Archive Result

2110Sound file Tale : 19950101GRAR8FP03

Speaker: Gelek Rimpoche

Location: Ann Arbor

Topic: Experience of the Buddha Shakyamuni

Transcriber: Steve Kelly

Date Finished September 8, 2017

Saved as RTF

Rimpoche: Okay so thank you for coming back (audience laughs) after long boring talk this morning (Rimpoche laughs)

I have two choices, also the demand from the people as well. So the one that I will continuously talk like I did from this morning and continue what I mentioned. I did say the purification part of it I can talk about or anything else you want to hear about Buddhism.

Also I have people asking me about a time for questions and answers. So I do have both choices. So I think I give a choice to you whether you’d like to hear a little bit more and then go on to question and answers a little bit at the end. Or you would want to do the question and answer now and continue to talk. Everybody’s already with these sort of this and that. So I will try to talk continuously. (Audience laughs)

Okay I’ll try to recollect what we talk about we talk about the cause of the suffering and the cause of the suffering being I basically mentioned the karma. I tried to be on the ground as much as possible rather than philosophical or even detailed explanation just try to be on the ground because basically the majority of us are very simple people.

We need simplicity

What we really need is simplicity to deal with our lives rather than sophisticated philosophical complicated whatever you know. So that’s why I try to talk about karma in such a way that is very simple and I hope that is good enough in other words I hope nobody will scold me by saying you talking like kindergarten level or something. 000329

I do get that occasionally from time to time people do complain and say it’s too simplified or something like that. But basically we need a simple thing in our lives and everybody tries to make to make it living and try to make it nice try to make the material living and spiritually living that’s what it is.

So the material also we say normal American language is and I don’t want any complications or difficulties and the same thing goes with the spiritual when you try to make spiritual life you don’t need complications there either, try to make it as simple as possible so Buddhism is very simple enough I mean you can make Buddhism extremely complicated there is no shortage of problems with that you can make it extremely complicated but there’s no point. There’s no value to it. I mean the scholars will make them complicated enough in whatever they are philosophers make them enough. And also the purpose of the Buddha is just to make life better for the people. This life and future lives that is only the baggage you bring with you in the future lives, that is the baggage. But on the other hand also you cannot completely say there’s no future life at least you have to give it the benefit of the doubt. Nobody can really say there is no future life. You could’ve said 20 years ago very easily in the United States today probably nobody will question it. Everybody if you are a sensible person unless you are ultra extremist conservative or whatever. (Rimpoche laughs)

Oh I’m glad but then it’s okay I’m wearing Jerry Garcia. The tie that was on the railing today is Jerry Garcia to time what I’m wearing to today is the Jerry Garcia… (?)

So I’m glad you told me now. So anyway so this simple (?) I consider is very important for the people’s lives.000647

Spiritual life it is (?) as material life really. We don’t want to complicate the material life and you don’t want spiritual complications either. The simplest is good. And which can be made and the Buddha I don’t believe ever made it complicated. The scholars thereafter of course, made it much more complicated.

Buddhism is really for practice

Also the Buddhism is really for practice rather than rules and regulations oriented. I don’t know. Rules and regulations oriented way of - that’s not right I shouldn’t say that.

Anyway rules and regulations are not so much important in Buddhism. It is very practical so the cause of the suffering is the negative actions which incidentally we create without realizing all the time. We do create it without realizing..

If you look in our life we try to hide certain magazines, certain television shows from children right? They say it’s not good and children should not have it and should not see it. Like Playboy magazine or something you don’t want the kids to know or see it. 000834

Habitual patterns from previous lives

But very often to our surprise they know more than we do. It is because they do have these habitual patterns

set up for many lives so they do know. They pick up more than what we think they know. And also in our basic cases when anybody starts booing us anybody who says boo to you, we will not hesitate with the automatic reaction to point the finger and use those “F” words straightaway.

That is the basic nature of human beings we do that and they are all basically habitual patterns we have. Trying to change that is extremely difficult. It is really swimming against the current so it is really hard. I just wanted to speak this morning and then I let it out, I don’t know why. When you try to swim against the current, it is very hard when you try to change a simple little habitual pattern that we formed during a very short period if you have to change that it is very complicated.

