Archive Result

JHNL Delam 2016 Fall Retreat (videoed in from Rimpoche’s home studio)

20161119GRNLDelam1- Saturday

0:00:03.8 Good afternoon. Hallo. I can see Hartmut, and the President….. 0:00:26.6. I see Cleo and Mariet. Welcome to your retreat. What did you do today?

Hartmut: Hans did introduction and some body work, then meditation. Then we watched your first video on equanimity and that all sentient beings are our mothers.

Rimpoche: Is Alfred there? Is Marion here? Is umdze-la here?

Hartmut: She is not here today.

Rimpoche: The last couple of times when I asked about here, she didn’t seem to be there. Anyway, that’s fine. Thank you. I was told to talk about equanimity. If you have watched the video and already discussed it, I may not have much to add.

How many people are here?

Hartmut: 41 here today

Rimpoche: Are there any brand-new people?

Hartmut: No, Rimpoche.

0:04:48.9 Rimpoche: This retreat is on what?

Hartmut: on the Mahayana aspect of Delam.

0:05:04.9 Rimpoche: So, no brand new people, so everyone there has been a number of years in Jewel Heart, or are there people who have been there a year or so. I just want to get an idea of where people are at. When I see them, I can normally figure out, but when I don’t see you it is a little difficult. So how many senior, how many younger ones?

Hartmut: We asked for people to raise their hands if they have been with Jewel Heart for more than 10 years and it is most of them.

Rimpoche: Is Inge Eijhout here?

0:06:26.7 Hartmut: Yes, she is translating.

Rimpoche: Is Roland here? – Hartmut: yes.

Rimpoche: Siliva? – Hartmut: not, not here today, but will come on Monday.

0:07:09.6 Rimpoche: I just want to say that the Netherlands Jewel Heart is the first group or center of Jewel Heart, even before the United States. I have been in Holland perhaps for 35 years, I didn’t count, but in the beginning, a Dutch woman, Helen [van Hoorn], started the group. She was in India, as a semi-hippie/yuppie combination. She was not totally a hippie or a yuppie, but was learning in Dharamsala and also did retreat there. She attended teachings given by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche mostly. She had a little house, close to Kyabje Ling Rinpoche’s residence, maybe part of Tushita. The FPMT had a center there, with lots of individual rooms. There were quite a number of 2 room houses. So I think she was living in one of those and attended teachings mostly from Kyabje Ling Rinpoche.

My connection to her was that Kyabje Ling Rinpoche sent me to help her with a fire puja for Vajrayogini. So I went there to say the prayers. I didn’t know how to draw the fire puja mandala, so somebody else did that and I said the prayers for her. Since then, we began our teaching and learning relationship for a number of years. I lived in Delhi, not in Dharamsala. So then she moved to Delhi and rented a little room near where I was staying, in a place called Defense Colony. The Indian retired military officers had been given a little area where they could build houses and that was called “Defense Colony.”

0:12:01.9 So I rented my residence there and she rented a small room somewhere around there, either in the same building or the next, joining building. For two, three years she stayed there and attended whatever I taught and she requested a lot of different teachings. And whatever I did in my house, she would also come and help. It was unlike Europe and America. In India you have helpers. It’s not so expensive. When I lived in the Defense Colony, I had a cleaner/sweeper who would come every day and I had a cook living in. Occasionally I had a driver. But then Helen came in and helped with everything, cleaning and sweeping and everything, although there was a sweeper. But she did the sweeper’s job and she looked after my correspondence, wrote letters for me in English and did everything and also occasionally she cooked. She was not a great cook.

0:14:39.6 She was a wonderful philosopher, and held a perfect view of socialism – not really communism. That was a wonderful political view. And her main goal was to get herself enlightened and she liked to contribute to her fellow Dutch people for them to have the opportunity. She was staying in Delhi and was hoping to have an opportunity for Dutch people. She wrote to her friends and invited them over to Delhi and so on. Marianne van der Horst came and visited. So we called her “Marianne Delhi”. And she is still sitting there in retreat today in Nijmegen. Marianne Delhi, remember?

0:16:25.0 Marianne: Yes, I remember.

0:16:32.1 Then, when Helen went back to Holland, she invited me to come there and she started a little group with some friends that included Marianne Delhi, Marianne Soeters, Piet Soeters and Len Kosse and little Helen who came one year later along with Ed Houppermans. Is Carl there today?

0:18:01.2 Carel: Yes, I am here.

Rimpoche: How is Marianne Soeters doing?

Carel: A little stable, but more and more forgetful. She gets some homecare now and they are managing quite okay.

Rimpoche: Does she walk?

Carel: Yes, her heart is a little better and she has a pacemaker now. But she needs a lot of help to do her daily chores, with washing and dressing, etc. Nurses are coming over twice a day and they also have a cleaner in the house twice a week. But they walk every day and do some shopping. I see them every week and for now I am not seeing any big changes.

0:18:57.8 Rimpoche: Does she drive?

Carel: No, not at all. Piet does everything.

Rimpoche: Good thank you, that’s very nice to hear. You know, illness is such a thing we all will go through. It is not that we can avoid it or anything. But it is great that it doesn’t have to be so difficult. I can you see you standing, Carel. Please sit down. For you it is difficult to stand up – or did you lose a lot of weight?

Everybody: No.

0:20:02.4 Oh my God, everybody is answering. Anyway, that’s how Jewel Heart started. Since then we established Jewel Heart as a Mahayana Buddhist study group, and then it became a center and particularly in the Gelugpa oriented tradition. That is how we set it up so many years ago. So many people have come and a lot of you are still there. Quite a number of people also left. But whatever it is, not so many left. Most of you are still there. So, it has been wonderful.

0:21:15.1 Our aim and purpose is to help ourselves and to serve all living beings. To help ourselves, we follow the teachings and engage in meditation practice, saying mantras and we are a Vajrayana organization. Don’t think that we are not Vajrayana. We are. We restricted Vajrayana a little bit at the beginning, because we did not want everybody to be thinking, “I am a tantric person”. So we restricted a little bit and then occasionally, it has become a little over-restricted. When that happens, we are depriving people of the opportunity. In those days we did not have that much worry, but nowadays, yes, we do worry a lot, because most of us are getting aged and I can see even when I am looking at you I can see gray hair and bald heads, not like it used to be.

0:23:19.4 When Helen was there, Carel, me and a couple of people used to go and drink beer at night. We got those big mugs and bang them against each other even break them. Remember those days? That’s different. All opportunities were right in front of us with a long way to go. Now, it is shorter and getting shorter. Therefore, the opportunity to introduce Vajrayana is great. I am so glad you had Dagyab Rinpoche visit. That was wonderful. I believe Zong Rinpoche came this past spring. And Glenn Mullin came in June, right? Was it okay with him?

0:25:27.8 Karin: Well, a lot of people started laughing now. There were different experiences. Some people found it great, others were hesitating.

0:25:42.7 Rimpoche: Glenn is a very good practitioner. His behavior is a little bit funny. Late Gelong-la invited him to Malaysia and he was involved with a couple of young girls and had quite a lot of difficulty. Particularly, the Chinese society is very….I don’t know if they have perfect morality or not, or a perfect way of pretending to have morality. So in that case someone who is a bit of a loose cannon is quite an inconvenience for them. So we had a little difficulty there. But he is a great teacher and very good Vajrayana practitioner. Sort of a semi….He goes round saying that he is enlightened. By the way he says it he is not necessarily claiming that he is a perfect buddha, but that he is enlightened. So I don’t really go so much into detail of what he is saying, but I am presuming he means that he is learned. And that is true: he is very learned. He was one of those very early western Dharma students in Dharamsala, studying with Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, Serkong Zhenshab Rinpoche from the early 1960s on.

0:28:37.7 By 1964-65 he had become quite efficient in Tibetan language. And he began to translate Tibetan pecha books, using a type writer. I don’t think we had computers back then. He consulted everybody who had a little knowledge about the subject, checking and cross-checking everything very carefully and he also had collected a number of western people who were interested in Dharma, about 15 or more and he rented a building by himself in Dharamsala, in the midst of Dharma activities, I think near the Library. He lived there and did a lot of Dharma work. He and Robert Thurman, Jeffrey Hopkins and these were the earliest people who studied Tibetan Buddhism. He became a sadhu type, while Thurman and Hopkins became academic professors. The other guy was not an academic professor, but worked for a very wealthy Chinese shipping company owner, based in New Jersey. He used to be the 16th Karmapa’s student and benefactor.

0:32:02.0 So he employed that other guy, I forgot his name, Stephen or something and gave him the job to take care of studying and promoting and collecting and publishing books, etc. in his institute and that guy is still working there now, even after 30, 40 years.

0:32:49.8 Then of course there was Alex Berzin and then I don’t remember. There are one or two Italians too and a lot of Japanese. All the Japanese belonged to different institutions, including a number of museums. They also studied Tibetan Buddhism in Dharamsala. Actually, quite a number of Japanese. They are always very organized. They come in, they go back, the come in and go back. But they belong to institutions and they all become professors. There were 16 or 17 of them. That is how Tibetan Buddhism developed in western society, as far as I saw it and whatever I remember. Maybe if I can write it down, maybe it is useful.

0:34:49.5 Though I was not involved with everybody, I saw it. That is focusing mostly on the Gelugpa development. Then not only the Gelugpas, but also the Kagyupas and Nyingmapas and Sakyas, and there were also a number of people. One person I forgot: Gene Smith. He was quite early too, 1961. He came as a student from Seattle University of Washington, doing his PhD in India. That was probably in 1964, 1965. The Rockefeller Foundation gave a grant to 11 Tibetans to go to various universities to study and teach language, culture and religion. I was selected as part of these eleven.

0:37:05.5 The eleven of us were selected and went to various institutions, including Tarab Rinpoche. He was selected from there and first went to Holland, to Leiden University. Also Rechung Rinpoche. He stayed there for about 3, 4 years and then came back to India and then Tarab Rinpoche went to Denmark, to Prince Peter’s Library. That was the first Rockefeller grant. I was not selected in the examination process – I was defeated by my late wife, who was chosen to go to Japan. The Japanese professors came and Dharamsala named me. My late wife belonged to the Tsarong family and her relations wanted to send her to Japan. Japan has a very special relationship with the Tsarong family. So they selected her and gave me a nice excuse. So I was not among those eleven. Samdong Rinpoche and Dagyab Rinpoche also stayed behind a little bit and then he went to Germany to Bonn University as language instructor. Bukhang and Panglung Rinpoche were among the 11. Panglung went to Munich and Bukhang went to Bonn. He was a full-fledged lecturer or Professor.

0:40:46.0 This is to briefly give you the background of how Tibetan Buddhism developed and then the centers gradually developed and through Helen’s efforts and a little contribution from me Jewel Heart came into existence. And it has served a number of people and I am so grateful and so proud and I feel so good about contributing and introducing Buddhism in the middle of nowhere, actually, in Europe and America. These are not Hindu-Buddhist territories. But the open mind of western people, the importance of Buddhism and the great interest and enthusiasm of individuals, these are here to serve western people and they have their right to serve and we have been able to provide them and it is great and I am very proud and it is wonderful and thank you to all of you. Even before, those who are with us and those who have passed away, like Helen and other people, a number of them. So we thank you.

0:43:02.7 Then of course, Marianne Soeters took over the responsibility, for about 13 – 15 years, working together with the help of Marianne van der Horst and Piet and other earlier friends. She has done so much. She took up the transcripts. Today we have over 40 [book-length] transcripts. Most of them were done in Holland by Marianne Soeters. Carel helped, I am sure, I have no doubt, then Piet. He has something very specific about his Dutch language. Then Marion Wierda came. She might have done a couple. There were a number of people in the transcript group and they functioned for years, until Hartmut came in here and took over the continuation of what Marianne Soeters did. But there is still much more to be transcribed and to be written, so I hope the Dutch people will do more.

0:45:28.6 But the great thing is that the Dutch are not English speakers. They speak Dutch. But they did that in English. That is great and wonderful. That is the great contribution of Dutch Buddhists in general and particularly the Jewel Heart group and very specifically, Marianne and the small group that was involved, including Piet Soeters. That I think has been one of the major achievements in Jewel Heart. Then you have this huge, wonderful building. A number of people have selflessly worked together, all the time. Every time I have come, there was something new and something better, something bigger. By now it is almost complete. But still, I think there is still some work left – which should also be completed. You should do it. Don’t drop the idea. You know why? Because, if I can go there and do some retreat or something, a number of people will have a place to stay and can rent a room and all that and also, you may be able to rent out something….you will figure out, you people are great and you will figure it out. So it will be useful. Don’t drop the idea.

0:47:43.7 That is our great second achievement. It is a great, wonderful center. And then, the individual development. That is our major thing. I give teachings and we have invited great teachers like Dagyab Rinpoche, Dagpo Rinpoche, and Zong Rinpoche came and Chungtsang Rinpoche, I hope will be able to work with the Dutch people. He is a good lama, a great guy. I knew the previous Chungtsang Rinpoche. He did not show himself as very learned, but he was a great, great, spiritually development person. The Dagyab Rinpoche we know is Dagyab Chetsang Rinpoche, and Chungtsang is Dagyab Chungtsang. Chetsang means the one with the bigger house, Chungtsang the one with the smaller house. There are so many earlier Tibetan lamas like that. Both are from Dagyab, so they are very good. Both are formally known as Dagyab Kyabgön. Both later, the Dagyab Chetsang has more become the Dagyab Kyabgön. But whatever.

0:50:13.7 I also thought it would be a good omen for Tibetan Buddhism to have Dagyab Chetsang Rinpoche and Germany and Dagyab Chungtsang Rinpoche in Holland. That will be good. Also, Chungtsang’s knowledge is going to be more than adequate for the needs in the west in general, not very particularly Holland and Jewel Heart, but in general. And Chungtsang Rinpoche may be very rich in the lineages, just like Dagyab Chetsang Rinpoche is. Particularly, Chungtsang Rinpoche is following Tokden Rinpoche, who is very, very rich in the oral transmission tradition. So Chungtsang Rinpoche seems very good in this. He received all the Collected Buddha’s works oral transmissions, and the oral transmissions for all the Collected Works of most of the earlier Tibetan Gelugpa teachers, whatever is available in the oral transmission lineage. I think he received them. Now he has received the transmissions of the shastras, all the teachings traditions of the earlier Indian Buddhist masters, that’s 200 volumes.

