Archive Result

Soundfile 20150622GRAASR04

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Ann Arbor

Topic Delam

Transcriber Helen Breault

Date August 8, 2015

[Prayers to 18:09]

(Thank you. And thank you, Rimpoche. I believe you gave a very good talk. Looks like everybody that I saw are really happy. Everybody that talked to me is happy. How is it? [applause] So then, you know, gradually giving more teachings and things like that. Perfectly qualified and wonderful. If you can add up a little more western teachings, then it will be even better. [laughter] Actually, it’s true. You know why? If a lama said something, then people will talk that a lama said something. It doesn’t mean much. A doctor, a professor, who happens to be a lama said something then it makes much more value. It doesn’t matter to the individual but it does matter to the people. So hopefully things will work out well. And Jewel Heart is looking forward.

[applause]

And we’re looking forward to tomorrow, Padma. Really looking to your experience of being solitary hero-ni. And it has lots of challenges and lots of difficulties. Yet, year after year you continuously do the same thing and its great. So we’re really looking forward to hearing your own experience. At that moment I couldn’t stay because I had to do my dialysis exchange at that moment. So that took me an hour away to the house. But I tried to watch on the Webinair; sometimes I manage, sometimes I don’t. And Geshe-la, day after tomorrow.)

[21:21]

Now, to continue where we stopped this morning. Up until now, we had that equanimity. That is only the first step, honestly. Now all the Seven (Stage) maybe should go together: recognizing as a Mother being; and remembering the kindness; repaying the kindness; and love; then compassion; and special resolution. In that order. It tried to follow the Delam and maybe there is one or two little more additions. So maybe sort of simple, straightforward will be easier. So all of those, all seven of them done while remembering Lama Labai Lha on your crown. And if you have forgotten the Field of Merit, during the break and lunch and all this, you can simply visualize, sort of suddenly develop. That also you can do. Or you can have the Field of Merit generated and Seven Limb Offering, and finally made into one, whichever way is convenient for you. But for us, suddenly appeared is okay. [Tib. 23:15]

Whatever you have, a visualization and your sincere efforts, whatever you do, then Buddha appeared there, is always. Remember, the frequencies in which enlightened beings function and we function are different. Enlightened beings function in the frequency of body-mind combined together. We function separately. We cannot get our body where our mind is. The difference is enlightened beings, wherever their mind is, their body will be—or is there. So therefore, whenever anybody, with the profound faith, respect, and sincerity meditates it is certainly there. That is the functioning of enlightened beings. I will not say it is the duty of enlightened beings. But it is the functioning of enlightened beings. It is there. We will suddenly, almost like a hamburger flip/flop. So in that manner even you visualize that is totally fine.

[25:09]

As you see, many times you have instantaneously rising. In many sadhanas you have that. It’s the same thing here. Instantaneously generate the Lama Labai Lha on your crown. And offer Seven Limbs including purification, dedication and all that and requests. [25:48 Tib] So it’s a collection of all protection, all protectors collection of all refuge. Special Lama, Buddha, Buddha Vajradhara, Lama Buddha Vajradhara combined. So whatever visualization you have, whatever physical form you have, this is your own guru made by yourself, for you, by you, for you, and for the purpose of helping you and all sentient beings. That is, you know, over here you’ll be simply doing simple little things. But gradually that is your own root guru of Guru Buddha Vajradharma or Guru Budha Vajradhara. Whatever it is, it is in reality, again, always one person and all collection of all refuge. By being the lama, it makes blessings big. By being a Buddha, it becomes closer. By being Vajradhara it makes instantaneous blessing. That’s why it is important and that way.

[27:42.2]

So now the thought will be, “If all people are”—now I use “people” but I mean “all sentient beings”—theoretically if I say “people” some people may say only human beings are counted, not all sentient beings are counted. So I don’t want to go in there. But if you use the word “people” it’s understood better. It has better feeling than “all sentient beings.” It’s true. But our closeness of our feeling, feeling that we associate, “people” we associate much easier than “all sentient beings.” That’s why if all people were my close friend at one time or the other, then why all people? Thats “a-l-l.” Why are all people close to me, why are they my friend? What is this idea of all people being our close friends? I have a lot of people that I don’t like. I have a lot of people who don’t like me. And why? But the truth is in this samsaric life we have limitless births, limitless lives. I have limitless lives. No one can deny that. This statement of Buddha’s, saying that everybody is, all beings are old beings, no new beings, no one can deny that. But difficult to accept. But you cannot deny. If it’s true, I have countless number of lives in this samsara.