I do have an interesting example. Normally the example that I use here is, lets say you have relocated your area and you been there like 3 months or something and you have a certain way of driving to the work in the morning. There is a certain route that you take. Lets say it is street number 1. 001101

You always take the number one street all the time to your work. Then suddenly a friend of yours or somebody who works with you will say would you mind picking me up? You just have to take the street 2 rather than 1. Just take street 2 and then you pick me up on your way and I like to get a ride with you. You have to say yes right? You can’t say no. You’ll say yes simply just change the street. In our heart of hearts a lot of people say well yes I have to take this street, I’ll be late, I have to get up early I’ll miss my parking whatever you know?

All this irritation and internal struggle that you have to go through which is the clear example of fighting against our habit. In short time you form, like 3 months of working, you form that much of a habit and it is difficult to change.

Though social etiquette will sort of force you to say yes and do it, however you will be sort of yelling until you’re done. Then when it’s done you’ll think it is not so bad.

But that is the struggle you have to go through because of habitual patterns. Here the negativities such as anger attachment and all this - we have really a zillion years of habitual patterns that are with us. So to work against that is extremely difficult. Easy for me to stand here and say change your habitual patterns that’s what Buddha said Dharma is.

True Dharma is changing negative habitual patterns

It is true that is Dharma. People associate Dharma, you know in Buddhism they have the word called Dharma. How many people are familiar? How many people are not familiar with the word Dharma? Quite a lot of them yes. 001327

Yes I don’t even know what Dharma is! (Rimpoche laughs) People will ask you what Dharma is, people then will tell you it’s the Buddhist religion’s Dharma, All Buddhist practice is Dharma, they will say the Buddha’s teaching is Dharma all sorts of answers they give you. But the true Dharma really is the changing of your habitual patterns. This is the true Dharma. That is the essence of the Buddhist practice.

Because our negative habits, you don’t have to change all habits the compassion and the loving all this we have great wonderful particularly in the West. I mean really people in the United States are very kind people believe it or not really it’s extremely kind people the Americans very kind people.

And you realize that when you are outside. When I became a refugee and I came out from Tibet. Believe me when I’m in Tibet and I was quite well-to-do. The family that I was lucky enough to be born into, what you normally say here “born with a silver spoon in your mouth”, I was born with the gold spoon in the mouth anyway (audience laughs).

I was in a very well-to-do family like in 1950s and late 40s early 50s so that the handful of the real models available and I had 2 cars and a truck so you know probably like the majority of the cars in the country were with me. A sort of thing like that.

But when you become a refugee you have nothing and you don’t know your next meal is coming from. So when you come out in that way and certainly there is relief. Asians are there is somebody standing on the road giving you some kind of hot tea or whatever it is or soup or vitamins. They give you 2 little capsules. I can still see it a little red and orange top they call it vitamins at that time anyway.

So 2 of them and then they give you some clothes to wear maybe it was pajamas but still something to wear and when you are receiving that it is a tremendous help. And the joy and the relief you are receiving from that angle is there.

And then the majorities of the Americans will give you that help all the time they really will and the Europeans too. Not so much Asians, though they are Buddhist they’re compassion oriented and all this but not so much it comes from the West.

That’s where basically it comes from and believe me people here are very kind and compassionate also. I mean is true. Just to prove that once again, What do the journalists here do? 001728

When ever they want to get some point across, they give you the most horrifying picture available in television.

Whether it is Bosnia or Somalia or somewhere in Africa or whatever they try to give you the most terrifying horrifying picture. They try to show you that. One picture makes a complete difference to the attitude of millions of different Americans.

Kindness of Americans

Because of the kindness and compassion which is deep inside American, there are people who would like to cash that out or exploit that or get the benefit out of that whatever you may call it. They know when they present that picture, immediately the kind people will say it’s terrible we should end that. So then you will straightaway try to share whatever you have in your wallet - the sharing business and anyway it’s great.

So that indicates the kindness and the compassion is basically within us. I share this just to prove to you that is within us. We know that because of that picture, it changes our mood completely, it changes our feeling completely.

A few years ago we had the Gulf War right? If we had seen the amount of people getting killed in the war on television the people of the United States would not allow that war to continue - no way.

