Archive Result

20150322GRAAST07

00:00 - 0:24:04.6 John Madison playing viola

0:24:06.3 Good morning everybody and welcome to today’s talk. As you know, we have been simply talking about the philosophical principles or maybe the views. The word “view” is interesting for me. For us, when we say “view” it means what you see, like through your window. I don’t know whether you see Russia through your back window, as Sarah Palin does or not. But when you talk about view in terms of Buddhism, and specifically in Tibetan Buddhism, that really is the acceptance of the principle, what you have accepted in principle. Each and every one of them is supposed to be an individual view and understanding and conclusion.

0:26:33.2 However, the general, historical fact is that Buddhist different schools - or in this case more tenets - have their own acceptance of their view, in the sense of what their understanding is. So, when we talk about those four big conclusions or resolutions of Buddha Dharma, when you say that every created thing is impermanent, there is no different view by any historical school on that, as far as Buddhist schools are concerned. Non-Buddhist, yes. There are some who say that the “I” is permanent. All Buddhists, at least all known to us in India - those four different schools - and in Tibet, certain schools like Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug [don’t hold that the “I” is permanent] And then of course there are the Bönpos. Traditionally, we don’t consider Bönpos as Buddhists, however, today they call themselves Tibetan Buddhist Bönpos. I don’t know, but traditionally Bönpos were non-Buddhists.

0:29:05.0 Buddhists make their circumambulations clockwise. Is that this way round or the other way round?

Audience: Depends which way you are facing.

Rimpoche: That’s very true. That makes the view change. It is dependent. What I am trying to say is that we [Buddhists] go from left to right or clockwise in circumambulations normally and Bönpos go the other way round. But then, Mother Tantra goes the same way as the Bönpos, so it is all dependent. That’s one point. Another point is the swastika. The Buddhist swastika is called Dharma Swastika and goes the other way round – again it depends on which way you are facing – but it is the opposite way from how Hitler used it. And the Bönpos use the swastika the other way. The swastika is symbolic for the cross vajra. The cross vajra is the hand implement of a yidam, so therefore, people use that as holy object. You don’t sit on it, you don’t jump on it. You treat is just like a Buddha image. That’s why you don’t sit on a cross vajra and you substitute it by a swastika, for Buddhist use. For Bönpos it is magial power, I was told.

0:31:49.1 There is a little symbolic difference and then they have a difference about Buddha. The Buddhists use Shakyamuni, the one who was born in India as a prince, as Buddha, and the Bönpos use Shenrab as Buddha. The image looks like Shakyamuni Buddha, but has slightly less of an ushnisha and in some cases, they don’t have an ushnisha.

0:32:29.3 Then in their heart level, Buddhists use almost nothing, but the Bönpo Buddha has a swastika. Actually, the Buddha image we have here, which was gifted to us by Alex Ma, I thought has a swastika. I am not sure, we have covered it with a little scarf, but it is almost the same. The swastika makes a difference. But they are all symbolic, honestly. If you think it is Buddha and pray to Buddha, then you get the blessing and everything of Buddha. And if you think it is Shenrab and pray, then everything will be Shenrab. But it all depends on our mind.

0:33:46.1 So regarding impermanence, there is no different views among the tenets, at least the Buddhist ones. Then every contaminated thing is suffering. I explained that to you earlier. The bottom line, bare bones is really when your mind is not pure, then it becomes contaminated. That is not theoretically correct, because theoretically, contaminated has measurements and all of those. But bottom line, when your mind is pure, it is not contaminated. At our level, do we get a pure mind? Very seldom. That’s why the uncontaminated level is very rare within us. But it is not out of reach either, because of the motivation, because of the understanding, because of the efforts and through that the contamination can be reduced, to the level where it is almost ineffective.

0:36:21.8 That is where you measure, whether the people are good dharma practitioners or not. We don’t measure whether someone is a good practitioner or not by how many mantras they say, how many prayers they do, how many sitting meditations they do. The measurement is how much their mind is influenced by virtue or Dharma and how much they are controlled by anger, by hatred, how much they are cunning or mean. All these are measurements of good dharma practitioners. It is also not measured by how proud they are or not. All of those are not measurements. [transcriber: should it be these are measurements? Opposite meaning] However, between being a good human being and being a good dharma practitioner, there is not that much difference.