0:52:20.9 So he will be very rich in resources, particularly the oral transmissions. A number of people may think that the oral tradition will not be that useful or that necessary, because they will just keep on reading in Tibetan and we don’t understand. But it is the backbone. It is the backbone and will be very good for our Jewel Heart. I hope it will work. I think Mr. President is making sure he will get his visa. The last time the visa didn’t work out. In India, every western countries give a lot of trouble for visas, particularly young ones, because they are afraid they are going to stay and not go back. I think Chungtsang Rinpoche falls through the cracks last time. I hope it is starting to work now. So that’s one thing.

0:54:15.6 The Mahayana idea is based on compassion, love and the total altruistic compassion and love. That is based on equanimity. Equanimity, I was told by native English speakers, is a funny term, not really straightforward language. Equality or equanimity, I don’t know what it is. It may not be very straight forward. But what we call equanimity is based on equality. There is equality between you and me. It is the idea that nobody is above the law. All of those are part and parcel of equality.

0:56:07.3 Equality is also the basis and one of the principles of democracy, as you know much better than I do. So it is the good foundation for the eastern Mahayana/Vajrayana tradition and the basis for western democracy. That is: we are all equal. People say all kinds of things: we are created equally by God or in the eyes of God we are equal. Also we say that the law is blind. Everyone is equal and it sees no difference. So all these expressions give the message of equality. And that is absolutely right.

0:57:46.8 We are all equal. But all living beings are not equal. All human beings are more or less equal, but a number of human beings have a little set back or problems or handicaps. That is exceptional, other than that all human beings are equal. In other words, one is not superior to another, particularly as far as opportunity is concerned, the opportunity to pursue happiness.

0:58:44.5 To be free. These are the principles of democracy. So it is absolutely true, we are equal. But it is not equal with all living beings, because some living beings have too many limitations. Some cannot communicate, some are a little dull, some are physically not right, some of them have so much suffering, like the beings in the hell realms or the hungry ghost people, the animal realm people. That is not equal. To us the three realms of human beings, demi-gods and the god realms are equal on every point. So the principle of equanimity is equality.

1:00:24.2 So when we talk about equanimity here you are not superior to me and I am not superior to you. You are not inferior to me. I am not inferior to you. That’s what it is. That is the basis of equanimity. So when you are thinking that I am equal to you and you are equal to me, think from that principle rather than just the traditional lam rim way of thinking. If you think that way, it will totally make sense and equality will be easier. Then on top of that, look at the lam rim teachings on equanimity. It is almost the same anyway. It is just because of the awkward language. Thinking from Tibetan directly into English is responsible for a lot of awkward language to come in. So the more and more you are used to it you can smoothen it out with common language, common thinking. It is more or less common thinking and ideas that conveys more information than even language. Language is medium at best, but thoughts and ideas, particularly knowing the thoughts of western society and being able to translate as much as I could, is my fortune to serve you people. And that is not easy.

1:03:01.4 It took 30, 40 years of effort and even then I am not the best. I am not even that good. But it seems, not the worst either. So, and then not only you are not superior or inferior to me, your wants and wishes are not less important than my wishes. Your wishes and my wishes, what you want and what you don’t want, are equally important. That is how we begin to establish equality. Your desire to be enlightened, to be free of suffering, your desire to have information available to act, are also equal. So we all have responsibilities to fulfil this. That is also a very important part of this equality or equanimity. Since we have equal rights, what you don’t want and what you do want, has also fully standing human rights in society. Even if you are wrong, your right to be what you want to be is your right. The right to the pursuit of happiness and to pursue enlightenment, the right to practice extraordinary practices, they are all part of this – part and parcel of equality. It is equality. Not only are you and I equal, what you want and what I want has equal power and capacity.

1:07:08.5 It is a right. To be able to develop compassion is an equal right. When you try to develop compassion, you have a right to do so, because you want it. What you want for yourself, what I want for myself, may differ. But they are equal rights. So your right to have a Vajrayana practice is your equally important right as I want to practice my Vajrayana practice. That’s because it delivers enlightenment in a very short time and very quickly and easily. Otherwise, we talk about three countless eons of generating positive minds – three countless eons of perfecting oneself to become enlightened. Vajrayana is capable of delivering the goods into your hands very practically. That is also equality and equanimity within that. What you want, what I want, what people want, is all equal. We are also equal in that we don’t want suffer and we are equal in wanting happiness. We are also equal in wanting joy.

1:10:06.1 So equality you can take in so many ways. Start with practical, material equality first and then go into spiritual equality and you will easily develop.

1:10:32.6 I think that much I can talk to you today and tomorrow is the Sunday webinar. So you are going to listen to that and Monday I do not have dialysis, so I will be here, talking to you, just like today.

And thank you so much, it’s so wonderful of you to take responsibility of the retreat and each and every one of you who participates as presenter and each and every one of you who participates as retreat attendee I deeply, deeply thank you from the bottom of my heart. And thank you and welcome.

Any questions:

Audience: (Marja de Lint): is equanimity neutral or with feelings?

1:12:24.8 Rimpoche: with feelings, I talked to you just now for so long about it. So judge from there, honestly.

Audience: On the video, when talking about compassion, you said we need limitless thinking, otherwise compassion doesn’t work. What does that mean?

Rimpoche: In compassion you have compassion and greater compassion. The seed or root of bodhimind is greater compassion. Greater compassion is blind – like the law. It does not make distinctions between persons. My and your – there is no difference. Every being is included with everything. That’s greater compassion, so the subject or object on which greater compassion is focused, has no limits. There is no limit to me and you or to west and east. It is not limited to Caucasians or multicolored beings. There aren’t any limitations. That’s why it is limitless. But not every compassion is limitless. First you develop compassion for yourself, then yours, then neutral, then everybody else. I don’t mean yours, I mean my. First me and my, then yours and eventually everybody.

Audience: Can you develop equanimity if you still have an ego?

1:16:31.5 Rimpoche: Equanimity will really reduce ego tremendously. I think we have to work together. As a matter of fact, equanimity is a very good antidote for ego, although you get rid of ego only on the path of seeing, when you see emptiness. But this equanimity challenges ego tremendously, as we can see, as you just noticed. It is important.

1:17:31.4 How is Jon?

Cleo: He is probably tired, sleeping, on the sofa, resting from his work, but he is okay. Thank you.

Audience: Equanimity meditation of difficult persons, neutral person and friend. Is there another way?

Rimpoche: That is done because of the roughness of mind that makes the distinction between friends and enemies. It is sort of natural. Trying to reduce that is the first step. But I really talked to you today about the principle, the really core equality and dealing with our own culture and understanding of democracy. It is a shame to have a President elect as an ego guy, but it is also democracy. He has a right to be President too. That’s funny, isn’t it? Sometimes one man’s right supersedes that of a huge population and public and that’s probably the beauty and the disadvantage of people’s rights. Equality is interesting.

1:19:47.6 Thank you very much and I wish you the best retreat. Watch your mind in retreat, please, see if your mind is kinder or not, that goes without saying – watch your mind. Do not let negative emotions like pride, anger, hatred or even obsession disturb you. Watch your mind and be kind. Kindness always. Try to be kind. Kindness is always worrying about other people losing. That is the nature of kindness. These actions of mine, these thoughts of mine may not harm other people or make other people be the losers. That is kindness, that is compassion. Thank you and enjoy.

1:21:17.7 migtsema

next file from series: 20161120GRNLDelam2 is same as Sunday talk: 20161120GRAAST69

already transcribed.

20161120GRNLDelam2 - 20161120GRAAST69 Sunday

0:00:00.0 Thank you and welcome. Whenever I choose to come to the center to talk, there seems to be difficult weather. It happened three, four times before and in winter I am sure it will happen again and again.

The last week Sunday we totally talked about the election. But the election is the not the point. The point we made from the Dharma point of view is that if you are angry, you get hurt. This is a very good example of people who raised their anger and dislike and as a result they either refused to vote or voted against Hillary. I think the election, there is no question, was bigger than Hillary. I think the major economic plan is going to be trickle down economy. Not only Republicans but almost all wealthy people think that way. I mean the super-rich think that way. Everybody gets what is dripping down. That’s more or less going to be the economic policy. But on the social side we are going to lose tremendously. Economically, we are going to lose, but maybe they want to make sure that the Republicans are more capable than the Democrats and open up certain coal industries or something. If they do, there may be a little more employment.

0:03:23.4 Anyway, whichever way the administration has come, road building and infrastructure will definitely happen. Hillary had already declared she would do that and now they are trying to put up 3 Trillion Dollars for infrastructure projects, which may give immediate jobs to people, which is good and which could have been done by Obama, but it didn’t happen. I don’t want to repeat myself, but the Supreme Court will be very strongly conservative and the consequences of that you know. Hopefully, we won’t have a Third World War. This is very possible, very possible. I am not giving you as prediction, but it’s very possible.

0:04:44.8 But for us, we got hurt. I just wanted you to know that if you don’t vote, you think you just didn’t vote. But it means there is one vote less for the Democratic side, in this case. That means it becomes one vote plus for the other side in the Electoral College and then the whole thing goes. And people have been telling people that if you don’t vote, you vote against. They never thought that’s true. Some people thought it is just a ruse, trying to get your vote. But it is not. The voting system is very funny. One vote minus becomes one vote plus for the other side.

That’s why, even though Hillary got two million votes more, still she didn’t win, because of one vote minus becoming one vote plus. The voting system is such. That should really go away. It should be one man one vote. But the smaller states will have some difficulties, because their population is less, but anyway, whatever it is, let’s hope for the best.

0:07:24.3 Also we should have an open mind and see what’s going to happen. It may not necessarily be all black, but let’s see what happens. The biggest learning experience from this is that if we are angry we hurt ourselves. That’s exactly what happens and it is shown so clearly. The anger against Hillary or the Clintons or the wealthy or whatever, and also somehow during the Primaries Hillary has been projected as representing the wealthy on Wall Street. That somehow raised people’s anger and that anger did not go down and then suddenly the election came and the opposition came together in the last three days. The Republicans joined them together and they voted as a block. The Democrats were still angry and that’s what happened. Anger hurts yourself. No one else was hurt, not the Republicans, not the super-rich, not the corporations, not the hedge funds, but who was hurt? Poor people were hurt.

0:09:39.0 It is interesting. I thought that Obama Care was definitely going to go, even on the first day. Now I hear it may not be going at all, because No 1, there is no replacement and No 2, there are a lot of things they continuously want to have. So it may not be going out on the first day or week or in the first 100 days. They may change something to show they did something, but maybe it’s not going. Who knows.

0:10:31.1 So your anger hurts yourself. This is clearly demonstrated. You don’t know you are angry. You never think it’s going to hurt yourself. But the consequences are so clear: it does hurt you, so badly. That’s that.

0:11:07.3 As anger hurts you, so does obsession, hatred and everything. This is how the negative emotions are functioning within us. Everything we do we justify and we become a little blind, from the wisdom point of view. But you want to believe what you want to believe. That’s how negative emotions immediately, directly hurt us. Then you know the consequences of negative emotions quite well now. Anger is anger, no matter whether it is about politics, economics, personal or public or in society or whatever. Anger is anger. Hatred is hatred. It has its own consequences, no matter whatever it maybe. Even anger based on Dharma, on spiritual practice, has consequences. Anger based on religious sectarian actions has consequences. Honestly, anger is bad. Hatred is bad. It’s consequences are not exempt on the basis of religious beliefs. That’s why certain religions, including Buddhism, have bases or points on which you raise your anger. Honestly.

0:15:29.0 Very much sometimes. Some people get angry because you are going against Buddha. Some people get angry because you are not following the normal Buddhist norms. When that becomes anger, even though it is based on religion, it has it’s consequences. You are not exempt because you are admiring Buddha and someone is angry with Buddha and then you are angry with that person. Anger is anger and it has consequences. If you are angry with the one who is angry with Buddha you may have two different karmas developing. You get the dark anger karma and you get the virtue of admiring Buddha. They don’t cancel each other out. You have both. So knowing that, remembering that, realize that. Any justification of anger is just that: anger justification, honestly.

0:17:26.4 I am repeatedly saying this not because I am angry with the election results, or try to talk to you about that, but because it is such a direct demonstration of how anger controls people. Anger normally does not give you any good results at all. In some social justifications here and there anger may deliver, because people don’t act very strongly on social justice with love and compassion. We did not develop the passion of compassion very strongly that it burns like anger. We have automatic habits of anger pushing and strongly, so then the individual pushes. The result of delivering results is the individual’s effort, not the anger. But it looks like the anger did it, because anger pushes the individual. You redouble your efforts. So you get the consequences. That’s how it is. Yet you only realize afterwards.

0:19:34.3 That also, after long time of thinking. So does virtue too. Sometimes virtue gives you a little satisfaction. If you do your practice well, you get a little satisfaction. Other than that, the results are long time coming, there are no immediate indications. That’s why karma is so funny. You really don’t know. You don’t really have any indications of positive and negative results coming. There is and there is not. You have to be very much aware of it. So, personal awareness of compassion and love is important. That way the individual is kept in virtue. Negative actions will have less influence, if you keep compassion.

People got very excited during the elections. Many people kept anger as their base. There are few people who kept love and compassion as base, because it is compassion for people and particularly poor people when you think they are losing their social service, their environment, losing planned parenthood, etc. It’s not about losing Planned Parenthood as organization, but the effect of that on poor people. It’s about losing poor women’s right over her body. Seeing that with compassion for the people who are losing their rights. Some will never know until it happens to them and their family and then they will say “Why?” But that was already done on November 8, 2016. It was done then. But the question of “Why?” will only come when it touches your family or yourself or some of your friends.

Knowing that, having compassion for people, I try my best to see it that way. But it’s not that my anger didn’t pop up. It did. Anger and shock both popped up. Shock probably is neither virtue nor non-virtue. It’s neutral karma. It depends on the influence of the shock. It could even be obsession for the party you support or the candidate you support. If it is influenced by obsession or anger, then the shock is becoming negative. If it is truly a shock, not knowing, like being hit in the head with a stick without knowing anything, then it should be – it should be neutral. I am nobody to say if it is virtue, non-virtue or neutral, except by using my wisdom. I don’t have clairvoyance. So you don’t see that. But that should be.