When it is presented in such a way like a video game. Whoaa, you hit it on the right window or something but then you know it worked. So that’s why I mean when the generals present things to us they really know where to catch what to do. The moment they want to do something more to stop war or do something then they give you the terrifying pictures.

When they don’t want you to do anything then they give you video games and so the people don’t know. It’s a little nice thing to watch whatever it is. 002030

Maybe it is morale boosting or whatever it is, they use different ways but basically it proves that there is kindness and compassion very strong within the Western people.

Keep your positive habitual patterns

Though Buddhism and all these religions come from the East is much more here. I’m not buttering you, that is within you. That habitual pattern is not to be changed! That’s what I mean, not every habitual pattern should be changed.

But the negative habitual patterns also have very strong roots and these are the patterns that you have to change. If you change that then your way of dealing with your life becomes different. You are no longer angry that much, you’re no longer have that much attachment.

You have a little less of your negative emotions. So by taking a step back from the negative emotions what happens is it gives you a little more harmony within you, a little more peace within you. It makes you a little better person. In normal Christian language you can say it brings you a little closer to God. 002204

Or whatever you may call it, upliftment of your spiritual standard or bringing you closer to enlightenment all of those are there because when you change your habitual pattern from negative to a slight new change, your way of dealing with life becomes slightly different.

Then it makes a difference. I have a friend in New York, Parma know her. She is a black lady in New York. She’s probably been with me for like 7 years or so but 3 or 4 years ago one day she told me I would like to thank you.

She’s very straightforward that type of lady and I said what is the matter? Why? She said, people treat me better and I said why? She said every time I go shopping, I have to quarrel all the time, I argue with the people at the counter.

And she said, now I don’t. Now I smile at them and they thank me and I thank them back and it is different. She said I have to thank you.

I said, you don’t have to thank me but you have to thank yourself. 002345

So what happened is your personal attitude towards other persons has changed. You’re no longer suspicious of people. You’re no longer doubting them and thinking that they are there to get me or what. It is no longer that you have to worry about you know you sort of slightly changed your way.

And by that people respond differently immediately that is the changing of the individual life. It’s not everything but at least it’s a beginning and that’s what the Buddha expects to affect the people’s lives because that affected him so he shares that experience and therefore that’s what he wanted to do.

When you really understand and try to change your habitual habits it happens. It happens and I just gave you that example of this friend of mine, a lady from New York. In reality this happens with everybody, it happens to everybody. The only thing is the change has to be made within ourselves not by other people.

Leather for the whole world or leather for your feet?

If you try to expect the whole world will change their attitude towards you, it’s never going to happen. Traditionally Buddhist teacher give you a very funny example. The example is if you want to walk on the smooth surface and you try to get leather to cover all the surface of the earth you’re not going to have enough leather.

If you want to cover the whole world with leather to be able to make yourself to walk smoothly, it’s never going to happen. But if you get a piece of leather and put it on your feet and walk it makes it smooth for you. So that’s was the example given. So whenever you want to change the way the world looks to a slightly different and slightly better way, the change starts with you. 002619

]

Even the American normal way of being is charity begins at home right? Or your backyard? Charity begins in your backyard of home right? Charity begins at home so that’s the same thing charity begins at our own level immediately the reaction from the other side will be different.

Any change in you automatically, in time, changes people around you

You know I always believed everybody like to talk about world peace and this and that and all this. I really believe world peace or whatever it is - everything will begin through ourselves. When you change yourself, your companion will be different. If you have been nice and kind instead of showing your cold shoulder to that person all the time there is no way that person whether it is a man or woman can show you the cold shoulder all the time that’s not even possible for her or him to be able to do that.

So when you make the change, the treatment from your companion will be different and likewise if it’s a whole family and that affects their friends. Personally I really believe in world peace it all begins within the individual. Then from there you change. You cannot go on and change the big world (?). It doesn’t work we get that even last 2 or 3 years you throw Gorbachev out and put the Boris Yeltsin up. What does that change? Nothing.

Perhaps a change is a little worse and so that’s my feeling so all this changing whatever we call it peace in the world, world peace, happiness joy for everybody whatever we been talking about I believe everything begins at the individual level. If you start moving from there then everything’s okay. That’s what Buddha shared.

