Archive Result

20151108GRAAST39

0:00:00.0 Good morning everybody and welcome to this Sunday talk. It has been a little long time since I have been doing it live, because of a number of things. First I went to Hongkong, because there were requests for teachings from mainland China, quite a lot of them. Their demand was for Chittamani Tara. That requires a prior Maha anuyoga tantra initiation. So I was looking for lesser commitment for them, so I did the Hayagriva initiation. Then in Chittamani Tara, as you know, there are three different initiations. One is the outer torma, then the inner body mandala and then the secret heart transplant. I did the Chittamani outer initiation first and there were about 400 people. Then I did the Chittamani teachings and regular attendance was 200 some people, and most of them happened to be practitioners, so I also did the inner body mandala initiation there.

0:02:26.6 Then I came back here to Michigan with a 2 day stop over in Seattle, on the way to Hongkong and on the way back from Hongkong. It was comfortably manageable. The journey between Seattle and Hongkong was a little too long both ways. If I go again in that direction next time I have to look for a different route. So it was sort of manageable. I was also happy to know that with all my kidney dialysis I can still visit Hongkong, Malaysia and all that. So it’s okay and I am still not sure, whether I could manage in India. Most probably I can’t in South India, where the monasteries are, because of supplies. But still, at least I can do the rest. I am happy to know that.

0:04:22.5 The New York based Tibet Fund gave me some kind of recognition of life long service for Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture and dharma service. They gave me an award dinner. It was a very nice, kind recognition. A number of Tibetan radio stations kept on interviewing me for that and I simply said that I did nothing in my life; always wasted my life. Very specifically I avoided the political and even to a certain extent the religious stage. I kept hidden away from the Tibetan mainstream in the mid west of America, in the middle of nowhere, teaching a few interested western people and being given such a recognition is like looking at the Tibetan old saying which says that those bees flying around with their yellow color is being recognized as gold. In that sense they gave me this recognition. Anyway, I said I was grateful and happily accepted.

0:06:47.5 After that I went to Texas, because one of our senior members, Amy, moved there a couple of years ago. She would like to have a small group there. There are a number of people who are interested. So I had a really beautiful holiday in Texas, because there was not so much to do and we don’t know so many people. So we had a very relaxing wonderful time; one of the best, relaxed holidays, honestly, except I had to do three things. One was an interfaith meeting arranged by St. Thomas Catholic University. So there were about 150-160 people and I had to speak for a few minutes. Before me was a Jewish and Muslim speaker and then Buddhism. So we spoke there and that interfaith was a very serious meeting, but I made a lot of jokes and made everybody laugh and people were very happy. There was a progressive father and he kept on talking to me, “ I never miss, but how could I miss you all these years?” I said, “ I am not in Texas.” He says, “Oh no wonder. I never miss people like you and was wondering how I could have missed you all these years.” So that was very nice of him and there were some nice elderly nuns who kept on kissing me, one after another. So I was very happy and I appreciated it.

0:10:02.0 Then one day I had to go to a lunch meeting with about 15 people, and this was a very nice group of people, very interesting people. I knew Gail Gross for a long time, because we had been on the board of Tibet Fund together for about 10 years, before I resigned. Gail is based in Houston and then there were a number of Amy’s friends, very important and interesting socialites, particularly Dr. Mendelsohn who happens to be the head of MD Anderson Cancer Research. He is a wonderful person and he had a lot of questions and we had a little conversation. So I did enjoy that lunch very much. Then I did one Sunday afternoon talk and there were about 40 people, dealing with Amy, who are interested in Tibetan Buddhism. I did a basic talk and Amy wanted to record it, but I objected. And that was a good thing, because there was an interesting incident and I should share that. There was an Indian gentleman with a walking stick, sitting in the front row, along with a Pakistani lady. In the middle of the Tara blessing somewhere he want into a funny trance and hit his stick on the floor a couple of times and said something like “ give me my seat”. Then he got up and looked at Amy and Colleen and said, “ Put my seat here.” And they won’t. So then I said, “You have your seat here, sit down.” Then he walked out. I think that was some kind of funny thing. The Pakistani lady said that he has a guru in Simla, India and he comes every morning 3 am to him in trance. So whatever it was, I am glad it was not recorded. That would be funny. That’s that.

