Archive Result

Soundfile 19890700GRJHMalaysia3P 1

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Malaysia

Topic Three Principles of the Path

Transcriber Mark Weihe

Date 10/20/2021

0:00:00.0 Interpreter: [Interpreter – Unknown Language]

0:00:06.9 Rimpoche: We have to make the copies. [unclear] 56 copies available. That’s what I said and that seems to be case now. So, we will have all the copies available tomorrow for everybody, so by tomorrow everyone will have a copy. And it is a traditional part of it that you have to say the lineage prayers and things like that, but the lineage prayers are very long and also there are six preliminaries also. It has to be very long and complicated. So, I thought it would be easier to make the shorter Ganden Lha Gyema, which is Tsongkhapa’s guru yoga practice. So, we’re using that so that we’re able to substitute the six preliminaries, which runs like forty pages, so there’s going to be a lot of time on that, so we sort of substituted that. So, tomorrow everybody will have a copy, and today I’m sorry. Those of you at the back, you don’t have it, thank you for your patience.

0:01:32.8 Interpreter: [Interpreter – Unknown Language]

0:01:36.6 Rimpoche: [First part cut off] together. We call it a weekend retreat, but really it is sort of a weekend teaching rather than retreat. And what we’re going to talk is the Three Principles of the Path. Three Principles of the Path is very interesting, and important, and absolutely essential to people who would like to be gaining Buddhahood.

0:02:25.1 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:02:41.8 Rimpoche: When they talk about the Three Principles of the Path, they are talking determination to be free from the samsara, we are talking altruistic attitude, in other words bodhisattva activity, and the third principle will be the perfect view. So, if you do not have determination to be free from the samsara, any virtue that whatever we do will become a samsaric virtue, which means just total virtue that whatever we do, we’ll be creating another samsaric life rather than becoming a nirvana or for cause of nirvana or buddha. That’s what Buddha said. So, the first principle is so important. Every good work that we do will become a cause to become a nirvana. So, the first one is a must.

0:03:51.5 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:05:03.6 Rimpoche: The second principle, that is the buddha mind, bodhisattva thought, or bodhicitta. If bodhicitta is not within the individual, or any good work that you do has not been influenced by bodhicitta, the result is, no matter whatever you do, it will never become a cause to become a buddha, no matter whatever you do, and never become a cause to become a buddha. It may become a cause for taking rebirth in samsaric good luck, or it may become the cause for nirvana, but will never become a cause to become a buddha. Never, it can never become! So, that’s why the second principle is absolutely essential if one is seeking Buddhahood.

0:06:03.3 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:06:08.7 Rimpoche: And good wisdom! If you do not have good wisdom, then there is no change to our ignorance. Ignorance here is not ignorance of not knowing, but ignorance of wrong knowing. If you have no change for that, every single thing that we do can go wrong. We normally talk about dualistic this, that, all that sort of thing. Our words come from the ignorance. If the ignorance is not changed, then there is no way that we can cut the root of samsara, no way to become anywhere, so the third principle is also absolutely essential.

0:07:01.7 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:07:04.0 Rimpoche: Those of us who says call ourself a Buddhist, a foreign buddha, and those of us who call ourselves that I would like to seek Buddhahood, there is no other way to seek Buddhahood without going through these Three Principles of the Path. If one is missing, you can never become a buddha.

0:07:32.9 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:07:35.1 Rimpoche: You know how important these three principles are. Therefore, Manjushri, this was given by Manjushri and Manjushri gave these three principles, so important, and considered very important, and Manjushri said: “It is the great path, the path which buddhas of the past and present have gone on, this and future buddhas will have to go on this, there is no other path”. That’s what Manjushri said.

0:08:17.3 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:08:19.6 Rimpoche: The great earlier Tibetan lamas, as well as Indian panditas, and [unclear – sang?] and scholars, who had a vision through Manjushri and all others. When they had their visions, what Manjushri taught them is nothing but the Three Principles of the Path. So, the buddhas on the path have gone on this and the future have to go on this path, and if we are seeking that, we have to go. There is no other way . Be a little satisfied that I’m not talking rubbish out of my own head, so read a cue from here how important it is.

0:09:08.8 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:09:19.8 Rimpoche: [1st words cut off] it says when these Three Principles of the Path is essence of what we call Lam Rim, or the [unclear] or the [unclear], or whatever you may call it, leading the individual to the path of Buddhahood is only this path.

0:09:43.5 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:09:45.5 Rimpoche: This person who has no influence of either of these three principles, and creating a karma, and then what kind of karma do you create? Unlucky karma, lucky karma, and unshaking karma, three kinds of karmas are creating. Out of the three, unlucky karmas will bring lower realm, lucky karmas will bring human beings and samsaric gods, unshaking karmas will bring form and formless gods. Stuff you put in is not going to bring any other result outside samsara, that was clear there. It continuously says here, if one individual doesn’t have any influence of the three principles, and had a lot of initiations, a lot of channel, air and nadi practices, mahamudra practices, generation practices, completion practices, and even opening the five wisdoms, reading other people’s minds, etcetera, and even the siddhihood of flying in the air, and whatever you obtained, if you’re not influenced by these three principles of the path, then every efforts will create samsaric, and nothing else.