0:26:54.7 Just like that, every action we engage in during our life, that’s how negative and positive goes in. Honestly. So that’s why karma is so subtle. Buddha says karma is subtler than emptiness. Wisdom of emptiness is difficult to comprehend. You have to get the idea, think about it, meditate and encounter it. It’s difficult, but the karmic understanding is even more difficult than that. It is so subtle, so vast, so much. Unless you become a fully enlightened Buddha I don’t think you can comprehend karma at all fully. Yes, it is easy to say that hurting animals is negative karma, that’s torturing and torturing human beings is negative karma. We can easily say that, because that is so gross. Then it goes more and more subtle and mental things are much subtler than physical ones. Even with mental things there are mixtures. And then, if one negative is strong within you it blinds you. You don’t see other consequences. So these are the karmic things functioning. So be aware of them. Don’t be so stubborn.

0:30:22.9 We are in our nature a little stubborn. A little stubbornness is with everybody. Everyone of us has that. It is in our positive and negative emotions that are overtaking the individual. The negative emotions will hide within ourselves as justifying our actions. Mentally, you justify. The reasons don’t have to be right to convince you or me, because my wisdom is not up to date. I notice myself, when I was in India, I got sick with tuberculosis. I got better, but when I got back to the United States, they gave me a skin test and that showed positive. Then they gave me an 11 months treatment. So every time I take a skin test, I test positive for tuberculosis. So I tell them, “I had an 11 month treatment for that, it’s okay.” But after I got sick this year, every skin test shows negative for tuberculosis. Just the opposite. Dr. Doris told me that’s because my immune system got hacked. When your immune system is not functioning, positive things show up as negative and negative things show up as positive, as far as the TB skin test is concerned. So when I need to go outside somewhere to get dialysis, they require a skin test, which now shows negative. I told my doctors and nurses once, but I didn’t register in their ears, because they see the test as scientific result. Then I kept quiet, because it is easier to go along with that. Sorry about that, but it is easier. If I raise it, that raises other questions. So best thing is to let it go and finish it off and come back, because it’s not going to change anything anyway and it’s not going to affect anything else anyway.

0:34:13.3 It’s showing negative now, not positive. So I kept quiet. Maybe that’s the influence of the 5th Dalai Lama telling us in his “Advice on the Two Systems” not to tell everything that is on your mind. Remember? In our normal system it may or may not be good advice. But the advice says: thoughts will come up. But every thought that comes up is not meant to come out of your mouth. If you do so, some of them will become lies. Normally, politicians know how not to do that. But Hillary doesn’t seem to know anything about it. That’s my reading. I am sure I am absolutely wrong, but she says whatever she thinks. Sometimes wonder why people say she’s crooked. That’s why it changes all the time, because it is directly from mind to throat to mouth. Then because of who she is, it becomes public. Tomorrow it will sound different, because the thoughts change.

0:36:35.7 So the 5th Dalai Lama says: raise your thoughts but don’t say anything, don’t even show it, especially if you want to hurt someone or take revenge on someone. Never indicate that.

0:36:54.4 Keep it within you. Analyze whether it is the right or wrong thing to do, not once, not twice, but thrice. Then you may realize that you may never want to engage. Then you drop the idea. If you think you still have to do something, then do it. Whatever attempt you want to make, do it right – even if it’s wrong. That’s what the 5th Dalai Lama tells you. Do it right so it has its effect, it’s result. Even if it is negative and you are going to pay the consequences and it is wasted. That’s what it is.

0:38:22.9 Some of these advices are from the 16th century, so they may or may not all be acceptable. Particularly the non-Dharmic advice, like taking revenge. Actually, they don’t say take revenge, but they say if you want to take revenge, just don’t say, “I take revenge.” Don’t announce it. That’s how they tell you. I was trying to take a little advantage out of these two systems, the material-political and the Dharma system and combine them into our live, which should be really beneficial to us. But some of those non-Dharma things are very questionable, even in our non-Dharma good society today, like this revenge issue. Don’t say it, don’t give warnings. All this is very questionable. When people give warnings about the war, then innocent civilians have a chance to hide or get away. That’s giving them some opportunity and there are a lot of positive deeds in there, though the consequences of destroying the enemy is much worse.

0:40:43.8 The enemies can run away but the innocent people are left. That’s the normal case. However, with a little warning, if you can save even one or two lives, it is worth it. So really to be telling you what’s right and what’s wrong is very difficult. Yet, each one of us is born with good human intuition and that is always very positive, more or less. Using that is very important. What makes you not use that is laziness. Laziness will take over in war actions. Laziness will not let you entertain your intuition, but will force you to go by the book. Sometimes it may not work. Again, sometimes intuition may go against books and that also gives you consequences. So life is difficult, honestly, when you are seriously thinking and to me this is Dharma. I don’t necessarily take Dharma as a ritual or worship or even meditation. I take Dharma as life and life as Dharma. Compassion-love is something extraordinary within that. It is always shining. Other emotions are gray, dark.

0:43:58.4 Compassion is really caring, thinking that the other people may get hurt by my actions, always wondering, always worried about other people losing, rather than you losing. I notice with myself, without effort, when my brother came to see me, I was always thinking that he shouldn’t be the loser, in dealing with anything. I began to think why. That’s probably caring, compassion. That tells me when you look at your loved ones, you don’t want them to be the losers, even against yourself. That’s a little questionable. When it goes against you, you would like to be the winner, because you are you. Many people think that way.

Earlier Tibetan lamas tells us this story:

There was a boy and he said, “When my father is fighting with other people, I like to see him win, because he is my father. When I am fighting with my father, I like to see me win, because it’s me.”

That’s what it is. So it needs efforts to get to the point that when you are dealing with your loved ones, you would like to be the loser and they should be the winners. But we don’t have that. We do have the equal level. That is easier for us to come to. But for me, I like to be the loser. I am not blowing my own trumpet, but honestly, that’s what I do. That’s why I don’t really care much about material things. And when you don’t care, you get more, honestly. Funny, eh? I used to like dresses, clothes, ties, etc. Some time back I noticed I had a little over 200 ties. So I brought them all to Jewel Heart in boxes and gave them to you people and even the ladies took them. I was happy. Then I looked at my shirts and I still had shirts that were made in 1966/67. From then onwards, I think I had over 200 and some of them are new. I was very ashamed. You know we always talk about Madam Marcos of the Philippines, who had 3,000 pairs of shoes or something. But more than 200 shirts is shameful, so I let them go one night. Now I have accumulated more again, not 200, but quite a lot in many colors.

0:49:46.3 That’s how it is. So the real compassion, the real love, the real care, would like you to be the loser and them to be the winners. I noticed that automatically with my brother. I told you. Sometimes with loved ones you do that, and you don’t notice. Sometimes you have to put effort in to get there. But then it should not be one’s brother or loved ones alone. It should be everybody. When you talk about love and compassion, it’s not that easy.

There was a question from Holland yesterday. I talked to them from my house. It is beautiful. I can just go downstairs and talk to them. I can talk to anybody and I talked to you people a number of times from downstairs. There was one question about the limits of compassion. I said it’s limitless. By the way, this glass here has become too heavy for me, I can’t lift it up anymore. Anyway, I need a lighter glass now.

So the question is whether compassion is limitless. It is limitless because of to whom you have compassion. To whom you have love is limitless. That’s rather strange. But also you should know it does not cut the intimacy of individuals. Love for us means you and me, who are full of delusions, will have no problems to have intimate relationships. We have jealousy, we have everything. But love should be love for all, for all the limitless subjects or objects of love and limitless compassion. So do not make distinctions between them. Sometimes people think that compassion is limitless and love is limited. No, love should be unlimited for everyone. That’s what Buddha said. How much that is practical, I don’t know. But that doesn’t cut our intimate relationships. We have enough delusions to hold that, really.

0:55:15.9 So these are a couple of practical things. I was planning not to say a word about the elections, when I was coming in. But it is too practical for us to miss the opportunity to know how negative emotions influence us, control us and affect us and justify us. That’s why also our purifications are never perfect, because we justify our deeds. Hurt is hurt, harm is harm, no matter who you harm, even yourself. I heard some people say, “I brought that person into the world and I have the right to terminate it.” You know mercy killings, right? They say that. But that’s absolutely not right. You have provided, you have facilitated bringing the person into the world, because of your attachment, not because of your love. It is because of my karma, because of the consequences of my deeds that I was born. No one has the right to terminate my life besides me. Even me, I have no right, unless I am sure about what I am doing, when I am positively, without doubt sure that I am not getting better. So no one has the right. So for me, the justification of mercy killing is invalid. Certain traditions deprive their children of medicine. In my eyes that’s wrong. I hope it’s not my delusion. Right and wrong is extremely difficult to tell.

0:58:46.0 Somebody’s right is somebody else’s wrong. That’s why it is really difficult. We were against Communist Chinese very much. I was a staunch anti-Communist in the late 50s, 60s and 70s. My projection of a Communist was somebody with fangs in an open mouth. The mouth they get people in there they cut them and take their blood. That was my impression. So at that time, my projection of everything that Communists did was that they are sucking the people’s blood. Right or wrong, I am still not sure. At that time, perhaps that was right. But then who took it? Nobody, right? That’s funny. We blame the leaders. Maybe, judging by how wealthy the Communist leaders became, maybe they did take everything. Otherwise, it doesn’t seem to be the case that the leaders are taking everything, but the second and third generations for sure, benefited tremendously.

1:01:04.3 So that’s why wrong and right is difficult. At that time, everything right for the Chinese was wrong for the Tibetans. Everything right for the Tibetans was wrong for the Chinese. So it was really difficult to judge for me in those days. By now, it is slightly different for me. Everything they do is not wrong and everything what we do is not right. Sometimes it is even the opposite. Everything we did had something wrong, everything they did had also something wrong. So everything is wrong now for me. So right and wrong is very difficult to judge.

1:02:30.4 Even if you take the conventional level of right and wrong one deeper, into emptiness, then everything is empty. But anybody can say that. Everybody can think that. And that might not be emptiness. In true emptiness you have to see things up here at the conventional level rather than taking the conventional level into the absolute level. The philosophical thought makes the division into conventional and absolute. Then we get the excuse to hide in the absolute or the conventional. We even openly say that “conventionally” or “absolutely” it is like this or that, creating different views contradicting each other. Both are not lies. They are not there.

1:04:00.5 So right and wrong is very difficult. So negative and positive are equally difficult. We have one advantage we can use: if it hurts anyone, including yourself, it is more or less negative. But in order to help, if it hurts a little bit, then it is questionable. Surgical treatment is violence, no doubt. They are cutting a piece of your body with weapons. That’s violence, no doubt. But it is violence without hatred, without anger, with love, with care, with the desire to help. It might not be negative, I don’t know. Hopefully not. That’s because of the motivation. It’s because of the purpose, not because of action. If the action becomes strong, if you get hurt, then it becomes negative, for sure. That much thought I will share with you today. Any questions?

1:07:21.7 Audience: Over the years, I have been following politics and notice that the aggregate of feeling influences our mind. When you like somebody you don’t see their faults and when you don’t like somebody you believe anything bad that anybody says about them. I think that is something to observe in our minds. It is really hard to read another person’s heart. So it’s very difficult to know what they are really thinking. It’s hard for us to be objective about another person. So if we are aware of the aggregate of feeling and how much it influences our minds, that helps us to be more objective, I think.

1:08:38.3 Rimpoche: I am a very keen observer-student of politics of any country, honestly, Tibetan, very, very deeply involved in observing, but I don’t get involved in Tibetan politics. I don’t do anything. Whether Dharma politics or political politics, I don’t. I am very keen on Indian politics and automatically you get very aware of Pakistan and Sri Lankan politics and South-East Asian politics like Thailand and Cambodia. There was a period in Cambodia, before they called it Kampuchea, they had the Khmer Rouge, which was miserable. Millions of people’s bones were found everywhere. It was a terrible period. Thereby automatically, nobody paid attention to Laos, a very small country. Everybody throwing bombs on Vietnam also threw them on Laos. During World War II many of our pilots emptied their bombs over Holland, rather than over Germany.

1:11:56.1They did the same thing in Laos, emptied all the bombs over Laos and then went into Vietnam empty. Also the biggest mine fields in the world are located in Laos. I was quite keen and then of course, Chinese politics and American politics are of interest to me. I live here and I eat here and I contribute here, so I am also keen on American politics. So it is true, if you like the person that contributes to liking their policies. But the truth really is that it is the policy that makes you like the person. You should definitely look for that. I am neither Democrat or Republican, nor am I independent. Honestly. I will like certain policies that help people, particularly poor people. Rich people are already rich, no matter whoever comes into power. They will remain okay. A few rich people may suffer, because they take revenge. But even they remain okay. But whoever comes into power, who is going to suffer? The poor people and the weaker sections of society. So who is going to hurt them less? Which policy is going to hurt them less? That’s what I am looking for. Then when you see Bernie Sanders come up, see you he has got certain important subjects to talk to people about. Some of them are excellent. If these policies come in, poor people are hurt less and they may benefit more. But what I saw from Day 1 and what was confirmed on Day 2, 3, 4, etc, is that he is coming from anger. I don’t like it. Even when everyone was in love with Bernie Sanders, I didn’t like it. I didn’t say it, because the 5th Dalai Lama tells me not to say what you don’t like.

1:15:57.9 But we need to know. I didn’t like it, because it’s anger. So, it raises anger and the hunger for change and the difficulties brought it up and made it so strong and we got hurt ourselves in the end. So that’s how I observe. I always like the Democrat’s policies far better than the Republicans, because the economic principles are the Democratic party’s policy since a very long time. You know who really worked hard and did a lot? Carter. No one gives him credit. He really did much and his presidency is treated as a failure by some people. But he worked so hard. Reagan benefited from Carter’s 6 years. I am afraid that Trump will also benefit from the 8 years of hard work of Obama. They may even win the next election because of that. You never know.

1:17:54.5 But elections are supposed to be about the work they do rather than the result they enjoy. The intelligent should know that. Obama had suffered tremendously because of the earlier administration’s policies. The Clinton administration produced a zero deficit. The next 8 years of administration increased the deficit 10-fold. As a consequence of that, Obama suffered for four years and the next four years became okay. The results are coming now, we know and I hope they will continuously come and that will be given to Trump as credit, rather than to Obama, in the eyes of ignorance. But intelligent people know.

But many times people like certain people and therefore like their policies. That is absolutely wrong. We should like people because of the policies they offer. The question was about body-mind relationship. This is body-mind relationship. Wherever the body goes, the mind goes. Wherever the mind goes, the body goes. That is body-mind relationship overtaking the thoughts, or thoughts influencing the body-mind relationship.

