.” All of those. I am saying it as a joke, I am not saying it is bad. But that’s how mind will manage you. Sometimes, to some people, when you are going on, suddenly you get shocked, there is some kind of impulsiveness and woop, it goes the other way round. Suddenly, without any pre-thought, you just switch round a 180 degrees or something. All of them are how the mind plays with you.

0:06:14.1

Particularly, when you have little emotional challenges. Then the mind really fluctuates so much. At that time when you are not careful you can become completely overpowered. Even if you can’t challenge this mental challenge, the best thing is for you to slow down. Don’t react. If you are so slow and it is too late, that is better than doing something wrong and get hurt.

0:07:19.5

So mind becomes most important and we really talked and discussed a little bit of the most important aspects of the mind and what we call mental faculties. Very particularly, when you look back over the year, we did talked about virtue and non-virtue. Actually we did talk about non-virtue, but we did not really count how many non-virtues there are. Basically, there are 6 root negativities and 20 secondary ones. We did not go in that detail, but the most important negativities boil down to three categories, which we call the three poisons: obsession, hatred and ignorance. We did talk about those in quite some detail. Most of your mind normally is influenced by one of those three – most of our mind. They come in a variety of forms. Many times ego talking, ego thinking, ego managing – most of them are ignorance-oriented or hatred-oriented or obsession-oriented or all three together oriented. Most of what we call ego-thinking or ego-talking or ego managing.

0:09:55.6

Besides that, negative emotions are within us. It is only a matter of recognition. Other than that, they are very much with us. We simply have to recognize them and then avoid them. The most important thing is to recognize them and know: that is a negativity. Sometimes we see and recognize it but don’t acknowledge that as negativity. We think it is something positive or special. These negative emotions do function under any excuse. They do overtake us and we encourage them. Many times they also come in the context of spiritual development. That’s why we have lots of those fake, crazy wisdoms, not real crazy wisdom.

0:11:34.0

Real crazy wisdom is very genuine, wonderful and fantastic, but absolutely rare. So most of the time people should think, “That’s not going to happen to me.” You will be better off thinking that way, rather than hoping, “my situation is special, so it must be crazy wisdom.” Chances are no. 90% it is false. Therefore it is so important not to look for crazy wisdom. If you do so you have more chances of falling into a trap rather than getting connected with crazy wisdom or being liberated.

0:13:00.4

Crazy wisdom is something that happened in the past, earlier during the Buddha’s time and a little after that, but thereafter it has been very, very few, one or two, really. It is almost not even one in a million, probably one in billions. So it is very, very hard and don’t kid yourself. Be grounded and look for positive-negative clearly and move forward. Crazy wisdom, yes, it is not that there is no chance. There is, but chances are, as I said, very, very rare. If it happens, it will prove itself by itself. It doesn’t matter. Even if you deny, object or reject it, even then it will happen by itself. And you will know that it has happened and is happening. It is very different than many of those who we encounter today.

0:15:09.7

Basically, what is right and what is wrong is very difficult for us to judge, but we rely on Buddha’s statements and guidance and teaching and follow it. Following that is right. Before Buddha passed away, during his life time, he didn’t come out the way we talk today. Buddha made the basis for us to talk and earlier great masters organized it. So we can simply and easily talk. But during the Buddha’s life time incidents took place among Buddha’s disciples. Someone did this and somebody did something else and then they got together and asked Budhha, whether that was the right thing or the wrong thing to do. In the gatherings Buddha would reveal the incident and then he would say, “This is right, this is wrong.” That is how Buddha built up – all his life long - what is positive and what is negative, what is positive karma and how it works and what we can do. So today we can recognize positive and negative karmic things easily. It is because Buddha spent his life time on that. Before he passed away, Buddha gave one statement to the disciples. I will say it in Tibetan,

gang zhi rung wa ta tön zhing/ mi rung wa dang mi tü na/ rung wa yin pei chir/ che par ja-o

gang zhi rung wa dang mi tön zhing/ mi rung wa dang tü na/ mi rung wa yin pei chir/ che par mi ja-o

Any incident that go well with those we have decided to be positive and if it goes against the negative, consider that as positive and use it.

If it goes against the positive and goes well with the negatives, then it must be negative, so do not entertain.