0:11:29.3 Rimpoche: The famous [unclear], great master, he really created, saved the Buddhism, going through Tibet, lived hundred years. When Atisha came to Tibet, many of t he great Tibetan lamas at that time started asking questions of Atisha and saying “Should I meditate, or should I do some prostrations, or should I make some mandala offerings, or should I say some mantras, or should I meditate on the nadis and channels and kundalinis and chandalinis, or what should I do?” So, then Atisha replied to each one of them “That’s great, that’s great, that’s great, but I wish you’d do a good dharma practice.” Everything, whatever he asked, he said “I wish you would do a good dharma practice.” Surprise, what is it Atisha told him about? You’re talking about the best dharma that’s possible and asking him “Should we do this? Should I go to a retreat for three years? Should I say mantras? Should I do all of this?” They kept asking the best, and he kept on saying “They’re all great, but I wish you would do some dharma.” “What kind of dharma he is talking?”

0:12:58.9 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:13:01.7 Rimpoche: So, they asked Atisha “What kind of dharma are you talking about? And these are the good dharmas, the best we can do.” And he said, “Control your mind.” His answer is control your mind. The mind is the most important in our practice. If we do not deal with our mind, no matter whatever you do is not going to be great to you, no matter, whatever you do. It is the mind, which is so wild, and so much used to it for nonvirtuous. It is so little used to it for virtuous, which is the principle of our [moment], which is the dictator of our thoughts and behaviors. If we have not affect to this mind, no matter whatever you do, nothing to be surprised. If you fly in the air, by meditating, nothing to be surprised, all birds will fly. We have been a number of times a bird, and we flew at that time.

0:14:52.8 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:15:07.1 Rimpoche: So, if you remain under the water for a long time, or under the ground, there’s also nothing to be surprised. The worms remain under the ground and the fishes remain in the water and we have been a number of times fish and worms and we remained there. We meditated so strongly and are so much used to it, sitting there, and either somebody pushes you, you will not be able to understand. Also, we do pray. We pray with all our eyes glued up in the air like this, and we do all this. So, more affect. And same thing with [unclear] to us. What is the problem? Now we almost every day we say, “So and so has prayed and the prayers have been answered and I prayed and did not get an answer.” And we also say, “So and so had a [unclear] and some [unclear] and has been very effective and helped him to make a lot of money, but I did it and it didn’t help me.” And all these questions, we always have it. So, do we know what went wrong? What went wrong is we have look inside. We also see that a lot of people are praying, right? Praying. More that you say a lot of mantras, more that you pray, more the mantra that you say, more that you’re connected, the person’s become more mean, more arrogant, more selfish, more stingy, and more and more they do good work, they become a worse and worse individual. Why? You try to practice dharma, and more and more the person becomes angry and more and more jealousy. All of them are the problem not in our sight. It is not the fault of the temple. It is not fault of the prayers that you do. It’s not the fault of the mantra that you say. It is not the fault of the deity or buddha or whatever you are worshipping, but it is the fault of the individual.

0:18:06.0 Rimpoche: Because you did not touch your mind. You didn’t touch your mind. Our mind has not been controlled. Your ego boosted up and the mind becomes more wild, and that’s why we have all these problems. Not touched and controlled, then everything becomes ineffective. And even if it is effective a little bit, it becomes a material benefit for this life alone. It becomes a tremendous waste. A great dharma practice here, which makes the individual to be able to become a buddha has been totally wasted. To build some kind of either material benefit or nothing whatsoever, all your efforts that you put in, the work you carry, everything, to me, it is wasted. A total waste of life. Why is it wasted? Because all the efforts are gone to develop more samsara. More repeat whatever we had before, just to repeat it again. And therefore, that’s all, nothing beyond that is gone. So therefore, it is a waste. Whatever we had, we’re just going to get it again, you know repeated. That’s all. And that’s not great, nothing great. So, here it continuously says. Therefore, Manjushri says here therefore, I suggest to everybody, I’m not saying it, Manjushri’s saying it, therefore, I suggest everybody to leave everything that’s called very profound, quick, fantastic, higher, very, very high, someone had, and all of them. Forget about it for a while and try to bite as much as you can to make a solid foundation. And if you could develop some kind of proper understanding of renunciation or you sometimes call it determination to be free. If you get that, then every good work that you do will become a cause for either nirvana or Buddhahood. So, therefore it is directive towards getting out of samsara. So, that’s why Manjushri’s suggestion, whether you like to listen to Manjushri or not, that’s mine, not me, it’s your choice.

0:21:36.1 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:22:06.2 Rimpoche: And then, this is directed towards those who like to accept Manjushri’s suggestions. Manjushri further goes on and says, there are two people who could not bear enough to meditate and to put efforts on this because this is important and deep, and difficult. It’s not going to be easy like when you say you’ll sit there and then you know, this is this, that is that, purify that, not purify that, clear this, not clear this, bing bong, and sing, sing song. It’s not there. It is boring! It is boring, but it is very important! Manjushri further goes on and says those who could not bear to meditate, put efforts on those who are, are the people who do not understand where the importance of the Buddhadharma really lies. Because they really don’t understand the word importance of it. They don’t know where to spend time and put in efforts and they do not know where you don’t have to spend that much time. So, that is the wrong knowing of an important point. Did I make clear, myself? In other word, people who put much efforts towards development of mind through the principle of renunciation or bodhicitta and perfect view, but yet they would like to develop some kind of bumping air [audience snickers], or, yeah really, bumping air as well as, you know, becoming body like, sort of [unclear], and all this, are the people who have not understood properly where the principle really lies. I’m tempted to say this continuously, normally teaching Manjushri said all this, lineage, gurus, etcetera, I don’t know. There is nothing to be surprised, even those, I don’t know, what do you call that? In Tibet, they use this skin of a goat, and they have a little [unclear] there and you make a lot of air to burn the fire. There’s a name for that, I forgot. What is the name for that?