1:20:53.1 Audience: In a situation where you observe one person hurting and you know you have a skill that could help that person and you begin the process of helping the person who is hurting, you notice the person who has done the hurting, who has put the hurt on another person, and you have something that you can do to stop that person from hurting the little person and you struggle to keep your focus on the little person who is hurting, but part of your mind is feeling the anger coming up towards the big person inflicting the pain. Could you speak about the practical training of GOM to pull your mind back from the anger impulse towards the person creating the harm and put your focus back on the person that you want to continue to help?

1:22:23.2 Rimpoche: This is an extremely difficult question. There are always pros and cons. The normal human norm is: Mind your business. But if you are seeing, without anger, before you get angry, before any angry thought comes out of the mouth, and you can give a gap and think about it, then draw the attention. Not pointing out. Pointing out will be sure to be a cause of anger. But you can draw the attention, without getting angry, neither yourself nor the other person. Maybe there is an answer, but it really needs skill. Otherwise, it is sure to create trouble, rather than help. Is there the need? Yes, but it is really the question how. Milarepa once was meditating. One of his disciples, a hunter, came and chased a deer or musk deer (Tib: goa). He was absolutely tired from chasing and came to Milarepa’s cave and saw him meditating. He said, “I know you must have seen it. Which way did the deer go?” Milarepa said, “That way” and pointed in the opposite direction of where the deer had gone. So he lied, but that lie doesn’t become a lie, but became saving the life of that musk deer. This is giving us the example of saving lives.

1:25:56.7 So this is the example and we can make our own judgment based on that. That’s all I like to say. Besides that, both John Moran and Elizabeth Hurwitz are extremely intelligent, you know that. As long as you don’t step over, you are right on the top. Use your intelligence, both of you. You are both brilliant. I noticed sometimes, when we were in Jewel Heart in Washington St, I noticed that John is intelligent, honestly, very vividly. I also noticed his stubbornness. That was very interesting. We had some fire alarm there and he put his coat on the fire alarm, not only once, but twice or thrice and when he pulled away his coat the alarm went off. So funny. That is stubbornness: not using your intelligence and paying no attention, thinking, “I am minding my business, just getting my coat and walking out.”

1:28:11.1 If there are no other questions, I want to say thank you, also to the Dutch, who are listening and I see them tomorrow and all of you I see next week, thank you

1:28:30.4 May all beings…… 1:29:51.6

21061121GRNLDelam3 Monday

1:12:24.5 (halfway through the recording that contains discussion and guided meditation)

Welcome everybody today. Did Alfred arrive?

Hartmut: he is coming later tonight at 9 pm.

Rimpoche: Okay, that means he will be there tomorrow. What is my subject today?

Hartmut: Today we continued to watch your videos about the 7 stage development of bodhimind and it was about compassion, special mind and bodhimind.

1:13:57.2 Rimpoche: we talked about equanimity the day before yesterday. For me that is a very practical way of going rather than a text based reasoning and seeing enemy, friend and neutral person and trying to balance. It is a very practical way of convincing the individual about equality. Do you find that or do you find it is something not right? Carel?

Audience: Carel: it helped me from the point of view of emphasizing the humanity of all people. We are all in the same boat and that helps me tremendously. That is what you emphasized in various examples. We all want the same. We want the same happiness, etc. That is indeed more practical for me.

Rimpoche: Anybody else? Inge?

Audience (Inge Eijkhout) About equality, I found the point very interesting that you were making about democracy. If we are all equal we all get equal opportunity and the consequences this can have, also politically, that was really food for thought.

Rimpoche: Equal opportunity gave us President Trump. He also has the right. You can’t do anything. So good. Cleo?

1:16:36.3 Audience Cleo: I thought about how equanimity cuts the ego down and I think it really helps enormously to get closer to people and see them in different ways. It is opening up really a lot. I think this openness is really necessary to see all beings as mother beings. I can’t imagine how you can pop into love and compassion without that as a base.

Rimpoche: For you particularly, when you look at the large amount of refugees, you probably have somehow a feeling for them to be served or to be led? What do you think? That is also an important point to think. That maybe practically important. Where is Marianne van der Horst?

Audience Cleo: She is not there today

Rimpoche. Who is next to you?

Cleo: Harry.

Rimpoche: Any other questions?

Frances: Yes, there are lots of questions. The first one is from Olga from one of the discussion groups.

1:20:09.2 Olga: In the video you talked about great compassion and great love and when we meditate on all sentient beings sometimes we face the problem that “all sentient beings” becomes quite anonymous or abstract or dry, difficult to let it touch your heart. That’s a big step. We are wondering how to make it really touch your heart?

1:21:11.2 Rimpoche: Can I share a story? Geshe Rabten was teaching in Switzerland in the late 60s, early 70s. He had great students, such as Stephen Batchelor and a lot of others. One of them had a little problem with somebody, so he said, “You are not all sentient beings, so get out of my way.”

Did anybody get the joke? Good. So you look at one sentient being and they irritate you and then you say, “You are not All sentient beings, so get out of my way.” We do have that problem and that is very usual and not a specific problem for you.

1:22:56.4 The ultimate great compassion should be the compassion for all. The ultimate great love should be the love for all. You should not have any distinction or separation or anything. But we are talking about a very long time and a high development, almost at the level where you are there. These levels are built individually, like brick by brick. That is the reason why you have friends, enemies and neutrals and try to change them one by one. That’s a very long process developed constantly within ourselves. It is not a day or two, a week or month or even a year. That will not make it automatic. I guess that’s the answer.

1:24:52.3 Is everyone okay with that? From the group that raised the question? Even if you say okay, it’s not. You know why? When you sit down you will have the difficulties. So we can study continuously, talk, think, meditate and develop. Thank you. Any other questions?

1:25:36.7 What is the relationship between developing compassion and developing wisdom? We had this discussion in our group. What are the stages of development? In the lam rim it says to first develop love and compassion and afterwards wisdom. But we wonder why not develop wisdom first? Then it becomes clear that we are all interconnected and then the great compassion will arise from itself. Why compassion bodhimind first and wisdom later on?

1:26:47.9 Rimpoche: In 1988 or so I was working part time in the University of Michigan, because in those days I didn’t get enough money from Jewel Heart. You, the Holland people, always pay me something. You monthly collect money and give me something. But it was not enough and Jewel Heart at that time didn’t have anything. Later there was something. So at that time I worked in the university as adjunct lecturer. So I was able to pay my bills. There was no Buddhist department. I worked in the South-East Asian department. In those days the chair was Professor Gomez. I think he was more or less a Korean Buddhist, but he himself was Puerto Rican.

1:29:14.1 He had quite a famous Japanese professor working with him as visiting professor for one whole academic year. They were talking about the compulsoriness of bodhimind first and then wisdom, without any question and taking that for granted. I raised one question, because this Japanese professor was translating and writing his own commentary on Nagarjuna’s Ratnamala, the Jewel Ornament or Jewel Rosary. There is a verse in there:

yang dag sem chog ngön tang de

tang nye ting ne jig ten la….

I asked the Japanese professor what it meant. To me it means that an intelligent person can develop wisdom understanding first and then remove the wrong views and then develop compassion. So intelligent people can do that. I am talking about brilliant bodhisattvas or even before becoming bodhisattvas, without entering the path of Mahayana, they get the wisdom and then develop bodhimind. So both are there, both are permitted. There is no question of restriction. But generally, we talk about it with bodhimind development first, because bodhimind and compassion is a little easier to develop or to comprehend, compared to wisdom. That’s why the order is general. But in exceptional cases it is possible to do it the other way around. So if some of you Dutch are brilliant, go ahead, no problem.

1:34:36.1 But the need of both is still absolute. You cannot do one without the other. Remember the example of the bird with two wings that will fly. If the bird only has one wing, it will become like the Australian boomerang. Whether wisdom comes first or bodhimind, doesn’t matter. That is my understanding.

1:35:34.2 Audience: Are there any examples in the Tibetan tradition of masters who have done this?

Rimpoche: There must be, but I don’t know, because people don’t tell you what they understand and what they get. We keep on guessing.

1:36:15.6 Audience: How can an arhat not be compassionate? If you realize selflessness, then you really see the interconnectedness of all, so how can compassion not arise? How can you stay put in nirvana and not be compassionate?

1:36:52.7 Rimpoche: I don’t think the arhats don’t have compassion. They do. But they lack the greater compassion.

1:37:13.2 Audience (Carel): But it still stands that if you see the interconnectedness of all, without exception, how would that not become great compassion?

Rimpoche: You know why? If they focus on all beings as the object of your meditation, then it will develop easily. But in the Theravada tradition, they don’t talk about that. That’s why arhats are great, but in the Mahayana, they have not even entered into the path. That’s the reason. That may be theoretical. I don’t know, practically you never know. Carel, you are a great thinker. I want you to think about this. Go outside of the realm of texts. That will be very useful. The Gelugpa will insist that study is based on texts, so that we don’t make mistakes. That is true. Honestly. When I look back at all the transcripts that you people have helped to developed, when you look into them carefully, they are not really misleading you much at all, because they stick to certain texts. That really makes it tremendously safe. But then at some level, you also have to think a little bit outside.

1:40:55.8 Since I can’t read books now (because of my failing eye sight), my thinking is slightly different. This is demonstrated by the equanimity, as well as I hope you people will get something more in the next couple of days. So that’s what it is.

1:46:27.5 Audience (Olga): in the video you mentioned that you can have morality based on appreciation of human life. But you also say there is morality based on “not taking the risk of being born in a hell realms.” How can we see this? Do we need both?

1:48:52.9 Rimpoche: When you take refuge there are two important causes. The threat of falling into suffering and knowing the objects of refuge have the capacity. Similarly here, appreciating the importance of life is very important. You see how much you can achieve, how far you can go and if you have a deep understanding, you really have desire and love for that. That requires morality. So, bringing morality from the point of appreciation of life is a good way. Particularly, because the direct cause of a good life is good morality. So the foundations of a good life is morality. That’s why appreciation of life brings morality. All these practices are interconnected.

Particularly, the Six Paramitas are very much interconnected. Generosity of morality, of patience, of enthusiasm, of concentration, of wisdom. For all practical purposes, the common with the lower, common with the medium and the Mahayana, Sutrayana and Vajrayana, are connected with the Six Perfections. From whatever angle you come, it’s okay. You need to have it and however you have it, it doesn’t matter.

1:52:20.4 Audience: If you see so much suffering and you want to help with best intentions and care, sometimes it is too much. You see it happening and you get hurt and it becomes the opposite of what you want to achieve and it has a negative effect. The question is: how do you know when you come to that line and how do you know if you have to stop or when you go too far in helping or when it becomes negative and you get disturbed?

1:53:20.1 Truly, you shouldn’t get burned out. You do get burned out, because your compassion is not strong enough. It is there, it is quite strong, but yet, it is not enough. That’s why you get burned out. People also encourage that. If you go beyond your capacity you get sick. So the caretaker having problems themselves is very common. So the caretakers need to take a break and have some recreation and meditation, things like that. Recharge. We commonly do that. But for true bodhisattva actions, the bodhisattvas don’t take breaks. They can go for recreation, but their mind doesn’t take a break from compassion, even in the recreation. You are still thinking and dealing and seeking solutions for removing suffering. That is reality. That is why Mahayana Vajrayana Buddhism tells you to seek enlightenment once and for all. It’s because of that reason. When we seek total enlightenment, we are aiming at a very high goal. Until then, whatever happens, little burn outs here and there, still, we continue to push our efforts.

1:56:32.8 Audience: That’s all the questions we prepared for.

1:57:00.8 Rimpoche: What is my subject to talk today then?

Audience: Your video teaching was on developing compassion, the special mind and then bodhimind, as part of the 7 stage development of bodhimind.

Rimpoche: let’s talk about it this way: When you see these burn outs, it is the weakness of the practitioner or caregiver. Whether you accept it or not, the capacity is becoming limited. So it is weakness, because the mental capacity is limited, because you don’t have enough commitment. You do have good commitment and dedication, but not enough. So you need the strong resolution that “no matter whatever happens I will be doing it, because I feel it and I see it. I also see some solution. Therefore it is my responsibility.” Generate a confirmed, strong resolution. That will make the burn out problem much less. The special, strong resolution is anti-burn out. In Tibetan we call it “special mind”. That is resolving that no matter whatever, under any circumstances, you don’t look for others to take action, but you do it yourself, taking total responsibility.

2:00:24.9 That is lhak sam, the special mind or resolution. Whatever the translation, when you go, thinking and practicing by yourself, you get something that is not based so much on translation. We call it special resolution or whatever. When it is that strong you see your limit and that will push you to do it better. Then there is nothing better than Buddha or the Buddha level or Buddha’s capacity. It is supposed to be effortless. What else could you want that is more than effortless? That’s why I must get that. Not necessarily for me and my purposes, but to solve the problems, for which I need to become Buddha.

2:02:30.1 That special resolution will link you up with seeking the total capacity. That is how the special resolution leads you to bodhimind. Bodhimind is total dedication plus seeking the total capacity. Honestly. That is how it links easily. First imagine, then keep on thinking and getting it in shape and then it is getting quite practical. That will bring you to perfection of bodhimind, even in prayer form. But we are then looking for action. So you see how easily it links up and is very practical. When you see very dedicated people get burnt out, that’s how you support yourself. That is why bodhimind becomes very practical. Otherwise if you look at the quality of bodhimind, as total dedication, not desire for oneself, etc, it becomes very theoretical and practically not possible. So if you look that way, then it is the opposite direction from what the text tells you. It goes to a very personal level for yourself and your colleagues and other people and what’s happening in the world, particularly in Syria and Turkey and Iraq and all the refugees and caregivers in Europe. If you look that way, then your bodhimind will become practical bodhimind. You may not be very learned in the texts, but you are a very practical bodhisattva. This can and will happen, so work with that. That is special mind and bodhimind together here.

Any questions on that?

Audience: When wisdom really works, how does it work? Why do you need merit?

Rimpoche: If you don’t have merit, you don’t have good virtue. And vice versa. Actually merit and good karma I have difficulty to see the difference. If you don’t have good merit you are not lucky. If you are not lucky you are not going to get anything. So you have to be lucky. Also, if you don’t have virtue, you have nothing to build. So it will be like a painter without paint. When you want to paint, you need paint to paint with. So if you don’t have merit, that’s it. Your paint bucket is empty. That’s why you need merit. It is not only luck. But luck and virtue are almost the same to me. Don’t quote me. Theoretically that could be wrong, but in reality they are all the same thing to me.

Audience: How that merit relate to blessings?

