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20141005GRAAETB64

0:00:00.0 Good morning everybody and welcome. As you remember we doing the introduction to Mahayana. That is based on Maitreya Buddha’s Abshisamayalankara, which is a Prajnaparamita synopsis, actually. The Prajnaparamita itself is either in 12 volumes, 3 volumes or one huge volume, whichever the way you count. There is detailed, medium and shorter versions. As synopsis of explaining those Maitreya gave five different teachings, out of which this is the Abhisamayalankara that we are basing ourselves on. The verse from there we are dealing with is:

drub dang den pa namg dang nä/ sang gye la sog kön chog sum…..

Then within that drub pa rang gi ngo wo la den pa/ drub pai mig pa/ den pa zhi la den pa/ drub pai den kön chog sum la da den pa/ drub pai ngo wo tsön dru la den pa/ chen nga/ ngön zhi, etc,

So the nature of the practice is self. We talked about the Mahayana itself, then the focus or goal that you want to achieve is enlightenment. Enlightenment is nothing but total knowledge. The English language is such that anything can be enlightened. The common usage is: Please enlighten me on that. People do say that.

0:02:29.6 Here enlightenment is total knowledge rather than just simply knowing. Total knowledge of everything, simultaneously, all the time. Remember, past, present and future are seen together. If you have time, opportunity and interest, the Chapter 8 of Abhisamayalankara is talking about the qualities of enlightenment, totally, including physical.

0:03:17.8 I don’t mean that it is in there and leave it there. But it really is total knowledge. That makes a difference from how we function, obviously. The frequencies of total knowledge in which we function is limited. We can remember the past and guess or read the future. But we are at the present. But at the level of total knowledge, past, present and future are read together. For them it is all present. That’s one of the five exclusive Sambogakaya qualities. I don’t want to talk too long about the qualities of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, because we never go down. We spend a couple of Sundays already talking about this. So somehow I have to close today on that.

0:04:48.3 Yet it is so important, not only as the basis of Mahayana practice, but it is the defined point of whether the individual is following Buddha or not. It depends on that. We normally say that we define whether you are Buddhist or not based on that, but the reality is whether you are following the Buddha’s path or not depends on that. The definition of being a Buddhist that is commonly given is somehow who is taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. But another point is whether you accept the four logos or slogans of Buddhism. These are:

Dü che tham che mi tag pa – all created things are impermanent

Sa che tham che dug ngal pa - all contaminated things are suffering

Chö tham che tong chen dag me pa – all phenomena are in the nature of emptiness

Ngan gen le de pa ne zhi shin ge wa o - Nirvana is peace

0:06:48.1These are the four Buddhist logos. If you accept these deeply from the heart you become Buddhist anyway. So the issue really is that all created phenomena are impermanent. That’s an important point to remember. Also, all phenomena are empty – that is the wisdom aspect of the Buddha Dharma. The others are the method as we call it. Normally we now talk about wisdom and compassion and these other three are not really direct compassion, but they are part of it. Also suffering is the cause of compassion. Because people suffer, that’s why we generate compassion. I mean it that way. I don’t mean that suffering causes compassion. But suffering contributes and brings compassion, because someone suffers and you see that and you understand their difficulties. Instead of running away or trying to avoid them, you try to understand and almost appreciate them.

0:08:53.6 You are not appreciating them because they are suffering, but you appreciate what they are going through. You try to feel it. Honestly, you try to feel it. You look at their face and you see the suffering and you feel it. That is very true with everybody. Everyone of us is great in covering up pain. Now, in 2014 we have more methods of covering up. There is much more sophisticated make-up. But even then, within the cracks of your make-up you can see the suffering that you are going through. And that you appreciate. The difference is between the Mahayana practitioners, those of us who claim to be and the Theravada people. The Theravada people do have compassion and they do care, but they can cut you out. They look at you. They respect you and then they move on. The Mahayana people are supposed to take that as their personal problem and look into it – but without bothering the other person.

0:10:45.5 You can’t go around like a lot of people do, saying, “I am here to help you.” In the west this is very good. I like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and I did have a number of them visiting me. That’s a long time ago now, about 30 years ago, when I was in Dexter as well as in Brook’s Street. There was constant visits from the Jehova’s Witnesses. I don’t think they came much in Cherry Street. Apparently, once in a while they still come there now. They never came to Ypsilanti.

