Archive Result

Soundfile 20151112GRJHNL (1)

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Jewel Heart Netherlands

Topic Tibetan Buddhism

Transcriber Janet Bourgon

Date Dec. 7, 2021

0:00:00.0.

[Dutch]

0:03:00.7.

[Dutch]

0:03:46.3. Rimpoche: Thank you for being here everybody. Most of you every time I get in here in [0:04:22.8. Nijmegen?] and we have one of those public talks, and most of you comes all the time, very regularly like a religions. And thank you. And tonight I was giving a subject matter as a Tibetan Buddhism. So whatever I normally do, is that I talk about the Tibetan Buddhism only because I’m only, I only know that. Nothing else. [Laughs.] I rather not try to talk about the Judeo-Christian because I don’t know anything. Nor do I know Hinduism, or Muslim, or anything so I have nothing else to talk about except Buddhism and that of Tibetan Buddhism.

0:06:00.7.

But one thing I would like to say before I even speak the subject. We have a, the Europeans have an unprecedented refugee problem. And the most of the European countries, and particularly Germany, with open arms accepted people who are suffering. Of course you know there are so many economic refugees rather than the emergency refugee. But having said that, it doesn’t mean they don’t have suffering. They do have a tremendous suffering in Syria for all these years of war. Iraq. Truly speaking, the eight years of Obama administration and almost eight years of Bush administration the war continued, whether we see it or not. So there’s tremendous suffering. It is very great, gracious of European people with their open heart accept them in their towns. It is great. And I welcome them and it’s great and even in [Nijmegen?] I understood there’s a large number [translator: about 3000]. I was told about 5000. Whatever it is. How many you have here in [Nijmegen?]? Anyway, every city, every town have accepted refugees and they’re so kind. And we know there problems maybe there. We all know.

0:09:00.2.

But with the knowing, the compassionate mind took over and accepted and I really I admire the compassion the Europeans showed to the refugees. Really like to congratulate you that.

Two weeks ago, maybe three weeks ago, I was in Texas. There’s Catholic university called Saint Thomas University. So Catholic university have an interfaith council, interfaith meeting. It’s about 300, maybe 200, 300 religious leaders are attending. And they asked me to speak. So I spoke. And after the Jewish representative and the Muslim representatives I spoke in there. And I did recall in that meeting, I did recall when I myself was refugee from Tibet, from Tibet, I been… I had to leave Tibet in ’59, ’59. So I was a refugee. And not so easy. You know the refugees took journey from Syria, Iraq, and even some, well Afghanistan’s little too far away. But Syria and Iraq and all this are just matter of crossing a couple of state, couple of countries, and then reaching to Western Europe.

0:12:09.3.

For me it was a huge trench of mountains. You know these Himalayan mountain is, you can see in the map. It’s like this right? Snow sitting like this. So when we are coming out of the center of this, you have to cross over one highest snow mountain, go down here, go over here, go down here. And up on the top it’s so cold. Freezing temperature. Go down in here, it’s so hot. So hot it was amazing, you know, sort of terrible thing. You sweat like crazy. So this is how you know I came. You know thinking of it, it was just hard. People lose life in the sea and all that. It’s hard, but it’s straight road. For me it was like this. All the time. About a month-long. Mountain after mountain. Snow after snow. Heat after heat. So like this. And I did mention, well maybe you should say that. [translation] And I recall now in some areas between the two hill, mountain hill, you can’t cross. There only a couple of trees have fall down.

0:15:09.6.

Between the two. And you have to walk over this one single tree or maybe two trees that fell down, covered with the leaves little bit. And you walk. And if you don’t walk properly, if goes down and a lot of people fall too. Lot of people fall too. And when you throw down, [0:15:38.6 sky?] like a thousand feet down. And down there huge river. It’s going boom, boom, boom. So that sort of trench I have to walk through. So of course the refugees are through sea losing life. It’s difficulty. But that remind me of my journey and that’s, compare with that, it was little straightforward road. [Laughs.] Honestly. I mean some countries will like Hungaria or somebody may block you, so you have to go around little bit. But compare with that it was little that, not that much difficulty. And then I was wearing Tibetan monk’s robe, being what I am. So I have a very good quality dress, which means thick woolen. Thick woolen, layers and layers of thick wool. And maybe I am little kid because I’m only nineteen, but my dress will make me look like square, completely square.

0:18:04.5.