2:10:50.4 Rimpoche: Blessing is something else. We work scientifically as much as possible, but what we call divine intervention cannot be ruled out. Particularly, in our practice, every day is very much dependent on the blessings. Guru devotion, guru intervention, is very important. Simultaneously, as much as your practice goes, that much it is important to get the blessings and divine intervention. That will reinforce the guru devotional practice. On a practical level that really works and functions. Scientifically this is hard to see. Many of you know that deeply, but you can’t explain. It is easier to explain and convince people with reasoning. That’s why reasoning becomes so important and that’s why the U ma, the Middle Way, is based on reasoning. It is easier to communicate that, but blessing is something else, however, it is very important, equally you have to depend on it. But I don’t know how to explain. That’s what it is.

2:14:01.7 Earlier, in English they called it ‘divine intervention’. I don’t know if it is divine intervention or not, but it is very practical, a must and important. Your question was about the relationship between blessing and merit.

Audience: So if merit is lacking, can you still receive blessings?

Rimpoche: Remember, out of the Seven Limbs practice, you have one that is called rejoicing. Rejoicing is the best and quickest way to build merit. It is rejoicing in the practice and the works of all the gurus and great beings and rejoicing in all sentient beings who are doing good. Yes, I think there is a connection. There won’t be a result without a cause. So rejoicing is the quickest way. When you go into Vajrayana it becomes much more, really.

Maybe it is getting late.

2:17:14.1 Yesterday I went to Jewel Heart to give the Sunday talk and it was cold, snowy and shivering, windy weather. I had to get out of the car and onto the scooter and that takes time. Suddenly some little thing in my left nostril up there near the eye, was neither going up nor coming down and it is irritating and tickling. I took tylanol last night and it didn’t bother me at night. But this morning it came again and now it went up and became terrible.

Audience: Please look after yourself, we do worry.

Rimpoche: Because of your worry and love and affection, that keeps me in life, honestly. Thank you. Because your affection and love and dedication, honestly, I am still there.

2:20:00.0 I guess that’s it and thank you. That’s what I was planning during the last retreat, but then I was so sick and hallucinating, so there was no way I could talk to you. Anyway, thank you. At least this time I can do it.

2:20:37.1 Bye.

2:20:54.1 Migtsema chanting 2:23:56.3 end of file

Delam 4, Tuesday, 20161122GRNLBWL4

00.00 – 39.00 Alfred Woll guided tong len meditation

0:39:08.8 Rimpoche: Can you hear me okay? Good. 0:39:17.0

Is Alfred there? Oh, there you are. Thanks for coming. So how is your retreat going?

Audience (Inge Eijkhout): Very well.

Rimpoche: 0:40:14.3 wanting to see and chat with different people, Inge Eijhout, Hans op den Buijsch, Fatima)

0:41:28.5 You know I am both, deaf and blind. Officially, I am 95% blind. Officially. It doesn’t matter. I pretend to see everything. Normally, Tibetan lamas pretend not to see. But I pretend to see everything.

0:42:23.0 (talks to Vivine, Marianne v. d. Horst, Ron, Karin).

0:43:53.6 Now, how did the exchange meditation go today?

Alfred: We did some analytical meditations, on self cherishing and cherishing others, and one on tong len, giving and taking. So we did some practice.

0:44:26.2 Rimpoche: Good, good. So are there any questions?

Audience: About tong len: From what I understand, it used to be a secret practice, but now it is much more open. Why is it secret and how should we handle that in our study groups in Jewel Heart? Sometimes you could be leading a study group with people that have been with Jewel Heart for four or five years, but some of them haven’t even taken refuge, whereas some are starting Vajrayana. The levels can be very different. So is it suitable to practice tong len in groups like this and what are the dangers?

0:45:25.0 Rimpoche: Good question. My understanding is that it is kept secret, because they are afraid of people getting frightened of taking people’s sufferings on themselves. People get frightened. That’s what I know of. That might not be too much secrecy, not like some of the Vajrayana secrets we have. I think the fear of people getting frightened, that’s why there are some restrictions and reservations on it. That’s my understanding. They refer to them as “weaker people”. Some may freak out, but nowadays people’s intelligence is so good and so great, it might not be that much of a problem at all. That’s one.

0:47:08.1 Secondly, tong len has become another practice like mindfulness and goes by itself and people do meditations and practices on it that perhaps have nothing to do with Buddhism. So if we pretend to keep a secret there and people do it everywhere [it may not work anymore anyway]. The information is available everywhere. Even Google will give it to you. So I don’t think we should be very concerned about that. That’s my opinion. But you have to make your own decision and I think it’s not that big of a deal with the tong len as secrecy. The biggest objection is the fear of people freaking out, getting frightened. Sometimes, when you begin to take the suffering of others directly on you, you feel uncomfortable, no doubt about it. That’s why they don’t tell you about it until they are confident that you won’t be frightened. At this level I think that’s the major point. Other than that I don’t know.

Is there anything else that you people know?

0:49:49.9 (Carel) I would be very careful if a person in my group had some personality issues or is a little unstable. Then the danger is that doing that practice could imbalance them and I wouldn’t easily advise them to do it. Maybe just have them take their own suffering, but I would be very, very careful, I think.

0:50:29.9 Rimpoche: Well, people read about it anyway.

0:50:36.9 Carel: If they read, that’s one thing, I can’t do anything about that, but my responsibility is to care for the people.

0:50:48.3 Rimpoche: True, true. So whatever I know I share with you and then it is up to you people how you are going to handle it. I think it is individually different. I think you can’t make it a general Jewel Heart policy. That will be fine. Some people may freak out a little bit, but it may be much more helpful for them later on. Remember, the story of Shariputra and Manjushri. Shariputra was giving teachings to 250 or so people and it was quite sure that all of them would go to the arhat level. In between Manjushri went in before Shariputra got there and gave them Mahayana teachings. Many of them were very disheartened and it is said that they even went to the hell realms. So then Shariputra lodged a complaint against Manjushri to Buddha. Buddha’s final verdict was that Manjushri was right, because although it created a little trouble, by the time these people went to hell realms and became fully enlightened, if they had followed Shariputra’s path, they would still be at arhat level. So therefore Manjushri’s choice was right. That’s what Buddha said.

0:53:40.0 So that’s also there for your consideration, on the side. But the decision is really up to the individual people, rather than as a general policy. It depends also on the individual who is listening. But do remember, the texts are available everywhere, everywhere, not just on Buddhist sites, but everywhere else. Anything else we need to talk?

0:54:37.9 Audience: In the video we watched this morning from the Delam teachings from last summer in the US you are talking about transforming negativities. We hear this phrase so often and it sounds like if you just flip something, but what do they really mean by transforming negativities? How do you do it in practice?

Audience (Hartmut) You were talking about the lama chöpa verse about the five powers:

DHOR NA ZANG NGAN NANG WA CHI SHAR YANG

CHÖ KÜN NYING PO TOP NGEI NYAM LEN GYI

JANG CHUP SEM NYEI PHEL WEI LAM GYUR TE

YEI DHE BA ZHIK GOM PAR JIN GYI LOP

In short, whether conditions seem favorable or unfavorable,

Inspire me to make a habit of happiness,

By increasing the two types of Bodhimind

Through the practice of the five forces, essence of all the Dharmas.

0:55:57.4 Rimpoche: Right, there is 1) the power of the white seed, 2) the power of prayer or dedication, 3) the power of destruction or antidote, 4) the power of motivation and 5) the power of familiarity. When you apply those five powers constantly, then the power of familiarity becomes quite strong. All the powers become stronger and take shape. Then all the negativities or whatever the appearance the individual gets, positive or negative, not only as hallucinations but in reality in everyday life, when you apply the five powers together, you begin to see these [appearances] are not true. The truth is really emptiness and there is nothing truly appearing. When you see it’s not the truth, the power of familiarity becomes quite powerful. And that begins to change your perception. That strengthens the bodhimind in prayer and action form and the absolute bodhimind. Relative bodhimind in prayer or action form and absolute bodhimind are not the same thing. They are separate, but absolute bodhimind is bodhimind with wisdom.

1:00:23.9 The relative bodhimind is the true bodhimind. Right? You know that. So that takes the power and therefore all the wrong things within us somehow are corrected by the wisdom of emptiness. Every perception that is presented to us might not be true. But then you have to be careful. Right now, whatever perception we have, we have to take it as truth. We cannot go round saying it is not true. Then you become cuckoo. But there is a time where your capacity lets you comprehend that truth nature. That brings about the point that Carel was raising earlier: I will be careful. That is true too. Some people cannot handle that.

1:02:06.9 We had one lady here. She was quite good and nothing wrong with her nowadays. But at one time she went walking on a big highway, I 23, saying “I am Yamantaka” and walking on the highway and we had to go and get her back. So that happens too. The major danger is the projected perception of emptiness overly taking too early as reality. Yes, it is reality, but very lower key – almost hitting reality. There will be a time when it is true reality, not hidden reality. That is based on the individual. It is not based on how long you have meditated or how much you have meditated or how many mantras you have said. That does make some difference, but it is the individual, whether they can handle it together. A number of people really freak out. That’s we have the aftermath issue. This may not be the aftermath, but it may be pre-math. But it depends on the individual. It is the really the skill of the guide. So when Carel said, “I will be very careful”, I was happy. I don’t like it, but I am happy you do it that way.

1:05:43.1 (Rimpoche chatting with Marianne v. d. Horst, asking about Marianne de Kok, Marianne Soeters)

1:12:24.7 Marianne Soeters kept Jewel Heart alive for a long time. She ran Jewel Heart like a school, but she ran it. Of course Helen organized it in the beginning, but Marianne Soeters kept it alive for a long time. As an organization we know her especially and Piet indirectly too. Just to keep that in mind and offer them anything they need.

I don’t have much to talk today. First I was planning not to have these sessions, because I am supposed to have dialysis. But now I don’t have dialysis today, because it is Thanksgiving on Thursday, so they shifted my dialysis to yesterday afternoon. So I managed to talk to you both, yesterday and today. I may be getting a little stronger. I have been able to talk to you thanks to Colleen. She really looked after me so much. Every night she was up four, five times, whenever I had to go to the bathroom and she had to clean it up, like with a baby, everything. Even now I can’t clean myself. So that is almost equivalent to you people’s compassion, love, dedication and she physically did everything that kept me going. That’s one thing. Then of course, Dagyab Rinpoche and Drikung Rinpoche both, called me. Dagyab Rinpoche called me when I was very sick, almost scolding me, talking and talking. I had no longer been able to remember to live long. I forgot about it. Dagyab Rinpoche kept on saying, “How can you do that?” and really was yelling. That was great. And Drikung Kyabgön Rinpoche, whom the Malaysians call “His Holiness Drikungpa”, kept on calling me constantly and offered to come to see me, all the way from the Philippines. He said he had a ten day opening in his schedule and offered to come to see me.

1:17:04.3 I requested him not to come at that time. I had no way to receive him. But three months later in May he did come. That was scheduled. But he wanted to come two, three months before. So everything is great. Thank you.

1:17:50.6 Audience: How can you look after yourself well without being selfish or without self-cherishing?

Rimpoche: Selfishness and self-cherishing are probably a little different. Maybe somebody can clarify that in Dutch. Is it different in Dutch?

1:20:00.3 Carel: Self grasping is different.

Audience: She is asking what is the different between caring for oneself and self-cherishing?

1:20:51.8 Rimpoche: That’s easy, but maybe I am wrong, but self-cherishing and selfishness a lot of people will have. Selfishness shows a selfish personality, which in society fewer people will have. Egomaniacs, like our president-elect, I am quite sure are full of selfishness. But self-cherishing includes many other people who are respectable. That’s my thinking, but don’t take it from me. I don’t know English. But it’s not only English, in Tibetan too. Rang chin dzin ?? is selfishness. Chin is more than appreciating and considering oneself more important. In selfishness that is too much. Everything is about “me”, nothing else. That’s how I was reading this. Maybe I am wrong about the language.

1:23:11.5 Audience: So giving your understanding about self-cherishing, if you are taking care of yourself you are not selfish, but you have self-cherishing, is that okay? Or is taking care of oneself going against self-cherishing?

1:23:23.1 Rimpoche: I got her question, but I am clarifying with myself. I am sort of thinking aloud with you. Caring for yourself is important. If you don’t care of yourself, who else will? Nobody. You don’t have Colleen or Piet Soeters around. Maybe you do, I don’t know. But generally speaking, who else will take care of you? Nobody. So you have to take care of yourself. That to me is neither selfishness nor self-cherishing. I think it is a human being’s duty and a humanitarian responsibility. We all have to look after ourselves. We have to protect ourselves and keep ourselves alive and serve ourselves. That’s why peace is important. That’s why contemplating progressive thoughts are so important. Otherwise you have that self-cherishing guy, that egomaniac guy and all of those will destroy humanity and humanitarian values.

1:25:49.0 So looking after yourself is part of humanitarian responsibility. Your own direct responsibility is looking after yourself. Then looking after your family, spouse, etc. So do not consider that as selfishness or self-cherishing. Consider that as part of both, the material as well as the spiritual world’s responsibility. And then the other thing is this: if you are not there, how are you going to make progress and do all the wonderful things you are planning to do? If you are weak and sick and full of difficulties you cannot do anything. So that’s not right. So that’s why it is not only a material responsibility, but a spiritual responsibility as well. That’s my opinion.

1:28:02.3 Audience: If I need 8 hours of sleep I have to have it, otherwise I cannot take of someone else. But maybe, I just need 6 hours sleep and can work for others in those two hours. But I think I need 8. How do I know I am not exaggerating my needs? I think I need some time alone, or need to go to a sauna or see a movie to relax. How do I know that’s not my egoistic drive but really what I need to be able to care for other people and myself?

1:29:35.9 Rimpoche: Very important question. It is not your hallucination and not your ego. Some people do need 8 hours of sleep or they don’t function well. That’s people’s habit. Traditional teachings will tell you: keep the loss to yourself. So if you are happy then with the 7 hours, try. They will tell you: don’t go to see movies, because they are not true, there is nothing there and that is disturbing and all that. But in today’s world we do need all of them. We have them and we are spoiled. We may not be able to do without, so just give yourself an opportunity to feel comfortable. Basic comfort in life is the basis for everything to function. We may not get everything we want, but do it and don’t deprive yourself. Just sleep 8 hours, keep yourself comfortable. Go to see a movie and relax. If you don’t do that, it’s not that you are not going to do something else like that. You are not going to do something extraordinary. The time you save from not sleeping 8 hours doesn’t necessarily go into deep practice, but whatever time you do put into your practice, don’t lose that. Keep that intact and as clean and pure as possible. Do not deprive yourself of sleep or social activities. That will be my suggestion. Nothing wrong.

