Archive Result

Soundfile 20151112GRJHNL (2)

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Jewel Heart Netherlands

Topic Tibetan Buddhism

Transcriber Janet Bourgon

Date Dec. 11, 2021

0:00:00.0.

[Dutch]

0:01:16.5. [Audience] Rimpoche, you talked extensively about the refugee issue in Europe. And of course it’s very nice to have compliments from you for Europe that we receive these refugees. The question remains, however, what we individually and as Jewel Heart, could do to help the refugees, particularly here in Nijmegen.

Rimpoche: We talk about the love and compassion. We meditate love and compassion. So now you have somebody who’s seeking love and compassion on your door knocking. So it is important to acknowledge them and receive them and help whatever you can without sacrificing yourself. This is also important. Compassion and action, compassion in action is very important, but you should do compassion action whatever you can, not beyond your limit. Because sometimes we over carry. We over carry. We sacrifice our own work, our own health, our own things.

0:03:02.0.

And then we totally engage in that sometimes. The situation will demand that. Because you know, when you’re refugee, you have a lot of problem in addition to being a refugee. The father is sick. The mother is sick. The child is sick. And then the whole family is sick. So when you’re helping them you need a lot of attention, but also important to look after yourself and manage. Otherwise, you’ll do everything you can and tomorrow you get sick. And then you can’t help anymore. Anymore. So it is very important and I’m really happy we have a person here. Now, my apologies, I don’t see much. We have Claire somewhere around here? That’s you? Oh good. So anyway, she does a lot of refuge work. I admire, and very good. And the sangha action does that, right, too? So whatever you can, you should do with your limits.

[Audience.] Individually, or also as an organization?

Rimpoche: I’m talking about both. Actually, organization is nothing but the individuals. Truly. Individual is also, so collection of individual is society. Collection of a lot of individual is public. Honestly. There is no public beside individuals. There is no organization without individuals. So it is the same thing, whether it is organization does in organization manner, or individuals does individual matter. So the most important in our Jewel Heart is concerned, as far as I know, the people. Whatever the people wants do. And that’s what it is. Honestly. Honestly. So, that’s really what it is. And so it is the individual who makes, who shapes the organization. Honestly. The organization doesn’t shape individual. Individual shapes the organization. That’s my understanding. Could be wrong.

[Audience.] Well, we have something to think about. So if individuals who take initiative, you know, interesting thing.

0:06:00.8.

Rimpoche: Yeah, individuals take initiative and it will become the society initiative. Who else? Even single individual can’t do much. They have to get couple of people together. Society. That’s how it work, I think.

[Dutch translation.]

0:07:27.3. Rimpoche: Thank you.

[Audience.] Rimpoche, as a follow-up question on this. When you look at how we try to develop ourselves, we do this by watching the mind what you also said in your talk. But is there also something that we can work on? Maybe a Buddhist society, a Buddhist way of management, a Buddhist way of education?

Rimpoche: Interesting question. I personally don’t think Buddhist way of education, well, yeah, Buddhist society, that’s fine. But Buddhist way of education, I’m not sure. I don’t know. Because you know the education system what you have in the west is so great. Honestly. Far superior than the education system that is available in the Buddhist countries such as Burma and Bhutan or Sri Lanka or Mongolia or back in Tibet.

0:09:05.6

But you know the education system the west is so great. Honestly. So superior than anywhere else. So I don’t know whether we want it diluted that by calling a Buddhist way. That’s questionable to me because education, of course it is very, very important in Buddhist way. Enlightenment is the ultimate result of Buddhist achievement. Enlightenment is nothing but fully, purely educated, learned. No more learning it’s called enlightenment. So therefore education is important. But whether you want it inject [0:10:10.1] a Buddhist way of education in the society which has a great education system. If it’s helps, by all means. If it’s harms, if it’s dilute, not welcome. So I think we have to think about it that. And everything Buddhist way is not necessarily that great. Anyway. [Laughs.] I don’t mean the Buddhist, Buddhists are also human beings. They quarrel among themselves. And they have jealousy as you do. And about the sectarians also they do. So whether you want educate that or not. So I don’t think you do want that. So that’s how I think, but whatever the best for the people that is our goal. That is our end. Whether it’s Buddhist way, or Christianity way, Catholic way, or normal education. And to me the normal education is very superior and it is wonderful. Like each and every one of you are educated and that’s why you’re intelligent. Your mind works. Your intellect’s capacity is what the Indians call it ‘sky is limit.’ That is the result of your education. And sometimes religion’s educations are, religion’s educations they will inject lot of doctrine or dogma in that.

0:12:12.5.

So when you get doctrine and dogma, I don’t know whether it is welcome thing or not. But on the other hand, if you look at the Catholic, their education system is fantastic. Look at those volunteer mothers. They go to various underdeveloped countries and sit there, help for the school.