And then when you get down the trench, it’s so hot. You have no idea how hot it is. And even one night I do remember I have to stand in the river, sort of you know, a river that’s getting up to here. Sort of water [0:18:49.1 mash?] down there. With up to here, has to spend whole night standing because you can’t go. You can’t go because you don’t see anything. And that much. And dark and hot, and that sort of cloth. And then next day up in the hill. Cold. Every your clothes is completely wet and then you’re up here it’s cold. Finally, fifteen, twenty days later, reach to the first relief service. That relief service happens to be Catholic relief service, Catholic relief service. And they give me a set of pajamas. It is so wonderful to receive that pajama, because what you going to do with this, right? So I can take that off and I have something to wear. But the pajama what I’ve got is six foot some people. And I’m five foot five. I always fight for 5’5”, 6” or something. But it is always getting smaller and smaller every time. [Laughs.]

0:21:05.0.

So anyway, but that huge pajama is really welcome and great. And I thank the Catholic relief service this time for pajama. Because that is the Catholic university anyway. So because I mean it. I meant from the bottom of heart. When you are in the difficult point and you’re the receiving end and even a vitamin pill is welcome and a great relief. Honestly. When you coming that way, you have no idea if you’re the other side. And this is the example of generosity. This is the example of compassion that western people such as yourself show. The reasons that I had to leave Tibet, become refugee in that manner in India, is because the Tibet was taken over by communist Chinese. Many of you here, most of you here, really does not know much about the communist problem. If you’re older than me or my age and you know how difficulty communist was. Luckily there’s one great achievement of politicians. Honestly, today if you look, there is no communist problem left.

0:24:02.6.

You know, after Hitler you know what has happened Hitler. And after that it is the communists you know really deprived people’s right to live, think, and freedom. Completely. So that was problem with the, it’s not the socialist. It is the communist. Communist really in the name of people and public, but it is really huge dictator. Dictator as functioned. It is they took the cover of Lenin’s ideas, but they practice the Stalin’s policy. So Tibet was crushed by the communist Chinese in ’59. And before the crush in Tibet, the religion what we have is Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is no other than Buddhism. However, Tibetans took pains to get a pure Buddha’s teaching from India with a great deal of difficulty, even losing their life of ruler and all that, with all that sacrifices. Many great teachers, scholars. Twenty-one of them selected, sent from Tibet to study, bring Buddhism back to Tibet.

0:27:07.2.

Only two returned. They all died. Those great translators wrote saying when they saw the tree trunk that fall in the middle of the road like a dead body. And the trench that they see when it goes down thousand feet down, and if you’re going to fall, you going to be dead. So they wrote that book, the book saying when they recalled this, even after, way after, fifty, sixty years, they shake. Their internal bodies shake. Which is really true. When I came through, I really saw it. And if you look back even now, it will take your breath and say, how did you manage to get it, through? That’s how earlier Tibetans took it. Pain to receive pure Buddhism. And even after receiving the Buddhism in Tibet, well establishing so many first, of course there is a great teacher called Bodhisattva. [0:29:52.1 ??] Must be nickname, right? We call it [?kajen shewatso]. And then [? patba Satbowa]. And then later in 1100 is Atisha.

0:30:01.7.

And all these great Indian teachers, the Tibetans sacrificed so much and brough. When finally Buddhism developed in Tibet, then the Tibetans protected Buddhism. Protected Buddhism so much so that they sacrificed the country’s development completely. They’re not interested in modern development by fear of it will dilute pure Buddhism. So Tibetans hoping the snow mountain which is surrounded the country will protect it. So as a result of those, friendly people, like western friendly people, scholars, teachers, missionaries who are interested to work with the Tibetans are barred. Didn’t allow. Didn’t allow. Sort of hoping that snow mountain will protect. So they kept it Buddhism not only alive, but they developed and progressed so well for over thousand years. And when the, finally, communists came in, the Himalayan they didn’t protect them at all. [Laughs.] They came in by walking, by driving. They make a hole through the mountain. They have a plane to fly over the mountain. So the Himalayan didn’t protect at all.

0:33:00.7.

