Archive Result

Soundfile 19850702GR3P (09)

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location

Topic Three Principles

Transcriber Glenn Powers

Date 2020-12-16

What’s going to happen for tonight? Whether I will be available tomorrow or not, as Kunjabaya said, [Tibetan] 0:00:16.2 where tomorrow is going to come first or so called next life, which is going to come first? Who knows? So, it is important to do some benefit for future life rather than for tomorrow as Kunjabaya said. Beside that, when you look physically, you see the people in the evening and these people in the evening what you see are not available, some of them, in the morning. You see people in the morning, though some of them are not available in the afternoon. You see people dying at the right, you see people dying at the left. But, we always give ourself as though another person who is not even subject for it. We sort of go here, go there, attend somebody else’s funeral and visit some sick people in the hospital and attend another funeral. But, we never think I will be there one day. This is our fault. Not only that, we cannot guarantee to anybody that if we go to sleep tonight, I will wake up tomorrow morning. Who knows whether you can wake up or you cannot wake up. No certainty. No certainty, In short, we may live long. Doesn’t matter. But, we may die any moment. Any moment. The death is indefinite, can come any moment. In case if death comes, what will I do? Do I have enough on the third? Nothing can help. What can it help? Nothing. The money, the wealth, the security, whatever I have built during my lifetime, as a security has now let me down. I cannot take a single penny. I cannot take a single piece of cloth. I cannot take a single stone out of the house. Have to go completely, completely out, even leaving the body which was born with me. I have to leave that. So, what I have, when I look what I have, only the karmas that I’m carrying, the karma of good and bad. So, how much good karma I have? Most probably none. I have tremendous bad karma collected in order to build wealth and security. And now, the result of that, the wealth and securities, I’m living it, I’m going and only I’m carrying the black karma. That’s all. The black karma I have to go. That won’t help. That will harm me. Only help I get is by good karma, which I have none. Okay. These things we have to meditate. Just like I mentioned to you, just like that. If possible, there are nine round of impermanent meditations. I don’t think there’s time to talk today. Nine round of meditation I cannot talk now. 0:03:54.0

Now, if you try to meditate little bit on this, the moment you say those words, meditation system is just like this morning. You have to meditate your guru in the form, whatever you have choosing. In that form, meditate on your head. On your crown, just like in the morning, sitting. Then, you say the first word, whatever it is. Leisure and opportunity are hard to get. So, before you say that, you have to think these now. We have covered the preliminary level and we have to go in the actual. Acutal also have three. Renunciation, bodhicitta and perfect view. For renunciation, there also three. Why the transcendental renunciation is necessary, the first word. The lust for existence chains all corporal beings. Addiction to the pleasure of the life cycle is only cured by transcendental renunciation. So, seek the transcendence first of all. Okay. Say this word. What you have to think here if in short, very important, I’ve said, the karma is divided into three. Karma of fortunate, karma of unfortunate and karma of shakable. Karma, all these three, are created only samsaric gods. All good efforts, whatever I do, and I along with sentient beings, remember this morning, you have all sentient beings around. So, every time when you meditate, you have to do like this. I and sentient beings along with me, we have tremendous amount of karma. Even the good karmas are only capable of giving a fortunate karmic result or, at best, unshakable karmic result. All of them are within the samsara. So, as long as we are in samsara, circle continuing. So, it doesn’t serve any purpose. We have taken such a life, number of times from the beginning and we have enjoyed samsaric pleasures and everything. But, it has not helped. As matter of fact, it caused more trouble and more harm and there is endless. Therefore, today I have this great opportunity, I must able to cut the samsara, because if the samsara not been able to cut, there will be continue. Samsara, must cut. In order to cut the samsara, I need good, virtuous force, positive virtuous forces to be built. To be able to build positive virtuous force against samsara, it is very important to have the influence of renunciation. Otherwise, whatever I do, good work, instead of going against samsara, it goes cause of samsara. Therefore, I must generate the understanding of transcendent renunciation. Okay. That is the short meditation for that. And then continue. 0:08:16.8

Leisure and opportunity are hard to get. Okay. Leisure and opportunity hard to get. Three outlines. Recognizing the life which has the leisure and opportunity. What leisure? Because, not falling into different realms of five, I have the time. And, I have the opportunity, because of the teaching methods are available. Not only methods and teachings available. But, persons who have practice with this and who gained full enlightenment and simply for me to just copy what they have done. So, the opportunity is right there. It is only for me to take or not. So, I do have tremendous opportunity and I do have leisure. And, it is important. It is very important. Because, if this life can give me ultimate happiness, even the wish fulfilling jewel, if at all they’re available, cannot give me ultimate happiness. Nothing. It may be able to give me little more money, little more comfort. That, even I can give myself by working more. By doing more business, I can bring money in. No problem. But, this life, what can give me is ultimate happiness. I can get it with this lifetime. Therefore, it is much more important and valuable. So, it is important. Therefore, I must pass resolution here that my life is so important. No matter whatever the things, thoughts may come, I’m useless, I’m helpless, all this, I am not. I am capable. I have the opportunity. I am capable. I have the path. I can go up to the enlightenment. More over, I born with four elements and six different nadis. I can exercise all different tantric developments. I have the opportunity to be able to utilize base, path, result together. Because of this, so I am very important. I am capable. I am very valuable. So, convince yourself that you are important, valuable, very valuable and pass resolution on it and request to your great guru, sitting on the crown, to bless you and then the light and liquid comes here. Light and liquid comes, purify all your non-virtuous in general and particularly blockage to understand the importantness of life has been totally washed away. You and other sentient beings been washed away. You purify yourself, pure. And, importantness of life has been developed. 0:12:06.6

