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00.00

Good morning everybody.

I should say morning because it’s supposed to be 11 o’ clock in the Eastern Standard Time of the United States.

However today, actually for me, it is rather good evening “ because I am already in the Netherlands, that’s Holland in Nijmegen Jewel Heart center doing some teachings here, mahamudra. And a number of people are attending. However at this moment we only have about 15, 20 people here and I think everybody wishes you all a very good evening from the Netherlands.

00:01. 1

So as you know, this particular period of the Sunday talks are mostly introduction – we call it – introduction for Mahayana, which is not simply introduction to Mahayana.. We are talking about the Mahayana instructions. And that also is not known, usual, what Mahayana is and not that way. It is done as Buddha Maitreya, Buddha of Love, Maitreya Buddha who had introduced the transcendental wisdom’s teaching root text, known as Abhisamayalankara in Sanskrit. Normally in western language as transcendental wisdom.

So transcendental wisdom has ten instructions way. Ten different instructions given to Mahayana – sort of introducing – whether we call it introducing – one shouldn’t be thinking like in normal western culture, you are thinking as orientation. So orientation is one way of introducing and this way of introducing is different. Different in the sense it is clearly presenting the path – not pre and not perquisite but actually presenting it .

So presenting this path from the ten different points of instruction, which all these months we’ve been talking about it.

Again briefly speaking, the Mahayana Buddhism really is the mind of Buddha, or actually known as bodhichitta or bodhimind. And that is the most important fundamental base. These are not ten instructions remember. Remember, so the bodhimind.

Bodhimind means the mind itself into a buddha’s mind nature. So I’m talking here mahamudra so I am talking about nature of the mind a lot, the whole day. So here also, bodhimind here also, though the expression is never used by any, however “bodhimind nature”.

So meaning, your mind should be bodhichitta, bodhimind. In order to become buddhayana person, or Mahayana person, or your practice become Mahayana. It is your mind should be bodhimind. Bodhimind is nothing but – Maitreya Buddha said – your mind is totally dedicated for the benefit of others, desiring to become Buddha – you yourself the practitioner but dedicated not for you but for all living beings. So it is really the mind which is totally dedicated for altruistic yet seeking Buddhahood for yourself and that is bodhimind.

Sometimes I try to explain bodhimind as double pronged mind, two pronged. One prong is totally dedicated and the other is totally seeking for yourself the total enlightenment. Maitreya Buddha’s description in bodhimind, if I repeat in Tibetan it says sem kye pa ni zhen dön chir/ yang dag dzog pai jang chub dö.

The mind is for benefiting all beings, one seeking Buddhahood for yourself. So who wants what? I the individual, each and every one of us wants Buddhahood . Why do you want Buddhahood? Because that is the best achievement as a spiritual path you can get. Why do you want the best achievement? Why can’t you be happy with a mediocre result? I and you know that we are not people that will settle for mediocre because we want the best – because we are taking huge responsibility of liberating all living beings. Not simply liberating but bringing total enlightenment, total knowledge to whomever we can connect and are connected. And those who are not connected, all our efforts to try to be connected.

And ultimately we want to liberate every single living being wherever whatever what century, what age, what galaxy what where whatever we want total freedom for all living beings. That is bodhimind

And that mind is giving us huge responsibility. That responsibility demands us to become Buddha or Buddha like. I make mistake by saying Buddha like because it is Buddha, not Buddha like.

10:17

Not only that. Every living being, not only every human but every living being can become Buddha. They are eligible to become Buddha and there is not a single person who is not eligible to be Buddha.

That reminds me of something funny incident that took place years ago. His Holiness the Dalai Lama was visiting Israel in Jerusalem and someone talked about Buddha nature and someone journalist asked “Do you think that Adolf Hitler had buddhanature – can he become Buddha? So the DL replied yes of course. So it is odd to be able to say Hitler becomes Buddha in Jerusalem. It’s funny! But however buddhanature is such, whomever they may be, every being has buddhanature. So that buddhanature makes every one possible to be able to become Buddha.

So Hitler too. So does Stalin, Mao, Saddam Hussein, all of them are eligible to become Buddha. I’m not sure if many of my friends are going to be happy if I say that also Osama Bin Laden is eligible to be Buddha. Not Buddha but eligible to be. So every living beings have buddhanature so eligible. Whether you are going to have that materialize in you or not, it is your choice. As well as your duty.

As well as your purpose. So that is why bodhimind is something that you can do, will be able to do. It is not that bodhimind is not something that is impossible and not going to happen.

0:13:30

So, bodhimind is something doable. Looks like almost impossible – saying I one individual going to liberate every living beings by my me, my own way. Sort of almost impossible. However it is doable, it is possible and all that. And we are not talking something not possible, not doable but everyone can become Buddha. You don’t have to be Buddhist to become Buddha. I totally strongly believe it. It is one of the ways, but in order to become no more learning total knowledge, total liberation - doesn’t have to be Buddhist. As a matter of fact, doesn’t have to be any traditional followers.