1:33:42.7 (Rimpoche chatting with Jos and Roland) If you have no further questions I have nothing else to say. Thank you so much and enjoy your retreat. I can see that everybody in the front and back is contributing.

(chatting with Fons). Thank you. We will talk with you tomorrow too. Bye by

1:35:55.0 Migtsema and dedication chanting - 1:40:29.0 end of file

Delam 5, Wednesday, 20161123GRNLBWL3 and 4

– 00:26 guided meditation on emptiness-wisdom – Hartmut

0:26:26.3 Rimpoche: can you all hear me? Wonderful. I can see you all very well. My television is 54 inches. So I can see you all.

(Rimpoche chatting with Marianne de Kok, Fatima). I hope I will be able to come to the Netherlands in spring. I made a journey to New York and somehow the plane couldn’t land in New York and we had to go to Connecticut. So altogether the trip took almost 7 hours. The journey between Detroit and Amsterdam is 7 hours. So maybe I will make it.

Chatting with several JH NL members (Marianne Reinard, Peter van Waanrooij). Did we ever look at Helen’s tomb? We used to put flowers there occasionally.

0:33:31.3 Audience: Piet Soeters takes care of that. I happened to go there two months ago and I put some flowers.

0:33:44.7 Rimpoche: Good. It is good occasionally to put some flowers, like twice a year or something.

(asking about Little Helen, Marianne Mattheissen, Ineke Vrolijk, Len Kosse) all these are our old people and they are very precious and it is good to try to help a little bit wherever possible. They are the elders. Whether they are working with us physically or not, they have done a lot and I don’t know whether as a Buddhist society or not, but as Jewel Heart and me personally, I always like to keep contact with our old people. I don’t know how many of you are listening to my Sunday talks. These days I am using the 5th Dalai Lama’s teaching on the 2 systems, the political/material and the dharma system together in one person’s life..

0:39:41.7 There they very much emphasize to continuously maintain good relationships with our old people. I noticed that also with both, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and also my other teachers. Both Kyabje Rinpoches kept contact with old people even if they had become political liabilities. The Tibetan community in exile was so small, so any political liability can be very big. But they maintained relationships with their old friends, even if they had become political liabilities. I think that’s a very important dharma quality in an individual. Especially these people are good old people. So maintaining relationships and finding out how they are and if they need any help is important. That will help a lot and will mean a lot and it is also good work. Then the younger ones will be the second generation and the third generations will care about them and so on. So if we can establish something like this it will be good society service for particularly our own society and it will be very good Dharma and good practice.

0:42:17.9 Actually, that may be better than sitting down and doing retreats and mantras. Sometimes our understanding is to sit down and do retreat and mantras. And no doubt, that is great. But there are a lot of equivalent and even more important things than this. There is group service, elder service, sangha service. They are all superior to doing retreat and saying mantras.

Audience: if you like I can bring greetings from you to them.

0:43:28.9 Rimpoche: Please do, please do. I always think about them a lot. (Rimpoche asks about Margot). I wonder if Jan Reijnirse can send flowers to her from me. That would be great, thank you. (Rimpoche asks about Veroni).

0:50:31.5 Is there anything you people want to talk to me about? This is a very nice chit chat. Now we have one more day where I can talk to you on Saturday. That is a public talk and more people are coming.

Audience: The subject is guru devotion.

Rimpoche: Who chose that topic?

Audience: Your new board.

0:51:25.1 Rimpoche: Carel, where you involved in making this decision in the board?

Audience (Carel): yes, it is a good decision, the whole title is: the guru inspiration for you. Inspiration is good for the people and the guru is the center of the mandala and in that sense it is a good topic and everyone here has to deal with it.

0:52:20.0 Rimpoche: Yes, the guru devotion is an excellent topic, but I am not so sure if you want to do this as a big public thing.

0:52:36.4 Audience: Actually it is a whole day’s program, like now, but just on that subject, so hopefully some more people will come and you can address the group at the end of the day. So it is not a separate huge public talk.

0:53:20.0 Rimpoche: Oh then it is fine. I thought it was a big formal public talk and then talking about the guru is scary.

0:53:53.9 Audience: On Saturday we have a few speakers on guru devotion and then discussion amongst ourselves and a panel interacting with the audience, like today. It’s a whole day on the subject and at the end the webcast from you. The speakers should be Alfred, Carel and Hartmut.

0:55:08.4 Rimpoche: What is Ron doing?

Audience: Inge: Apart from being here all the time and helping with things he will be on the panel on Saturday also. We wanted to hear his side also. On the panel also Naomi and Marion Wierda.

0:55:55.0 Rimpoche: What did Cleo do in this retreat?

Cleo: I will do the Saturday meditation.

Rimpoche: And Frances is the backbone anyway. She is great. When we had little difficulties she ran Jewel Heart for me for about two years. That was a difficult period but you managed very well without the elder and younger generation becoming apart. It was a wonderful thing and I am grateful forever. Honestly. So now what are we doing today?

0:57:37.4 Audience: Inge: We are talking about the perfection of wisdom and we had a panel that explained some of the questions and Hartmut did a guided meditation. There are some questions left.

0:58:14.6 Rimpoche: Before I answer questions I would like to say that each and everyone one of you has great wisdom. Also, people like Hartmut, Alfred, Carel and so on really have great wisdom, but sometimes people present in a slightly different way. But the most important thing is totally the wisdom as antidote to ignorance. That is very important. You can’t waver on that. Solidly focus on that and stick to it. Wisdom is the antidote to ignorance. The recognition of ignorance may differ. Even from person to person. Not even talking in theory about this school versus that school, but even person to person it will differ. That is because of people’s personal experience. So we as a group must be open to individuals. Many of you are becoming great by yourselves. So you have your personal experience. Right or wrong –that is a different question. The people will critical minds will judge. But individuals have their own experiences and we must be open-minded and have room for all of them.

1:01:32.3 Sometimes it may be a little difficult to accept. Somebody told me the other day they had difficulties with Glenn Mullin. That’s fine. You must also allow people to express that they don’t like something. Both. We are independent persons. We should be open and give the right to like or not like. That is also very important. Then what happens to the personal practice of the individual? They are doing their personal practice and it is really blooming. So I think we have to allow it and see where it leads to, in some cases, but in many cases you are learned and well informed, so it does not go out of the norms of Buddha’s principles. As long as you don’t go out of the norms of Buddha’s principles, I think we should really.

Even after Buddha, so many different ideas and groups came. They even fought and came out with different conclusions. That is really genuine. Now we have some philosophies saying that one is right and the other is wrong. We have to go a little easy on that. The principle of wisdom really is to defeat ego – ignorance – confusion. It is confused and there is fear and pride. All of these are combined. Sometimes pride comes in and thinks, “I read this here and heard this from there and it totally contradicts and therefore I know better”. That may be true, but don’t make a quick decision of “I know better” and don’t make a quick decision of “I know nothing”. You all know a lot and especially those of you who have been with us for a number of years really have good background. Some of you read Tibetan and study a lot and that may have a lot of contributions too. That’s what I wanted to say before I answer your questions.

1:06:47.3 I have to share one thing with you and I hope it doesn’t go into transcripts – Mr. Mut

Audience: Hartmut: – I heard you Rimpoche and will keep it in mind

1:07:16.1 Rimpoche: I used to think that Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche who was great, no doubt, and who had great wisdom, but was that the wisdom that the Prasangikas emphasize? Maybe not. Maybe not. He was a great Nyingmapa, no doubt, but his view was maybe not Prasangika. I had a number of conversations with him, before I took teachings, when I was in Tibet House as a secretary and they invited all the lamas of Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug and we had to be the sponsors and principal listeners. That’s how I began to take teachings from Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche.

1:09:00.6 Then there was this Chinese Lam Rim pa in Tibet, in Drepung. He was my old friend and Tarab Rinpoche’s very close friend. When you look at Lam Rim pa’s views, it is very questionable whether he had the Prasangika view or not. More or less it was the Mind Only School’s view, which he very strongly presented. There is one of the geshes living in India, Geshe Palden Drakpa, another great lama, similar to Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe. Yeshe Thabkhe is a little more diplomatic. But Palden Drakpa was not. He is a little blunt, straightforward. He wrote critical remarks about Lam Rim pa’s views. All that may make you think: what is it really? Is it the Prasangika view? That one is superior, no doubt. But is it absolutely necessary to have the Prasangika view in order to defeat the ego or ignorance?

1:11:23.7 That thought was with me for many years and I am beginning to lean towards accepting the others as well. All these guys are great guys. Their views may not necessarily be the Prasangika view. I am thinking of my contemporaries. I am not going back to the traditional old theoretical, historical points. Understanding emptiness wisdom at whatever level you can get, that much will be your level of defeating or reducing ignorance. And I think that is great. It fulfills the purpose. Maybe it is not totally removing ignorance including the imprints, but it is capable enough to move the individual beyond. I am beginning to think that and gained a lot of respect for all these people, plus even western philosophers, really. They also put in a lot of efforts and they have gained a lot of wisdom. I just wanted to say that. We call it: open-minded. That doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want to do. It means you give a lot of thought to this and are willing to entertain. Not necessarily accept, but entertain all of those thoughts and ideas. That’s my thinking. As you know, I am quite a staunch Gelugpa, however, I am not that conservative, hopefully. That’s what it is. Whatever you think I don’t know.

1:11:23.7 Audience: Hartmut: I have heard you say this before, recently and that made me also think. There are people with great qualities from other traditions and how did they get those? It must be through their practice and that has to be respected, definitely.

1:15:16.7 Audience: Alfred: I very much appreciate your thoughts and feel fully in resonance with what you say. It goes right to my heart. That’s a good way.

1:15:46.2 Rimpoche: There was this big, fat guy in Indiana, Bruce, Mahabruce. He also had a lot of these types of thoughts. He died unfortunately.

1:16:40.5 Hartmut: I remember one thing. I read in a book by HH Dalai Lama where he said that if somebody has the Mind Only view and practices Vajrayana and gets to the point of completion stage, that experience will be so strong that this view is strong enough and will convert into the Prasangika view through the Clear Light experience.

1:17:06.0 Rimpoche: Did he say that?

1:17:06.0 Hartmut: yes, in the book: Mahamudra of the Gelug/Kagyu tradition.

1:17:13.7 Rimpoche: It is not only Prasangika, it goes even beyond, honestly. We don’t know, really.

1:17:36.2 Carel: I am very glad you said this. It is a bit of a relief for me. I was thinking for a long time it has to be Prasangika, but then Nyingmapas get enlightened too, even though they have a different view in the wisdom. So they can’t be all wrong.

1:18:19.3 Rimpoche: I did not think of Dilgo Kyentse so much as a Nyingmapa, but as a person. But it is the same thing maybe. Hopefully he had the Nyingmapa view, who knows. You never know. Many of those lamas don’t necessarily hold the view of the school they belong to, honestly. We presume they go along with their school, but wisdom is something very personal.

1:19:26.8 Carel: Sometime earlier, when teaching wisdom in terms of rang tong, you mentioned the view of zhen tong and you made it sound like something you don’t like. Are they wrong?

1:19:45.8 Rimpoche: Not at all. Zhen tong is something wonderful. You know why? What does zhen mean? Other, right? Tong is the emptiness. So it means empty of other, not empty of self. So the microphone in your hand is empty of being your mouth.

1:20:42.6 Carel: is that the zhen tong view?

1:20:42.6 Rimpoche: I believe so. I asked this five times to Lochö Rinpoche. He told me exactly the same thing. Zhen tong is empty of other, whereas rang tong is empty of self. Zhen tong may not be that difficult to get. But philosophers are great philosophers and they make it very helpful and rich. But when you really get to the bottom line, it might be like that. Buddhist philosophers explain a water vase as being empty of a pillar and that is zhen tong. And of course you can’t put water in the pillar and pour it out, as you can with a vase.

Audience: Carel: is it really that simple?

Rimpoche: That’s what I was told.

Carel: Some great masters, like Mikyö Dorje, the 8th Karmapa, said that the highest view may be Prasangika, but the ultimate view is zhen tong. Why would such great masters rely on that?

Rimpoche: At certain levels this view cuts out certain kinds of ignorance. Maybe these masters do that for the purpose of people understanding better. Buddha does that a lot too. So that may be the case. Then you look at the Hindus. They accept atman, which is self. They will never accept ataman-less. Never. That will be the biggest mistakes in their system. But they also have great mahasiddhas, so many great ones.

So that’s a big question. If you look at the theory, then Tsongkhapa’s and Khedrub-je’s (much more than Gyaltsab-je’s) writings are very restricting and very disciplined. But on the other hand you can never say that the great Hindu siddhas were not great siddhas. They achieved their siddhis and achieved enlightenment and they accept atman. But as Buddhists, and as part of the four seals or logos of Buddhism, we say we have to accept selflessness and make a door there.

But other than that, even with accepting atman, I think you can achieve that level. I don’t know what level it is but there is something there.

1:25:28.0 Let’s turn off the recording and I will say something more. End of file 1:26:35.2

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0:00:00.0….whatever I said is just for you to understand better.

Now let’s have questions.

Audience: It is said that buddhas realize relative and absolute truth at the same time? How is it known? Is it seen by people?

Rimpoche: Buddha claims: “I know both”. That is very difficult by anybody else to say what he knows or doesn’t know. But he himself says he does know. Nagarjuna’s Praise to Buddha says that Buddha, without listening to others, by these two truths, he explains everything. We know that Buddha knows the two truths, because Buddha himself says so. That’s what it is. Honestly. Sounds funny, but it is.

Audience: Can that be seen by other realized people?

0:02:50.2 Rimpoche: The absolute truth, I don’t think there is anything there to be seen with ordinary, normal eyes. That’s how it really goes. That’s why it is very mystical. Everybody knows and sees relative truth. The absolute becomes like that. Buddha says “I know both simultaneously, together, one subject of many subjects.” That’s why he is called Buddha, sang gye.

0:04:08.5 Audience: Looking deeper into reality, my thinking is that wisdom and compassion are so closely interrelated. So how can negation of the self bring compassion into form on a subtle level? If you look so deeply into subtle reality, how does compassion take form?

0:04:53.6 Rimpoche: Yesterday we talked about self-cherishing and ego-grasping and selfishness. Kimba looked up self-cherishing in the dictionary.

Kimba: Both of my dictionaries don’t list self-cherishing. They have self-interest, but no self-cherishing. So I think that self-cherishing is a Buddhist lingo translation. The translators came up with this to translate a particular Tibetan word, so it is specifically Buddhist.