0:11:39.1 But some people will do that. We do have a couple of people who are participating in Jewel Heart and whether you invite them or not, they come and say, “I am here to help you.” That is probably not wise, but other than that,

HOW DHARMA WORKS

Personally, mentally, emotionally, you should be able to feel and understand people’s suffering and appreciate the difficulties of people and take the worry, take the responsibility of solving them, however the best way you can. You can only contribute. You cannot remove their pain by hand. Buddha’s cannot even do that.

Thub nam dig pa chu yi mi tog chi

Dro wai dug ngel cha gyi me se la

Nyi je thog pa che la po men du

Chö yin den pa dem pai tro wa gyur

Buddhas cannot wash your negatitivies or sins with water.

Nor can they remove your sufferings by hand.

The development of Buddha’s is not transferable.

If so they would have done so long time ago. Whatever they would have to use, soap or even sterilizing, if they could do that they would have done so. But they cannot. And they can’t transfer their development. It is just like with American Express. You cannot transfer. It has to be issued in your own name. So your development is your own. It is your own Dharma, your own way of overcoming your difficulties and causes of difficulties. Causes of suffering and suffering are overcome by Dharma and that is the positivity you gain by getting rid of negativities. We say that many times. That is what you build up. You collect a drop of water into a bucket every day and there will be a time that the bucket will be filled. That’s what I am talking about. That is your Dharma. That is my Dharma. That’s what we look for. Spiritual development is also that.

0:15:00.6 You don’t look for spiritual development immediately in terms of some clairvoyance or flying in the air or getting under the water or ground and remaining there for hours. These things are symptoms of spiritual development, but they are not in themselves spiritual development. Honestly. It doesn’t come that way. It builds, drop by drop, very, very slowly, with great difficulty. That’s because our negative emotions are so strong. So everywhere, when our mind is clear and we try to do something good, these negative emotions will just twist you right or left, without anyone saying a word. If someone asks you a question you get angry. For what? Silly goat, absolutely. Just because they ask you a question. Why do people get angry just because they are asked a question? Because you are hiding something and the person is coming closer to you and is ready to bust you and that’s why the porcupine attitude comes out. That’s what it is. That’s how our negative emotions twist us.

0:16:46.7 So, instead of being nice, kind and virtuous and wonderful, gentle and compassionate, you become irritated, angry, hatred-oriented and all these things. That’s what exactly happens in our life every day. In the morning when you get up you have your shower, you get clean and you look forward to the day and you are not coming out in the morning, saying, “I am going to be angry today, I am going to hate today.” No one comes out that way. Everyone comes out, thinking it is nice weather, beautiful, outside it is great, the fall colors are changing and everything is great and you are looking forward. Yet, then something like this happens: somebody asks a question.

0:17:54.0 Or, somebody looks at you slightly different and you get angry. You become sensitive and angry and that’s how our negative emotions control us. That’s not you; that’s your negative emotions. When your mind is affected by that you have to fight for everything. Every method you use, everything you say or think or do is meant for struggling and fighting, which is a waste of your energy, a waste of your virtue, a waste of your mind, of your time, of everything. Instead of helping yourself you gain tremendous negativities, for which you will suffer for lives in future. That’s what you wasted. You not only wasted your time now, but also your time in the future as well. Understanding that is the understanding of Dharma. You are beginning to understand Dharma. This is negativity. It has those consequences. If I engage in them for a minute, an hour or day, how much consequences I will have. Knowing that, avoiding that, is called a good person, a dharma person, it is Dharma. Whether you have taken refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha or not, that is Dharma. You have to say that Dharma is available with everybody, whether you are Buddhist or not. Every living being is eligible to become Buddha. That’s it. That’s why I say you don’t have to be a Buddhist to become Buddha. Every human being is eligible to become Buddha. They may not call it Buddha. Whatever the heck you may call it, total knowledge, the Almighty state, or whatever you may call it, the best achievement or whatever, that’s what it is. Honestly.

0:21:09.4 That’s why virtues are the same, whether you are Buddhist or not. You don’t have separate virtues for Christians and Buddhists and separate virtues for Hindus and everybody else. Some people may interpret some parts of violence as virtues. We see that today in the world with ISIS. Unfortunately, violence and taking the most precious thing people possess – their lives – by beheading them, is not virtuous. No matter whoever says whatever. It is violence, it is hatred, it is revenge, it is hurting, it is every terrible thing you can think of. And it continues. Remember, violence brings violence. Love brings love. Compassion brings compassion. It is the cause of suffering, it is misery throughout the world. That cannot be right, no matter who says it. It cannot be virtue, it cannot be good. Honestly.