I had funny story popping up on my head. Maybe it’s not right to say. I used to run a refugee education center. It’s emergency refugee [0:13:07.3 it’s a?] school. And I do have a number of students are every day different. One day I have 2000. The next day I have 200. Some old very funny way because my is the transit. So refugees come and we will transit school. And then we will send to better schools for things. So that’s why transit school. So sometimes I have 2000 people. Sometime I have only 200. And I have a very difficult to run the school because number one the language. Number two the education. Number three the food. Number four the notations [0:13:58.7]. Number four the medicine. Number five the cloth. They’re all so difficult. The worst of all is the cleansing. Clean-ness. The Tibetans have come from the old cold country up there and never interested to wash. And we live in India. India, down in below the Dharamsala. So they need to be washed and we don’t have facility. So what I did, there’s a big river at the back of the school. So I took all the kids to the river. Like it or not, jumped them in the water. [Laughs.] Forced them jumped in the water. And then you know this is problem I have to admit. And I myself is even shamed of that today.

0:15:02.4.

And for me the kids are kids. I make them take their clothes off and jump in the water because I don’t want the smell, number one. Number two, many of them have cuts and worms in their head. And they have to be washed. So I sort of, I was the man in charge. Principal they call it. So I make everybody go in. And I don’t know some girls are 19, 20s. [Laughs.] So I pushed them down. But you know few of the girls went behind some kind of rock and sort of camping themself there. So but then I didn’t push them out. But later one of the teacher told me, Rimpoche, you been monk until now, so you don’t know. But these are the grownup girls. They don’t take their clothes off. So I’m really shamed of that even today. This is some 50, 60 years. And then these Catholic nuns there. So helpful. Honestly. And they sort of go in between and handle them so nicely. Okay, that’s it. I’ll cut there. And there much more stories anyway.

0:18:01.0.

Okay, good. So you were right.

[Audience] Rimpoche, you were, you described five forms of education in the monasteries traditionally. Now here in Jewel Heart we focus on studying and meditation. What interests me is these other forms of education. Do they form an equal path of development? In other words, is it necessary to study and meditate first to develop qualities? And then act them out in your life? Or is it also a path of development to start acting out doing things? Helping other people or maybe other active things and developing from that. So because it could help other people, or some people, to have another entrance into spiritual practice. Could you please comment on that.

Rimpoche: Would you like to translate that? Oh, you want say in Dutch.

[Dutch.]

0:21:01.2.

I think it is very, very important question. I think we, the Tibetan teachers who are teaching in the western people, like organization like Jewel Heart, or Tibet House in Germany, or all other centers like [0:21:50.7 FMT?] and the Sogyal Rimpoche’s Rigpa Center, and all that type of what we call it western dharma center. And I think we do really need we do all explanation on that. How come we are only bringing one important subject but not bringing all other, all other? They are all other, there are certain organizations bring medicine, the Tibetan medicine which is based on the Indian ayurvedic medicine. And some organizations have astrology. The Tibetan astrology is really based on Chinese astrology. So, as some organizations have little bit of this. For example I do remember [Conjae?] Rimpoche has used to have a Tibetan doctors in his centers. And all that. They do. But most of us are, we’re giving only one subject. Like say Jewel Heart. What we’re emphasizing. We’re emphasizing Lam Rim. Lam Rim. Very much in Lam Rim. And little bit of Vajrayana. That’s not so much. Little bit of Vajrayana. The reasons why, this is important. Reasons why, we need, we in the sense the western sangha, people who are interested in the Tibetan Buddhism.

0:24:11.6.

They needed help. Help of really solving mental agony. Emotional problems. And it is more urgent need than philosophical thinking, and the background of it like history or related matters. So first foremost we try to deal with the problems that bothering, immediate problem. That is mental unhappiness, dissatisfaction. And wanted to help something. Simply looking for happiness. In the west you have a quite good development of material life. Far better than Buddhist countries. Far better than Buddhist countries. Yeah, really. If it’s too hot outside, we can turn the air condition on and make it cold. If it’s too cold outside, we can turn the heater on.

Heat on. We can make it warm. And we can make it building much more comfortable, and like the Jewel Heart building. This is become very comfortable. A wonderful building. Remember, it was a little funny warehouse type of thing years ago. So, but that way, that development of this are material development and that education and dedication and mind is far better than, far better than what they developed in Buddhist countries. But the difficulty was the mental problem. The mental in the sense, I’m not saying you are crazy, but mental in the sense it’s more emotional problem. Dissatisfaction. And a desire problem. So to deal with these problem is of course Lam Rim.

0:27:07.3.

Nothing better than Lam Rim. Honestly. Nothing better than Lam Rim. You can say anything else. I meditate and buddhas comes to me and talk to me. Blah, blah, blah. But that doesn’t make you anything different. Well, help a little bit. And we do have people in Jewel Heart, educated famous people. Tara comes and talk to that person. And they do. It’s not that they don’t, but they do. But, they’re all the result of Lam Rim. Result of Lam Rim. And then some people who have very difficult living because of their personality. They don’t get along well with their wife. They don’t get along well with their kids. And they have very difficult life. So couple of years of Lam Rim, they change. They change. And I won’t name it because that person is little well known. But have a guy who separated from his wife. Who his daughter is in the Harvard university don’t want talk to the father, and all that. And suddenly he changed. And then the ex-wife comes back saying, what happened to you? You changed. And the daughter loved the father better than ever. And they get along well. So these changes are making people little happier, little better. So these are done by Lam Rim in my case. In the Gelugpa case it is the mostly it’s Lam Rim that make difference. And that’s why we emphasize on that much more than the philosophy or the whether the self exist or not exist, you know. Or sometime we have to deal with that, but that was put in the back burners a little bit. But somehow will gradually we’ll deal. And compassion which is very strong need of it. Because without compassion, without love, you get nowhere.