[30:56]

Continuation of life after life. I cannot say any place where I was never born. I cannot say any sentient being, any people that have not been my mother. I have had a tremendous amount of births that took place. I took so many different physical bodies of any creature, human beings, animals, birds, insects, etc. Tremendous amount, not just one. Countless. I cannot point out any single person who has not been my mother. Actually, I cannot openly, with confidence, say, “This person has never been my mother.” We cannot. Even our children have been our mother. Our father has been our mother, so many times. Every time, whenever they’ve been, they have protected me, they have saved me, they have guided me. And I have depended on my mother for my life. They have done that. And I will continuously do so if I don’t end my samsaric life.

[33:30.8]

So therefore, each and every person that I can think of has been my closest, dearest, nearest, kind beings. I cannot honestly state this particular person has not been my nearest, dearest, closest mother being. So this thought you raise and you meditate in that way.

Then another thought will come up, “Well there’s countless number of people, how can everybody be?” Yeah, as we have countless people, I had countless lives. Every life that I took was not necessarily born out of lotus nor born out of heat or moisture alone.

[35:15.1]

Many times I have taken birth depending on the mother who gives birth. So therefore though there may be countless numbers of people, I’ve had countless numbers of lives. Different lifetimes, different fathers, different mothers, different closest, different spouse, different all those. So I cannot really say, “This one has not been that in my lives.” I cannot say.

Then another thought may say, “How can they be my closest friend? I don’t even know them.” And that’s also not a valid reason. That also not valid. Even in this lifetime, there are certain mothers and certain children who do not recognize their mother. They’re separated. They don’t even know. There may be some kind of feeling. And so even though the feeling’s there, but we don’t know them. You don’t recognize them. There are many we know. Even the siblings they don’t recognize each other but they have a close feeling and get married. We’ve seen that. And that’s there. I don’t know whether anybody who didn’t recognize their mother and got married, but it’s also possible. Very possible. Because there is some kind of loving feeling even if you don’t recognize. There is. By not recognizing that does not mean this is not valid statement.

[38:16]

Some of these people were maybe my mother in my previous life. But that time is passed.

That time is passed. I have nothing to do with them today. Let’s say, if that’s true. That was passed, I have nothing to do today. In that case, then the yesterday’s person, if that person has nothing to do with today because yesterday was past tense, yesterday’s mother remains to be mother today. Because yesterday has passed that doesn’t mean the mother has become not mother, unless you’re a mother for a day, which is not possible. [laughter] Is it possible? That doesn’t make you not mother tomorrow nor day after tomorrow. Once you’re a mother you’re a mother at least for the life, no matter whatever you do. Interesting. Husband and wife, if you don’t get along well you can divorce. Mother and daughter, you can’t divorce. [laughs] So that’s what it is. Simply past time doesn’t mean it’s not true.

Just like today’s mother is a mother, yesterday’s mother is a mother, and tomorrow’s mother is going to be mother. They are all the same. Whatever they have, kindness, compassion, and love, they share with me, are also the same whether it’s yesterday’s or today’s or will be tomorrow’s. It is the same. Likewise, previous lives. The mother in the previous life and mother in this life, there is not that much difference. Simply the time, recognition, and remembrance changed. And that’s why we don’t pay attention at all. But in reality it is the same.

[43:02]

So therefore, for every person, one time or another has been my closest, my nearest, my dearest, all the time, one time or another, and therefore all sentient beings have been my closest and nearest and dearest. As I’ve been saying to you, as we cannot count our lives, we can never say, “This is the beginning of my life.” We can never count that.

You know, remember that Buddha was asked, “What is the beginning and the end of existence?” Buddha said, “There’s no beginning.” Even then, when that question was asked, Buddha kept silent. [44:30 Tib] Buddha kept silent because people at that moment who were there may not have been able to comprehend what Buddha said, what he meant. So the best, the wisest way Buddha found was to keep quiet, to keep silent. [45:08 Tib] Because that is the wise way. So anyway, that big silence that Buddha kept, tells, gives the message there is no beginning. If there is a beginning there becomes a lot of problems. A lot of problems.