0:23:16.7 Other than that, virtues are the same. Whether it is Judeo-Christian, Hindu-Muslim, they are the same virtues and the same negativities. Karma applies equally to everybody. Whether your tradition accepts the words or concepts of karma or not doesn’t make karma not be applicable. That’s what I think. That is how your Dharma works.

I better finish it off now.

0:24:58.1 We did talk about the benefits, right? Did we count all of them? Well, by taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, one benefit is that you become Buddhist. Ha ha. Next, it is the basis of all vows. You may think that vows are not so important. But they are very important, because if you don’t have vows and if you don’t engage in any negativities, you just didn’t engage in them, and you don’t have the negativities, but that doesn’t mean you gain the positivity of not engaging in them. The vows make you gain the positivity. Why? Because you are committing yourself. You are promising something, saying, “I will not kill.” It is the same as in the Judeo-Christian tradition where it says, “Though shalt not kill.” Buddhism will say, “One should not kill human beings.” It is the same thing, isn’t it? Also, no sexual misconduct applies everywhere.

0:27:01.4 Not taking something that doesn’t belong to you is stealing. That goes everywhere, not only other religions, but even any good human character, a good human being. HH Dalai Lama talks about the warm heart of a good human being many times. So without vows, if you are not doing these, you are not doing them. But if you have the vows, then every minute you are not doing these you are building the virtue of not doing it. That’s why vows are important. Many vows are celibacy vows, but there are lots of lay vows too. The other day I mentioned that some of us took vows without knowing what they were and later realized they could not take any more intoxicants. Literally, throughout their lives, they are keeping these vows. I do appreciate that. We have a number of people in Jewel Heart who are doing that. Some didn’t know what vows they took, some did. But now they are following these vows like religion and that is great. I appreciate it. Many of us don’t do that. Like me, I can take any vows that can be taken ever existent in Buddhism and then break them one after another. I was a monk and I broke my monks vows. You know that. I was a novice and broke my novice vows. I broke my full-fledged bikshu vows. Then we get a lot of downfalls of the vajrayana vows, every minutes.

0:29:49.0 Remember, one time during a retreat we did a comedy skit in which a cavalry of Atisha’s entourage came riding in on [broom] sticks. Suddenly they all got off their stick horses, saying, “I got a downfall and I have to purify.” Then they would walk another two steps and again got off the horses to purify. That’s talking about Atisha who did that. For us, for sure there are definitely hundreds of downfalls every time, almost all the time. That’s why very often you should do purification, either with the 35 Buddha purification or the general purification or Vajrasattva recitation and most importantly bodhimind:

dig pa thop she shin tu mi se pa

de ne dzog pa jang chub sem men pa

ge shen kang gi sip e nang par gyur

Such powerful negativity cannot be overpowered

By any other virtue except this bodhimind

That bodhimind is the ultimate, unlimited, unconditioned love and compassion. That is one of the best methods to purify.

0:32:10.8 Then wisdom, emptiness. Nagarjuna says

te tsom sö pa tsam kyi jang

si pa hru bu je pa gyur

Just developing a doubt alone

Will tear samara into pieces

These are the two best ways of purifying. Then you can also do prostrations and there are so many things, like circumambulations. All of those are very helpful, physically as well as emotionally. Otherwise we have a tendency to become couch potatoes. But the western people are mostly active. The eastern laziness is [just sitting down, doing nothing]. Laziness is supposed to be my subject to talk today. So now my time has gone and my talk has not even begun. So we do have a tremendous amount of laziness. We engage in laziness. The western people have the expression for driving too fast: lead foot. Now I see laziness as lead butt! I have a huge one. So we do have that.

0:34:09.7 drub pa rang gi ngo wo la dam pa – the actual practice itself is enthusiasm. Now I am neither finishing the refuge nor beginning with enthusiasm. So I better finish the refuge first.