Audience: Bellows.

Rimpoche: Bellows, that’s right. So even if the bellows build up a lot of air, the bellows didn’t reach anything, anywhere, right? And every day in the morning when you make your tea, you have to pump up the bellows all the time. So, if the person could not affect your mind, and if you pump up your air all the time, [unclear] every morning. [audience laughs]

0:25:28.1 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:27:19.5 Rimpoche: Three Principles of the Path, not only makes you different than the bellows, but also makes it a complete practice, a complete practice, meaning here the teachings that the buddha gave, there are a lot of sutras, a lot of tantras, there are a lot of those pitakas, all of them. There are hundreds of volumes, right? All the teachings that have been accumulated. All of them, in essence, it is only, all are included in this treatise, all of them! All of them are included in this. I have to tell you why it is included. All the teachings that the Buddha gave, preaching’s I should say that Buddha gave are meant for one person to be able to bring to either nirvana or to ultimate Buddhahood. Actually, it’s meant to bring Buddhahood whether you rest at nirvana or not. All of them are meant to bring one individual, that means every individual, to become a buddha. The Buddha’s teachings are totally, directed, focused, in that manner. There is no other word, even a single word we cannot find in Buddha’s work, teachings that we recall which is not directing somebody to make a break, nothing! So, when you make a buddha, somebody will have to make a buddha, there is only two, the mind of the buddha, mind to make a buddha, mind level and the body to become a buddha body level. So, the other mind level is called dharmakaya, and the body level is called rupakaya, or the physical form. A mental stage of the buddha, a physical stage of the buddha, these are the only two. That’s what we’re trying to do now.

0:30:03.1 Rimpoche: So, what brings the mental part of the Buddhahood, we call it dharmakaya, is all the wisdoms bring that. All the methods, other than wisdom, will bring the rupakaya. So, these are the two, mind and body of the buddha stage. In our ordinary level, when you’re practicing, the wisdom is creating a cause, and all of the practice of the wisdom, and the purity of it, will become the mental stage of dharmakaya, and the pure nature of the practice of love, compassion, altruistic whatever, all this methos part of it, will become the result of pure rupakaya. So, only two, Okay? So, all the teachings of the Buddha has been directed towards, I mean there is no other, either one of them are focused and geared towards either one of those developments, either this or that.

Rimpoche: So, the Three Principles of the Path, the wisdom’s there, all that exactly. All the wisdom matters are included in that, so therefore the Three Principles, if you read the text, I’m not giving you the text, even if you read the text, it’s only two pages, that’s all, two pages which is the essence of all the Buddha’s work. No one other than Manjushri could have done that. It’s not possible even. So therefore, it is so important, so short, even some dakinis have said earlier when the Three Principles of the Path are taking, the dakinis said “Oh, all the books, all the Buddha’s works in the world, all the Buddha’s books, all the books I say, our heart has been taking.” In other words, the essence of human beings, the heart, it looks like, and when all the essence are collected, they said, our hearts gone. So, all these books, the huge number of books, pitakas, all of them, when the essence is really sort of juiced out in the Three Principles. So, it does make it easier for us to look and practice, right Manjushri?

0:32:41.3 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:32:47.6 Rimpoche: Talking here, it’s a very important and serious business called dharma. No really! Serious dharma business. It is not like going into a temple and putting a joss stick. It’s not like attending an initiation and bouncing on the head, but it is a very serious business. How serious it is? First, to make our mind drive towards dharma, to get mixed to drive towards dharma, is the renunciation or the determination to be free, which makes our mind driving towards dharma. If you don’t have that, then no matter whatever you do, it doesn’t become a dharma activity at all. In the true sense of dharma, it does not. So, to make us drive towards dharma is the renunciation or the determination to be free. Now that [faded?] dharma that you’ve picking it up, to make it a Mahayana practice, you need bodhisattva. Without a bodhisattva, there is no mahayana. The line between the Theravadin and the Mahayana is drawn on the bodhisattva. That is the line. The line where the Buddhist or non-Buddhist is drawn on the refuge. The line where the dharma or non-dharma is drawn on the determination to be free. The line you are ignorance influenced or wisdom influenced is drawn by the understanding of [unclear] or perfect view, or whatever you call that, the wisdom part of that. These are the four most important lines in Buddhadharma, dealing with the individual, dealing with our rough mind. This is what is really serious of dharma, very serious dharma, heavy. That’s what we are doing.

0:35:13.1 Rimpoche: So, it is very fortunate, that all of us who have been a lot of Buddhist, or born Buddhist, I don’t know, whatever it is. [Rimpoche laughing] Buddhists doesn’t use that terminology, at all, but looks like it here. Anyway, whatever, so to be able to discuss and at least make an attempt to understand, and to think, and to meditate, it’s very fortunate for all of us; for you, and for me too. So, it is very fortunate and let us try to do our best, whatever you can. So, before we even conclude tonight, I would still like to talk about listening system here, that’s not so important. Anyway, in the Buddhist way of learning, definitely has to have some wisdom, and some wisdom that’s going to hit our ego. Hit our ego. What are we going to do? If it’s a good talker, in the Buddhist system, the talker should be, the speaker should be able to hit the individual where the point the individual is hiding. The point that I don’t like other people to know, that I’m thinking in this direction, to be able to hit on that. If it’s hitting, then it’s very effective, and good. You may not like it, but it’s going to be very effective and good. To say everything’s wonderful, to make very enjoyable, jolly making, laughing, and all this, and to say it is beautiful, wonderful, and I clap, and you clap, I get bored, and it is not going to be very effective and is not going to be beneficial normally. It’s a nice enjoyable entertainment, wonderful, but it’s not going to be beneficial. For the beneficial means hitting that point that you really want to be hiding. So, we try to do this. And when we try to do this, it is also your point to pick up each one of the points; there, he’s talking that to me. He’s saying that to me. That’s really important. If you do this, and even hit a single point, it will make a hell of a difference in one’s life.