Then next, it is important, fine. But, I can have it very often. No. Very often is very difficult. It is hard to get. Why? It requires perfect morality as base of cause. How much good morality I have? I know myslef, I don’t have to go and ask anybody. With this capability of my morality, to be able to hope again is very, very poor. Very rare. In addition to this, opportunity is much more rare, much more rare, as I can see. See the different realms, different people, even within the human realm, different people, how much have the opportunity and how much does not have the opportunity. So, therefore it is very rare to gain this opportunity from the causal view, from the natural point of view. Buddha has given the example of blind tortoise coming up 500 years. So, it is really almost impossible to get it again. So, great guru may bless me to be able to understand this. And then, whatever you are saying it, mantra or yantra, whatever you are saying, you say there. In the mean time, the light and liquid comes from the guru and purifies all your non-virtuous actions in general and particular blockage to understand the difficult to finding the important life has been purified. And understanding the difficult to find life has been gained. Alright. It is important. It is difficult to find. But, then what? I live here forever. It is impossible. You have to die. It is impermanent. It doesn’t last long. It is impermanent. It is very short lived. We are all subject of death. We have to die. Buddha, the spiritually developed, powerful kings, with the military and political power and material power could not stop the death. Physical powerful like lion, elephant, etc. could not stop the death. How can I stop? What do I have? Nothing. So, I am definitely going to die. As we all know, I am subject of death. Not only am I subject… every outlines you can repeat the light and liquid or you can go all three together and do the light and liquid together. That is depends how much time you have. So, not only I’m subject of dying, when is nobody knows. When cannot be answered. Can be any moment. Kunjabayon 0:15:38.9 has mentioned whether tomorrow has come first or future life come first, who knows. It is better to work for the future life. It is true. Ever since we born, our life has been continuously used, there is no addition. It is going, continuously going. We rest, we sleep, we rest. But, life doesn’t rest. I goes like a running horse towards death, we’re running, running with full power all this time. So, one day it’s certainly going to reach there, fast. Who knows when? So, it is better to prepare for future life rather than thinking much of tomorrow. Can be any moment. But, I may feel that I’m quite young, I am quite healthy. So, death may not come. There is no certainty. Though, old people are supposed to die before and young people are supposed to live after. However, I witnessed many young people died first and old parents attend their funeral. So, why not me, too? It is possible. So, there is no certainty the old will die before and the young will live later. Moreover, perfect healthy person talking, walking, can any moment, anything goes wrong, and get a stroke, get a heart attack, get anything and can die immediately on the spot. We have seen it everyday, it is happening. So, I am also subject to that. Who knows? The reason what I give, young and healthy is not good enough reason. Not convincing. 0:17:36.8

So, not only I’m dying, when I’m going to die, there is no certainty. So, it is best not to waste time and make use of it, best way to gain spiritual development. And, my great guru may bless me to do this. And, light and liquid comes from the guru, washed all non-virtuous action in general and particularly the holding on the life as permanent. All the blockage of this and that has been washed. Understanding of impermanence and also definitely going to die, when is going to die, no certainty, has been developed. Then, next comes. 0:18:32.9

When the death comes, what can help? What can I take? Can I take my luggage with me? Can I take my clothes with me? Can I take my money with me? Can I take my checks with me? No. I have to leave everything. Every single thing, the house, the transportation even, which was built for traveling. Everything, I have to leave. I have to go. All alone. Not only I go, I have to leave all my friends, relations, retinuities and teachers, everything. Not only that, the body, which was born with me, has also leave and I have to go, just like hair out of butter. All alone, in the darkness. All alone. All by myself. I can carry nothing but the imprints of my karma which automatically comes with me. So, when I look into those imprints, I have tremendous amount of non-virtuous, as I see everyday, every evening, when I review what I have done during the day and weeks and months, I always find negative forces so strong. Definitely, I have very strong negative forces. My positive forces weak. So now, what can I do? Am I going to be suffer? Or, what I’m going to do. What can I do? My great guru may bless me to be able to understand this properly, light and liquid comes, purify all non-virtuous action in general and particularly to understand what can help to the future. Understanding dharma is the only thing which can help in the future. Dharma or virtuous action, it’s same thing. Virtuous action is the only thing can help me on future. Then, guru dissolves within you. And, every time, you have to do this. This lamrim meditations and just now we are doing the short and fast ones. But, when you are doing , by yourself, then you have to spend time and think carefully on it. Then, you gain benefit afterwords. Thank you. 0:21:22.0

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Now, to continue wherever we stopped earlier, is [Tibetan] 0:22:15.5 So, I mentioned, meditated and thought how important, how meaningless the life is. Short lived, no purpose served. So far, whatever we’ve been thinking as value. So now, everything we are showing valuable they are. So, that’s it. So, it really, in another words, it convince ourself that present life… everybody is trying to do something. Everywhere, you see the young and old, man, woman, everybody is trying busy, doing something. What are they doing? Mostly, if you think about it, what are they doing? They’re trying to make more money, that’s all. What else? What else? Because, it is the thing that they think money is the ultimate value. So, we now realize the money is not the ultimate value. Because, it is valueless. It really doesn’t have much value when you compare it with the others. Yes, life money builds, only this life, good house, lot of comfort. This thing, that thing. But, what of them you calculate at end, what really happens? Nothing. By the time when you die, could be tomorrow, or could be few days later, few weeks later, could be few months later or could be few years later. Whatever it may be. By the time when you die, you carry nothing. Only the black imprint of negative forces, whatever you have, you carry them and you going to suffer. So, therefore, one should not consider those things as ultimate value. So, present, good life is nothing to be [..] it’s not the object you should wished to be built and it is not the thing we look for. Because, it is meaningless. And, it is short lived. And, you pay too much price for it. So, it is no worth. And, therefore we must renounce. Well, it comes and you have to lead a reasonable good life. Everybody has to. Sort of old, American way of saying, everybody has right to live respectfully, yes. But, you have to have reasonable life. But, you really don’t go for sort of ultimate aim as money and material value. We do not have to be really impressed by people who’s having a very good house, by people having huge land, by people who’s having excellent cars and cars. All this material things, we do not impress on it. We don’t really look for it. But you have to have them at a reasonable level, whatever we can afford, you can afford. Be happy, be contented with this and enjoy best out of it. Whatever you could get. At the same time, you realize this is not ultimate. This is not a perfect thing. This is nothing you should be impressed upon. So, renounce it. Also, together. When I say renounce again, I’m not saying run away from the life or give up your jobs and go into the forest. Or, go into all this. I’m not saying it. You must be able to lead a proper life. Proper life, whatever we can afford. Within means of your valuable, you should be able to live it with that and be happy and be contented with this. And I know, in America no one can go hungry. In the West, people are lucky. You look in the East, how much they have suffering and problems and miseries. But, in the West, whether is it America or Europe, we don’t have this problem. So, whatever you can afford. Whatever the level you are. Be contented. Be contented. Contentment is the richest, if you are contented with whatever you have, you are very rich. If you are greedy, you’re very poor, no matter how much you have. [..] 0:27:35.0