[45:49]

There is no beginning. Many of people in this life are born from the wombs of mother. There is no beginning of mother; there is no beginning of parents; there is no beginning of ourself. Just like people say, “All souls are old souls,” which seems to be absolutely true. Therefore, limitless from the beginning, we have so many lives. Every time, every time there is a mother. We cannot point out a single person who has not been my mother. Not only that, these are the thoughts, these are the logical reasons. But there is also quotations. The quotation is something very interesting. It is common among the Tibetan Buddhism that every Buddha and Bodhisattva talk about “all mother sentient beings.” We all heard that. We all repeat those words. All the great beings, a number of times said that. And that is a quotation. You don’t have to have it out of a book and somebody wrote a book and said, “All mother sentient beings.” It is a common idiom among the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the phrase of “all mother sentient beings.” And that is not only logically proved, but even from the quotation. Even in the Tibetan Buddhism, as I told you during the Sunday talk, there are three things: something you know directly, knowledge; something you know through reasoning; something difficult to know, we cannot even reason it out, you quote it—you quote some reliable person—, though that’s not very good because you have to prove that quote is also reliable and then that also endlessly you have to do. But this one is unlike that. It is a common phrase used by every Tibetan Buddhist teacher, every Mahayana teacher. Everybody will say “All mother sentient beings.” All Buddhas said, all Bodhisattvas said, it is a common phrase. You don’t have to prove that that quotations is right. You don’t have to. So both, by reasoning, by relying on the words of great beings, somehow this message is not wrong. That’s what it is.

[49:44]

We can focus on that and see if you can understand something and develop. And if you’re separately doing this at this moment you pray to Lama Labai Lha. Light and liquid coming, purifying all negativities in general, particularly obstacles to understand this. Cleared from our mind stream. Physical, everywhere cleared. Like earlier I said, physical body becomes pure, clean, crystal-like and increased the life, knowledge, qualities, etc. That is how you can try to gain some understanding.

Earlier I said, yesterday and this morning, a question was raised and we talked about it. Truly, to know all sentient beings have been your mother you have to know your life has no limit. It is limitless life from the beginning and until you end the samsara it will continue to run. That understanding you need. But simply logically…You know when we’re brought up some places where you can give the logical reasons. And many places you can quote from a reliable source. You cannot contradict because your knowledge is not equivalent to theirs and you know they know far better than you do. So that’s why we do accept. But now, with today’s world, quotations are a little difficult. Particularly if you’re quoting some Joe Blow (not Joe Breault [laughter]) in Tibet said “blah blah blah.” What will that do? But even if I say Jamgon Je Tsongkhapa said, at least you make some sense. Or Atisha says. At least you make some sense, right? Other than that, anybody else is Joe Blow. Maybe the Dalai Lama or the Panchen Lama a little bit. Other than any quotation we taught becomes Joe Blow. Joe Blow says “blah blah blah” which doesn’t make any sense, does it?

[53:16]

That’s the reason why I’m telling you today’s world is such that really it has to be truly, perfectly. But each and every statement that Buddha really did has been proven to be correct. One of the reasons why there is no beginning, if there is a beginning of life then it will lead to, you may have to accept a single, solid unit of atoms. Because Buddha doesn’t accept single, solid atoms. It’s always dividable. Always dividable. Indivisible, no. Always dividable. Remember when I keep on saying, “East never touches the west.” Always there is a portion, you can cut it. Even time, past and present. These are the reasons. I can’t trace it just now, but these are the reason why there’s no beginning. Today our knowledge, the scientific knowledge understands that our genes from our parents, and then we popped up, and then we die, go boom, nothing more nothing less. They don’t say there’s more, they don’t say there’s nothing less. But they do say that’s your death. Gone. That’s our knowledge today. I’m sure people will find more, without any difficulty, they will trace more. They will find it.