0:38:06.9 Because of this uncontaminated mind, there is something from A to Z where individuals can put in efforts and can make a difference to themselves, at least temporarily and every temporary measure you put up becomes longer and stronger and then it becomes permanent. It builds up in your habit, it builds up in your character and it builds up in your destiny. Remember Prime Minister Thatcher’s talk. She was talking about politics in that principle, but I am thinking it is true. Whatever is true in politics or normal culture, is true in Dharma.

0:39:36.6 It is interesting. We are saying some funny things in Tibetan. In one way we say

chö dang jigten ka ka so so re

Dharma and the material world are absolutely separate

Another saying is that the Dharma functions as the material world functions. So in one way they are totally separate, but on the other hand, they are very much the same in what is the principle and how you follow that principle and what efforts you put in and what your result is and what you hope it to be and how much you can get it.

0:40:42.8 That’s what Dharma practice is all about. As I always say: there is a base on which we work. We always have it. From the Mahayana point of view the base is the two truths, the absolute and relative truth. The path is the virtuous efforts. The result is full enlightenment, though the Mahayana will say the two bases are the two truths, the two paths are wisdom and efforts or method and the two results are Dharmakaya and Rupakaya, the physical and mental enlightenment.

0:41:52.7 That is how it works and it’s the same thing in politics. The political parties provide the view. My understanding is that Democrats want to help the middle class and poor people and everybody. I used to be Republican. I used to like Reagan, because during Reagan’s time I got into the United States. But now it is changing for me personally and that has nothing to do with Jewel Heart, okay, because we are not supposed to be talking about politics, but individuals have the right to do and I do and that’s how I think.

0:43:05.4 But the Republicans develop the economy on the top and then it trickles down, so at the lower end we may not get anything, it gets lost in between. The wind comes and it goes back and forth and whatever it is. So it looks like that’s the view to me of the political parties and then of course they work to achieve their views. That’s what it is.

0:43:53.1 We were talking about contamination. So every phenomenon, when it is contaminated, becomes suffering. Dharma does more than politics. Politics has its results in who governs, who wins elections and it goes in that way. But the dharma view is unfortunately the reality. And it is not ended with this life, but continues in the lives thereafter, life after life.

0:44:52.0 For me, life after life is reality. That doesn’t mean that your reincarnations are continually functioning. But honestly speaking, each one of us will have reincarnation. We have to put in efforts not to have a reincarnation.

Nagarjuna said,

Ying se me pa yi le me sa de/ de le che sho gö pei she ma je

If you can make it so that you have no reincarnation, you achieved great

So whether we want it or not, our consciousness will continue and it doesn’t remain in non-existence, so it becomes existent. When it exists, it becomes a mental, physical, emotional-oriented being and that is reincarnation, whether or not anybody recognizes or remembers or not. There may be karma-carrying vehicles within each and every individual and consequences and benefit of good and bad karma may be experienced. Memories may be blocked and occasionally glimpses of past, present and future appear, as we all know and as we all experience – and that is reincarnation. Don’t think of the Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama or that type of big thing, like the 13th is gone and the 14th is in and all that. We don’t have that, because none of us has control over our life, none of us has too much choice.

0:47:30.5 It is our own choice, however it is managed by our own karma, which is out of our own control by the time it functions. This is funny: we control karma and karma controls us. There is a time difference. When we create it, we control the karma and when the karmic results and consequences are coming, karma controls us. It is our own karma, nobody else’s. That is what it is. Contamination, pure mind and all these are related with this. A good, uncontaminated person means someone who is creating good karma as much as possible, all the time.