That is Buddha’s last words for his disciples, in which we are included. Today Buddha is not there, but still, that huge teaching is there. So this teaching tells us: this is negative, this is positive. So now we have to make our own judgment by comparing anything that comes, whether it fits with the negativities or goes against the negativities. Accordingly we follow. We may have to make our own decisions that way and we have to follow them.

0:19:36.8

If we make the right decision then we are all right. If we make the wrong decision, then not only will we ourselves be in trouble, but those who try to follow, who try to read, who try to copy. They will also be led on the wrong path. It is a very big responsibility, not only for ourselves, but also for the future generations.

0:20:26.3

Our own generation, our own people at this moment, it is a very critical moment. It is the beginning of establishing Buddhism and especially Tibetan Buddhism and within that, the Ganden Kagyu tradition. It is beginning to take root within western society. So it is really, really, very, very important. And each one of us, whatever we do, we do have huge consequences, not only for ourselves, but for the future generations. So it is important to do what you know you are doing and don’t try to do something that you don’t know what you are doing. Honestly.

0:21:53.7

Even in spiritual practice there are so many profound things, all kinds of things, but it is very important to be grounded, very grounded and follow it. Mystical mysteries, when they happen, they happen. Do not look for them. Don’t hope for them, don’t get fooled by them. That is our basic way to approach. What Buddha taught is very, very simple in one way. Really again, it goes back to where we began:

Avoid negativities, build positivities, tame your mind. This is Buddhism.

That is really a very important statement by Buddha himself. You see this written in any language, Sanskrit, Hindi, Chinese, Tibetan – everywhere. Most Tibetan Buddhist temples carry that as banner and writings on the wall or as wall hangings. It is a very basic statement, the very ground and the very principle. So always try to be very solid. Don’t go into those flaky things here and there. You will be better off. Not only you will be better off, but also those who look at you, who try to pick up something and learn something from you will be misled otherwise. So avoiding that is important.

0:24:27.5

Then always remain kind, compassionate, caring. Without caring the kindness and compassion will be lip service or sympathy. It should be more than that, it should be empathy. It should be involved, engaged. That means caring must be there. If you care, you are concerned and you have to do something – whatever you can. That is how we should move.

0:25:38.0

We look back to the old year, whatever we have done, great and we rejoice in ourselves, which will double our virtue. We look forward to the next years to come, particularly the upcoming year 2014. We are looking forward to improving ourselves in these principles. Then our life becomes worthwhile. Also the life of the friends who may not be directly involved but who come round with you is affected. Particularly, with vajrayana practitioners, anybody show shares the air that they breathe will be affected and benefitted.

0:26:57.1

It is something very unique you can do. It is something that is almost impossible and you can do it. Your example is a great example for your friends. Whatever you have, your tolerance, patience, kindness, generosity and wisdom and concentration, you can give as example for the others. That’s how you affect other people’s lives. It doesn’t have to be always somebody being the student and somebody the teacher. Somebody who has a relationship or friendship with you, all of those are indirectly affected so much. It is very contagious. People get affected. Kindness, compassion is also very contagious. If you can show kindness and care, ten more people will pick that up from you and from them another ten. That’s how it really affects.

0:28:50.5

Yes, there will be a time, when every sentient being will be liberated, but it is a very gradual and slow process. And that’s how we contribute and how we help, not only ourselves, but all our friends in future.

0:29:18.7

About the subject of the mental faculties, we did talk about the five sustaining mental faculties. We talked about the first three of these five. Not the omnipresent, but the sustaining ones. The last two we are left with are concentration and wisdom.

0:29:54.7

To develop concentration there is nothing better than the GOM teaching we have. That means meditation. The little booklet we have on GOM – Meditation, is one of those fine, fine, good documents, honestly. Very well worked out in experience – very, very good. It is mostly based on Je Tsongkhapa’s lam rim chenmo and a few things added up here and there. The lam rim chenmo is very detailed, so we are unable to do it in that detail, but the basic necessary things are very well [presented]. There is nothing better than that.

0:31:16.3

Concentration is concentration. One needs to learn how to focus. Our mind is such, we can’t focus for even a minute. Our attention is drawn right and left and here and there. So the first thing is recognizing that you are losing your focus and then bring it back. That is the principle: bring it back. Utilize the mental faculties of desire (dun pa) and conviction (mö pa) and remembrance (dren pa), the first three mental faculties we had talked about. Utilize them to bring your focus back. It is “object-sustaining”, so you are really focusing. Bring awareness. When you lose focus, bring it back. It doesn’t matter if you have to bring it back 300 times in a single minute. Even then it is worthwhile. Bring it back and then the focusing periods have to be a little longer and longer and longer, so much so that you may be able to focus almost for three quarters of a day, without losing your focal point. That is a little far away, but you can reach that. You can reach.