[55:57]

If there is a single, then it becomes the end of the Russian Doll. Even Stephen Hawkings who gave the lecture in the Clinton White House said “There is an end to the Russian Doll” today says “There will not be end of Russian Doll.” He even is going towards that. There’ll be no indivisible, it’s not possible. (I don’t want to talk more about science because I don’t know anything about it. I don’t want to make a fool of myself [laughing]. We have a lot of scientists here, Tony is here too.) But I think these are the links. They’re really reasons why this will link. These have a connection with this too, no beginning, no ending, and limitless of life. All of those, even we don’t understand reincarnation clearly, but we do understand our life doesn’t begin at the conception or at birth. I don’t want to get into that difficulty, where life begins. Whether it is conception or birth time whatever it is. But for me it is more the conception time than birth because there is somebody in the mother’s womb. There is somebody for sure. Somebody moves, somebody kicks the mother’s stomach, somebody turns around. There is somebody. But I don’t know when and I don’t want to get into that thing. But still wherever it begins it is not the beginning of the life, maybe the beginning of this life. Whenever it’s ended, it is the ending of this life not the ending of life.

[58:36.5]

They’re all very much interlinked. And they are very important reasons. At this moment, these logical reasons that I gave you, plus, many of you will have much more intelligent reasons that you can give, you can think. You’re not limited to what I mentioned here or what I quoted from the fifteenth, sixteenth century document. You have a tremendous amount of ideas and intellectual capacity. Utilize that, think about it. It is the old Tibetan system, when you cannot prove it by yourself logically, because our knowledge and understanding and our capacity is limited, definitely limited. So we rely on the quotations from whom are supposed to be knowing far better than we do. And that’s why we rely on quotation. And even like today’s society, and when it’s gone beyond human capacity of ordinary human eyes, ears, or senses, gone beyond that, we depend on the gadget, we depend on the computer, we depend on so many things. We do and we try to understand.

In the old Tibetan system, we didn’t have a gadget, we didn’t have a computer, but we have rich quotations. Quotations are the experience of previous teachers, scholars, great thinkers, their thoughts and their understanding. They analyzed it. They didn’t say, “Just because I thought it it’s interesting.” They didn’t say that. They analyzed. It’s not that all the Tibetans analyze. The noodle maker doesn’t analyze. [laughter] But not all the Tibetans do, particularly earlier Tibetans, scholars, they really put thoughts and they debated with themselves and with others and they understood…You know it’s really not the wisdom-understanding, but quite close to the wisdom-understanding. Remember when I talked to you about the Four Reliables: do not rely on the sense-understanding, but rely on the wisdom-understanding. Remember? Wisdom-understanding, people may not get wisdom level, but if you really, with a subtle, logical, mind, subtle intelligent mind, if you look into it you will find better understanding, more subtle, more important. And they’re almost equal as wisdom-understanding. With another one step beyond that it may become wisdom-understanding. It’s very close. Our capacity, what we can find, wisdom is up to that level. And very basic analyzing and going through, tracing them, and re-examine, re-examine, re-examine.

[1:03:28]

Those Tibetan old masters’ quotations are really a refined gold. It’s not so simple like a noodle maker’s statement type-of-thing, honestly. Which is two— reasoning and quotations together—somehow you have to temporarily, superficially you make a decision, it has been. And then meditate and see if you can gain any insight on that. That is about meditation on Mother Sentient Beings, as everybody’s been Mother Sentient Beings.

So let’s presume we gain insight there. You don’t have to wait until you gain. This is another extremely difficult point. Difficult because we are really not sure whether you have previous life or not. Whether you’re really going to have future life or not. If so, how it looks, what it is. And all of them are a mystery to us. And that is the reason why we cannot only rely on the reason that we give: that our life is limitless and when it’s limitless one mother’s not going to be the mother all the time, and all that. If you established point by point, then is it valid? But we don’t establish the basic point that life is limitless. We’ve not established that. We don’t even know whether there is previous life or future life, so forget about limitless lives. And every lifetime there is a mother being or sometimes you may be born out of just moisture and heat, sometimes you may be born out of lotus if you’re lucky. Other than that, if you’re born by womb of mother…Now you can be born out of bottle too. Other than that, there is mother and all that, and this is sort of analyzing and thinking and that’s how traditionally it’s done. Today, whether it’s going to make sense or not, I don’t know. Most probably not because the very ground of reasoning: my life has no limit, I had limitless lives, there’s a limitless mother because there’s a limitless life I had. That reason is not established. When it’s not established then how can you continuously establish thereafter, because that reason is not established in our comprehensible manner. At least we can think, “Every enlightened being and all great beings talk about all Mother Sentient Beings.” Common phrase they use. At least that’s something to think, that’s something you cannot deny, that’s something there. Even reasoning gives up, but quotations stands.