Rimpoche: Do you agree with this?

Hartmut: Yes, I do. I have been in many discussions where people say: what’s wrong with cherishing oneself? We cherish our friends and we cherish life, so if we say we don’t cherish ourselves, it sounds like we don’t accept ourselves. So I also think that self-cherishing is a made up word, trying to translate a very specific Tibetan word.

Alfred: I am not so much an English speaker that I know how it is used in English, but I would say it sounds like caring for oneself and caring for oneself is very necessary. Like you said yesterday, only if one is responsible for oneself and cares for oneself, can one act and reach others. So caring for oneself is the necessary basis that is required and has to be distinguished from self-cherishing as something negative that has to be overcome.

Carel: I don’t like the word “cherishing” in the “self-cherishing” to describe a negative quality, because cherishing has a positive connotation. So to me it is more like you are hooked on the self, like a junkie and you constantly need the next shot. It is more like self-infatuation or self-addiction. This is also grasping. Addiction means you need it again and again. Self-cherishing has something to do with self-worth. As a functioning person you are valuable, but in this specific sense of self-cherishing you do wrong things, because you are addicted to it. My English is not good enough to find the right word.

0:08:49.0 Rimpoche: I understand, but what does self-cherishing mean in Dutch?

Carel: German and Dutch have a word: Selbst-sucht – literally meaning self-addiction. But the usual Dutch word used for self-cherishing is self-kustering, which really means cherishing. So we have the same problem. It also has the connotation of caring, like for a baby. So it is the same problem in Dutch.

Alfred: in German it is Selbst-sucht, self-addiction and the opposite is acting selbst-lost, selflessly acting.

0:10:46.2 Rimpoche: Self addiction, interesting, eh? So the generally used word is self-cherishing. So we begin to see the difficulties. Addiction is interesting, rather than cherishing. Interesting. Addiction is much more meaningful in this context than cherishing. Cherishing means appreciating and liking, like for a baby. And that is important. It is a big question whether that is something to be negated. Probably not. Addiction is really a good word for this. Any addiction a problem, whether it is addiction to self or drugs or to whatever. Maybe that’s something to be negated, rather than accepted. It is good to bring awareness to this. Now the question was how negating the self in a wisdom sense can bring compassion into form?

You know there is the relative bodhimind and the absolute bodhimind. The absolute bodhimind is brought through the negation of the object of negation, which we consider the “self”. That is the philosophical explanation, not practical. Practically speaking, until you have seen emptiness you don’t have the absolute bodhimind. That’s why the relative bodhimind is the true bodhimind. And the relative bodhimind becomes the absolute bodhimind if and when you have emptiness. It is as simple as that.

0:15:39.5 Audience: So it means compassion goes into form when you don’t have your ordinary perception so strong anymore. I think when you lose that strong perception, only compassion can be there. If you reach that stage, there is only compassion left and then the self-cherishing becomes a more loving kind of thing, because you are part of it and others are too. It is so close together. I think it is almost like two sides of the same coin – wisdom and compassion together. I think it can’t be separated.

Rimpoche: Yes, it is one mind process with both of these, like two sides of the same coin, true.

0:17:00.4 Audience: We said there is no solidly existing “I”. I wonder who or what becomes enlightened then? Is it an everlasting energy in me which transforms or how can I imagine that?

0:17:56.2 Rimpoche: Very interesting question and very usual too. What do you think?

0:18:15.9 Henk: I think in some way there is an energy or something that carries on when you die and that will be the thing that will be enlightened.

Rimpoche: So is it something that can be identified or not?

Henk: I don’t think it is something that you can identify. You cannot hold it or see it, but it should be there.

Rimpoche: That may be a little difficult, because if it is exists, if it is there, you should be able to identify it. And if you cannot identify you can’t say it is there. That is a clear sign of not existing.

0:19:43.3 Henk: Maybe you can identify it by experiencing it.

Rimpoche: Maybe. Identifiable doesn’t necessarily mean it has to become one. A group is identifiable, but not one. Right? A group is never one. But it is identifiable. That is how the Prasangika thinks the self is, like that. The ultimate self is like that. You are negating the oneness or singleness of something, not it’s collective existence. The Madhyamaka gives you the example of the horse cart. And the horse cart is neither the front, nor the wheels, nor the horse in front of it, not any part of it, but you cannot deny there is a horse cart. Right? Please translate that in Dutch, so people don’t misunderstand.

0:22:39.2 Translation: Inge Eijkhout

0:23:55.8 Alfred: I would like to restate it like this: A group can also be identified. When we search for the “I” that does not exist, we perceive that as a single unit and that is something we can negate. What’s not negated is our functional personality, which is the continuum of body and mind, an ever-changing process of continuous elements. So it’s a group, it’s the skandhas and that can be identified. So that is what goes from life to life and carries karma and so forth. Is that okay?

0:24:54.1 Rimpoche: That sounds okay, but the body is questionable. We leave the body behind. But then we get another body. In that way, a body is there.

0:25:19.7 Alfred: So it is the continuation of the mind stream

0:25:19.7 Rimpoche: Yea, there is a lot of continuations. So in Tibetan language they call it gyün, sort of a continuation. They give you the picture of one candle light lighting another candle light. What goes on is the fire. It touches the existing fire that burns here and continues it [somewhere else]. That is how it is. That answers the original question. If you want someone to explain it more in Dutch that may be useful. It’s not that you don’t speak English, but like for me, it is hard to “get” things in English and it is easier for me in Tibetan. Then I have to retranslate that in my head and see if there is any experience that comes with it for me and then when it comes out in English, sometimes it becomes totally different. So checking the answer in Dutch may be helpful. You have a lot of well qualified group leaders here.

0:27:42.2 Audience: I think these were the burning questions of today.

0:27:53.3 Rimpoche: All right, then please enjoy yourselves and your retreat is ending when?

0:28:04.7 Audience: Well, we have had five days now, which concludes the retreat and on Saturday will be a separate day.

0:28:29.3 So congratulations on completing this wonderful retreat and then Saturday I am looking forward to participate.

0:28:58.3 Hans: it is so great that you were here with us every day, for five days, we are very grateful. I think I can speak on behalf of the whole group. Thank you very much. It was a good retreat. And I think you have given us all the skills through all these years and we could bring them in here and a lot of people here have their own skills. And sometimes we are a little shy and hesitating to step forward, but everyone has done their best. For example, in the meditations, working with the video, being in the forums. It was great to do the job together. I hope more people will come the next time.

0:30:39.8 Rimpoche: I think there has been a good group of people, not a small group at all, a very good number.

0:30:49.1 Hans, about 40, it ranged between 25 and 40. I will give special thanks to Inge and Frances, because they have done a lot of preparations for the retreat. Thank you. On the other side, thank you for Bethany and Kimba who were always here with you. So good to have you here live with us. And then Fons has done a great job arranging sound here. We hope to see you on Saturday.

0:32:18.5 Rimpoche: Yes, Saturday I will be here talking to you. So then, if you are not expecting a larger group of people, we can continue to talk like we did today. I thought I had to prepare to give a lecture. But I don’t have to. Depends on the situation. If there are many new people maybe we have to explain a little bit more. You people are great. You are well prepared and you have all these ideas. Mine will only be a small contribution here and there, a little bit. That’s what it is.

I am expecting to hear more from Ron and Karin. They kept very silent this time. There are also a lot of other people.

0:33:52.5 personal remarks to Hartmut and Jan

0:35:54.7 Long Life Prayer and dedication verses

0:44:39.3 Thank you very much 0:44:39.4 end of file

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Guru Devotion Day with Rimpoche Saturday, November 26, 2016

0:00:39.7 Good to see you, Naomi, asked a number of times and you are here now, good. Good to see you, Helen, are you feeling well? Good.

Welcome to today’s get together. Alfred gave a talk today. What did you talk today?

Alfred: I talked a little about the process of getting to know a teacher and having some doubts, then gaining confidence and relying more on the teacher and showed that a little bit in my own life.

0:02:24.4 Rimpoche: (personal remarks)

0:03:32.2 I think we also have Supa listening upstairs and I also heard that Alison Rich is listening. Are you listening, Alison? Who gave the call in number to her?

Audience: I did, (Inge Eijkhout)

Rimpoche: I thought it was Cleo or somebody. I was a little surprised she was listening, without my knowledge.

Audience: I thought she is so sick at the moment, and it might lift her spirits to join the webinar.

Rimpoche: Good, next time make sure I know. I am sorry. Is there anybody else who is listening, without my knowledge.

Audience: There are some sick people in the Netherlands who can’t come to Nijmegen, we heard from Phil and Veroni and Margot. But I don’t know who of these actually tuned in.

Rimpoche: Bethany will know.

Bethany: Nobody tuned in.

Audience: They may be using a different link. They have a link to listen to the webcast for the whole day. That’s just a handful of people who cannot physically come to the center.

0:06:08.8 Rimpoche: All right then. It’s not that we are trying to control, but it is nice to know who is there.

So today’s subject is guru devotion. Did Hartmut give a talk today?

Audience: No, Rimpoche, Alfred and Carel did.

Rimpoche: What did he say? He is a good guy.

Carel: Basically, along the same lines as Alfred, I told people how I met you in 1986 and that for me important things were trust, you being my guide and your compassion and that basis I had a little chat with people here.

Rimpoche: Did you see Marianne Soeters and Piet?

Carel: I went there yesterday and brought some flowers, but I did not have much time, because Marianne had to go to the doctor. She has some heavy pain between the shoulders, so now they are going to the cardiologist again. I will phone him today to find out how it is.

0:08:13.8 Rimpoche: Again, we should always help with whatever we can. How is Margot and Marianne Mattheissen?

(personal exchange, inquiring after Vivine, Peter Waanroij, Hanneke, talking to Marion Wierda, Silvia)

Questions:

Audience: 0:13:58.2 Checking out your guru is important, but in Vajrayana you are supposed to see your guru as a buddha. But sometimes you are not there yet and sometimes people step into Vajrayana early. If you are not quite ready, how does that work?

Rimpoche: Inge Eijkhout, what do you think?

Inge: It will probably grow, this way of seeing the guru who you have received the initiation from, seeing him as a buddha, if that has not grown before, it will probably grow through the practice. That’s my idea.

Carel: Of course it will grow, but it is also wise not to step blindly into things you have not understood. But sometimes, if you have the connection, you have to do it and to me, you have to be a little easy on yourself. It is a matter of trying. For instance, in Heruka initiation, the person is the vehicle in which Heruka can give you the initiation. Then slowly you open up to that. I also have to work on that and try again and again. Sometimes, it seems to work a little, and then after a couple of weeks you realize well, try again. It is a learning process, like everything.

I got this trick from you and I use it often: to see the person, the human being, as a mask in which the Buddha hides. Sometimes he may be teasing you a little or something, but if you are convinced there is help, that the guru is trying to help you, the trick with the personality and the mask works to get a feeling for that. That’s as far as I can go.

Rimpoche: Good, Mr. President?

Hans: I agree. Don’t step blindly into this. You have to build a profound foundation and that’s why we have to learn first and make contact with the teacher, before stepping into Vajrayana. Then you have to grow. You don’t know everything at that moment, so you have to take some time for this and grow step by step.

Rimpoche: Interesting. Anyway wants to comment? Ron?

Ron: not really.

Rimpoche: You are the hiding person.

0:19:08.3 Ron: first you can try and pretend a little bit and see what that will deliver and recognize that you are still pretending. You can try it out, go a little to the left, or to the right. That’s what I would say.

Rimpoche: Karin?

0:19:54.0 Karin: First take refuge and see yourself as patient and the teacher as doctor. That is a necessary start.

Rimpoche: That is quite interesting. Marianne van der Horst?

Marianne: Difficult to think about it. But I have always trusted that the moment is right. When I get an initiation and it is not really that there is a deity, I think: this is offered to me, so I have to take the possibility into account. Then, when another teacher is there, that gives me confidence. That’s how I develop my motivation, my continuation of my practice, etc, that’s how I mostly work, with trust.

Naomi: I do agree with Carel and I think, if there is not so much trust in the guru yet, maybe you can go back to your motivation, and find out why you chose to go to this initiation, because there was a motivation for it and probably that will help to connect back to the guru as well.

Caroline Vossen: I think it is important to find the right body-mind state to get into, in order to connect. You have to practice how to do it yourself and be responsible to get into it in a proper way. Then there can be a meeting of minds between you and the guru, if the connection is good.

Rimpoche: Really good, thank you. Good. There are people who have struggled quite a lot and they have come out very well with it.

Any other comments?

Alfred: Basically all was said. When on enters Vajrayana, then I think before that one should look at who gives the initiation and whether there is already some trust. On the basis of that trust one tries to see the teacher as inseparable of the yidam and this sometimes works and sometimes works less, but in time it will work more often and more prolonged and that’s the way to develop.

Hartmut: It is like what everybody said and I also try to use reasoning with that, because I don’t have that perception yet naturally, so of course you have to visualize and pretend and work with reasoning how this is possible. And there are lines of reasoning in the teaching of why we can see the guru as enlightened being, like for instance, if the enlightened beings try to help us, they would appear as human beings, because the best way to learn is through human to human contact. At the same time it is enlightened activity and comes through the lineage and that can help us to get more confidence. So I try to increase my confidence through reasoning. Also it is connected with emptiness as well. The more we know about every part of the teaching, the more this can grow. This is all dependent on each other. The guru will appear in a way that I can perceive, that’s a dependent arising too.

0:26:19.8 Rimpoche: Yeah, interesting. Anyone else wants to say anything? There may be quite a few people who have difficulty with this subject. Don’t feel bad if you want to say that this is impossible and you can’t even think of it. This is a group where we can talk freely and the conversation doesn’t leave the room. Now we know everyone who is listening to this. So if anybody wants to say something uncomfortable about this, please feel free to say it.

0:27:20.1 Audience: Long ago you were giving Yamantaka initiation and I liked to do it, but you said it was too early and after I went for a walk in the woods and came back you said, “You can do it.” It was a struggle within myself and I was wondering if I could do it. Afterwards I was happy I did it, because after that I began to do the practice and for me it was good to do the practice to connect.

Rimpoche: I think your walk from Ganden to Samye was quite hard. So probably that was helpful for you.

Audience: I remember you gave me medicine because of that difficult walk.