0:38:27.9 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:39:17.6 Rimpoche: So, do expect to be boring, and difficult, and hard. And don’t expect it to be enjoyable. [audience laughs].

0:39:28.4 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:39:52.9 Rimpoche: Another [unclear] scared either. And we hope to make it as interesting as possible. And also, it is important that you pray. Pray very strongly tonight and tomorrow morning that with this I may have some effect and benefit of making a step closer to Buddha. It’s not that you’ve reached up to there, but a least a step closer. You pray with very pure hearts, and I will also pray for everybody I hope that you will receive all that. At 2:00 tomorrow me meet, and we will somehow make the arrangement to have the copies of the prayer book available for everybody. So, I don’t know, maybe there is a minimum cost you have to pay, whatever it is, I’m sure the organizers will make it available tomorrow, so everybody will have copies. And also there is a dedication prayer that will also be available tomorrow, so tonight I think we can end the dedication with the Migtsema.

0:41:14.7 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

0:41:26.2 [background noise]

0:41:59.8 Rimpoche: Okay. Now, to continue what we talked last night on the basis of The Three Principles. As I mentioned to you yesterday, I’m not distributing the root text or anything else to you because I do not know how much that will serve a purpose, but there is a little root text also. I mentioned yesterday to you how important this Three Principles of the Path is. To make your virtue a proper [fortune], there is no way without giving the Three Principles of the Path. Out of which, we have to deal with the first principle. The first principle here is the determination to be free. One would be determined to get oneself free from all the circle of existence and lower realms, and all this, at first to build a determination, and mind, to get oneself out of samsara. It is the most important.

To present this Three Principles of the Path, I would like to do something slightly different than, normally like going through the text or something. So, I would like to do it slightly different. So, how would I like to do? So, I would like to put that in the say, daily practice, in every day. People are interested to do a daily practice and would like to do something, say something, they would like to think something. I don’t know whether you like your king or not. Your king has a lot to say sometimes, for sure! So, what would you do when you get up early in the morning? The moment you open up your eyes, what sort of mind would you say that, as a Buddhist practitioner? [audience laughs nervously] No, no you.

0:44:39.8 Audience: [unclear]

0:44:50.9 Rimpoche: What? The moment you wake up your mind, why do you have to recall what you did yesterday? What is the reason?

0:44:57.3 Audience: [unclear]

0:45:01.8 Rimpoche: Are all of you OK with that?

0:45:06.3 Audience: [unclear]

0:45:21.6 Rimpoche: To be thankful that you are alive? Why? Are you afraid of dying?

0:45:31.8 Audience: [laughing, unclear]

0:45:34.1 Rimpoche: Okay. Anybody at the back there would like to make comments on that? Yes sir.

0:45:42.7 Audience: When I wake up in the morning, I think that I would first like to collect virtues for the whole day. [unclear] When waking up in the morning, I realize your guru or the Buddha [unclear] collecting virtues [unclear] during the day, [unclear] wholesome.

0:46:22.1 Rimpoche: Okay. Thank you. Do you all agree with that? Uh? I can see Thomas hiding down there. Okay, anyway, that was a good discussion. I didn’t ask everybody. What about you?

0:47:28.6 Audience: Just to wake up and take refuge.

0:47:34.1 Rimpoche: [unclear]

0:47:43.9 Audience: I think the first activity is motivation. I think the two most important activities are motivation and dedication. I would think the first things to do are try to develop the proper attitude that you can hopefully carry with you throughout the day. Whether or not you’re able to, I don’t know. But try to develop it maybe.

0:48:07.8 Rimpoche: Out of two, he said one is dedication and one is motivation, so important. Therefore, you think the first one should be the motivation. Anybody like to disagree with the answer? They don’t? How about you Hartmut?

0:48:32.4 Hartmut: I agree with it. It’s the most important thing to sit with the right motivation what you do during the day, to make it worthwhile.

0:48:43.6 Rimpoche: [unclear]

0:48:46.7 Audience: The first step is always the most important step.

0:48:49.9 Rimpoche: OK, so what is it? [audience laughing] What is it, the diplomatic sir?

0:49:02.7 Audience: Well, the first thing, I agree that the motivation is very important that you set a proper mind and proper attitude, so you’ll directed with some proper directions.

0:49:13.7 Rimpoche: Does that mean you reject the other thing he said that I’m grateful to be alive? Does that mean that you reject that idea? Or accept both?