0:13:46.1 Then most of the Sundays lately have been edited Garrison talks by the webinar people who made copies available to put them on webinar. There are 8 Sundays. Two Sundays ago there was some triangular miscommunication between me and the Program people and between webinar and Jonas. And as a result, one Sunday was missed or whatever and then of course, Kathy somehow came on the webinar and said, “Rimpoche is not coming.” As a result of that I received so many phone calls from Malaysia, about ten, then from Europe and they thought I was very sick, because of the “coming, but not coming” messages. So I had to explain that to everybody and of course, as usual, I like to blame Jonas. He is my good bouncing bench or whatever you want to call it (laughs). So I owe you an apology for that.

0:16:32.5 Then when I was in Texas on Saturday late in the evening I received a call from Carla desperately calling me and telling me that John was not breathing. So we had that very unfortunate incident. Yesterday many of you have attended his service and I spoke a little bit. The thing is, as we all know, he was a wonderful person, a kind person, as everybody remembers, who never lost his temper, never showed a temper and was always smiling and joking and everything you asked him was always answered with “Yes I can”, and never no. So he was compassionate, caring, a wonderful person and young, healthy and suddenly things like that happen. Well, it is not unusual. It does happen. We always say: we never know when we will go. So John, Ed Howlett, Heather Mooney and Janis had planted flowers that day. Actually, for my birthday Carla and John had bought a lot of tulip, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs as a birthday present. John designed the garden and put them down on Saturday morning.

0:19:31.9 Then in the late afternoon, early evening he was gone. He had exchanged a couple of texts with Carla and his neighbors saw him rake his garden and that’s about it. We don’t know.

0:20:09.1 I am very strongly convinced that there is a very important purpose and I think he went for that purpose and the purpose we will probably know much later. It is important, I think. Then one thing we have to learn from this. We talk, we always talk that life is very, very, very impermanent, very transitory. We talk about it and we meditate and discuss and write about it. We present the subject and do all that. But when things like this happen it is truly proving how impermanent the life is. We are all planning to live – the traditional texts say – for a hundred years. I don’t know whether anybody plans to live for a hundred years or not, but a year or two we always plan to live. We have to, because life is such that we have to do that. Yet, when you go suddenly, that is not unique. This can happen to you and me and each and everyone of us, any time anywhere, even now, in this very minute also. That is how impermanent life really is.

0:22:39.7 On the other hand, human life is so capable and you can do so much. It can bring all developments. Buddha’s development, Jesus’ development and all other great people’s developments are human achievements. Scientific development, medical wonders as well as electronic and mechanical wonders are human achievement. Destructions are also human achievements. We are now talking about the Russian airliner that has been destroyed by an ISIS bomb, according to the US view, thought the Soviets and Egyptians think it is to early to make a judgment. The US and British think that bomb was put in the cargo section of the plane. This has created a lot of difficulties for traveling. Many of us are going to Holland. I understand there are 25 people going from the United States to Holland for this winter retreat, except we are missing one usual person who normally goes. Maybe it is becoming 26 or 27 people too, who knows. We have a little more difficulty of travelling, because I am quite sure there will be a little more restrictions and checks and things like that.

0:24:54.7 These are the human achievements, both the positive and wonderful ones and the negative ones, like atomic bombs. We threw two atom bombs on Japan. They were developed for development to improve health and production, however, human beings misused that and a number of people were killed. These are human achievements. Human beings are so capable, both spiritually as well as temporal. You can achieve anything you want to. However, if you are not compassionate, kind and caring, then it can create tremendous difficulties and problems. That’s what we human beings do. At the same time it is so fragile and yet we plan to live a hundred years. That is how our life really is. So we had the sudden loss of our dharma friend, martial art practitioner, meditator, dharma facilitator suddenly disappearing like this and that is the absolute reminder for us: hey, this is how life is impermanent. We have to learn that lesson. It is the rather hard way, but it is: so take advantage of this life. Think about it.

0:27:49.5 As far as I am concerned, the moment Carla called me I started saying my own prayers, dedicating them and I called Ujjen-la who happened to be at a meeting in Washington that day and he called the monasteries in India to do the appropriate prayers that I prescribed. I had the opportunity to attend the cremation and things that happened in the cremation certainly convinced me that he left for a purpose and that purpose is going to be achieved and no longer lingering around and that’s what I felt and I like to share that with you and we will pray to fulfill his wishes, whatever they are and continue with the wonderful human life, and continue it with the teachings of Buddha and that of Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa and Lama Manjushri, Yidam Manjushri and Dharma King, the protector Manjushri. Within that stainless path he will complete his journey and become a fully enlightened buddha. So we will pray for that and praying is simply praying. Dedicating our virtues for that purpose is dedication. So both prayer and dedication is what we should do.