0:30:02.6.

Nowhere. So these studies in the centers in my case it’s our case Jewel Heart. But I’m sure all other centers did the same reason. Same reason. So emphasize what’s basically on the Lam Rim because it deals with our tough difficulty, harsh mind. And it really shows you. And if you meditate, it becomes a part of you, of your life. It’s not that you changed your religion. It’s not that you shave your head and run around, run around like a Hari Krishna type of thing. Ching, Ching, Ching, Ching, Ching. You know, it’s not that type. But you know, you be yourself. You have a beautiful hair of yours. Keep on your beautiful makeup. But then internally you changed. You’re much more happier. You’re more satisfied with life. And you get along well with your family better. You get along well with your in-laws better. You get along well with your children better. So that’s why we emphasize this much more than even meditating. Even, I mean without meditation doesn’t go. But still this more than philosophy. Way of life is much more emphasized. That’s what I think, and I think the Tibetan teachers do owe explanation to the western sangha. Why you did this. And it is important because you know at the beginning they have no idea. You’re the only one who knows. So however you’re going to guide, it is now like Jewel Heart after many years and they have their system set up. And it have its own way of going. Now if someone comes and try to change it’s not so easy. So it’s setup. But I do owe that explanation to you why we emphasize that. Because of the problems we face. Because of the need of the people. And that is why we did it. And it been a little helpful to some people. To some people it’s a waste of time. So sorry.

0:33:01.9.

But even it help one person it’s a great achievement. Honestly.

[Dutch]

[0:35:27.5 Audience: Rimpoche, you said in your talk that Tibetan Buddhism died in 1959. But then His Holiness the Dalai Lama with one spark revived it again. My question is, has it changed? What grew out of this spark to what it is now? Is there a change when comparing it from Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet?]

0:36:00.3.

This is interesting, trouble-making question. The Buddhist practice in Tibet and Buddhist practice in India today is there slightly difference? I think there is. I think there is. Number one, talking about the scholars. The scholars that come out of Tibet, come in Tibet, those scholars are far more wise, more learned than the scholars coming out of India. Much more. Much more. Almost no comparison. And those scholars who are okay, and reasonably okay type, if you get today it almost becomes superior today. So that much scholarship difference. And now the Tibetan Buddhism in India seems to emphasize much more [0:37:49.8 Nalanda?] tradition. [Nalanda] tradition is great earlier Indian scholars, teachers who are really deeply involved in the Buddhist philosophy. So [Nalanda] tradition may be the source of Gelupa studies, really coming from [Nalanda] tradition, and that was very much emphasized today, which is great. But also there are traditional adepts, mahasiddhis, and people in the retreat who are doing lifelong retreat, and all of them. And they’re not so much emphasized today.

0:39:05.0.

And that is slightly difference. And, but on the other hand, after learning the [Nalanda] tradition style of learning, after that then the individual retreating practice, it’s go to the same thing here in Jewel Heart and all other dharma centers too. Some of the dharma centers have a facility for meditators, but we don’t. We don’t. We leave the meditation and the practice up to the individual. So we provide the information. We provide the guidance information. And then after collecting the information within you, how you going to practice is up to you. We don’t tell you, now you sit in the retreat. Now you do this. Now you do that. Why? You’re not in kindergarten. You are [0:40:16.3 going? grown?] out of university. So you know what to do. We don’t tell you what to do. So honestly, we provide you the information. You take it. You digest. And then you do whatever you wanted to do. You do whatever you wanted to do. And because even you do nothing, you carry the information. It will remain with you. Even life after life it will affect you. But we don’t provide you, now time for you to do retreat. Or, now you come sit over here. But we don’t have that. Some centers do. What they call it, do this. Not learning center but more practice pushing the center. But then you know whatever they supposed to do, is what they have learned in the learning center. So we provide the learning here. And then the information is yours. After that you do whatever you wanted to do. Nobody owns you. Nobody has power over you. Nobody has control over you. You do whatever you want to. We needed something, we request you. This is request, not order. Request you. You can say yes, or you can say no. That is your choice. So exactly we did the same thing when you set up the learning. Information was more important because you’re educated person so you know what to do with it. Thank you.

0:42:00.8

[Dutch]

[0:44:15.0. Audience: Rimpoche, thank you very much for your inspiring and interesting talk tonight. I just invited the people to come tomorrow as well on your behalf. So, see you tomorrow.]

Rimpoche: Thank you. Thank you so much.

0:44:49.0. End.