15:03

Judeo-Christian people are eligible, Hindu-Buddhists are eligible, atheists and everyone are eligible – as long as you are have this wonderful mind. If you don’t have mind, then you aren’t eligible anything. As long as you have a mind, you are eligible.

And mind also has different capacity as we all know. The human mind is the best – though human mind is not necessarily exposed to clairvoyance, or that type, but there are other mental states, such as non-human spirit world with clairvoyance, that possibility is there.

But they are not better than us. We human beings have really mind that has no equivalent. Mind’s capacity has no measurement. Mind’s capacity has no limitation. We have that. Plus our commitment. Plus our will of doing. Will bring anything whatever we want can be materialized.

That is why bringing Buddhahood to all living beings is not beyond limitations. It is possible, doable, can be done.

Way and how it is done is actually mental understanding of first introduction of those10 instructions we have given the base of the 2 truths – everybody talks about the truth, the truth and reality and all that, everybody does. But when you are talking about the truth, the truth is always two.

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The truth of conventional and of absolute. And as I mentioned earlier, bottom line, absolute truth is non-dual unity – non-dual. And conventional truth is dualistic.

So every perceiving and perceiving - we perceive two ways: dualistic or non-dual way – non-dual is union , oneness. Dualistic is double = two ways. There are truths of two ways and truth itself is one way. And that’s what the first instruction of truth is, the nature of the practice itself, the conventional and absolute truth.

Practitioners what they do is four noble truths. Many people heard in many ways, many Buddhist teachings of four noble truths. But 4 noble truth nature doesn’t change. It is two truths. Entering into way how people with our usual addiction our life after life how we in working in within the suffering nature of the world called samsara. If you never heard that terminology before it is a Sanskrit word for suffering aspect of existence

20:51

So entering in is because we suffer tremendously in samsara and we suffer even life itself, there is suffering of birth, aging, illness, suffering of death. And all of them there. So we are entering in that. And what makes you constantly repeating in that.

In one way if you look at it you are doing useless job – why think about how people suffer and how I suffer and why do I suffer, It is sort of uncalled for but that’s not true. It is absolutely called for because you and I are suffering and if we don’t figure out how we are suffering we won’t figure out how to not suffer and how to be free of suffering.

So it is necessary . when you think about suffering and where it came from you think about cause of suffering. And causal there is, of course, karmic causal but it is more action causal, delusion causal.

Emotional causal, negative emotional addictions cause us to function, to engage in negative activities. To satisfy our rational crazy mind, so with that action we engage in negativities and that constantly brings in the continuation of the suffering which not only simply introducing truth of suffering and truth of cause of suffering but with the16 different qualitative activities. We introduced that. four noble truth is Mahayana instruction.

And such a object of the Four Noble Truths engaging, and then seeking help and support is the 3rd instruction – refuge. Taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

24:40

So taking refuge in Buddha Dharma and Sangha also not simply worshipping Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. That is one way. Historical Buddha that came in India 2600 years ago as representing total enlightenment and taking refuge etc – we call it causal… but the true refuge is result – that is you yourself or me myself. Ultimately would like to become Buddha. That is my future Buddha. That is your future Buddha. When you are getting that, bringing that future Buddha right now, in each of us, carrying within us as potential. Not mature, immature, potential seed level like seed of crop, flower, seed level.

Sort of protecting, maturing, nurturing that very seed which is growing nature. Bringing up the individual is dharma, your own dharma and properly engaging and functioning in accordance to suitable way of maturing Buddha within us is also called sangha. So actually becoming of it is true, genuine refuge. Effective, protecting the individual from the downfalls, protect from the negative effects. And particularly negative emotions and activities.

In total all negativities – protected, for you, by you. You are protected from all these negativities through your own positive deed of taking refuge, protecting.

The next is: So the nature of practice itself is the enthusiasm. Enthusiastically engaging. And that becomes that instruction.

Such enthusiasm is also only possible, makes it easier to function if you have what we call celestial eye.

So the five different levels of eye. – that is the eye with that the individuals have, these five different eyes.

In English I don’t remember very well but it is the flesh eye, the celestial eye, anyway, there are dharma eye, there are Buddha eye , which are different levels of eye.

Which means able to see everything truly as it is for hundreds of thousands of miles directly can be developed by the individual by practicing.

Then the next is 6 clairvoyances are also different levels of clairvoyance.

The 5 eyes and 6 clairvoyances are already we have explained

31:00

Now 9th and 10th instructions are path of seeing and path of meditation

This are such deepest Mahayana path so it is difficult to give a talk like this and present to you this is path of seeing and path of meditation but briefly I have to say it.

Basically I want you to remember one thing. We introduced you to Mahayana by 10 instruction and most are obtained in the two stages. In Buddhism there are stages, there is a path, there is - not high ranking stage, but when you practicing you know where you are reaching so there is points or marks you do so normally have the 5 paths and 10 stages.