0:30:17.7 I also like to recall Allen Ginsberg, when his father died. He asked Trungpa Rinpoche what to do. Trungpa Rinpoche wrote a few shorts words saying, “Let your father go, please continue the celebration of your life.” On that basis Allen wrote the “Father Death Blues”. So Allen made this poem. In there he says, “Dharma Death, your words are true, Sangha Death, we’ll figure out.”

Guru Death your words are true

Teacher Death I do thank you

For inspiring me to sing this Blues

Buddha Death, I wake with you

Dharma Death, your mind is new

Sangha Death, we'll work it through

0:31:18.1 That is how we should continue to celebrate our life. Many of you are doing the tsoh offering every 7th day. Thank you. Impermanence is right there, right there and also I heard a rumor yesterday that Gangchen Rinpoche, the Tibetan teacher who lives in Italy, passed away. I only heard rumors. I don’t have confirmation. I was telling Ujjen-la and Jamyang yesterday that normally the bad rumors are true. If it is true I like to offer my condolences to Lama Michel and others in his sangha. I am quite sure that a number of people will think, “Why did he say that? They are Shugden practitioners.” But Shugden or no Shugden, it is not a Shugden issue at all. Ganchen Rinpoche is an old Dharma friend and a number of teachers of his are mine and a number of teachers of mine are his and he had visited us a couple of times in summer retreats with a number of his Italian and Brazilian retinue and shared things with us. This is not an issue of Shugden business and especially if someone like him passes away. He is not an ordinary person, but another one of the hidden siddhas, who have achieved siddhihood and he himself calls himself “Kar Thuwang Trü pai Wang Chuk”, somebody who has achieved siddhihood. So we would like to offer our condolences and it has nothing to do with the protector issue, honestly.

0:35:00.2 So if it is not true, then I withdraw my condolences and then it’s good news. Anyway, that’s what’s happening. Also one thing is so exciting. I hope it will be continuously exciting and that’s the elections in Burma, after 50 years of military dictatorship. The election results are not yet declared. I was watching carefully and it may take a few days, they say, but all indications are that Aung San Suu Kyi’s party is winning an absolute majority. But that happened already once, 20 years ago; [25 years ago, 1990]. And when that happened, the military stepped down, put her back in jail for 20 years. She was married to a Tibetologist and Buddhist scholar from Britain. That’s the reason why even if her party gets the majority, then the military dictators made the rule that if you are married to a foreigner you can never become president and if you have relatives of foreign nationality you cannot become president of Burma. They made that constitutional rule. So she cannot become president unless they change the constitution.

0:37:04.9 But still, her party is running and it becomes democracy, which is really exciting, through elections, not by guns. If you try to bring democracy by guns and dollars, it doesn’t work. We saw that quite clearly. George Bush thought it was very exciting to have beautiful democracy in the Middle East in Iraq, but democracy doesn’t work at the barrel of a gun or through billions or trillions of dollars thrown in. Millions of guns will not produce democracy. Democracy is produced by human mind, human caring, human beings’ love and compassion. To yourself, to your own children, to your own family, to your own fellow citizens, and to all human beings – that brings democracy. That brings goodness and all this. So if at all, hopefully it will work in Burma. That will be a great human achievement, a compassion achievement, a love achievement, a caring achievement. The majority of people in Burma are Buddhists, though there is a Muslim and Christian minority. There is trouble too. The Buddhist majority in some places beats up the Muslims and some of those refugees that are running through South East Asia and Europe happen to be from Burma.

0:39:33.6 If you are Buddhist, but you don’t follow what Buddha says and if you follow your ego, that’s what’s happening. If that materializes it is really terrible. Right now, Buddhism is not without controversy, but is still one of the religions that gives love and compassion very altruistically. This is one of the saviors. Of course every tradition, Hindu-Buddhist, Judeo-Christian, every tradition is a great savior as long as they promote compassion, love, caring and demote violence. Violence really brings trouble. Even Buddhist followers can do that, but Buddha never ever permitted violence, not at all. However, if it becomes Buddhists versus something else, some people may think that for the betterment of those people a compassionate one can engage in violence. That’s a terrible excuse. You can’t do worse than that. Hopefully that’s not true. Hopefully the compassion and love that Buddha shared will influence the people and get democracy set up in Burma. So that will be really at least one good thing happening in this terrible world.