0:49:33.4 Audience: [unclear]

0:49:46.4 Rimpoche: If you want to reject it, you can. [unclear] So, first thing, what you do is uh, yeah that’s right. If you died yesterday while you slept, or even before you went to sleep, there’s no chance for your practice today. That’s why I’m grateful to be alive. So today I’m not going to waste time and make it worthwhile. And whatever bodhicitta and all this, if you know it, use it. If you don’t know it, don’t use it. And then whatever you know it, that’s what it is. So, then somebody mentioned taking refuge and prayer to the guru and all this sort of thing are considered an important first step. I think I’ll agree with that. [Rimpoche talking to someone – unclear] At first somebody said, somebody mentioned their guru, their name, and all this. Whether you mention guru’s name or not, but it’s important to remember the kindness given by your guru. It is very important. Why is it important? Because it is the root of all development! The root of all development comes from guru devotional practice. So, even in the first step of the Three Principles of the Path, is also the guru devotional practice. If you look in the root text, it only says, “I bow to the lamas” and bow to my lamas, that’s all. It’s there, but here what we have to understand is the guru devotion and tsoh practice. Guru devotional practice is so important. And I talked guru devotional practice the other day here, so repeating it is not so important, but [Rimpoche quotes in Tibetan]. When it is important, you repeat it again and when it is dharma, you repeat it 100 times. It is an old saying of Tibetan tradition. So might as well repeat it a little bit.

0:52:25.6 Rimpoche: That’s enough. If you want to think, it’s more important than what you say. Or you say MIG ME TSE WAI, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Or OM AH GURU, VAJRADHARA SIDDHI HUM, or whatever any guru practice you say, it really doesn’t matter. What you think here, the moment you say guru, what are you visualizing? What are you thinking? This is more important. I’m not going to go and tell you the theoretical of from the Buddha, Maitreya, and then Asanga and all this, what we call the greater teaching lineage. It goes from Buddha and Manjushri, Nagarjuna and Shantideva and so forth. The profound teaching lineage. You also say the Buddha Vajradhara and all this sort of thing. And this has become, it should be, but it’s become too much theoretical, so forget about it. But what you think here, practically, what you think from the Buddha to your own master, a complete and unbroken lineage. And this is an important point here, you have to think. Several times, like a couple of years ago, at that time there was not so much of the guru devotional talk here. And when I came this time I noticed everybody has some question or another in the guru devotional practice. It is quite good a good sign, but it is important to know what you’re talking about. There are your direct guru, and the lineage masters, That is the indirect gurus. So, in other words from the Buddha Shakyamuni to your present guru or whoever it is, up to that sort of unbroken lineage you get it. It’s very important because you get the lineage support, the lineage blessing, and all sorts of benefits you get. So, when you’re talking about the guru, you have to think about that.

0:55:01.1 Rimpoche: Even that will be difficult because it’s difficult to find how many lineage teachers been in between here and there. That’s difficult to find and also difficult to visualize all of them up there. And all this, if it becomes a difficulty, then what you can do is you can have one person, one who is your root master, whoever, one person. In reality it looks like one person, but in reality is all of them, all the lineage masters, all are becoming one person, and one. One in all. So, like, you know it is the Buddha, it is the Dharma, it is the Sangha. And it is all the lineage masters and it is the root master. Whoever you like and respect, whoever you have been affected most out of all your spiritual teachers, that’s really where your root guru comes in. There are some misunderstandings very commonly carried out. They think whoever you have taken refuge with first is your root guru. That’s wrong. That’s not. You root guru has to be one of the three kind gurus, the guru who not only gives you teachings, but also initiate you and given the support of oral transmission. All of this are known as the three kindnesses. There are three kindnesses, one kindness, two kindnesses, this tradition there. I think I mentioned the other day to you. So, normally people like to choose out of one of the three kindnesses, but to some people like to choose one kindness, if you choose the guru on that, it doesn’t matter. So, most important, whoever has been helpful to you, whoever has been most beneficial to you, whoever, as I told you last night, whoever can hit you better. That is the guru. That is the benefit. So, that you can do. And then you can have more than one also. It’s possible. But one in the shape, physical look, in that one. In reality it is all the buddhas and all the dharmas, it’s all the lineage masters, and all your gurus in one and we call it [ kun du nobolo], all collected jewel form. So that is very easy for all of us to practice.

0:57:46.2 Rimpoche: Very often, where am I going to find my guru? I don’t know what answers to give to that. Do you have answers for that? [audience laughs] Everybody’s laughing and giggling, but nobody’s giving answers. Or do you have the same question? I don’t know whether they’re giggling at the same question or the other. I don’t know. A lot of people like giggling, but? Okay, a lot of people raise the question, where am I going to meet my guru? What does that mean? That means the person having in mind some kind of supernatural guru, some extraordinary superhuman being who’s going to come and bounce on your head. If that is the idea, it is the wrong idea. I don’t think there can be anything supernatural comes in and bounce as a guru. I can see a lot of people intensely watching this. [audience laughing] The other day, I did mention that I don’t want to sit on the throne, as well as I’m not doing anything, these teaching are, we’re just more or less informal discussion rather than a formal teaching. That is the single reason. When you are taking a dharma teaching with the mind of taking it from a person as a teacher, dyed in the dharma, and that person thinking he is giving a teaching, then the combination of that, if you have taken even a single word that person becomes your guru. According to the Buddha.