And before the communists came, the Buddhism’s so well developed. It’s almost like here you see every village have one or two churches here and there, like this. And Tibet every village will have one or two monasteries. And there are people living, studying, a life throughout the Tibet. And then the larger centers, like a big, bigger monasteries such as Drepung where I was belong, it has over a 10,000 monk by the time when I was studying. Over 10,000 monk. It is town of its own. Honestly. And so does other monasteries, like Sera, Ganden, and tantric colleges [0:34:22.3 steshun rimpo??]. And each and every one of them have thousands of monks who as not only studying Buddhist philosophy, there are a lot of practitioners who’s really handling your own mind and who’s managing your own mind by yourself. People are generally very kind, very wonderful, very devoted. And everybody whether you’re scholar or you’re just a person, a farmer living in Tibet, the love and compassion is something they can never avoided. Love and compassion is something more important than their own life. And that understanding, that devotion, is with almost every Tibetan those days.

0:36:05.0.

Philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, is one of the major subject that studied in the monasteries. Almost every education, higher education, is based on Buddhist philosophy and poetry. Simultaneously, artwork. Tremendous, beautiful artwork. So we talk about it, basic five most important education. That is: handicrafts, medicine, and, now I forgot. [translator: grammar?] No, no. That is part of literature. Grammar, poetry, all goes in part of literature. The Sanskrit. Tibetan 0:38:12.6 nye? nice?] Sanskrit which nobody understands. After in India, you know, when you see the in Sanskrit scholars, the Tibetan Sanskrit nobody understands. Like for example, Indians will say ‘vajra.’ [0:38:29.4 potandaho?] right? We say [banza?] So for 1000 years we been saying [banza], which is ‘vajra.’ So, like my name. We say [nyawang?]. And then when you go to India, it is [0:38:48.1 wageeshwara?] So, I mean that is how it is, how it went, that Tibetan [nye?] Sanskrit went so crazy in Tibet for 1000 years.

0:39:00.3.

You know I mean like they learned, and they developed, and then they made their own language. I think that’s what happened. So there is text. There is all kinds of system. There is all kinds of huge study, volume after volume, there. But when you went to India, when you reached to India, speaking to the Indian Sanskrit scholars, you don’t understand anything. They don’t understand you. You don’t understand them. That’s it. When you write down, it’s okay. Until you write down, when you speak nothing happens. Anyway. So and then the philosophy. And all this are great subject. And also lot of people who are biggest goal of the people is not only to have compassion and love, but also to overpower our negative emotions, such as hatred, anger, jealousy, obsession. These are the, we recognize them as troublemaker. Makes the individual not happy. Makes no peace within the individual, within the society, within the community. It’s all because of these negative emotions. These negative emotions are the sources of trouble for society, for individual, for family, for monasteries, for home, everything. So we, in Tibet, they recognize that. They recognize that. Every Tibetan those days is their enemy is not the Chinese, not the Indian, not the British, but enemy within ourself. These are the enemies we recognize. We recognize love, compassion, caring, faith as a friend. Because they are friend. Because it help the individual. Faith will help you. You all know that.

0:42:01.3.

So that was life what I recall in Tibet. Not everybody is rich. As a matter of fact, most of them are very poor, very, very poor. However, they have enough to eat. No one was hungry. There’s no shortage. I mean there is a shortage, but nobody goes without food or without clothes. And there are beggars, I recall. There lot of beggars. And maybe there one or two beggar who doesn’t have home. But every beggar has a home. [Laughs.] And all that. And the beggars will come and beg, and you know these, I recall those big families. We have this, the eighth of every month, 15th of every month because of the full moon day, eight is quarter, and new moon day. They give lot of food to the beggars, the big families. I seen it. They bring about 50-60 bags of barley flour, 50-60 bags of wheat flour, and a lot of butter, lot of tea, was put in the courtyard because the beggars will come.

0:45:09.0.

So then the beggars will be filled up the courtyard. And then they will go out one by one and everybody will give one big bag of barley flour, wheat flour, rice, and tea, and butter. That’s how they generous really was. I mean it is nothing unusual. Every well to do families will do that every those days. But every day else, when they come, they give little bit. But those days are the really, they have huge measurement. They give each person whole food no matter how many bags, 50, 60 will go that day itself. But even then, that was generosity. The old Tibet have it. When we talk about generosity, we are not talking about simple visualization. It is own truly practice. Not only we give to these beggars, but also the monasteries. Monasteries does every day somebody giving something, either money or food. Food was there, but you know materials like barley or the barley powder, they give you little bag, little bag, almost every day. So another way of doing the generosity is offering to the monasteries.

0:48:01.2.