We had one of the benefits as being the basis for all vows. The next one is: the negative karmic blocks which we created before [are overcome.] As to the meaning of “before” don’t ask me when. We have such a habit. If I say, “don’t” you say why. If I say “created earlier” you say when. We have created negativities since the limitless beginning. By taking refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, if you are lucky it will be totally purified and even exhausted. But at least it will be reduced, made thinner, subtler and even finished. The next is: it will create tremendous good, virtuous karma and luck. I mentioned the other the uttaratantra words:

kyab sum so nam su yö na

dung sum de ya nö tu shog

gya tso chen pö chü yi teb

pü chi cha wa ka la nö

If the karma created by taking refuge could take physical form,

all the galaxies would be too small to fit it in.

The waters of the great ocean

cannot be measured by the handful.

0:37:11.2 So it created tremendous good karma. It also protects you from the obstacles of humans and non-humans, particularly ghosts. Now it’s near Halloween and if you have ghosts to worry about take refuge. That protects you. Finally it helps you to fulfill all your wishes. This is important. Immediately you are not going to fall into the lower realms and ultimately you are going to become Buddha. So this is a great benefit.

0:38:13.8 Particularly not falling into lower realms. This is the biggest threat in our neck. I had a friend, a Tibetan who was western-educated and didn’t have very much knowledge of the Buddhadharma. His Tibetan language was excellent, but his Dharma was so-so. He told me once, that was in the 1960s, “What Buddhism did is terrible. It brought us that fear of falling into the hell realms. That’s a terrible fear, and if Buddhism didn’t talk about it we would never have that fear.” Obviously, he was not exposed to the Judeo-Christian ideas of hell. He didn’t know about that. He continued, “Now that you put that idea in, everybody will be afraid and worried and there is no really good method of guaranteeing protection from that, so it just brought misery to our life.” That was very honest. That’s how he thought and felt.

0:39:57.4 But the truth is, whether you are told about it or not, ignorance is not an excuse in [front of] the natural law. Whether you knew about it or not, whether you worry about it or not, when you fall into the lower realms you fall. Worrying can actually help you by giving you the opportunity to protect yourself. So taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, particularly remembering Buddha at the time of the transition (death) means that Buddha is guaranteeing that you are not going to fall into the lower realms. If you are Buddhist and take refuge that is what happens. But that doesn’t mean that you to and talk to your friend who has no idea about Buddhism and at the 11th hour you keep on talking to them about Buddha, Buddha, Buddha and that may create negativity and even anger. So you have to be very aware of it.

0:41:15.5 But for you, who have a little knowledge and a little understanding, just think about Buddha and don’t forget. That protects you from falling into the lower realms. That’s one of those benefits. And that’s also the temporary benefit. Ne kab nyen dro mi tog chen tor tu de sang gye je kom ba tar pa - in the short term you won’t fall into the lower realms and in the long term you will become a fully enlightened Buddha. What else do you want?

Then I did talk to you about the differences between the Mahayana and the Theravada refuge. The Mahayana refuge includes compassion and love. It is love-compassion based refuge. Theravada refuge has total devotion and all that, but it is not based on bodhimind. It is not based on compassion. That is the difference.

Next week I am not going to talk to you about refuge anymore. I wanted to finish that three weeks ago and we are still lingering around.

0:42:55.2 Then what is really practice? That is the question. Practice is such that you must have a goal to achieve something. You are practicing to achieve perfection. That is normal, right? Everybody does that. Why do you practice your guitar? Because you want to be a good guitar player. Why do you practice the piano or any one of the musical instruments? Likewise photography or whatever you practice. In the spiritual path, what are you practicing? You want to achieve something. That is your objective, your goal, your purpose. Even our Tibetan practices all start with

dag gi dzog pai sang gye kyi go pang thob par je la sem chen tham che khor wa dug nel kyi gya tso le drel le dzog par sang gye kyi de wa la gö par ja de yi chir du bla bla bla

I would like to become a fully enlightened Buddha and lead all living beings to that state, for which I am going to do bla bla bla……

You have that in every sadhana and every practice you do, even in our normal usual practice when we say

Sang gye chö dang tsog gi chog nam la

jang chub bar du dag ni kyab su chi

Da gi jin sog gyi pai sö nam kyi

dro la pän chir sang gye drub par shog

To Buddha, Dharma and Sangha,

I take refuge until becoming enlightened.

By practicing generosity, and the other perfections

may I become a Buddha to benefit all beings.