0:48:31.9 That doesn’t mean that you have to be very rigid. Many of our good old western friends are too extreme. They think they have to be very rigid, extremely rigid. This is the blood of conservatism within us. That will take place even in liberal dharma. So it becomes very rigid. Rigidness is not necessarily a great quality. Yes, one has to maintain one’s principles, but in a very relaxed manner, not in a rigid manner. Some people go too strong into rigidness, thinking, “I want to be, I want to be, I want to be”. So then you get people who don’t talk to you and do all kinds of funny things. Not necessarily funny in their own view, they think they are doing great. But in the majority’s view they are not doing that great, because they are becoming conservative within the liberal society.

0:50:25.4 That doesn’t mean to be happy-go-lucky either. You have to keep your principles very, very strong and the way you implement them is in a very relaxed manner. So be happy about it and as long as you can keep yourself happy, you have fewer problems and you have much fewer mental problems and enjoy your life and you don’t become so anxious and so cautious. When you are overly anxious and overly cautious, no only do you make yourself unhappy, but also your companions and family and children and grandparents and all are very unhappy. One person in there makes everybody unhappy. So either way, the extremes are not good. So you have to be very relaxed and happy, yet hold your principle of uncontaminated. That’s the goal and that’s how we move.

0:52:19.5 Now the subject of today: every phenomenon is empty and selfless. We have been talking about this and dancing around this for the last two Sundays. As I mentioned last Sundays, this is a Buddhist view. The non-Buddhist view I mentioned earlier: the self is permanent. There is an indivisible, individual self. All these different views are there. But in the Buddhist view, they will not accept an indivisible self. None of the Buddhist schools will ever accept an independent, self-standing self. None of them. If they do, it is going against the Buddhist conclusion. But you shouldn’t say in your mind, “Oh that is going against Buddhist conclusion.” That is not the way to do it.

0:54:01.1 The information of Buddha’s discovery of selflessness and emptiness is what we have to look for in ourselves and ask what that means. What does Buddha mean? That thought, that view, that idea, is somehow presented to us by no less than Buddha himself. So it is not that easy to dismiss. But neither do we buy it just because it’s Buddha who said so. This is the absolute wrong reason, an invalid reason. Honestly. It is the worst of the worst, for things we don’t understand. The most we can get is direct understanding. I can see you, I saw your nose, your mouth, your eyes, your face, your body, so I recognize you and I catch you and that’s you. That’s direct knowledge and no one, no philosophy, no logic and no tall order from anybody can contradict that. Direct knowledge is totally uncontradictable. It is the best proof. Then the next is that there are certain things, which we do not directly understand. For those we have to use logical reasoning - the right reasoning. Perfect and reliable reasoning. Reliable reasoning will make you understand, not like the direct knowledge of “I see you, I hear you”, but a little less than that. “Because of this, this, and this…”. In Tibetan this is called jee ba and direct knowledge is called ngön sum.

0:57:09.9 Now, when you talk about knowledge you are talking about three different qualities of knowing. One is direct knowledge, the next is through reasoning and then there are some things we can neither understand directly nor indirectly through logic or reasoning. We call that shintu kor gyur. That is very deep, very subtle, or some people may say a very high level. For us, at the layperson’s level, we have to rely on quotations for that. That is the worst. No, quotations are the silliest things. You know why? When you quote from Buddha or somebody, you have to prove that this quote is correct, not in language, but in meaning and intention, by quoting another commentary and yet another commentary and yet another commentary, like two, three or four.

0:59:17.4 This reasoning is the weakest point of getting knowledge. If you say, “Buddha said so” you have to look at everything. In one place Buddha will say that killing is the most horrible negativity. But in one place he says that human beings should be killed, the father should be killed, the mother should be killed and the retinue destroyed and then you will be liberated. So each one of them is interpretable. Then who interprets? The Buddha’s followers, the early Indian masters, like Nagarjuna, Asanga, Aryadeva, Shantideva and so on. We will quote them and further say that they are correct, because later Tibetan great masters, such as Marpa, Mila and then Tsongkhapa said so. And that is correct, because the famous 16th century scholars and 17th and 18th century scholars said so. The best one is a quote that no one truly contradicted, otherwise quotations have to be proved and proved and finally it will come to you and will say, “My teacher said so.” So that’s why I said that proving by quotation is the weakest point. It is one of the ways to gain our knowledge, however, it is the weakest point.