There was a beggar, during the early India, poor, very poorest beggar. Very poor and nobody wants him round. This small village of course, in India, 2,500 years before. What do you expect, small must be. And, everybody knows him, because he’s out. But, nobody wants him, because he’s poorest man. He always begs round. Begging, begging, begging, so they don’t want him. And finally, the strange thing is one day, he found a bag under some shadow, near some tree somewhere, leather bag. And he pulled leather bag up, it happens to be full of gold. It is full of gold. So, he found bag full of gold. There are a lot of stories here. There sort of very much similar to it. And then, he got lot of friends. All of the suddenly. Uncles, aunties and all sort of funny new things. So, what he used to say, [Tibetan] 0:29:02.2 I have no uncle, but suddenly I found one new uncle, I prostrated to you, the gold bag. Ultimately announced, he said look, I am a poor man, I am beggar. I’m not going to keep the gold, I’m going to give it away. I’m going to give it away to the poorest people in this country, to this land. And, I want everybody to come. I want king to come and witness. Everybody is there. Everybody went with the hope he will give it to me, to me, to me. [..] Everybody went. He got that gold bag, carrying up, down, walk up and down, look round. And finally he says, I found the poorest people in this land is the king. So, I give to him. King has the kingdom, everything he has. But, he’s never contented. He always wanted more. So, he’s never contented. Never contented. So, he’s the poorest, though he got the most. But, he’s the poorest. He’s never contented. Okay. [Tibetan] 0:30:39.6 The kings, after taking the country, after earning the country, even then, they are very hungry and very greedy and hungry. [Tibetan] 0:30:57.0 The son of the beggar who has nothing but torn clothes, even then he is more happy and more rich and more leisure under the torn cloth. This were the sayings they developed. So, that’s it. 0:31:16.6

If you are contented, you will be very happy. If you are not contented, you suffer. Nobody will suffer. You suffer. Always you suffer. You want this, you want that. You want do everything. If you want do everything, either it is materially or spiritually, whatever may be. If you want do everything, nobody can to everything at all. When you want to do everything, it costs. It does lot of things. And you have to pay it and you suffer. That’s all. You have to be contented. Contentment is very important. Okay? 0:32:06.6

Tibetans have funny proverbs. [Tibetan] 0:32:28.7 People who are not satisfied after eating a mountain. People could not satisfy after drinking an ocean. That’s it. That’s what happens, actually. [Tibetan] 0:32:49.1 That’s exactly what happens when you have no contentment. People has no limit. Not people, we, myself. We have no limit. If you let our desire go, no limit. I’m sure everybody wants to be the best. If you let your ego go, if you let your mind go, everybody want to be the best. I’m sure. If not the best, better than him, better than her, better than this, better than that. Okay, everybody want it. Everybody. Everybody wanted to be richest. Not the richest, that becomes too much. But, richer than him, richer than her. In reality, it is the richest. Everybody wanted that. If you become richer, you will not satisfy. You will not satisfy. You wanted more. You will never satisfied. In short, The whole universal wealth, is earned by one man. If all the wealth in the universe was owned by one man, even then he will never be content. Even then, he want more. He will do everything. Every mischievous thing, whatever the way he can do it, he will do it and he wanted more. This is me. This is you. We all do that. Just now, we have certain limitations. So, thank god, those limitations will stop us. If you don’t have that, you’ll do the same thing. That’s it. So, whatever it may be, in short, be contented. IF you are not contented, you will never be satisfied. Never be. Never be. Never, never be. So, have to be contented. This is very important. This is one of the problems and biggest suffering we have in samsara. It’s actually not to be taught here. But, somehow, it slipped. 0:34:51.6

Anyway, so the life, whatever you get it, within this lifetime is actually meaningless. Meaningless because it really doesn’t make difference. Even you have twenty kilo of rice or you have one kilo of rice, you won’t be hungry. You cannot eat twenty kilo at all. So, that’s it. You may be able to eat tomorrow, that is different matter. But, you really cannot. Same thing. Whether you have hundred or you have thousand, it is same thing. Makes no differnce to you, actually. But our greedy will always push us much up, much up. Always. So, whatever you have, whatever you have, as long as you’re not hungry, as long as you are not feeling cold, as long as you have shutter on the place where you put your head, person should be contented. Whatever it may be. Good or bad, big, small. Contented. Then, you be very happy. So, that’s it. So, as long as you not contented, whatever you may have, it’s same thing. Rich people, a very rich person, for him, whether he get thousand dollar or hundred dollar or ten thousand dollar or hundred thousand dollar, makes no difference actually. Actually, makes no difference. But greedy will not let go even one dollar or even ten cents. They will fight an aruge. Okay. This is the true reality. Because he’s not contented, he always wanted more. Makes no difference to him, it goes in his bank account. His figures goes up. That’s all. The figures will go up and down, that’s all he think he got it then. He has them. He does have them in a way. But, actually, he got only figures. That’s it now. 0:37:10.5