0:41:52.0 So I am sort of hoping and keeping my fingers crossed. Still, it is military rule and I hope they don’t clamp down but become a little sensible and good. And we should really even pray and urge the buddhas and bodhisattvas to do something. I am sure they already do everything they can, but at the same time it is also omens that we urge them and pray that this will happen. So that’s that.

0:42:39.9 Monday I will be going to Holland, as I normally do in November. Many of you are coming. I am very happy with it and 10 people from Malaysia are coming too. As far as I know, it’s 26 from here and 10 from Malaysia, so it’s already 35 – 40 people from outside Holland. I believe the first thing will be the Avalokiteshvara initiation, 1000 arms, 1000 eyes and also a four-armed Avalokiteshvara jenang, probably in one day. Then I think there are a couple of public talks too and then there is a 4 day gap. I thought in the 4 day gap people who are coming from the States or Malaysia can go visit other European cities and have a nice, little 4 day holiday. After that is the Heruka 5 deities initiation followed by Vajrayogini initiation and teaching. So that’s the plan and then I will be back in early December here and will be able to do a couple of Sunday talks live from Ann Arbor, maybe one or two in early December. I think that’s about it and I like to say that’s about it today. My apologies that I missed one talk.

0:45:13.9 Then those tapes. You have those five paths. When you talk about lam rim based buddhadharma we don’t emphasize the five paths. But if you have the Prajnaparamita based public talks – though lam rim is based on Prajnaparamita – the five paths are the measurement of where you are, showing you whether you have entered the path or not. And if you have entered, where are you? So these are the five measurements. This is true to Hinayana, to Mahayana and to Vajrayana. Before you enter, if you put them together, almost all lam rim practices plus some Vajrayana practice, they are pre-paths of the path of accumulation. Almost all our practices, totally, are pre-paths of accumulation or maybe some part of the path of accumulation.

0:46:55.8 Remember, the path of accumulation is divided into three: small, medium and big. At the small and medium level you may reverse anything, according to the Mahayana – although you have generated bodhimind. You may lose it or purposely go back and give up. That’s why there are these three levels. At the big part of the path of accumulation you probably become stable. So then comes the path of action which has four parts, the path of seeing which has two, and the path of meditation which has nine parts. These are the measurements where you are, how you are and what level you have reached.

0:47:55.4 We don’t have much to talk about it, because we are not there. Unfortunately, we are on the pre-path. I don’t know how many of us have truly entered the path. We don’t know. It is very interesting. Many of us here who are listening to the Sunday talks – of course, everybody is inspired by Buddhism. But many of you, I don’t whether you are Buddhist or not. You know yourself. Although we say that taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is the entry or doorway to Buddhism, true refuge is very questionable, as one of the earlier Tibetan teachers, Drukpa Kunleg pointed out.

Drukpa Kunleg (Wylie: 'brug pa kun legs), was a really interesting guy, when you read his biography. He was very funny. He was a hunter. Basically he walked around with bow and arrows and a hunting dog who walked him through the streets of Lhasa and everywhere. Of course he was the greatest Mahasiddha, no doubt. One old lady was dying and she had a beautiful turquoise she wore in her hair. It was of excellent quality. In old Tibetan culture, if you go back hundreds of years, instead of an engagement ring they would put a turquoise in their hair, which means: I belong to you, you belong to me. This old lady had one of the best turquoise. Before she died she said, “When I die take this turquoise and search for this crazy fellow and give it to him and tell him that “So-and-So” died and please pray.” So the family decided to switch the turquoise and took another turquoise. They searched for him and couldn’t find him at all. Finally they found him and he looked at the turquoise and threw it away in the sewage. So they went and got the real turquoise and gave it to him. He looked at it and said,

Yu jung da tong nang la song

Ge mo thar pei lam du song

The small turquoise goes in my arrow case

The old lady goes into the liberation

0:52:04.5 He just threw the turquoise over his back, not sure if it went into his arrow case. He just threw it. They said many of those hidden treasures he would throw like this. So that’s it. At that level I think they are capable. At our level we have to pray to a third entity called yidam or lama. But that level a simple word and thought is enough. That’s why they say that a buddha can do everything effortlessly. The karmic connection is somehow necessary. Even for her, that turquoise had to be given to the enlightened beings. When that was done everything is simple, just a matter of saying some simple words.