0:29:02.0 Kimba: at my first initiation, I didn’t know anything about Vajrayana and I do remember thinking that at first it seemed weird and I didn’t want anything to do with it and then I thought, maybe it is just more teachings and I wanted to learn more and when you asked me if I wanted to do this, I remember I said that as long as it doesn’t hurt me, then it is fine for me and you said that’s a good way to start and after you realize that it doesn’t hurt you, then you have to learn how it benefits you and that’s how I developed trust. I looked if it is going to harm or help me.

Rimpoche: Interesting. Well, this subject comes right at the beginning of the Lam Rim. Not only that, it carries the criteria called “root of all development”. And it is very, very difficult, particularly, there is a human being, just like you and me, full of delusion, and you trying so say that’s Buddha, Buddha, Buddha. It is really very difficult.

0:31:42.5 But when you look into the historical efforts, it is also very funny. When Naropa was looking for Tilopa, he found him as a fisherman, on the banks of the Ganges River in India, a crazy old man and Naropa kept on thinking, “This must be Tilopa.” The funny thing is that Naropa didn’t have any doubts about Tilopa, but his doubts were about whether the person he was seeing was Tilopa or not. Naropa almost felt confirmed, thinking, “Oh yes, he is Tilopa.” Then suddenly this guy picked up a fish from the river, roasted it alive over a fire and ate it. Naropa was shocked. How could Tilopa do that! No compassion. He may not be Tilopa. Whenever Naropa thought, this guy was Tilopa, this guy would say, “Yes, yes, I am Tilopa.” So he could never tell that way. That’s a very funny story.

0:33:43.0 You can read that in Naropa’s biography. Then Marpa and Mila. That was a very, very difficult relationship. Extremely difficult. Mila met Marpa first as a farmer. Marpa was sowing seeds. It must have been spring. He talked to Marpa, who never admitted that he was Marpa, but gave me a welcome chang and some food and then said, “Marpa is in that house”. Then the farmer went away quickly, without even cleaning the dust from his face. And that was Marpa. Then Mila saw him sitting in the house, and thought, “I think that is the famer I saw earlier, but now its Marpa.” There was this confusion and then even after he was convinced that this was really Marpa, the relationship was so difficult. Mila wanted teachings, but Marpa wouldn’t give them to him.

0:36:26.5 He didn’t allow him to come to any of his teachings, so many times. One of Marpa’s four most famous disciples, Ngog dön Chökyi Dorje - I think I haven’t read Milarepa’s biography, since I was a kid in a cave in Gonpasar, between Drepung and Sera - he arrived with his retinue and received a set of teachings from Marpa. Milarepa went as part of Ngog dön’s retinue, with his permission. Ngog dön was quite impressed with Milarepa and also felt sad and compassionate, so he included him in his entourage. But Marpa not only scolded and beat up Milarepa and threw him out, but he also scolded Ngog dön and looked at him with huge, busting eyes and said so many difficult remarks like “Do you think you know better than I do?” and so on.

0:38:36.9 Then, on some occasions, Marpa told Mila, “You have nothing to give to me, so you are not going to get teachings.” Then Marpa’s wife gave Milarepa two very good turquoises, her best jewelry. Then Mila asked Marpa again for teachings and Marpa asked, “If you want teachings, what are you going to give me?” and Mila put these two turquoise on Marpa’s table and Marpa said, “You are a thief, you have stolen my property.” So it was a very difficult relationship. And he had to build a 13 story building for Marpa, first round, then square, a very funny looking thing. Every time Marpa had Mila dismantle it and made him take every stone back to the place it came from. Finally it ended up a very funny shape and Marpa showed he was unhappy about it. All this happened. My belief is that neither Marpa nor Mila had these difficulties. But it was a performance they did to show us, honestly.

0:41:03.1 Their story and that of Naropa and Tilopa and Naropa and Marpa, all of those are something to show us. Similarly, the story of Drom Rinpoche and Atisha. It is very similar, though a little easier. It was a little easier for Drom Rinpoche with Atisha than it had been with Lama Sertön earlier. Drom Rinpoche worked for Lama Sertön in the daytime as one who is looking after the animals, milking them, collecting them and at night, he even carried the milk on the back, trying to make butter out of it. That was an almost 24 hour a day slave job. Later, when Drom Rinpoche was quite developed, he asked Atisha, “Did I spend my life well with the Mahayana Dharma?” Atisha’s reply was,”Your work with Lama Sertön was perfect. The other work was so-so.”

0:43:14.7 Having said all this, what is guru devotional practice really? Bottom line. I don’t know whether it is right to look at one human being and then say, “He is Buddha, Buddha, Buddha”, giving various funny reasonings, from the lam rim reasonings of guru devotional practice. Plus, the 8 benefits and 8 disadvantages. Whether that is really the point or is it finding my guru in reality in the oneness of all objects of refuge and all yidams and all lamas?

0:45:18.3 Lately, for me it is easy to see Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa – way beyond that is a little complicated, but Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa, then seeing Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, then Lochö Rinpoche, again in oneness. Whatever the face and picture comes out, but in oneness, in reality it is really one, but you have one behind the other or merge them together. That sort of thing. I think, yet you do get individual persons, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche or Lochö Rinpoche or others. But I see the direct line of Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa, Ling Rinpoche and Lochö Rinpoche. That is easier, because Lochö Rinpoche is the last person who remained. The others are there too, no contradiction and if you wanted to merge them, you could merge them, if not you don’t. But all these three, Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa, Ling Rinpoche and Lochö Rinpoche, you see their individual personalities, not necessarily always only smooth relations either. So all of them you see and then you see some kind of different events that are taking place, but doesn’t really come up much, unless you try to focus on them. And that also becomes Lama Lobsang Thubwang Dorje Chang, who is nothing other than that and each one of them is nothing other than Lama Lobsang Thubwang Dorje Chang.

0:48:07.6 So it is some kind of person, representing all of them and that is the guru. It is something that the fully enlightened ones have come down and become this being and that being. That is easier to look to as fully enlightened, because that’s what it is. If you look in the Four Mindfulnesses teachings it says that in the guru mindfulness you see buddhas and bodhisattvas as Manjushri and then Manjushri becomes the form of your teacher, rather than trying to make one individual with all difficulties into that. But you don’t have to separate that either. That is the trick.

0:49:58.9 In the beginning you don’t think about it. So when you see the enlightened beings have come down for you, to help you, either in the form of Manjushri, or Jamgön Lama Tsongkhapa or in that manner, then the question within your mind is much less and much easier. Sometimes you may even see two separate personalities of Manjushri and a separate human being with difficulties. You may see it, but it doesn’t bother much, doesn’t disturb much, because in reality it is merging and for that matter, when you think of Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang, you have the same personality merge into it. Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche were a little easier, because they were very famous and we were not in touch with them very closely. But it was more difficult with Lochö Rinpoche and Ribur Rinpoche and Gomo Rinpoche, especially with Gomo Rinpoche, who had an interesting character.

0:51:42.1 But somehow, rather than trying to make them buddha, the buddhas, bodhisattvas and yidams have come down to help me in their form. So that sometimes makes it a little easier. That doesn’t mean you don’t see any faults. You do, but I am not very sure whether you go like in the lam rim, whether the perception of the faults is the right idea or wrong idea and all that. I will leave that alone for a while and not let it overtake the whole idea, but somehow enlightened beings have come down to help me, to guide me – in that form, rather than trying to take the individual person and trying say Buddha, Buddha, Buddha.

0:53:23.3 In the Four Mindfulnesses Manjushri is first, right, and then he becomes the teacher. So that sort of gives you the message. And that is also not just about initiations. Nothing to do with it. Guru devotional practice is the root of development, even before lam rim. Initiation is not the doorway to guru devotional practice, you know that, right? Again, if you look at the initiation, the lama develops into the yidam’s form and takes total self-initiation and then comes out and gives the initiation. It is also the enlightened beings first. These are my little thoughts over here. The idea of bringing in one human being full of delusions, like me, and trying to make that into Buddha, I don’t think is the issue. Even when you look at the normal lam rim, the beginning of guru devotional practice, it says that the master is the manifestation of enlightened beings rather than saying you have to look at that human being as Buddha.

There are the three different views of the three yanas. In Hinayana you look at the guru as equal to Buddha. In Mahayana you look at the oneness of guru and buddha and in Vajrayana they are inseparable. But again, whether you are taking the person up and making them into [Buddha] or the enlightened beings coming down and making that into the guru. That may be an issue and maybe that has some help. That is all I wanted to say.

Think about it. Maybe that makes some difference?

0:57:46.1 Carel: That does help and that is the way I try to do it, to bring it in. That works for me.

Rimpoche: Good. Anybody else? Then it becomes the Supreme Field, like in Lama Chöpa,

ZHING CHOH DHAM PA JE TSÜN LA MA LA

CHÖ CHING GÜ PEY SÖL WA TAP PEY THÜ

DHE LEK TSA WA GÖN PO KHYÖ NYI KYI

GYE ZHIN JE SU DZIN PAR JIN GYI LOP

Precious Lama, supreme field of good fortune,

Root of all goodness and joy, my Protector,

By the power of my offerings, respect, and prayers,

Gladly bless me with your care.

Similarly the yön ten zhi gyur ma, the Foundation of all Perfections. Maybe that it is one of the ways to make it a little easier, I don’t know. It also depends on the individual thoughts and ideas and all that and each and every individual will have different difficulties, ideas, thoughts, etc.

0:59:41.0 Then culture also makes quite a difference. Chinese-Indian culture makes it easier for people to look at the guru, particularly Indians. Indians talk about guru-ji. They are not talking about every person who claims to be a guru, but the personally connected guru is something beyond reproachable. Without difficulty their culture will allow you to go there. Particularly, in the case of music and all other spiritual paths.

Remember, Philip once asked the famous Bengalian musician Ravi Shankar, “Where does the music come from?” and Ravi Shankar looked at the photo of his guru on his table, folded his hands and said, “Music comes from guru.” So the culture makes it easier. In Chinese also, the word “master” is easier to accept than in western culture. Western culture doesn’t have that. It is completely foreign to western culture, a difficult thing. That’s how I thought we can this easier for us.

Anything else?

1:03:02.9 Audience: The approach you just explained about seeing the guru as manifestation of the channel through which enlightened beings appear to help you raises the question: who and where and what are enlightened beings? That is the question here in the west.

1:03:48.3 The question of enlightened beings is totally different. I don’t think we really doubt at all that there are enlightened beings. We are sort of certain they are there. All the enlightened beings are there. Is this different than what we accept as God? Maybe slightly. God is completely over-exaggerated, so much. So maybe it is slightly different. But I don’t think we doubt it. I don’t doubt enlightened beings. Some people may. But total knowledge is such and Buddha has very well demonstrated in all kinds of ways, not only from the teaching point of view but even from the prediction point of view. Also, once he had people go home and bring different grains from 500 houses and put them into similar packets, with internal marks. He picked up each and everyone of them and told the people, “This belongs to your house, that belongs to your house”, without hesitation or doubt. He did that for 500 families and he repeatedly demonstrated that as Buddha in many places.

1:05:53.6 Yet also, Buddha showed a little of the ignorance of human beings by being a human being – together, simultaneously. So the question of enlightened beings – there is no doubt for me. They are real and they are there. That is something we can also become. The opportunity is available. But then, when you become enlightened, you don’t become something invisible, but something whatever, very capable of anything you want to do.

1:07:00.3 So that’s what I think your question was.

Audience: what does guru devotion mean from the perspective of the guru?

1:07:23.1 Rimpoche: Nothing, honestly, there should be nothing. A guru should never expect anything. If you do so, you are not good. That is very definitely nothing. That’s why the guru, from the individual human being’s point of view, is a normal human being, behaves normally, just whatever you are. There should not be any difference between the stage and the green room. If there is any difference, then it’s not good, absolutely not good.

1:09:13.2 Audience: You talked about cultural differences and how it could be different for Indian and Chinese people, but western people are really educated to think critically. So it can be very confusing if you disagree with your spiritual teacher on maybe political matters or this kind of thing. You yourself are also a critical thinker. Can you give us examples from the interaction with your teachers?

1:09:53.2 Rimpoche: Yes, with many of them I don’t agree. But there is nothing wrong with that. Some gurus will act extremely silly. I think I have given the following example a couple of times. Gomo Rinpoche was personally not well to do. Originally, in Tibet, yes, but in India, it was very difficult. For his total income he relied on being a foster parent in Home Nr. 15, which was probably less than 100 rupees or something. Very difficult. Then one time Rinpoche went to Nepal and there a number of people respect him and he gave teachings and things like that. Then he called me from Nepal, saying that he had some turquoise to bring back to India. He would come next day and he needed me to be at the airport and to make sure that I talked to the customs officers and make sure that they not only didn’t confiscate his turquoise, but also not charged him customs duty

1:11:58.1 Quite late at night, by 9’o clock, I got that message. I knew a couple of Indian customs officers. I called them and also went to see them with some bottles of single malt whiskey, which was very difficult to get in India in those days. Diplomats could get them, for the rest it was very difficult.

So the next morning I went to the airport and saw the customs official and he shook hands with me and told me we could go. So we took Rinpoche’s luggage and walked out. Then, at home, he showed me that he had quite a lot of turquoise. I thought that was okay and good for him. But when we opened it up, there were so many individual packages, for this person and that person and at the end there remained less than a handful for him. I thought, what a waste. Not only that, then I had to drive to deliver all these different turquoise packets to all these different people throughout Delhi, up and down and up and down. I don’t know if I was angry or not, but I thought the whole thing was quite silly. Absolutely silly. So that happens. I don’t know.

1:14:06.7 Audience: So if you see things like that going on, can you still see someone like that as a pure manifestation of the Buddha?

1:14:15.8 Rimpoche: Disagreement is just disagreement. It comes out of human nature. That doesn’t change the personality you project. It can bring some irritation and even a little anger. It is very possible. But that doesn’t really make a big change at all. That’s I think how it is. Once you have developed that, it is like a mother’s love. No matter how a child behaves, it really doesn’t change deeply.

That’s all I have to say and I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone of you, Mr. President and thank you to the organizers, Frances and Inge. Thank you everybody, Alfred and Hartmut for coming and the webinar people and everybody.

1:16:58.8 Audience: Thank you Rimpoche, for being with us live every day. Thank you so much.

1:17:09.8 Rimpoche: I wanted to be at your retreat earlier, but there is no way I can sit up, so at least I was able to do it this way and I am very happy. Connections are very important and good and also very, very nice to see all of you, and particularly the elder ones, the senior ones. Very good to see everybody and thank you.

1:17:56.6 Dedication chant and migtsema, announcements 1:23:26.4 end of recording

completed transcription on Sakadawa Day, 2017