So, life is really meaningless. All this thing, even you get it, reasonable comfort is definitely needed. Beyond that, it’s meaningless. Therefore, it is not worth to waste great life, great opportunity, for this. Only for benefit of short lived period, maybe for only night is this worth for it. So, it is not worth. Maybe only maybe who knows maybe for the next two hours only, you’re wasting. So, is this really a worth? It is not. Because you have the opportunity to give yourself a permanent free, a permanent better life. So, why waste for such a thing? So, therefore, renounce. Okay? Now, when we renounce, renounce again does not mean, does not really mean give up this life. You cannot give up life, you have to live it with this. But, don’t build attachment. I told you, what is samsara. I told you, the continuation of the form, with pain, is called samsara. Don’t look samsara outside. I mentioned to you already. The moment you say samsara, people begin to look outside, the mountains, the trees, the waters and the place and the house and all sort of thing and they get idea. All the living people in there. Sort of look from outside, the whole country, you call it samsara. That is wrong. Complete wrong conception of samsara. It may or may not be samsara at all. But, what really is samsara? What is really circle of life for ourself is the continuation of the pain, life after life. Continuation of ourself, tied to a form by attachement and karma of unforunate. Even fortunate karma, even unshakable karma are tied to a form for which life continues. That is really samsara. The continuation of the form is samsara. That’s actually how we are tied down to that form, we cannot get away. Tied by attachment, lust and all this. Because, we think this, ha, is beautiful, I must get it that. I must do something. Blah, blah, blah. Endless, endless, endless, these things you get it, one after another. So, you work for it, you create it for it. So, when you try, you wanted everything. Some people wanted so much. They can’t get it. What they do? They go and steal it. Thieves don’t do stealing for fun. Right? Not even to force to it. IF you look those thiefs they are very rich, many of them. They’re rich because they’re making money by this way. So, they’re not satisfied. They could not get anything, whatever they wanted. So, the easy method to rob a bank. That’s what they do. Only. But, that also desire and dissatisfaction of the life. That’s what they do. And, you loose your life in between for that. You get short. You get killed. All sorts of thing happens and you overlook that. Look at how strong the attachment is. How strong the desire is. How strong the dissatisfaction is. You go to the extent of going to rob the bank. You’re sure the police will catch you. You’re sure you’ll be punished. 99.9% sure. Unless you are crazy. Right? You may try to make a fool proof plan and this and that, but you’re sure to encounter, you’re sure to get shot and all this. And your life is on the risk. Totally. And what for you doing it? For betterment of this life alone. You want a little more money. You want something more. For that, yet your life is on the risk point. You don’t realize that. That is because of the strong desire, strong dissatisfaction with what you have. Strong, you wanted more. That’s what you do. 0:42:04.3

So, this are all if you don’t satisfy what you have. Doing for life, life may have just got short. One bang, it goes off, that’s end of it. Right? You know that very well. Even then, you take risk. People do this. I mean, that’s what it is. So, see how strong our desire is. This must cut it down. Otherwise, we will never get it. As long as you don’t… you’re satisfied with the life, whatever it may be. No matter, whatever. Money, cloth, anything, whatever within the life, whatever you get, be happy with this. Can never be totally perfect. Can never be. Whatever you have, totally can never be perfect, because it’s true nature of pain. Whatever you do, you can never enjoy. You can never enjoy. You can never be happy. Even you have 200 different shades laying down. You can change every hour, even then you never be happy. Yeah, really. Even then, you never be happy. Anything can go on together, can never be happy. Friendship, companion, anything. You’ll have a pain, for sure. Because it’s nature. If you odn’t have pain, it’s something wrong. So, you will have unhappiness, you will have misery, you will have problem. This is nature. But, you have to make it best use out of it. You have to make best use out of it. You cannot run away. You cannot, you may change and you think change will be good. Most probably no. The change is also subject of pain. This will be change. Temporarily, it may appear to be no pain. But, it is subject. You probably get more pain, trouble. This is what it is. Anything you look in this life, whatever, whatever, whatever it may be. Anything. Sweet, sour, everything. Yeah, really. You do that. Happens. So therefore, have no appreciate… don’t draw attraction. Don’t loose you attraction to anything that you think is wonderful within this lifetime, material or even other ways. Don’t loose your attraction. Don’t get addicted. Don’t go for it. Be happy with whatever you have. Be contented. Don’t go beyond your means. That’s what it is. The moment you go that way, you get pains and problems. Even whatever you have. You have pains. Even you go there, you may have more pains. I’m telling all the time, we think money is everything. 0:45:30.7

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The way I’m going to get it, set back. Or, whatever going to happen. Whether this investment will go bad or good or bad, here there’s worry. Why do we think they have so many files on the table? Everything has a problem in it. Really, everything has a problem in it. And, you have to think very carefully, something, something, and push that out and get another one. Okay. So, how much they have? They go many times sleepless nights, many times, many times. We don’t. We don’t have it, we don’t have to worry about it. So, that’s really. If you become rich next time, you will look it back and I can guarantee you, your present life is much more happier than multimillionaire, if you become later. Will be for sure. But, if you are totally broke, again you have problem. You know. This is such a funny thing. If you have, you have problem of having it. If you don’t have, you have problem of not having it. That’s what it is. Because, it is nature of pain. Because, it is nature of suffering. So, good or bad, whatever it may be, it causes pain. It’s a problem. So, why attach for it? Whatever you get it, be happy and don’t get attached. Don’t go for it. This is how you gain transcendent renunciation of this life. Okay. So, that’s why the first line says, “leisure and opporunity are had to get.” On this line, this is what you have to think. Conclusion, what you have to draw, is the leisure, opportunity hard to get. 0:47:50.3