[1:08:41.5]

Which means, somehow our intellectual capacity is not catching up to the reality. The limitation of our intellectual understanding is showing that, at least now. Now, if you established mother beings, everyone being mother being, then second step: remembering kindness, is easy. Again, same thing. I’m talking here, I’m using language, I’m using a little thinking and logic and all that. However do not forget the other side of meditating, Lama Labai Lha in front of you or on your crown as a witness, as a guide, as a person who gives you blessing, as a witness. So, again, remember the Lama Labai Lha making requests to gain development of remembering the kindness of Mother Sentient Beings. So, like my mother this time—whether it is the mother who gives you birth or mother who nurtured you, or the mother who has been kind to you. Mother doesn’t have to be birth-giving mother either. [1:11:20 Tib] They’re like, even in the Buddhist texts, generally count three categories of mother: who gives you birth; you helps you and nurtures you; who supports you. They’re all mother beings, they’re mothers. As this mother has helped me, guided me, supported me, like all mothers have done throughout my lives. So remember the kindness that mother shows. If it’s birth mother, well the first and foremost important thing is to give you birth. Sometimes people call it “give you life.” I don’t know whether they give you life or not. They give you birth, for sure. Otherwise you’re not going to be born out of rocks.

Or we’re not lucky enough to be born out of lotus. I used the expression “born out of lotus.” I used this a couple of times today. If you’re born in the Western Paradise Pureland, you’re supposed to be born out of a lotus. And that’s why I was saying that we’re not lucky enough to be born out of lotus. I was using that expression, because when you’re born in the Western Paradise, Amitabha Buddha’s Pureland, either it’s Amitabha or Amitayus—they both are interchangeable. And the Pureland also, that’s called Lubchur? [1:13:47 Tib] which means Western Paradise Pureland. When you’re born in there you’re born out of a lotus. So that’s why I’m using the expressions “born out of lotus.” Otherwise, there are living beings who are born out of moisture and heat, a lot of insects there. Bacteria are there too.

[1:14:22]

Moisture and heat and dirt and impure things. [laughs] Bacteria, where did the bacteria go? Even in the food, if you have yogurt, and if you don’t look at it for about a month, then you have plenty of them in there. [audience member (Brenda) makes comment] Does bacteria have a life or not? Then it’s birth. We don’t use that terminology of birth, but it is. There are insects born out of moisture and air and heat. Where are these lice born? Out of eggs. There is a group of beings who are born out of eggs, chickens too. Insects too. The lice are born out of that little white thing, the nit. That’s an egg. [1:16:21 Tib] We’re going to talk about four: those who are born out of egg; those who are born out of womb of mom; those who are born out of heat and moisture and all that; other than born out of egg. [1:16:50 Tib—talking to Rimpoches]. I said, “Is there an example for Geshe-lha?” Geshe-lha said, “Guru Padmasambawa.” He said, “He’s born out of lotus.” I said, “If I said Guru Padmasambawa was born out of lotus, does that mean was he truly born out of lotus? Do you know? Were you there?” I was teasing Geshe-lha. You know sometimes the historical things we say, we say this and that, they may not be really true. I don’t know. I hope Guru Padmasambawa was born out of lotus, but for me it’s very hard to accept. He was a human being. All bardoers are born out of nothing, sort of magically born. That’s true.