Now if you change your habits, your habitual patterns and automatically you are creating positive karma, that’s how it works. The positive karma is automatically created. You don’t really have to you don’t really have to truly speaking you don’t really have to set a separate time when you say now I’m meditating. Well I shouldn’t say it here you know (audience laughs) but the truly….. I do meditate too but you shouldn’t meditate all the time.

Real problems don’t come during meditation

You don’t have to be separate at a certain time and say look I meditating. That’s great that’s wonderful that’s fine. But the problem doesn’t come during the meditation.

In meditation may get a problem like you can’t sit cross legged something like that and you may not be able to concentrate or something a tiny little problem you get – you are not going to get the major problem. 003023

The major problem we face is outside the meditation when we are in our daily life seeing the same old face day after day whether it is in the office or in the house whatever it is you know all the faults of the other person. You probably have totally overlooked the positive qualities of the other person and you’re projecting all the negative qualities of the individual. And it is exaggerated so that is the time when we have all our problems come up.

Then the solution which which you left somewhere else during your meditation period while the problem in real life is over here so it is not going to work!

So it is going like this. So we are not going to clap it’s going this way and it doesn’t work. So the meditation what you do it is virtually nothing but the training of your mind. It is the training of your mind mind. You train your mind to

A) stay calm and

B) try to be cool (Rimpoche laughs) and

C) try to solve your problems

That is really what basic meditation that you do. So “A” try to remain calm. If its not there when you’re dealing with problems so you know then it doesn’t work.

So it has to brought from the meditative level wherever your meditating or not meditating whatever it is application of the calmness should be able to be put on when you have difficulty facing with other people and that makes a difference.

I just have an interesting example even coming here.

The airport

I was supposed to be coming yesterday, I was booked yesterday. I was at the airport yesterday a little after 12 I was at the airport.

I try to check my luggage at the curb and the guy picked up the luggage and then he said Oh that plane got canceled. 003308

I said okay fine then I said what will I do? He said try to catch the next plane. You have to go inside and I went inside. There was a long line - no problem. I sat there yes really I sat there because I had nothing else to do except making sure that people who were coming to pick me up from here were notified. So I called there and fortunately somebody picked up the telephone even though it was Sunday.

I was very happy about that. So I left a message here then I sat in the line it’s okay. Then they told me the next plane that was available is 8:20 in the evening. So I said that’s fine. So I’ll take the next plane, it’s okay. I came a little too early for the next plane. (Rimpoche laughs)

I came a little too early so they said we’re not checking in yet. Yes it’s on time but you sit there and we will call you. So I sat there and read a book, a Tibetan book and I didn’t hear anything and suddenly it got a little quiet and I looked at the watch and it was a little after 9. I went up and said I was supposed to be notified, what happened? They said oh you are going there? Okay, oh the plane just left (Rimpoche laughs) 003434

He said the plane left the 7 minutes ago. He said it left 7 minutes ago! Oh, I said, okay I’m sorry, well I have to call and then what is the next plane available. I really have to get there in the early tomorrow morning at 7 o’clock.

I said okay then the woman looked at me and she said okay and I said yes well you are nice guy and I said why?

She said a normal person they should say I didn’t hear the announcement and you didn’t announce and then I have to say we did announce this and that. And I said that doesn’t help me because if the plane is gone it’s gone!

The only think that I have to worry about is how do I get there on time. 003537

That is my only concern rather than how did the plane go and why it’s gone. If its gone, its gone, it can’t come back. It’s not going to come back. So she said well the next plane tomorrow morning at 7 o’clock and here’s a voucher for the hotel.

You can stay in the hotel and I said oh okay thank you. So she said you’re awfully nice guy because normally we have to argue with this and we are supposed to say whether we had an announcement made or not. We are supposed to say we made the announcement and it’s your fault and all this.

Then you’re supposed to say you have not announced it, you have mislead us and this and that. So that’s what it is. That’s my experience just coming here. If I have argued I waste my energy. I’m not going to make anything different for me, I get a little hot and that’s all.

It’s not going to get me anywhere but in India you have to! But here you don’t have to, this is a nice way. In India if you don’t, then the treat you badly too.

So you have the shout and scream whether you’re angry or not angry as I told if you going to give a reasonable money to the porter you have to give less and then you argue then you get more. Then it’s okay, its just like that.