“There’s no time to life.” When they say there is no time to life, then you talk impermanence. And then, with these three, you should be able to turn your focus around and say, “hey,” So far, what I’m getting, addiction for this, this, this. It’s not even really addiction… [..] you see some material comfort, you get impressed on it. You see some material comfort, you get impressed on it. That’s good, you get impressed, fine. Stop there. But, you can’t stop there. You say ah yes, that is wonderful, I must have like that. And then develop the desire straight together. So, that’s what I wanted, some verb. Covetness. [..] So, that’s exactly what I wanted. As you get that, you begin to have miserable and unhappy. Give up that. Impress, that’s okay. People have good house, comfortable life. Be happy, be impressed. Fine. Doesn’t matter. Fine. Stop there. Don’t go beyond that. I must get it that. Many people will just give up. When you see very far away. Because you have no hope of doing it, not because you don’t have attachment. Don’t misunderstand. Lot of people do misunderstand. Because you have no way of reaching that level, so don’t hope for it. Totally you knew it very well. We don’t look for it. Right? But, people may think, “I have no attachment on this sort of thing. Because, I saw so-and-so’s house and that’s huge and beautiful, but I did not think I want that.” Okay. That is because you are hopeless. I’m sorry. You are hopeless. So, you are giving up totally because you there’s no way you can reach to that standard. That’s why you are giving up. That doesn’t mean you have renounced. Because, whenever it is something that you can think you can get it, within reach of your means or with little more here and there, little more borrowing from the bank, and this and that, I will be able to manage. And, here you get more. Okay. When you, even that level, if you are not impressed, if you really don’t have desire, even you impressed, your impressed, sure, be it, good. But, you don’t have desire to be having by yourself. Then it is getting something good. It’s not that when you look at the Rockefeller and nobody wants to challenge the Rockefeller out of us. For sure, because we have no way of reaching it. So, that means we didn’t give up. It doesn’t mean we are giving up, that we have renounced. We are hopeless. Don’t misunderstand that. So, anyway now to short. Whatever we do, If we are impressed by the worldly materials and if we work for it, we are only working for the benefit of this life, which has no meaning for whatsoever. It could be short. It could be any minute or could be hundred years, doesn’t matter. Whatever it may be. It is short. So, why waste such as precious, valuable opportunity of life. You have now all your background, remember? The valuable opportunity. Now, you see how important it is. How can you afford to waste such a valuable thing what you have already? We worry if we loose ten dollars. I’m sure we worry quite a lot. But, if you waste a valuable life opportunity, the value truly speaking, the value of our time, which we can do tremendous for benefit of ourself for future, permanent. Even hour is value much more than $100. Much more than $100. $100, even $1,000. IT much more than that. We don’t realize that. We waste without any understanding, without any feeling, without any regret for whatsoever. Yet, if you loose $10, how much worry you do? You worry so much, we look back, drive back, go back, here, there, here, there, try to search, where my wallet left? She took it or maybe not. Not in America, they don’t do it. Yeah, really. How much we worry? We do that. But, on the other hand, we’re loosing our valuable life, we never have regret for, whatsoever. Don’t even bother, just going, going, going. We are almost senseless. Really, truly, speaking, senseless. We;re really wasting a tremendous amount. So, how can we afford to really waste the valuable life. The value, the opportunity. For a meaningless purposes. For a meaningless purposes. Why waste? The best thing is understand it, because then it’s transcendent. By understanding it’s meaningless, then renounce. You don’t have to give up your job. You don’t have to give up your life, I’m telling you. Whatever you have, you do it. Happy, be happy, contented, but don’t sort of go for it, tied yourself for it, you know, really, sort of thing, you know. That one shouldn’t do it. That is the renunciation of this life. Okay. Now, people do understand little bit better than the life is meaningless. But, we are all working for future life. Right? Future life, because future life is the most important. Because, after all, what we doing here? We are only looking for future. True, future life is important. But, we want good future life. We don’t want a future life repeated as we’ve had just now. Therefore, as long as we are within the samsara, whether good future life, even you born as samaric god, asuras, even human beings. By chance, we will. We will, because of this thinking, we will. But, it is meaningless. In between this, it is not mentioned in three principle path. But, it is mentioned in the lamrim tradition. Those who are Buddhist, when they wanted to take refuge, the refuge comes in between here. This is between here. Between here, the refuge has to come stage in between here. Between these two. The renouncing present life and the lives, in between that, you come the refuge taking. Because, from the impermanent, you go into refuge. You’ll die. Okay. That’s it. 0:56:18.0

When you die, what do you carry? You carry only two things, good and bad karma. That’s all. That’s all. So, most probably, if you look back our daily work, it is also very important you see every night, if possible, how much good work you have done from the beginning to end, the moment you open your eyes until you close your eyes in the evening. How much good work? And how much bad work? Including your thoughts. That’s only known to you. Nobody else know it. Some people can be very, very, very interesting. Very sandly looking, very great. Everybody thinks great, yet can be most cruel. That’s only known to ourself, nobody else. Some people may be, you know, well, okay, okay. Niether hot nor cold. But, anyway, whatever it may be, it’s only known to yourself, nobody else. You must calculate, if possible every night, from time to time you calculate, even then, that will help you. Morning to evening, you calculate how much good work we have, how many bad work, how many good thoughts and how many bad thoughts? And, you know how good you are. And, I can guarantee you, we have 80% or 75% at least are bad. And, 20 or 25%, if you’re lucky, may be good. That’s what it is, normally, average. This server two purposes. One, to regret the past bad things and also to talk to yourself, to convince yourself to improve, number one. Number two, this serves another purpose, if a daily account is that much, the yearly account should be that much. Naturally, days, weeks, right? That much weekly account we’ll make. That much monthly account. That much monthly account, that much yearly account. And that much yearly account will make that much life’s account. Because, it is your character, your behavior, your thinking. So, whether you are good or bad, you will know from there. So, 80% we are bad. So therefore, it is bound to have bad result, because karma is definite. Karma is unchangeable. Karma is definite. So, we get definite result. So therefore, almost for sure to have bad result. Probably taking rebirth in lower realms. Probably in hell realm. The moment I open my eyes tomorrow morning, if I find everything is burning, the ground, the roof, the side walls, the mountains, the trees, everything is burning. If you found in such an area like that. Here is fearful persons attacking on you. Can’t be able to bear it. We will not. We will not be able to bear it. So then, what to do? What can we do? It’s getting almost too late. You can’t do it, anything. It is too bad, to late. You look up, you look down, you cannot look anywhere, there’s no help and nobody helps you. Everybody’s against you, try to attack you, try to do this, try to do that. It’s terrible. It’s too late. 1:00:30.3