That’s because its not a blind practice. With a blind practice, you keep on practicing and don’t know where you are getting. We have so many blind practices because you aren’t getting anywhere. And that is something which we can’t help. But other than that there are stages, paths, bhumis (Sanskrit meaning you have secured your state) 10 o f them and also introduced as stage 1 – 10. Path or what you do is introduced in five forms, first path of accumulation. Accumulating positive deeds, virtue, positive whatever you can because we need plenty of that. So that particular period is called accumulation period. Which also ordinary people, who are deeply engaged, - called ordinary because we are not extraordinary.

Ordinary, yet you have entered in the path. Most of us when we are engaging are called lay person, not entered in the path.

35:20

So when you enter in accumulation path, though it is ordinary, but it is in path. Major purpose is purification and accumulation of merit. There are subdivisions in that.

However you move to the second path , known as path of action. Also ordinary path, not extraordinary path.

36:09

Yet within that four stages, stage of heat, stage of peak, stage of patience, and best of Dharma.

So which is a traditional Indian culture, when people created fire, there was no matches, no electric fire, no switch turn and fire catch.. Those were not there 2600 years ago. So when they taught people to create a fire, cook or to do whatever, pick up the twigs of wood, rub them, keep rubbing them and after a little while you pick up heat and that’s why called heat, constantly continuously keep rubbing and it will reach to peak level of heat. Even you patiently continuously pushing and rubbing the twigs around, that patience give you a fire, which is the best of dharma. So that is why called action.

So after action when you getting the fire, you begin to see what you are looking for – called Path of Seeing – actually seeing the true reality – 16 qualities of the Four Noble Truths, 16 qualities directly encountering the wisdom is called Path of Seeing which is or 9th instruction.

Such a seeing path, such a qualitatively continuously meditating on that until it has completed its work of destruction of the negative forces, imprints and cause, everything – that is called the 10th instruction

39:45

up to no more instruction. No more here means you reached a place where you are no more learning which is Buddha . Then you become Buddha. I don’t mean you have become historical Buddha but you have achieved your own result. Whatever the best it is possible to achieve a human being. As you , as anybody.

So that’s what it is and that’s why mahayanaa buddhism tells you Buddhahood is eligible. Mahayana Buddhists talk about what is the best human being can get through the spiritual path – it is called total knowledge, in Buddhism called Buddhahood. But it is total knowledge, nothing left to learn. Nothing more to understand. To struggle, totally done - total accomplishment.

Whether done through Buddhist or any other way but major point is avoiding negativities and building positives. When we are talking about 9th and 10th instructions or the 8th or 9th

41:37

path of seeing, of accumulation all of these are the contemplating. Each and every contemplation must have its own result and the total contemplation will have total result and the total result is called total enlightenment, no more learning, and that is what every human being can achieve, possible.

That’s why it is Mahayana, it’s called mahayana path. These are Sanskrit names identifying , actually making the practice even lesser individualized, more sort of individualized shrink its purposes.

But the reality really is that’s what it is and can be done by Buddhists, non-Buddhists, atheists, everybody can achieve. It is the human way, it is civilized way of achieving the spiritual path.

And with this I think my introduction to the Mahayana Buddhism with 10 points of Maitreya buddha’s introduction is completed.

48:38

So now if you have any questions, and since I am in Holland I am not sure whether we’ve been able to pick up your questions. I don’t know yet.

So I am not picking up any questions on that so, that is the introduction to Mahayana Buddhism is completed today. And as I said earlier, introduction is not simply introducing, showing you, but it is the true, genuine, best spiritual path. Buddhist or no Buddhist. Every human being, every right-thinking person, will go through that ultimately. Sooner or later. You will go through that. I don’t mean that every right thinking person will become Buddhist. Whether you become Buddhist or not, it is immaterial. It is important that you be you and the best of all.

0:49:19.4 The best you can do and achieve, that is what Buddha has shown to us. That is what the great early Tibetan teachers have shown to us. That is what the early great Indian scholars, teachers and siddhas have shown to us and that is what we have been using and sharing and talking about. Whether you are Buddhist or not doesn’t matter. That’s the best there is and if you want to help yourself this is the way. So liberation is not dependent on tradition. Liberation doesn’t depend on teachings or teachers. Liberation depends on the individual. Liberation does not depend on monasteries, forests or temples. Liberation depends on the mind, helping, managing, controlling, discipline. Mind discipline is morality, moral ethical issues. Without moral, ethical issues and events no good spiritual path can function.

0:51:17.6 Morality, ethical issues are so important. One cannot do without Also the focusing, concentration is absolutely necessary. Whatever tradition you maybe, whatever, you have to focus. If you are not focused, you are shaky. The shakiness cannot reach anything. A two-pronged mind, a two-pronged needle, cannot stitch a thread within a cloth. So single-pointed focusing is necessary.

Even if you have a single-pointed mind focus, but if you don’t have know-how, if you don’t have wisdom, you can focus, but what can you do? You have no way of doing. So therefore, wisdom is necessary. Bringing the ethical base or ground together with single-pointed power and decorate it with wisdom, which becomes the icing on the cake. That is how one should proceed spiritually. That is necessary. Buddhism or being Buddhist is not necessary. With this I would like to conclude and say: Thank you so much for listening. I will talk to you next Sunday again from here. Thank you.