So anyway, that’s the fact. Even if it’s a religious story, even if it’s whatever it is, and many of them, even Buddha was born out of mother’s whatever-it-is. [laughter and pointing] Here, here. I think it is some sort of faith reason we leave them alone. But being a king of one of the most important Indian principalities while it’s traveling, and it’s cotton clothed, only limited people have seen it. So how do you know it came out of armpit or came out of usual place? You don’t know. Sometimes poets will also make a poetry statement and beautiful things. And that becomes treated as reality. You know, 2600-year-old story is sometimes very questionable. But what is not questionable is the statement and teachings and how true it is. How relevant, even after 2600 years later, middle of nowhere, here in Michigan it is absolutely relevant to not only those of us who are following Buddha’s teaching, but looking at everybody else it is the same thing, same true. It is absolutely reliable. The teachings are absolutely reliable, statements based on the experience of the Buddha. Otherwise, stories are 2600 years’ old story, which as a prayer or thinking is great. It’s born out of an armpit or whatever. I’m glad no other incarnated lama is born out of nose. [laughter] There was a little pimple in the mother’s nose for a while and then the pimple became bigger, and then it became like a lotus shape, and then a little egg came out of it. [laughter] Luckily we don’t hear that.

[1:22:26]

I’m totally challenging these novel writers. Mother has a little pimple for about two or three weeks. And then that opens into the lotus shape, almost like that Chinese spicy estella, “star anise,” just like a snap dragon—snap dragon is nickname. But what is the real name? I used to know that name, I forgot it. The real name is…Antarayna and something else. Snap dragon is the nickname. But everybody talks about the snapdragon today, nobody says “antarayna.” So anyway, looks like it pops up here…Anyway, so forget about it. Now let’s do a little serious business.

[1:24:58]

We’re here remembering the kindness. [1:25:12 Tib to 1:25:44] So many kindnesses they showed, the mother. You know, giving birth, I was told it’s not easy. [laughter] I mean, you people know better than I do; many of you know better than I do. Hartmut and I won’t know. Derek knows? [laughter] And also, you know, that is itself one of the important kindnesses. And immediately after birth, if you throw the baby out, then chances are not likely you’ll survive. So they took care of you. Kept you warm and gave you all the love, whatever the mother can. And even look at you as beautiful, with happy eyes. And the mother will choose to save your life at the expense of the mother’s life. And that is very common, very common. I have seen, in movies, that the mother pretends to be the murderer and goes into jail instead of sending the children into jail. And then the difficulties when the children, not only I’m taking about the infant, but the grownup, whenever they face difficulties, and in the middle of the night, no matter whatever, two in the morning, three in the morning, if the mother has to drive, without hesitation, without even question, they will drive hundred of miles to help children. These are true kindnesses. This is true. If you look from you as a mother, and what you’re going to do for your children, these are all true. And if you look at it as a kid, looking at the mother up there, then you will have some excuse. It’s true, but there’s some reasons—that’s how human beings are. [1:29 Tib]

And then if you’re a little grown up, then they teach you how to walk, how to think, how to talk, how to eat even. Honestly. And how to get education. How to manage in the society, making sure you’re not left behind. All of those. And when you look around at the mothers, see how much they go through, the agony. During the children’s exam period, it is hundreds of times more difficult than if the mother herself were taking the exam. And that much worry, that much efforts. These are the kindnesses in the mother’s time that they have shown. And as a mother has been busy, the father also equally concerned and worried; may not be jumping up and down like mother, but equally concerned. Financial support. And all of those are the kindnesses which are immeasurable. And whatever the capacity of the mother or father is available, they will do the best for the children. They will try to make it the best possible. Whatever the obstacles, sufferings, pains, whatever you’re getting they have protected. Therefore, they are all very, very kind.

[1:32:31]

And not only one person, every sentient being has done that to me as one person, one time or another. Therefore, my mind, my idea of looking to someone as enemy, looking down, is very wrong, very wrong. Because from the point of view of these people, helping everybody, helping me for a number of lives. Not only the mothers, fathers too. And all sentient beings have done that. That doesn’t mean it will reduce the value of their kindness. It means build up the value more. And everybody becomes important, kind, rather than devaluing the value. You build up the value on the mother it becomes quite good and suddenly everybody else did that too. It doesn’t mean demolishing their value, but also adding the same thing. [?1:34:50] Try to give more room for the hatred in my own mind to come out, that it is the reason why we’re doing this.

[1:35:03]

So therefore, think everyone, everybody has done something great to me one time or another.