So, what to do? But, fortunately at this moment, through meditation, through my talk, through my mind, my suggestion to myself. So, I really visualize that way. But, I’m actually not yet reached there. So, I have the opportunity. Why not take it? The first thing is when I can’t do something, I always go and seek help of somebody. Naturally, when you can’t handle it, something, you are bound to. Suppose if one man has committed a crime. Okay. You know the police are going to come and catch you. And what will that person do? You can’t sit there waiting for the police to come and catch you. Nobody will do that. Right? You will go somewhere., either a big person, who able to order the police not to touch you or a lawyer who can protect you. Tried at least to protect you. You will do something like that. You will go and find help. It’s natural. Isn’t it? When you know you have committed crime, you know the police are going to come and catch you. What you do? Run to somebody, some powerful chap and let him pass word over to the police and tell them not to touch you. Or, go to lawyer. That’s all you do. What else can you do? Nothing else. But, your not going to sit, unless you’re a fool, you’re going to sit there and wait. Right? So, similarly we have committed crime, we have committed tremendous amount of non-virtuous. I’m sure the polices of the yanas, the yamas polices are bound to come, any moment, to catch you. So, you can’t sit idle. We have to go and find somebody who can help us, protect us. So let that somebody be whoever may be. We have to go and take refuge to them. Buddists recommended to take refuge to the Buddha, dharma and sangha. The reason is Buddha, yes, because he himself is freed from the suffering. He went through with this. He’s free from the suffering. He is totally out of the pains. He’s totally out of everything, sufferings, pains and he is impermanently happy and better position. So, he is capable of it, helping. That’s why Buddhists recommended Buddha. You cannot go to somebody who themselves is suffering with you, along with you. Suppose if you carried by a current, a stream. Swept away by a river. And you have another companion who’s also swept with you and you cannot request him and depend on him to help you to get out of the water. Because, he’s also going with you. How can you do that? You cannot. You can only depend somebody either a good swimmer, who will be able to pull you out or somebody outside the river, who will be able to throw a rope and get you out or get a boat and hold you and put it on the boat. Or, something like that, you have to depend on it. You cannot depend with the same men who’s traveling with you, swept with water with you, you cannot. Similarly, we cannot take refuge to ordinary people. You can never do it. Because, same position, blind leads the blind. It comes there, then. Really. Blind cannot lead blind. If he tries to lead, both of them will fall. That’s it. So, it has to be when you take refuge you have to take refugre to somebody who is perfectly capable of doing it. So, that’s why Buddha has recommended. That’s by Buddha has recommended. He is fully enlightened. He’s been through with this. He’s fully experienced. I’m talking about Buddhist point of view. I don’t mean only Buddha can you take refuge. You can take refuge to anybody, as long as these people are enlightened. Okay. You cannot take fearful ghost, They may have some power here and there. You may take this god of tree, god of this and god of that and all this. These are all samsaric people. They suffer equally just like us. The mountain god, this god, that god and all this, you know. Each country will have, if you go in Southeast Asia and Tibet and Asia, everywhere you have god of this village and god of that village and god of this and god of that. Everyone of them is samsara god, hungry ghost, everyone of them. Everyone one of tem. So, you cannot take refuge to them at all. Because they, themselves, are not free from the pain. How can they help you? Only little bit. Like Sheritocse. 1:06:02.6 There was a mountain in Tibet, which when they goes from Tibet to India, the business people, when they go near the yatun 1:06:13.3 there is rock. And that rock, there’s one spirit remain there, he’s known as Sheritocse. So, what happened is everybody whenever they go there, they have to get down from the horse, take off their hat, pay respect to him and burn some incense and give him something. Otherwise, he does something and you go few steps, the horse will be jumping up throw you out, break your leg or something happens. So, that’s why he enjoys that respect all the time. He does that. Then what happened one night, somebody passed through there and he doesn’t know that area and he slept there that night. After sleeping, he thought, wow, this is Sheritocse area. This supposed to be very dangerous area. Anyway, now I’m requesting you to protect me. So, I’m going to sleep here. So, with that, he slept. Unfortunately or fortunately, it happens those devils and those ghost type of thing, what they have meetings. Just like we do have parties. They have meetings and parties. They have turn-by-turn they will have distribution of meat and flesh and all this. So, Sheritocse happens to be that night to distribute something. So, this fellow has goiter. He has goiter. Sheritocse, well that’s good now, I can take it. He had requested me to help and this fellow sleep. How can I take him? He thought a little bit and then he said, well he got some extra here, let me take that. So, he took the goiter and went and distributed it. Tomorrow morning, when he get up, he’s goiter is gone. He was very happy. Ha! That’s great. How did that you do? In Tibet, I’m talking about, they don’t know about shortage of iron and all this. Okay? No idea. And the doctors will also not treat, Tibetan doctor, because it’s not illness, not pain, nothing. So, they don’t really bother much. 1:08:33.6

Okay, you’re not going to die if you have three goiters. You won’t die. So, that’s why they don’t really treat you for much, they don’t bother. So, that’s it. He’s so happy, he said, how did that happen? Well, I went and slept in Sheritocse’s area and next morning it’s not there. So, another man went there and to sleep. And, he get a lot of incense and all this. He’s burned incense. He took refuge. He said, totally I’m depending on you, blah, blah, blah. And, he slept there for the night. Okay. That night also, he has distribution again happened. So, he took that again and went. Others say what you got last time is terrible. We couldn’t eat at all. So, we’re returning to you. So, we couldn’t eat that, this is terrible. It’s not edible. So, we’re returning to you. So, he got two of them. And he doesn’t know what to do. And he brought back and put it back. So, he sort of clearly got two the next day. That’s what happens. This is one example. Really, one example. So, you cannot take refuge to the spirit. Okay? Or, ghost. Or, all those protector of this, protector of that, protector, you know this village protectors and the mountain gods, the rock gods, all this things, totally out. They are spirit, somebody who dies there, have little power, little mantras to say or little some sort of physical power, they build. They’re reborn as a hungry ghost. In that level, in the spirit in that form. They have certain number of power. That doesn’t mean you can take refuge to them. Most important thing, they don’t have compassionate. They don’t have great compassion. When they don’t have great compassion, you cannot rely on the person. Person whom you take refuge must have great compassion. Otherwise, they will do, they will help somebody, they may not help everybody. They help the people who they like it, they don’t help people they don’t like it. Because, they don’t have great compassion. So, that is very important. So, that’s why Buddhists recommended to take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha. 1:10:59.2