0:33:38.9

Once you learn – in the sense that you pick it up as a habit of focusing – then it is so simple and easy. It will be as simple as drinking a cup of coffee or something. In that manner it goes. If that happens, you have one of the most important concentration powers called zhi ne in Tibetan or shamata in Sanskrit. You are strongly focusing.

0:34:40.0

But the focusing point alone is not enough. You will be able to focus and you can control negativities. You can deny your mind the engaging in negativities. You can change and guide the mind in a different direction and all that. However, the imprint and root of ignorance remains within you. So then we won’t make a big dent in our path. So it is important to cut the root of samsara, which is ignorance, by really strongly challenging it. That is wisdom.

0:35:54.3

That is the wisdom famously known as emptiness. But emptiness is not empty. It is the true understanding of what really existence is. How do we exist? Do we exist independently of anything else or do we exist dependently on circumstances, time, conditions – all of those. Do we exist without depending on anything, self-standing? Your wisdom will analyze and only by analyzing you will begin to realize that there is no independent, self-standing. Everything is brought about by circumstances and it is true reality. Everything is like that. In our life we have good things because we have worked for them, we have earned them. You have provided the conditions, the parts and parcels. They all came together and then it works. Not only you have a good life, you even exist and when the conditions are not there, when things are not there, when they are falling apart, you fall apart and cease to exist. And that is emptiness. It is dependent origination. That is what Buddha talked about. That is the famous wisdom of knowing emptiness.

0:38:45.0

It is not just nothing. A lot of people misunderstand that, saying “all is empty, there is nothing. There is no difference between a piece of gold and a pebble you pick up in the street.” Sometimes people go to that extent.

0:39:22.3

Earlier, in the 60’s, some people picked up a bunch of pebbles and tried to buy air tickets with that, trying pay for them with the pebbles, saying that there is no difference between gold and pebbles. They got arrested. That was in New York in the early 60’s. That sort of emptiness is not emptiness. It is dependent. It depends on conditions, on parts and parcels, on cause and result. So the interdependent nature of existence is really the true wisdom. That is really, really true. Look at anything. The physical, mental and emotional conditions will tell you whether you are well or not well.

0:40:50.7

You make this judgment of being well or not on that basis. If you are well you are fine. But then some pieces and parcels of yours give up and then it goes. That’s because it is dependent. This is very true about everything. Not only life, but everything. Even this little glass of water here depends on the particles within it. If the particles start breaking the glass will go and the water will go on the table. So that is emptiness.

0:41:57.1

That sounds very funny, and in one way it is. Honestly. So that is very briefly talking about wisdom. Our upcoming winter retreat in February is on Mahamudra. So we are probably supposed to talk more on that. Also I have been requested this summer retreat to give teachings on Chandrakirti’s madhyamakavatara root text. There are six chapters. I don’t know how many chapters will go. I keep on thinking that probably chapter one is generosity, chapter two is morality, etc. They are chapters on the six perfections. Those we are familiar with we will do very briefly and spend more time on chapter six, the wisdom chapter. Or else we start with Chapter six. We will see what happens.

0:43:45.8

So we are looking forward to 2014, to a lot of wisdom teachings. That’s why I would like to consider this segment of the five object-sustaining mental faculties done – although concentration and wisdom is something that we look at throughout the year. I may not do much teaching on concentration, but you have enough material in English available, provided by Jewel Heart. So look through those. Wisdom is that.

0:44:52.0

Then we will take a break [for the Sunday talks] and wish you very happy holidays. I should say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Say the right thing. Then we will take a break for the Sundays, because today I am going to India – in a couple of hours. I have to get to India. I will be back by January 8 or 9 or something. I think we will begin the Sunday talk only after January 20th. That will be January 26, but on that day I am supposed to be in New York. So then the next Sunday will be February 2. That’s when we will begin our Sunday talks.

0:46:57.1

Thank you so much for putting in your efforts to help yourself. 0:47:02.2 end