A PATH TO FOLLOW: UNSELFISH EQUALITY WITH LOVE/COMPASSION

0:53:40.7 At buddha’s level everything is effortless. That is the reason why we want to become buddha, because then we can achieve everything effortlessly. That’s why we are struggling now. That’s why we are meditating now. That’s why we are engaging in discipline now. That’s why we keep our morality now. That’s why we engage in generosity now. All those, because of that reason. At that level it is when, not if. When we achieve this we will know. A simple thought, a simple word, a simple gesture, is good enough to be able to do everything. That’s why at the buddha level it is effortless. When I say buddha level I don’t mean that you have to be Buddhist, or that you have to follow the path that Buddha described. You can follow any great correct path. Don’t follow a wrong path. If you do it will end the wrong way. If you follow a right path it doesn’t matter whether it is Buddhist or non-buddhist or whatever. The great traditions, like Judeo-Christian, Hindu-Buddhist, etc., are good paths. Every path is not necessarily good. There are violence-oriented ones. There are paths that are simply about - I win, you lose. These are wrong paths.

0:55:48.7 Honestly. That much you have to have. You all have that much intelligence. You all know that. You all have that intelligence to judge whether the path is right or wrong. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Buddhist. In principle, it is not selfish-oriented. You lose – I win. That is selfish-oriented. We all win – a win-win situation, that’s good, it’s okay. We need it. If possible, you win/I lose – that’s not something we can do. When we become bodhisattvas we may be able to do it. Hopefully we will. But other than that, I doubt it. The win-win situation is good. But anything violence-oriented, anything self-promoting and putting others down, looking down on others, is a wrong path.

0:57:23.2 Black magic for example. I don’t know the motivation of black magic creators, but people are using it simply for: I achieve – you lose. And it is a wrong path. There is no compassion. There is no love. There is no caring. It is anger-oriented, hatred-oriented. It is a wrong path. Whatever efforts we put into that is negative, because negativities are being created. The result is that all teachers, practitioners, everybody, will suffer. The result is suffering. That’s why. Maybe there are great persons who do black magic, but that’s exceptional, because of the motivation. If it’s compassion – and love – oriented, then it’s different. If it is selfish and self-grasping oriented, then it’s not right. Even among the Buddhists, if you look, the Hinayana path is less compassionate than the Mahayana path. But if you compare a good Hinayana person, we get nowhere. We won’t even reach the place where they use their toilet. We cannot even reach there. It’s that much love and compassion, even though it is supposed to be narrow, selfish-oriented. But practitioners will be like that.

0:59:31.5 So love and compassion and no selfishness. And at least equanimity and equality. What is the difference between you and me? Why do you have to suffer? Why do I have to enjoy? That is the principle in our life. If you keep that principle you won’t have: you lose – I win. You won’t have that. You may win or you may lose. It is not that you cannot win. You can win, of course. But on a fair basis. On an unfair basis, no. That’s selfish. Traditionally, when you see it in the movies, they put those prisoners who have been completely wounded before and make them fight with the ruler and then they lose. That’s not fair.

1:00:51.2 That’s what I mean by: you lose – I win. And by various mean ways that have already been prepared. So anyway, if you are interested in the spiritual path, you have to follow a good path, honestly. A good path’s base is compassion and love and at least equality in principle. Then it is a good path. If it is: I am superior, you are inferior, you must serve me, I must win and all that, then that is a wrong path. At least we can judge that much. As we know: life is uncertain. It is short and you never know when it’s going to happen. So always be prepared. Always be prepared. Nothing wrong, if you don’t go. The beautiful tomorrow morning comes and wonderful, welcome. Great, I am still alive. Good. Thank God the Almighty or the Three Jewels, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and karma and the people. People are so important. Every morning I try to think that way.

1:02:46.3 It is through people’s kindness that we survive. Our survival is dependent on people’s kindness – totally – each and every one of us, honestly. You may think, “I did this, I did that”, but each and every one of us just survives because of people. People’s love, people’s care, people’s nurturing, people’s kindness, whether in form or parents or caretakers, teachers, doctors, whatever it may be, it is due to the people’s kindness. We are in life now, so make best use of it.

With this I would like to say thank you for being here and those who are listening on line and I will try to talk to you a couple of times from Holland, whenever I settled down and it is possible. I am staying there for about a month. So I try to talk to you from there a couple of times from Holland. It is also convenient. I understand that both, Kimba and Bethany are going to Holland, so they can handle the webinar from there. Also Nicole does that too. So I try to talk to you a couple of times and thank you so much. 1:04:36.1 end of file