Dharma, people do talk, that’s Buddha. Okay. Now, when you say “Buddha,” I’m sure many Buddhist people will know, the old students will know, but when yo talk about Buddha, what sort of picture do you get? When I say “Buddha,” what do you think? What do you think? If you think as a Buddha, the image what you saw up there, that’s not Buddha. For sure. That is piece of metal and picture, drawings, that definitely not Buddha. It is a photograph or print or whatever. It is not a buddha. The image is not Buddha. The drawing is not Buddha. They are not Buddha at all. Then, what is Buddha? Where is Buddha? What happens? Where is object of refuge? We take refuge to Buddha, where is the object of refuge? What happened to it? The picture, sure no. The image in your order, no matte how big it may be, as big as mountain, even then it is not Buddha. Not at all. So, then you cannot also think Buddha as prince of India and born and then died and all this. Yes, that was Buddha. He was born and he’s dead and gone. So, where is Buddha now? What happened to him? You need to know. Really, if you are a Buddhist, you must know where is the Buddha. What is Buddha? The Buddha is the totally known person. A personal persons who had fully enlightened. Okay? Who are fully enlightened, no matter whoever it may be, it is Buddha. It is Shakyamuni Buddha who born in India is one of the buddha. There are thousands of different buddhas. Fully enlightened person, whomsoever it may be, it is buddha, fully enlightened. Mind you, fully enlightened. Okay? Half enlightened is not a buddha. Fully enlightened are buddha. They’re everywhere. There mind, their body, combined, extraordinary quality I mentioned the other night. So, they are everywhere. 1:13:47.2

Okay. Truly speaking now, truly speaking the ultimate of refuge of ourself is our own future buddha. We take refuge to our own future buddha. We take refuge to our own future dharma. We take refuge to our own future sangha. However, at the moment, our future buddha is not matured. Our future dharma is not developed. Our future sangha is not yet developed. Therefore, we represent, we find a representation, those of the persons who are fully enlightened already. We borrow them to represent our own future buddha. What is dharma, second? The true dharma is nothing but the spiritual developments. The spiritual development of our future is our true dharma. But, when you don’t have it, we again borrow from the fully enlightened person like Buddha Shakyamuni, etc. Through their spiritual development to represent for the time being. Similarly, sangha same thing. So, this is how we build our object of refuge. Why we must take refuge? There has to be reason. There has to be reason. We don’t go to a lawyer, we don’t go to a high officer unecessarily. Right? When we commit a crime, when you know the police are going to come and catch you and punish you, then you wantto save the punishment and so you go to the lawyers, you go to the high officers. Right? Similarly, why we take refuge? Why we have to go and take refuge because to save… you have to have the cause of taking refuge, is the fear. The feat that falling into the lower realms because of our own misdeed. Because of our own misdeed, we have done so many non-virtuous, if you let it go, we be suffered, we have pain, we will problem. So therefore, with that fear, how do I do? With that fear, is the cause of taking refgue. When you take refuge, you must have cause of taking refuge. The cause of taking refuge is the fear, fear of falling into the lower realms. And also, knowledge of knowing the Buddha, dharma and sangha, have to power to be able to protect you. They have a method to be able to help you. Fully having a faith and knowing and having the cause, then go and take refuge, is true refuge is taking. Until then, no matter how many times you say [Tibetan] 1:17:02.4 Thousand times you may say, it’s not refuge taking. Specially these days. What they do, they have those monks, particularly these monks without any explaining what refuge taking is, somebody say, “I want to take refuge.” He says, “Alright. Alright.” Sit down here, [Tibetan] 1:17:34.1 They say, okay, refuge is over. What is this nonsense? Totally nonsense. Really. Totally nonsense. Refuge taking means person has to understood what is refuge, why and to whom you are taking refuge. Certainly, this person is not taking refuge to that monk. This person is taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha. At least in the name they know. So, you have to introduce those people, what is really Buddha, what is really dharma, what is really sangha. And, to properly explain it and then say, repeat I take refuge to Buddha. I take refuge to dharma. Otherwise, the first I take refuge to Buddha. Second, blah, blah, blah. All this. Even we Tibetans do it. [..] It really doesn’t do it. Really, I don’t believe it works that way, at all. It become too easy and become too much [..] too easy and no thinking, it become too cultural, more sort of cultural reputation rather than really thinking. That is really a corruption. And, if you are not careful on this, happened is not matter how much you know, no matter how much you practice, you’re not Buddhist at all. At all. Full stop. No way. Because, this is door to become a Buddhist. Refuge taking is door to become Buddhist. If you don’t have that, we have saying in Tibetan, again sayings in Tibetan are sometime very good, [Tibetan] 1:19:41.2 You become a very senior monk, nayda 1:19:44.7, very senior monk and very senior, started looking out, looking down, not looking up. The junior monks will come near the door and sit, look, face up and then look side. And when you become senior, you start looking down. Nayda sayshe, you become very senior, very high, started looking down. Yet, your refuge is left behind the door. So, that means he has not taken refuge properly. Might have repeated like that word. That’s all. This is happens so many times. So, has to be very careful on this. If you should do something, whatever you do, all this things, you have to know first and then do it. Without knowing, one shouldn’t do it. Even you take refuge, you must know what you are taking refuge, what is really refuge taking means, how it works, what are the advises, what are the positive advises, what are the negative advises? What do you do thereafter? It refuge taking is just like going to the doctor. When I have pain, I go to the doctor. So, I could not understand, I’m getting pain here, pain there, this thing, that thing, that thing, that thing. Do you know something? Can you help me? Okay. Goes to the doctor. And doctor sees. Hopefully, he knows. Kowing or not knowing, but they will look around, guess something, recognize something, some sort of illnesses and give you some medicine. Okay. Just like that, going to refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha. Okay. By taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha, they had some benefit. That doesn’t mean you are fully protected. No. Then, nobody will go to hell. Everybody can take refuge Buddha, dharma, sangha. No. It’s not. It’s like taking refuge when you go to the doctor, doctor will have to do everything. He has to give you medicine and if the medicine can not help, he will have to operate it. It’s painful. You have to do that. The treatment he gives.Okay, whatever it may be. It’s treatment. It’s up to you, again. You go and visit doctor, pay his fee, get his prescription and don’t buy his medicine or buy the medicine, don’t take it. Like I do, all the time. Okay. That’s what happens. You know. Okay. So, don’t take it. Then , how can you expect to get better? No way. Doctor has no sort of magical power, just by seeing him. Well, if you have very strong faith in that doctor, it sort of reduces half way down, because of the faith heals. Okay, reduce down. That’s different matter. We are talking different. Okay? That happens. Some people have certain faith to particular doctor and they don’t know the new doctor very much, the docotor may be giving the same medicine, with faith, he get healed by the other people. Other medicine not even work. 1:23:12.6