1:00:10.8 Rimpoche: [Quoting in Tibetan]

Even if you take one word, and if you do not consider that person as your guru, [Rimpoche in Tibetan] you’ll be reborn as a [hundred-ton dot?] and [unclear] and finally fall into the hell realm or something. So, according to sutra, it’s like that. So therefore, when you go and get your head bumped up with a vase all the time, you’re getting a guru there, because that person thinks they are giving initiation. Here you are thinking you’re taking initiation and you heard something, whether you understand it or you don’t understand. So, it becomes a guru, part of your guru. It becomes part of your spiritual practice. It becomes [unclear]. So, when we do this kind of talking, I’m not thinking that I’m teaching you. I’m simply informing you. For a few people yes, those who think and have teaching connections and who think they are taking a teaching and I also think I’m teaching them, but most of you I’m thinking that I’m throwing information at you. And there is a blessing, there is the lineage present, all of these are there, however throwing, mostly discussing, so getting you educated in the Buddhist field, this is our talk. It is very important for the people here to have that because, you know, so first thing the moment you take a teaching, somebody who you think is a teacher and taking a teaching, it becomes your guru. So, you don’t have to go and search somewhere else for another guru. But, at the same time what this tells you, it tells you when you take a teaching, where you take initiations, all this, you have to be careful and selective. If you are not careful and selective, then that’s bad. I think that I mentioned to you even something that you throw to the animals or dogs, even then the dogs may jump up and take a piece of meat, but if it’s bad, they’ll leave it there and won’t eat it. Okay, is it too long? [inaudible comments]

1:03:03.4 Rimpoche: So, that’s like that. We have a saying in Tibetan [Rimpoche quotes in Tibetan]. Did everybody hear that? [audience laughs] Whether you can wear it or not, you measure with your body. Whether you can eat it, it’s edible or not, smell it. So, we have a saying that. That is very important. Every lama that comes down, also great ones, all of them are great, no doubt. You don’t have to see if that person is great or not but what you have to see is when I said be selective. What you have to see is if whether that person is beneficial to you or not. That’s what you have to see. Everybody’s great, no doubt, okay. Don’t try to poke somebody who says so and so is great, so and so is not great. They’re all great. Even Buddha himself has said “Don’t judge a person by look” and [Rimpoche in Tibetan] according to the sutra. The buddhas and either I, or like me who can understand, think, can make measurements of who is good, who is bad, and can say. But others better not say it, because their behaviors are not necessarily corrected. The sign that the person is right or wrong, so therefore the Buddha said don’t touch it. So, I mean it is beyond our limit to say who’s good and who’s bad, they’re all good and great, no doubt. But what we have to judge, selective means it’s going to be beneficial to me or not. For my practice, what I’m doing, is this going to be beneficial for me or not? That’s how you have to judge.

1:05:02.0 Rimpoche: You have to know the quality of the lama. I have mentioned to you the other day, I’m not going to repeat to you. Vinaya master’s qualities, mahayana master’s qualities, vajrayana master’s qualities, I have given you the other day. I gave two qualities, ten qualities, ten plus nine qualities, all of them, the other day I did mention to you, so if I keep on repeating, there is no use. So, if you’ve been there, most of you, last time, so it’s mentioned there. And even if you were not there, if you’re interested, I’m sure you can find it, check that out because what I find in some of these teachings is that everybody has a tape recorder and some kind of a FM radio connected with everybody and somebody says hit it a little bit harder, so [audience laughs]. So anyway, a lot of tales are available, you can find it, good. But this you have search for. But I’ll tell you one thing, you people are very, very fortunate and lucky. The earlier great masters had so much difficulty and even our period, this young age, we are quite fortunate we have outstanding teachers so we can, without much difficulty, can find. But not so easy. But for you people, it’s so easy. All you have to do is open up the newspaper. Right? If you open the newspaper up, all the advertisements will come. This lama is coming and giving that teaching and this lama’s coming and giving that teaching. The earlier, Namo and Demo and Marpa, Mila, and all this [unclear] and all of this, they had to carry a load at the back and walk for months and months and then try to find a, find one. Dromtonpa, if you take it, Dromtonpa had so many teachers, but each one of them, he had to take so many hardships to find them. Milarepa equally, you all know. It’s available in English. Today, it is the newspaper, so don’t [hope for?] too much. We are very fortunate. Lucky, yeah. Don’t put in newspapers, right? [audience laughs] [Rimpoche and audience bantering – unclear] That is a joke.

1:08:00.1 Rimpoche: So, ultimately, what you really look for is a lama who must have a well-controlled mind, based on the three basket teachings of the Buddha, reaching the source and the knowledge, and reaching the spiritual development. These are the must qualities. Reaching the source and then if he is not a learned person then the disciples also aren’t going to be very learned either. So you have to have a lama that is a learned one, because it’s going to be the wrong model and whatever that lama, whether he or she knows, knowledge has to be transferred to the, get it down to the disciples. So, if there’s nothing to get it from the top, you’re not going to get anything, right? So, it has to be something to getting it out, so therefore, it must be very learned. And if there is no spiritual development within that lama, no matter how much you learn the words, but it’s not going to help you to develop at all because it’s not going to be effective. So, these are the must qualities. So, when you look for, I don’t believe you look for which throne is higher, who has more retinue, and who has more longer [temper to grow of your own], but I think these are the ways to look.

