Archive Result

12

Soundfile 19870100GRFPB

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location ???

Topic Female principle in Buddhism

Transcriber Lay Tin Ng Elsie

Date

Rimpoche: We have to change for the timing today, because I thought it will be interesting to watch again. ??? So, I have to change. ??? I am sorry. ??? And now the subject of today’s talk is, is female principle in Buddhism.

Audience: Laughing

Rimpoche: I don’t know what to say.

Audience: Laughing

Audience: Make up your own speech.

Rimpoche: Make up my own speech. Okay. Thank you.

Audience: Laughing

Rimpoche: So, in Tibetan Buddhism or in Buddhism, I have been teaching courses about this subject but anyway I have been something very important because number of people do think the woman has no role to play in Buddhism. Number of people do think and that is not true. And woman has very important role to play. And not only very important role to play but it is must. And there is nothing can be done without role of the female.

0:02:32.9

Now, I am not going to be, not going to talk, not to going to remain as a woman or female or anything, and normally we have a code word, what is, I will just use code word and introduce code word. And the code word is wisdom. So, we call the wisdom now. It is better to be. And without the wisdom involvement, then there is, no matter how great the method will be, but there can never, never, be ultimate enlightenment. When we talk about tantric, most of you are familiar now, so I think I can comfortably say, why we are available interested into tantric because without tantric, in sutra alone, we could not obtain enlightenment. You can, but it may take a number of eons, number of years though.

0:03:52.0

But when we get tantra, you think that without tantra for hundreds of years, you even do that much within a day. And not only that, you probably handle it even as I mentioned to you the other day. If you have perfect guru teacher, but if your student is perfectly right, enlightenment like can be that of art work, which you make, what you call it ‘Bob’, crack, those people make with hand, they make nice little roll, and as you plait it and you can make it and stick it, you know. And similarly, enlightenment also can be rolled out in that way. If everything rolls properly, in a way it is difficult, but in a way it is easy. And it all depends on the wisdom and participation at it. So, without it, it is impossible to be anything. Moreover, many of you are there today as the Tara’s initiation. Tara is basic, one of the most important deity, and outstanding example of female wisdom realization.

0:05:34.0

And even Tara herself, earlier before she obtained enlightenment, and when she first has the bodhicitta developed, when you talk about bodhicitta vows, you gain something and when develop bodhicitta, that put separate. When bodhicitta, when she developed bodhicitta, a number of her ??? have suggested, that she may like to take a male body and conclude her enlightenment. And she said no, she insists to remain as a female, beginning of taking bodhicitta and in between when she was carried on with activities. She also chose to remain as a female form everything, and ultimately when ??? she obtains enlightenment, she chose to remain in female form. The most important reason is the wisdom part is absolutely necessary. That’s is one of the reason. And Tara is not the only female deity we have, there are thousands of other female deities.

0:06:56.3

I mean, I can, if I run a list, I can run from Sarasuthi down to, to you know, there are a lot, Vajra Yogini, so and forth and I can run hundreds of list, there is no problem about it. So, from the basic point of view, it is very important practice and very much equivalent, very much equivalent. We don’t have lady first, (Rimpoche laughs.) really, very much equivalent.

0:07:56.7

Now the question we say, you see lot of lamas around, particularly these days, and but you don’t see much, many of the female lamas. So why? I don’t know what that happen. All that questions. (Rimpoche laughs.) It is not that, there wasn’t any female lamas at all. There are number of female incarnate lamas are there. And, I mean, even today, we have one outstanding female incarnate lama came out of, came out in India, 1959. And, unfortunately, she went back. So, ??? (Rimpoche laughs.)

0:09:05.2

So, so, that is it. I mean, there are quite number of them. I mean, really. Nowadays, I don’t think really you find, maybe one or two are there still. Even, I think, even one female incarnate lama is available in New York City. Even today, I think. And so, they are there, but population wise, when you think about monks and nuns, and there are, you know, really about tens or thousands of monks, and very few nuns are there. So, I think that’s the reason why we have lots of ‘guest’ incarnate lamas, female lamas then, in there. And otherwise, I don’t think there is any other reason than that. Then, coming back to the point, the female path, is the, as I told you, we refer as wisdom.