That happens in Signapore, too. I have a doctor student and he’s quite well know in Signapore, good medical doctor. He says that he’s so busy, so many people, old man, so many people have very strong faith on him. They always comes in to, some old Chinese again, they insist he should do something. He had these junior doctors who advised them to do everything by his advice, accordingly they’re giving injection and all this. The man doesn’t get better, he come back to the doctor. He says, no that medicine did not help me at all. Because you didn’t give. So, he said, alright. He has no alternative, he takes some water, he doesn’t really know. These people didn’t know. So, he took some water and injected that water. Now, you get better. Tomorrow, “Hi! I told you, when you do it, it gets better.” That’s what happens. So, this is faith healing. That’s different matter. Okay. Otherwise, when you don’t take medicine and they cannot help. Nothing can be done. Right? Doesn’t cure you at all. Similarly, when you take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha, Buddha dharma and sangha cannot remove your pains miseries by hand, not they can washed way, niether they can transfer their spiritual development to us. So, only thing is they will say, “Yes. I went through this. I did like this. My experience are like that. If you follow that, you will help. If you don’t follow, you won’t be helped.” That’s like their prescription. Whether you follow it or you don’t follow it, it’s up to you. Follow it, you get better. When you don’t follow it, you don’t get better. That’s all. This is how refuge taking works. Then they have certain rules again. So, qualities of the person to whom you take refuge and prescribed how you take refuge. After taking refuge, what you do it more important. After taking refuge, what do you do? You just haveto follow the Buddha, dharma and sangha will simply tell you the most important law is the karma law. If you do good, you’ll be good. If you do bad, you’ll be bad. That’s all they will say. What else can they say? Nothing else. You may say, that much I know. That’s it. Really. 1:25:54.9

So after taking refuge, if you follow, what advises: avoid non-virtuous, build up good, virtuous actions.[Tibetan] 1:26:09.5 That’s all. Simple. Avoid non-virtuous as much as possible. Build up virtuous as much as you can. Control your mind, most important. They will say that. That is Buddhism. Buddha himeslf had said. That is Buddhism. Avoid non-virtuous, build virtuous, control your mind. That’s Buddhism. Nothing more than that. You can’t look Buddhism outside. That is Buddhism, nothing more. That’s why Buddhism is not even religion. Lot of people say that. I sometimes say it, Buddhism is not a religion. It’s a way of living, way of thinking, way of functioning, rather than religion in the Western sense understanding of religion.That’s it. 1:26:58.0

That’s very simple. So, what happens by following avoiding non-virtuous and building virtuous, you will not go to the hell for sure. You get good life, future. Future, good life because you’re building good merit. You’re doing good work. Therefore, you build forunate karma. The fortunate karmas result will be you get good life, that’s all. How does this karma functions, actually, it’s important. One important thing is how does this karma work? [..] How does this karma functions? Karma, good and bad karma are everywhere. Good and bad karmas, everybody. I have tremendous amount of good karma. You have tremendous amount of good karma. [..] Everybody has tremendous amount of good karma and bad karma. And how do you know how it’s going to work? Is it turn-by-turn? Like when you drive across the street, when the four sections go through, you go turn-by-turn, like that. No. No, it is not. So, is it whoever comes first? No. No. No. No. [Tibetan] 1:28:42.9 Which ever is heavier, that comes first. [Tibetan] 1:28:51.4 Whichever is heavier, that comes first. Therefore, when you’re doing some good work, very often and more times. So, you have virtuous, better than non-virtuous. So, your future result will be good. Non-virtuous, when you do good work, you purify non-virtuous, you build virtuous. So therefore, virtuous become heavier than non-virtuous. So therefore, you’re bound to have future better life. However, it will repeat. Even if you have future better life. As long as you’re in samsara, you have tremendous problem, sufferings, changing, dissatifying, changing, changing from up to down, down to up, good to bad, bad to good. You can never rely, you can become rich and rich man can become poor all of the sudden. How much pain he will have? Unless you understand. If you understand, I tell you there is no pain. That I can say with my own experience. Really. If you understand, there’s no pain for whatsoever. That’s only, I can proudly say, by doing some siddhi and little bit of thinking, it was very good. I left in 1959, Tibet, everything, everything, really everything. I don’t even have a cup when I run away. Everything, I left. Fortunately, I born to a very, very rich family, very rich family, huge land, huge estate near the Buhtanese border, three times bigger than Buhtan. Really. Three times, maybe four times bigger than Bhutan. That much estate. But, I left over the night one night is gone. Tomorrow morning you’re a beggar, totally beggar, not even have a cup.

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