1:01:27.6 Direct knowledge is definitely better. And that’s why HH Dalai Lama says that if science proves that a Buddhist principle is wrong I will follow. That’s because it is direct knowledge. But you have to make sure it is not limited. You have to make sure the science is not done by commercial firms to put up their products. They do scientific research and get grants and if they find it is right, they will publicize and if they find it is wrong they will put it under the desk – as we all know. And that type of science I am not talking about. We are talking about true, genuine scientific functioning. I think Buddha Dharma will never contradict that.

1:02:42.7 If I am wrong, please correct me. Buddhism never accepts the indivisible individual. If you ask scientists today, I don’t think there is an end to the Russian doll. Am I wrong?

Audience: Definitely not wrong.

Rimpoche: That’s my understanding, but I know nothing. It is funny: when there is no end of the Russian doll, then that becomes self-less. That is emptiness. Emptiness does not mean nothing. Everything is dividable. That’s why in Buddhist principle we say that east never touches west, meaning the east side of anything, even the tiniest atom, is not the west side. They are dividable, physically, time-wise, an in all kinds of ways. So there is not solid thing. But it is also not true that the self does not exist.

1:05:09.0 The self does exist. So Buddhist views differ among themselves. They begin to look at what is that self, once you are convinced there is no indivisible, permanent, solid self. So what are you talking about? Most Buddhist tenets say that the self has to be on ourselves. Well, that is very true. So when they are searching for the self, which is it? Is it my body, is it my mind? Then some will say the body is the self. Then you have a lot of problems, because the body deteriorates. The body is a perishable commodity within our position. So then the self becomes a perishable commodity, which is not right. Then sometimes people say that the physical form is the self. Then the form has the same problem. Then some say that form, sound, smell, and all those five aggregates are the self. That also has problems.

1:07:45.0 Then they go on the mind. Many of us, my guess is, are still thinking that the self is the mind. If you are thinking that your recognition of the self is the mind you have to think more. Many of us think that the self is the mind and the mind is the self. There are six different consciousnesses, right? In English we call it the six senses, eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness and then the conscious consciousness, which we call the sixth sense. Each one of them being the self is a problem, as they are unreliable. Also if there are six of them, there are six of “me” too. Or all are one, which can’t be. So all of these are problems.

1:09:15.3 Then there are some schools – Buddhist tenets, like Chittramatra or Mind Only School, that realize they can’t find the mind within these six, so then they put two more, the negative and the “basis of all”. They work so hard and try to produce 8 different sense, the six plus these two. They have to have the negative and the “basis of all”. So then they regard the “basis of all” as the self. That self is free of self-existence.

Anyway,

WISDOM PULLS OUT THE CARPET UNDER EGO’S FEET

there are so many different views on that. However, as far as we are supposed to know, the reality is the wisdom of Buddha expressed through a teaching called prajnaparamita. Jnana is wisdom and para is perfection. So it is the perfection of wisdom. That is the one that says, “There is no nose, no tongue, no form, and form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form….” That is the shortest part of the Prajnraparamita Essence, then there is a middle one and a longer one, which has 12 volumes. The middle one is one volume.

1:11:45.4 On that basis, the great commentator Nagarjuna wrote. We all consider Nagarjuna’s view to be right. Why? Again, because my teacher said so, and above my teacher, all the disciples of Kyabje Pabongka said so, above that, Pabongka said so and above that, Gunthang Jambelyang said so; above that many others and finally Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa said so. Above that, Chandrakirti said so, Shantideva said so. Then Nagarjuna said said so and then Buddha prophesied, “Nagarjuna will come 400 years of my passing away and he will be named Naga and clarify my viewpoints.”

1:13:02.5 When you go on quotations, it is like that. It has to be. Anyway, Nagarjuna’s point is the dependent arising. Yes, we are there, because of our conditions, terms, parts and parcels and everything. We are dependent on cause and effect, dependent on parts and parcels, dependent on time, on conditions. When all are right, then it is simply being able to function as whatever it is supposed to be. I am able to function as me depending on all this – cause and result dependence, parts and parcels dependence, the pieces themselves and the mental recognition dependence. All these different types of dependence came together and then it simply exists to be able to function.