[big gap of silence to 1:36:13]

Not only brought you in the society and also shared the wealth, with great difficulty, with hard work that they built up. Today we look in the society and we look at the people and we say wealthy people, “Oh, they’re wealthy people. They have a lot of wealth.” We talk about that. But each and every one of them, most of them—maybe if you’re born into the Walmart family or something, maybe it’s different for them—but most of the people have worked hard at the expense of their blood and sweat, they built each and every penny. Even if they’re wealthy, they built it with their hard work, their intelligence, their labor, with a lot of intelligent labor and they made money. And if you look at the people, you know, many of them who are wealthy were not wealthy from the beginning. If you look at them, they worked hard, they sweated, they fought, they worked hard. And the wealth, whatever they have accumulated, they accumulated with taking hardship. And then the parents would like to share that with you. You see how kind that is, honestly. It doesn’t grow up here and there, it is a hard-working result.

[1:38:35]

Without hesitation they share. And happy to share with you. These are the kindnesses of parents. Simply we’re talking about it now. But then every person all the time has done that for all the people. Within the people that’s how it is. And those who don’t have much, whatever they have they share. And even at least they pray for the well-being of their children. Pray, even praying, morning and evening, they pray. They do that. And it’s a common phrase, “God, please don’t take my child. Take me instead.” People use that. So these are the kindnesses they have shown. That’s how it is.

Whatever I told you is a fact. It’s not a made-up story, not a history, it’s a fact. That’s how you remember the kindness of people. And besides that, people’s kindness made you what you are today. Shantideva said the kindness that Buddha had shown to people and the kindness the people had shown to people are equal. And we respect Buddha. Why not people? Honestly. Even to be able to meditate this compassion and love, meditate looking at the people and saying all are my closest like my mother, remembering kindness, it’s also because of the people. If there’s no people you can’t think about it. They provide. Peoples’ kindness is way beyond. Everything that we use today as a luxurious material or surviving material—the house, the room, the heat, the cold, the cloth, the bed, the building, the bed sheet, pillow—each and every one of them are provided by people. Honestly, people. You may say, “It’s factory-made.” Factories are run by people. Machine alone may not go ‘brump brump brump brump’ all the time. It has to manage. And traditionally, everything was worked by hand. People go out, cut the hair of the sheep or the animals. People weave them, clean them, knit them and make them into a piece of cloth. People go out and get silk worms, move them around, collect the thread and knit them and make them silk. And today we enjoy a silk shirt. It’s all that way. It is people’s kindness. Even the medicine.

[1:43:19:]

For me, I have to use the dialysis. I have to use insulin. People made them. People made them. If there are no people, I will not have dialysis. I will not have insulin. I would have gone last year. So it is peoples’ kindness, honestly. Not only necessarily as a mother, but as people. You have to think how important it is.

Anyway, you’re supposed to meditate that. With this reasoning analyzing and also focusing. Yes, it is. Until you develop that mind, without making it. Right now we artificially produce that resolution. We artificially try to think about it. And if you keep on repeating that artificially-made idea a number of times, there will be a time naturally you will remember. Always remember people’s kindness. When you talk about it you can begin to see how it gets you, how touching it is. It will get you and you’ll feel like crying. You have that. That comes naturally. At the beginning you don’t get it. After many thinkings you’re going to get that. I don’t say it is a true experience, but I will say at least you’re moving towards the right direction. You’re supposed to artificially or by simulated thought you should apply repeatedly until it becomes your character, your nature. And then you will be appreciating people. If you begin to appreciate people, that alone will make you not to get upset with the people. You may show temper tantrum here and there a little but you don’t get upset with anyone. You don’t develop, you don’t gain anger. You will never develop hatred, because you can’t hate anybody. The talk of saying, “he who cannot hurt even a fly” becomes a reality. And that’s how you build yourself.

[1:47:05]

And that’s how you bring to that level. And when it becomes natural to you, then occasional meditation reminding will do. You don’t have to do it so often. And that meditation also, like a question this morning— the equanimity, can you take it out and do it here and there?—sure, you can do each and every one of them. Honestly.

(Then, now it’s 6:10 pm. So I better hurry up, not talk too much.)