1:09:59.2 Rimpoche: So, with this you find one, or many, great masters to be your master. An then you have to learn from the master. The idea of having a master is to learn! It is a guide, a spiritual guide. So, the guide must guide you. If the guide doesn’t guide, it’s a useless guide! [audience laughs]. No, really, if the guide doesn’t guide, what is the use of the guide? So, it’s really true, if you’re a tourist, you go. If you hire a guide, what do you expect the guide to do? The guide to guide you. If the guide doesn’t guide you, they are useless. So, therefore, from the lama you have to learn it. What you learn, whatever the guide, guides through his own experience towards Buddhahood. And that’s what you have to learn. It’s not that, uh, okay, I so want that word back. [audience laughs]. I mean they really have to guide. What is the first step? What is the second step? What is the third step? It is only, you know, spiritual development, Buddhahood is there. We’re here. We have to go from here to there. We’re travelers now. We are travelers traveling towards Buddhahood, and we don’t know how to go. There is no map, there are no highways, no airlines to carry you around, so we have to go there. So, we can’t go, we don’t know how to go, so that’s why we find a guide. So, no one will expect, the guide has to guide you from here to there. So, how many steps involved, where are we, what level we are? What is our position now, and how do I go over there, and how many steps are involved? Which are the most important ones to take and which are the not the important ones, who can be guide to us [by sight]? And this the duty of the guide to guide.

1:12:23.2 Rimpoche: And that’s why you have a teacher. And that is the teacher’s job. And that is your expectation of a teacher. And if the teacher doesn’t teach you on the blackboard in the school, what are you going to do? You go to the principle and get him [psyched or sacked?] out. [audience laughs] Wonderful dharma [bully] Richard asks, “How can we [psych] the Buddhist teachers out?” That is a very difficult question. With his own experience, I’m sure he’s good at that. The Buddhist teachers, since he’s not employed by Buddha [audience laughs], there’s nothing to be terminated. However, since I have employed my teacher, so where I handle it? Sometimes, can I share my honest views? Sometimes, some of the great teachers are so difficult to deal with it. Some of them well, I have my own experience. Very difficult to deal with, very difficult. Some character, sometimes purposely doing it, or sometimes by his personal character, personality, whatever it is, sometimes so difficult to deal with.

1:14:18.6 Rimpoche: So, I do two things. Some of those teachers who don’t learn much, but certainly meet certain traditional requirements, I do give all the teachers, I pay the highest respect. The highest to all of them. And you should never look for something wrong or bad, or feel sad or disrupted or anything, but [clearly] need to keep a little distance giving best regard, best service that you can, and don’t go and see so often. [audience laughs] A little distance. And to some people, you constantly have to deal with it. It’s always difficult like that, so let it go. What else can you do? [Rimpoche laughs] Sort of let it go, that’s what it is. Sort of let it go. But, however, you always look as a buddha. If you look as a buddha, everything whatever that the person does will feel like it’s for some kind of purpose and things like that and it’s easier to take it. However, some people can’t take it because we’re all human beings, right? No matter how much we close our eyes, it’s still difficult. So, in such circumstances the very important thing to remember is that you are not going to lose respect, or faith, or whatever you call it. You should never be shaky, but slightly a little distance, giving all the best [wraths], and gifts and offerings, and send it through people and do all this, keep a little distance. But in case that person tried to contact you, you should always contact back, but still try to maintain a little distance. And everybody’s not a fool, so they also know. Anything disrespectful or insult, forget about insult, even disrespect, even through a manner of sarcastic should not have been done. If that happens, then you have to check with your individual. Are you frightened, as though you have insulted the most important teacher of yours? If that feeling is not within you, then you have not developed guru devotional practice at all.

1:17:14.2 Rimpoche: The guru devotional practice sign of development is think as if you show any sort of disrespect for a little bit to any lama, any teacher. Lama here doesn’t mean lama, a teacher, okay? And if you feel that you have insulted most important lama, sort of you know, source of [schedule] that I [unclear] most people. If you have that feeling, then you have the guru devotional practice [unclear]. If you don’t have that, your guru devotional practice is has something not right.

1:17:51.8 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

1:18:04.0 Rimpoche: Also, it is very important sometimes to concentrate very, in meditation to that most difficult to develop, a great respect to lama, that particular lama. To be meditated at the most important in the center of all the lamas are also very useful. And, I don’t remember exactly the name of the lama, [unclear] somebody. One of the Kadampa lamas tried to meditate and tried to develop and not getting it at all, no development coming at all. So, then this teacher, lama, tells him “Have you forgot any of your spiritual masters?” and he said “no.” Then he tried it again and it didn’t work. So, then they tried to go through each one of them, and from whom you have taken what, what, what, and run through. And finally, somethings missing, you have one forgot from whom you learned. Oh, he’s a terrible person he said! He was my father, and I believe he was a monk before, but he gave, he didn’t even give it up, he just broke his vows and went with that and now he’s become a butcher and Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, he is almost the worst thing. He lies and cheats and all this, all sorts of worst things he has said. I forgot the name. I wish I could remember. One of the Kadampa lamas. And so, he says “Oh now that’s your problem. Now, when you meditate him as the most important in your lamas.” He said, “I’m not willing to do that.” And then his teacher sort of pushed him and finally he did that, and he started developing like this. Every effort that he had already put in, that’s blocked. So, if you develop one or another, development came very fast. So, that’s very effective and also very, very important.