1:14:54.1 So empty of self-independence, that’s what selflessness is. And that also not only on the self as person, but every phenomenon. Chandrakirti said,

dag me de ne dro wa nam drol chig

chö dang kang sar yö wei nam nyi sung

Buddha presented two different selflessnesses:

On person and on phenomena

That’s how two emptinesses are there: emptiness of self as person and emptiness of phenomena. When we say chö tham che tong zhen dag me pa - every phenomenon is empty and selfless – that means both of them. Not only persons are empty, but every existence is emptiness too. So that is the fourth conclusion: every phenomenon is empty; empty of independent existence. This is general Buddhism: the lack of an independent, self-existent self. There will be no Buddhist thoughts, schools, tenets or sects that accept an independent, self-existent self.

1:17:15.8 The lack of that [is emptiness]. Then how it exists, that differs. And what it is. Some will say the aggregates, some will say the mind. So the senses will become unreliable. They are changing and are so impermanent, almost like bubbles in the water. So they had to go and find two more minds, two more senses. When they looked more they found the negative one, which they call nyö yi (nyöng mong pai yi), which means negative mind and then kun zhi, the basis of all.

1:18:22.5 And that is also not correct. Finally, some Buddhist thoughts say that there is somebody, somewhere, neither inside nor outside, called “me”. Then they say being empty of that is selflessness. Thoughts are thoughts. You create something and then you realize that is wrong. Then being empty of that is called emptiness.

1:19:00.2 There are so many levels of emptiness. So the idea of one being correct and the other wrong is not really reality. Every level of emptiness is serving a purpose. The purpose is wisdom. It is the antidote of negative emotions. Anger, hatred, jealousy, selfishness as well as meanness. Some people have meanness by nature. You want to be mean, so you want to punish people you don’t like. You don’t want to reward them much, because you are selfish. But you want to punish them and see that this person is experiencing pain and you try to push it and see pain. People do that. The bad habit of some mean Tibetan people is that when they find beg bugs they will not just pick them up. They will catch one and put it on their thumb, thinking, “Hey, you didn’t let me sleep the whole night and you woke me up. Now I got you here” and then they smash, smash, smash and squeeze it as much as they want and make sure it doesn’t die and smash and smash it and at the end put it in between two nails and squeeze it until the little blood comes out. People do that, by character, and that is meanness.

1:21:20.9 You do the same thing with different people. People are not bed bugs, so you cannot put them in your hand and smash them, but you can try to hurt them and make them feel pain. From every angle they try to get that person to feel pain. That is called meanness. There is no other meanness. That feeling of wanting to hurt and make them feel it, ultimately, if you don’t change it, will lead to murder. That mind has the possibility of going into murder too. So right from the beginning, when you feel mean towards somebody, think, “Hey, you are a good human being, kind, compassionate, what happened to that? Where is it?” The self-grasping, the ego, is so strong that you forgot the other person is a human being.

1:22:41.8 When you know emptiness, that it is not true at the end, everything cuts out. You are removing the red carpet from underneath the ego’s feet. That’s what wisdom does and that is the resolution of Buddha and his disciples and that’s why they are called the Four Conclusions. Let me repeat them:

All created phenomena are impermanent

All contaminated things are suffering (including mind)

All phenomena are empty and selflessness

Nirvana is Peace

Nirvana is peace, because in our mind, when those contaminated thoughts are finished, you get into peace. You have harmony, you have peace, you have a good life, you enjoy. What makes you not happy and be miserable is those negative emotions. So these are the four great resolutions of Buddhism.

1:24:40.3 Many people say that what constitutes being Buddhist is accepting those four resolutions. So there are two: taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and accepting these four great resolutions.

1:25:13.7 I guess, I don’t see anybody except me up on the screen. Is it 10 after? All right, so then thank you and I am quite sure I will be here next Sunday too. Great to see you all and thank you.

1:25:51.9 May all beings……..1:26:51.1 end