Next is repaying the kindness that you received. In normal, in our society, when somebody has been kind to you and you try to be bad against that, what do we call them? Shameless, considered not worthy of being a good human. It’s a bad person. That’s what it is. Everybody will agree. Is there anybody who disagrees with that? There will be nobody. (Amy Dumke, you didn’t raise your hand, did you? [laughter]). Nobody will disagree that this is how it is. At least here, I don’t know how many people here who have done that to somebody. On the Web there’s close to 200 people listening. Is there anybody who disagrees with that? I don’t hear anything. So that means everybody disagrees. It is true. Whoever has been kind to you and you try to be mean back, it is considered to be bad. We Tibetans call it [1:50:11]. The hand who has been kind to you you smash between two stones. Nobody does that. Whoever does that is considered horrible person.

[1:50:36]

No only that, whoever helped you, wherever, whatever way, you owe them, honestly. You owe them. You owe them, you’ve been grateful to them. All of those. And then we claimed that we ourselves are a great Mahayana practitioner, right? Mahayana. Not smaller vehicle, but bigger vehicle. The great one. So would you like to be the horrible person? No. So if you’re horrible, then maybe you try to go by yourself, manage, and don’t care about others. People may be suffering; walk away. Pretend you don’t see it. Some people do because they’re afraid of bullies in a court of law and pretend not to see. [laughs]. People do that, right? I think last year we read in the newspaper that that Indian college girl was raped in the bus. And the bus full of people pretended they hadn’t seen it. Literally raping in the bus itself. Everybody pretended they didn’t see it. That’s not right.

[1:52:20 Tib]

It is customary here to quote this Lobding’s[?1:53:17] word. When somebody sees all your relations and friends are suffering in something like some pit, of some suffering pit, and if you try to get away by yourself, forgetting everybody…Well if you try to get away to bring help, you can’t do it yourself, then that is the right thing to do. But if you couldn’t care less and walked away, “so I got out and I will not come back,” that is not considered good. We do not recognize these suffering people because of a change in our life and lives. Otherwise, all the people have done so much to us. I’m grateful, I’m indebted to the people. To all of them. So that’s what it really is. And it is my duty today, I begin to know something about right and wrong. I begin to know good and bad. I begin to know virtue and non-virtue. I begin to know something about karma. I begin to know causal and result. And that moment, whatever the capacity, whatever I can do, I cannot walk away. I must care. I must repay the kindness that I received, compassion that I received, support that I received. I must repay that.

(I think maybe about that much. There’s more in here but…)

If you can, this repaying the kindness, each and every individual that you have beginning equanimity, enemy, friend, neutral person, so each and every one of them you may separately meditate. But in general, whatever I briefly told you, that’s good enough. You have to convince yourself.

Again, I would like to tell you something. That is, things that we do here, particularly this style of teaching-meditation together, I’m giving you a lot of logical reasons I could in between. Otherwise, simply telling you this, going to next step, remembering that, doing this, repaying that, if you simply go, sometimes people may think you’re trying to brainwash. That’s not the point. No one’s interested to brainwash anybody. There’s nothing to be washed. Honestly. [laughter] Nothing to be replaced. This is with the intellectual, whatever you can, and when you cannot sometimes rely on quotation, unchangeable quotations like that. And maybe try to move on. And then it is obvious, if you’re indebted to their kindness somehow you have to repay their kindness. Otherwise you’re shameless. So you should repay.

[1:58:49]

Whatever you’re repaying is this: whatever you have, whatever you can, whatever they don’t have, whatever they cannot get. And that is the joy, the permanent joy, uncontaminated, permanent joy. That’s what you can repay. That’s what you can bring everybody to that level. You don’t want to leave a single one out, because there is no single one who has not been kind to me. So I have to take each and every one. Remember, George Bush said, “No child left behind.” May not be great but sort of a similar idea. No people left behind. And actually, this is sort of automatic. If you have a strong remembering the kindness, returning the kindness is human nature, good human nature. Good human beings do that because you are a good human being. You’re not a shameless, horrible person. So make a decision that “I would like to repay their kindness by bringing the best joy, joy that has never known suffering. How wonderful if I can give joy that has never known suffering to everybody. I’d like to. I may be blessed to be able to do that.” In these lines you have to think about it.

So your homework tonight is revisiting the equanimity, equality, recognition of sentient beings as most closest and nearest and dearest, remembering their kindness, and committing yourself to repaying their kindness. And that’s it.

[2:01:49 ends]