1:20:33.6 Rimpoche: Now what does that tell us, concluding? That tells us, we have to develop the guru devotional practice to all your spiritual teachers equally. One is not higher, one is not lower, all equal in respect. But some are close and some a little distant, that happens. That’s because of each individual’s karma and things like that. That’s there, it doesn’t matter but respect should be equal. And, as I think I mentioned to you the other day also, if you are common with the lower level practice, you should look at your own spiritual master as a buddha. If you are bodhisattva practitioners, you should look equal to a buddha. If you are a vajrayana practitioner, you must look as an actual living buddha. So, anyway, whatever it is, it tells us that it doesn’t matter whether the individual teacher, how it behaves, whatever that does or whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. But for me, as far as I’m concerned, for me, each one of the are representing all the enlightened beings. So therefore, I give my highest respect to them. Why? Because I want the benefits. By giving respect to them as representing enlightened beings, I get blessings and benefits of all the enlightened beings. And if I don’t give that, that fellow loses nothing, and I don’t get a benefit. So, one of my great, late masters Kyabje Ling Rimpoche emphasized this [Rimpoche citing in Tibetan]. He said, “I always want the benefit and don’t want the disadvantage.” So, this is the strongest logical reason one can convince yourself, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter the individual, the [hairier?] or whatever, some look very angry, some care very much for money, some cares for nothing, some are happy go lucky, some are very serious, whatever that individual is doesn’t matter. But what does matter is me. I want the benefit. I don’t want a disadvantage. So therefore, if you discover you don’t have to go close all the time, right? So, that’s it. So therefore, in your sort of practice, we’ll look at them as enlightened beings representative and get the blessings, benefits, [pushes?], all of them.

1:23:22.1 Rimpoche: And what benefit, before I finish, what benefit do you get? [Rimpoche in Tibetan]. If the lama delivers you, you can reach wherever you want to. It can reach you, push you to enlightenment, deliver you to buddha land, make you a buddha. And that’s the ultimate benefit you can get. So therefore, we want benefit, we don’t want disadvantage, so look at everybody equally as a representative [unclear]. So, if you have that, you have a perfect guru devotional practice. And if somebody tells you something else to do and you can’t do it, you can be excused. You don’t have to do it all exactly as [unclear]. If you can’t do it, for a reasonable reason, you can express that you can’t do it. I think that’s enough for guru devotional practice.

1:24:28.3 Rimpoche: Let’s see, two different outlines. So, first we will deal with this life. As I mentioned earlier, we are now travelers. We are traveling towards enlightenment. So, what is our first step? Our first step, we had the guru devotional practice. And continuation out of the Three Principles now, we have to take the determination to be free. The reason why we have to have this is when we are looking over there as a buddha, it is [unclear-less], suffering-less, it is total enlightenment, fully enlightened state. So, in order to get there, you have to be free from attachments here. If you are not free from the attachments, what we call the hold on life, if you don’t get free from here, you’re not going to look forward in going to the other side, going to the buddha [unclear]. Example is if prisoners in the prison think it’s a beautiful place to live, free food, free medical treatment, and they don’t have to worry. It’s a nice, warm little place. If you think that way, the individual will have no desire whatsoever to look at prison as something bad and get out of it and be free. Number one, that individual has no idea what freedom is, right? Must not have been out there, been locked up for a long time. Number two, to a person that enjoys it there, they looks at it as something of an advantage, rather than disadvantage. Even some of those feel-good people, some of them, you know they hide in the house. They feel very comfortable in the house, they’re so scared of going outside. And they think outside will be terrible and very scary. So, that person has no desire to be outside the house at all because he feels safe, comfortable in there and all the [wanting to be] and somebody tries to tell that person “Hey, you’re locking up in your room is not good, you have to get out. You have to go out and do all this and that.” And that person doesn’t really even buy that. They think “What? What is he talking about? Maybe something interesting, maybe not. What is it?” That’s what [unclear] and you do it.

1:27:59.9 Rimpoche: So, in order for us to get interested in that, we have to see the qualities of the other side. What is the other side? Which is difficult. It is very difficult. We can talk about the quality of the Buddha, how Buddha’s knowledge is like this, his compassion is like this, and the accumulative merit is like this, and this and that. It all talk. That’s only words, you’re not going to see it. None of us are going to see the actual qualities of the Buddha unless [unclear]. Even the great bodhisattvas as well as arhats are unable to measure the Buddha’s qualities at all. Some of the praise, if you look at the buddha’s qualities, it just came up, popped up, something in my head, says [Rimpoche in Tibetan]. Buddha defeated all the wars on the maras, the [April] wars. They had all the wars on the Buddha. Buddha defeated all the war, all the [unclear] by not holding weapons. Buddha doesn’t have arrows and bows, and all this traditional, you know, you see them. He didn’t have any weapons in his hand, but he defeated all the evil forces. And that is known only to Buddha. No one else can do it. These are the qualities that the Buddha has. But we can [unclear] Oh, he defeated them with love and compassion. That’s what we say. We say that we don’t know exactly what it is. So, there are a tremendous amount of qualities over there, I don’t know [unclear]. So, when we’re unable to know it properly over there, the quality, another substitute what we can have is to see the faults here, which is easy because it’s within us. We’re always experiencing every day, which is within us. So therefore, it is easy for us to see the faults here rather than see the great qualities on the other side. That’s why the Buddha chose to introduce the subject.

1:30:49.0 Rimpoche: A lot of other people say “Oh, Buddha and Buddhism is suffering” Yeah, that’s true. Buddhism and this suffering is the beauty and quality of the Buddha. And Buddha can definitely talk about how great it is being Buddha. But that’s not going to get to us here because we’re not going to understand much, except through words. But when you talk what’s wrong here, and the things we are experiencing here, we can very well understand. And that makes the people to move and become real, and effective rather than a [period here or apparent here?].

1:31:33.0 [Interpreter - Unknown Language]

1:32:53.1 End of Recording