So because the monks are not supposed to be engaging in moneymaking business, they’re supposed to be engaging for spiritual activities, but though it may not be true all the time. The monks make much more money than anybody else. And monasteries are so rich just like Catholic church here. Just like that, monasteries are so rich. And you have no idea the biggest land lot, biggest person who give you loan. The loans, you know they give you loans. So loan. You know, money loan. Like the rice in loan, wheat in loan. And then there go your thousands of pounds, thousands of bags, and then they collect them double. [Laughs.] And the time of harvesting, that’s how the monasteries made money too. From the generosity point of view that’s how people live. Giving to the beggars. Giving to the monasteries. Beggars will come to your home to get it. But for monasteries you go there and offer. That is how it was. Buddhism is also not just one. The first earlier Indian teacher, Guru Padmasambhava, came in and they Guru Padmasambhava studied from there comes the Nyingma tradition. And then of course Sakya tradition. And followed by the Kagyu tradition.

0:51:07.0.

And then 1400s then the Gelugpa has sort of revolutionized earlier Buddhist teachings and reformed. And also discipline and morality issue becomes very important and becomes the Gelugpa tradition starting from [0:51:37.1 junga?] Lama Tsongkhapa. And of course, the quarrel between two. There’s my is superior, yours is superior, yours is bad, my is good. And that is normal human nature that took place as well. But whatever it may be, all of them developing so well. It is like a really blooming, great blooming. Then came the day, ’59 day. So what does communist Chinese call it? Call it wrathful liberation. [Laughs.] Guns. And that’s it. Tibetans last one day. Within the one day the Dalai Lama administration is completely collapsed. And that is the day the Tibetan Buddhism died in Tibet. Whether it is Sakya, Nyingma, Kadyu, Gelug. Whatever, including [0:53:47.2 pambos?] and even all others. Everybody died that day.

0:54:02.4.

Dalai Lama escaped to India. Only handful of people followed him. Like population in Tibet those days is six to eight million according to the Chinese counting. But only about 100,000 followed Dalai Lama. Rest of them remained. Teachers, scholars, great masters remain in the monastery and the retreat areas. So then they collected. Everybody dragged out of caves, monasteries, rooms, everything collected in the big field. Some people they told them, you have not gone to your homeland for 20 years. It is way overdue. Here you go. They put them in [0:55:47.5 bosom room out???] truck put them out. Some of them they told, you are reactionary. Put them in jail. Some of them are told, some of them told, you have done so much thinking you haven’t done any physical, so therefore you have to go to the farmers to work with the farmers. Followed by culture revolution came. So under one [0:56:44.2 pretext? practice?] or two [pretext? practice?] or whatever, the Tibetan Buddhism completely died in Tibet. 1959.

0:57:03.6.

Whatever is available today is [0:57:08.8 the level diversijus??] left over in India. They started re-breathing, re-studying. So that is what had happened historical point of view. And you know how Tibetan Buddhism is really helpful to the individual, so you know yourself because it doesn’t make it big deal of worshipping. It doesn’t make big deal out of like organized religions manner. But it deals with the individual. Deals with the individual mind and individual mental issues solving suffering--mental, physical, emotional. Try to solve. Everybody tried to claim to solve it, but difficult. But this one does, as many of you personally experience. This one really does. But the situation of the Tibetan Buddhism is like that. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the person who start to restarted that Tibetan Buddhism from a little spark of fire to whatever it is today. And to me Tibetan Buddhism does not remain, doesn’t remain within the organizations.

1:00:09.3

Does not remain within the monasteries. It just remain within the individual. This is definitely a dying culture for sure. Even today it’s a dying culture. But the beauty of the Tibetan Buddhism is, it is interpersonal. It’s not external. It’s not show biz. It is interpersonal. Solving our emotional and mental difficulties. Doesn’t even depend on the worshipping Buddha. Caring of people. Love of people. Compassion of a person. And that is essence of Tibetan Buddhism. Remains with each and every one of us including you. Either whether you are Buddhist or not Buddhist, whatever you may be you have goodness of human nature, good within you. Good heart. Kind, caring, compassion, which you have demonstrated by accepting refugees even. So really honestly. So that is the real essence of Buddhism whether it has name in it or not. That’s how I look. And that’s my presentation of Tibetan Buddhism. I guess that’s it. And I was told you have to take a break and maybe they give you biscuit. Or no? I don’t know. Normally we do have a biscuit here. Right? And so then we have some discussions. Right? Thank you. Well, I’d really like to thank you, all of you, again. Every time I get here all of you comes once or twice. So thank you. I hope it will help, some help for you as well.

1:03:57.2.