It’s people’s attitude sometimes you have to do this. But whatever you do or don’t do it’s not important. You have to take it. You can make a difference. You know one of these great Indian teachers early Buddhist teacher excuse me can I take my jacket off? thank you.

An early Buddhist teacher is giving a very funny advice. It may be funny. What he said… Kan shee chu

(Rimpoche has an aside)

If there is something to be corrected why should you be unhappy about it? Why don’t you correct? If there’s nothing to be corrected why should you be unhappy? What will that help?

Rimpoche’s attitude

So that is the advice and that is the attitude I try to take in my life, in my life. That’s really what it is. Basically in normal cases when I was kicked out that in 1959 if I’m not.... If I don’t how to think, I could about crazy right? Because you lost everything except you didn’t lose your identity your physical body you didn’t lose. You totally walked out with just a body and clothes and that’s it. So when that happens you could have gone totally crazy but I thought you know what I thought about it when I crossed the Himalayas with the mountains and snow and all this the thought came up in my mind once. 003925

It is the end in my life to ride in the small cart. I thought that’s the end in my life that thought came across my mind and that thought came because the Indians picked me up in a garbage truck. (Rimpoche laughs)

Yes a garbage truck which is very good actually after walking for months through the mountains. When they first help you there is food and all this you get and then after that the transportation is a garbage truck. I was able to go to garbage truck for couple of hours.

I thought well going in small cart is ending my life - not knowing it begins. (Rimpoche laughs) It is the beginning but I thought it was the end of giving in the small cart in my life. That thought came across once.

Ritual objects left behind

And I dreamed of the 2 times it two times and twice picking up my ritual objects normally the Tibetans have very good ritual objects, religious objects. It’s always made of silver and gold and mine was mostly solid gold and all this. It was made like 200 to 300 years ago. So it was really solid nice silver and gold pieces.

So I dreamed of collecting them and putting them in a bowl or (sack?) once or twice I dreamed of that. And that’s about it. I never looked back and that’s about it. Of course you have family and human beings and human touch and feeling for your country and feeling for the place where you grew up always there is all of them there. But as far as the material concerns, these are the 3 times I thought twice in dreams and one in actual thought in 30 years.

So now it doesn’t even count but anyways that sort of attitude in a way may be a terrible attitude but in a way it’s a good attitude because it doesn’t give you much suffering whatever you lost, you lost already anyway.

You not going to get it back. If I can’t sleep every night and if I go crazy and if I talk about it with everybody I’m not going to get back either. And I will be miserable and that’s about it. 004221

So that is the attitude. Maybe it’s owed to the Buddhist message. So if it is there, it is there and you enjoy it. It is your good fortune and your good karma. You did it, you made it, you deserve it, you enjoy it. If it’s not there, it is not there, we did not collect that karma and it’s not there that’s it.

So that way makes life a little simpler and little easier to handle when you have the losses. If it’s a material loss or a personal loss whatever it is whatever you had you should be able to appreciate and enjoy that. Whenever you don’t have it understand the reality, understand the situation. That is very important people over here sometimes have difficulty understanding that.

I have a couple of doctor friends who tried to talk to me in the last couple of years and the attitude of those doctors the first time they lose a patient is so-and-so died on me! And I said I have to say excuse me what did you say? How did he or she died on you? They just died, they died.

They didn’t want to die, they died! They also have a right to die and they died. They didn’t “die on you”. So that sort of attitude we take and the people become so nervous for any loss.

I don’t know whether I can say that to the communist Chinese, they kicked me that’s true (Rimpoche laughs). But not me alone, they took the whole of Tibet. When the total country goes underwater and the little flat stones cannot remain dry and that’s my attitude.

Change is constant

Even the Tibetan (?) said when the country is completely underwater little flat stone cannot remain dry. I took that attitude so its a little less of a problem. So similarly if we can take all our problems in that manner, understand the nature, appreciate whatever opportunity that we have and that appreciate that and realize that change is there constantly, constantly! That is the change.

So the understanding of that makes a lot of difference in our lives. When I became a refugee, if I didn’t have that attitude, I could have gone crazy. I had everything in Tibet and I had no contact with the outside world. Then when I crossed the country I had nothing left. 004620

If you have a contact you could have moved and at least something comes out. You could think that way but I never thought that way either. I just accepted that but again accepting is two ways whatever suffering comes you keep accepting and keep your mouth shut. That’s not what I mean.