I only know the Tibetan, which is translated from Sanskrit. In English now you have different translations which slightly differ, but that doesn’t matter. You are saying the same thing. That is telling you the purpose of the Mahayana practice. Just to get me a better life or just to make me a better human being, just to make me better this and that is not good enough. Really, because of this great life, the great human capacity, the great opportunity, the great everything, if you don’t make the attempt at the best, when will you make it? No other life can do that. You can’t do it when you are a rabbit. You can’t do it when you are a yak. You cannot do it when you are a fish. You cannot do it when you are a dog. You cannot do it when you are a cat, no matter how intelligent your cat may be. The cat can get rid of a lot of mice, but what else? Cats automatically do it, because that is their habit of negative addiction.

0:47:17.2 We say that cats naturally catch mice. Yes, true, but it is the negative killing addiction. That’s what’s happening. Dogs bite. Humans hit, right? Buffalo push their horns and charge. Elephants smash people or take them with their trunk and throw them in the air. All of those are natural habits, because they are addictions. We are more addicted to negativities than positivities. When you try to be nice and kind and good, as much as you can, you are also building addictions. Let’s say you become an elephant next time. Then you will become a kinder elephant than any other elephant. You will be leading all the elephants in a better, gentler way. Things like that happen, even if you fail to become a human being and become an elephant.

0:48:57.6 This is how negative addictions work and that is why our practice really is building positive acquaintance. And for the purpose of becoming a Buddha. The goal is to become Buddha. Other than that, just becoming free from suffering is not good enough. Just having better health is not good enough. Just having longevity is not good enough. Just having a little more money is certainly not enough. Just getting a job or something like is not good enough for Mahayana. It is like putting lion’s milk into a tin cup. Honestly, it is a tremendous waste. So the Mahayana path is so precious. The purpose should be to become a Buddha. So every effort is geared towards that. If you don’t become a Buddha today, you try to become a Buddha tomorrow or the day after, the week after, the month after, the year after, the life after and so on, like that. That’s how we do.

0:50:37.8 That’s why the bodhimind is a two-pronged mind. One prong is to be totally committed to the service of living beings. Maitreya Buddha says

Sem che pa ne sem chen dün chir

yang dag dzog pai jang chub dö

For the benefit of living beings

To attain total enlightenment

So I am seeking enlightenment for myself for the benefit of all others. So it by me for others. It is such a commitment. It is no longer by me for me. That’s not there. It is by me for all living beings.

0:51:45.7 Not only spiritual practitioners, but even people of good character will always look for the benefit of the people. Look into our constitution: By the people for the people, right? So it’s for the people. That is the most important. “People” should include insects too; insects and above. The nature of the practice itself is what we talked in the beginning. Then what makes you do the practice is enthusiasm. If you don’t have enthusiasm, everything is Aya Ram Gyia Ram – Ram has come and Ram has gone – as the Indians say. So it comes and goes. Even if you are kind and gentle, it comes and goes and that is rather effortless and not good. Enthusiasm is the nature of practice.

0:53:11.1 What does enthusiasm mean?

Tsön ka ge la tro wa o

Enjoying the virtues

I think that is what Vasubhandu said. The nature of enthusiasm is enjoying the virtues. In our nature we do have enthusiam for negativities a lot. And that is not the enthusiasm we are talking about here. That becomes laziness, the opposite of enthusiasm. Laziness is the subject that you have to discard and enthusiasm is the attitude you have to take in. And that makes practice perfect. So here, after the focus and purpose, and all that, now they are talking about the ways and how to do it, which is through enthusiasm. There are three types of enthusiasm. I will probably talk to you about this next Sunday, October 12th. I will be here.

0:54:54.2 Not only I will be here, but many of you are coming to my house, right? We will have a Mongolian dinner. It starts at 4 pm. Why?

Audience: Because of Geshe Yeshe Thapke speaking.

Rimpoche: Whatever. I thought he is in New York and not here. Anyway. After 4 pm it will be cold and dark and we can’t sit outside. Anyway, whatever. Okay. I guess that’s it, right? I will be here on Sunday the 12th. We talk about enthusiasm and then we will see how enthusiastic we are for Mongolian food. And those who went to Mongolia I am sure will dress up like Mongolians, right? Anyway, it will be a Mongolian afternoon. That’s good. And don’t forget, from November onwards, we are going to have these talks at 11 am, not at 10 am. When the time changes, on top of that we will move from 10 am to 11 am. So the Sunday talks will be from 11 to 12, not from 10 to 11. That’s when we go back to Standard time. Okay, that’s it. Thank you.

0:57:32.5 May all beings have happiness………. 0:59:03.9 end