0:10:28.2

And when we talk about enlightenment, when we talk about enlightenment, enlightenment is, also refer as enlightenment joining, inseparable. And when you talk about inseparable, I don’t know my subject is going, but this is maybe, I am going too much but. Still, when we talk about inseparable, we are talking about method and wisdom, which are cannot be inseparable. So that what actually is enlightenment. So, without wisdom part of it, now when we refer to wisdom part of it, I am talking about only tantric okay. I am not talking about, I am not talking about, the, oh ya, even in sutra you can refer, you can refer as wisdom. Because in actual reality, when you talk about wisdom, is the understanding of shunyata. The understanding of shunyata is refer as a mother. The mother of all enlightened. And all enlightened has been mould out of the mother of emptiness. So, therefore, it is also referred, yes, even in sutra path, you can refer as ??? for that.

0:12:02.8

Even in tantra, we have male and female tantra. And, even female tantras are sometimes, I cannot say more important than male tantra. But sometimes, female tantra they have much more things that which doesn’t have in the male tantra. Especially, when you take a, when, when anyone has female tantra initiation, there have lot of more, additional, additional, commitments, they have to get it. For instance, for instance, in certain woman, no matter whoever may be, whatever may be, it will consider as one of the downfalls, of the root downfall. So, that sort of thing, and also, even in Lhasa, there is sort of you know, the base of all the Buddhists, Tibetan Buddhist development that taking place in Lhasa. The, it is interesting to know. We talk about the central temple we talk about great temple of Lhasa. Sometimes, people refer as Buddhist ??? of Tibet. And all this sort of things there, but in certain temple of Lhasa. And it is interesting. Top, right at the top of the temple, is the small temple for female deity. And a lot of people do say, because of this, Lhasa women are more powerful than men, because they got more say in house, rather than man say. So, they say, it is because of this female temple up there.

0:14:01.8

I do not know whether it is because of the female temple, the female gets more power to say, or anything or not. But in social, you know, social is very interesting, really the woman has much more power than man does. The man sort of, you know, does all sort of very you know, diplomatic things, that you, sort of looking outlook, and sort of thing, but actually final decision, more or less the woman does take. And they really, I mean, we have the saying because of the female temple on the top, that’s why it has happened, people do say that, whether that was true or not, I do not know but they used to say.

0:14:54.9

The reason why the female temple is on top. Is that, Lhasa, the owner, the landowner of the Lhasa, is female deity, one of the female protectors. And another important reason, what the female do play, even historical event of the Buddha’s development. When Buddha obtained enlightenment, at the time of obtaining enlightenment, now I am strictly talking about the Theravadin point of view, this is the Hinayana point of view, normally, if you talk, if you look in the Vinaya rule, when you talk about tantric, and Mahayana teaching, the question of the female’s superiority, don’t call it female superiority, but important rule to clear equally, the question does not rely, sort of taking granted. Now, only, they have look down also female. It is not always they are up. They always, they are also look down on female. That is. (Rimpoche laughs.) Really. Even, when you talk about, the Theravadin and Sutra path, and when the vows, especially they, they (Transcriber’s note: At this point, the tape has no sound.)

0:16:24.0

So, they are no doubt. In basic principle, there is totally no difference whatsoever, one for male and female. They have equal opportunity, they are equally in this practice, there is nothing one is higher and one is low. So, with this end, I also say, we hope that, as Milarepa says, we will able to obtain enlightenment together. So, with these words, I am going to conclude tonight. And I thank you for everybody. We have tomorrow, right? Tomorrow’s night is there. But, I thank you for everybody.

Audience: Clapping

(Transcriber’s note: Audience talking among themselves.)

0:18:27.1

(Sound ended)