If there is some change one can do it. Then you really have to change it. If there is nothing that can be changed, then why worry? Additional problems, additional problems you lose your sleep for nothing.

No negativity is permanent

It’s not going to benefit at all. So anyway what I’m supposed to talk about today, in the afternoon what I was planning to talk about actually is this: Even if you create negativity all the negativity, according to the Buddha, it is not permanent, it’s impermanent.

I touched on the subject before lunch I just touched it and I didn’t get a chance to explain it. Good or bad every deed every function every human being every being we are all totally impermanent.

Each one of us changes all the time all the time, we do change. We change our physical appearance we know that better than anybody else right?

We do, we watch in the mirror all the time so we know how we are changing. Whether you like to acknowledge it or not actually people don’t like the change because they try to cover it up.004823

I’m not criticizing the ladies but basically when you put on the makeup, people do this, all the women and even men put on the makeup. Ronald Reagan puts on the makeup all the time right? (Rimpoche laughs) I was told this, right?

Why you do it? Because the way you look you don’t like it, you like to look different. That’s why people do makeup. They try to cover the things which they don’t like to see. They would like to see something different.

It is good to have make up. There is nothing wrong with that but in other words simply I’m telling you that is one thing that we do because we dislike certain changes that are taking place. Or we dislike what we have. 004916

Changing of our hairstyle is another example because we don’t like how we look and the way we look. We like to look different. We change our hairstyle and hair color. There are all sorts of things that we do.

It is actually a sign of disliking the individual. I’m not criticizing the woman who’s putting on makeup please don’t misunderstand me please really I don’t mean that. At the same time, there is a message in there. It is disliking the of way you look, “the way how I look like”, because I’d like to change!

Nobody would like to do it for the fun of changing. We don’t want to go through by spending time, money and everything. Though you may think it is but in reality you are sort of tired of looking the way you are and you want to look like something different.

Anyway the change - it is impermanent. People grow older. They grow older because that is impermanent. It changes. So the negative that we create is also impermanent - it changes, it changes. It can changes for good. It can change for good, it can change for worse. So, according to the Buddha, it depends how you handle the negative that we created.

In other words, we try not to create any more negative by changing our habitual patterns by changing our way of dealing with the people. Actually people is what? The people is the basis of our love and compassion. If there’s no people you cannot generate love and compassion.

Also people are the basis of anger, attachment and hatred. If there’s no people you can’t get angry, you not going to kick the door all the time right? Because you do kick the door at times because you got angry was somebody else.

And so it is the source of everything – source of good, source of bad, source of positive or source of negative. So we are there. It is also changing. So the way and how we handle our negative karma so that is that is the very important point which Buddha had told us. He told people saying the way and how your purify the negativity that makes a lot of difference. 005220

The importance of purification

Purification is extremely important in the Buddha’s teaching - there is no negativity which cannot be purified. Now the question of purification is how do you do it? What does one needs to do to purify? What does purification mean? Of course we do have a lot of different systems. In certain traditions, in the Catholic tradition you have to go to the church and confess everything. You whisper through a window to somebody whom you don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of movies and somebody sitting in a confessional and someone sitting on the other side of it and then they keep on confessing everything in their confession.

So you confess whatever you did wrong in there. Probably the next day the guy will blackmail you back. (audience laughs) If you’re not lucky and wrong guy is sitting there and do all this.

I don’t know what does that does. I have no idea. I don’t want to criticize but for me just by saying that, I don’t see how it purifies. You may be able to get it off your chest because you told somebody you may feel you get some kind of relief because you thought you passed that message to God.

Acknowledge negativity

You may feel a little relief which is also a good thing. As long as the person doesn’t blackmail you anymore. But what I know of the Buddhist background, what the Buddha really told here is actually acknowledge it acknowledgment again is the most important point. Acknowledging negativity first. If you don’t acknowledge, you don’t think of even purifying it. You don’t think that it’s something wrong, if you don’t think of acknowledging it.

Buddha basically tells you that all negativity can be purified provided that you apply the four powers.

Buddha said four powers. If you apply the 4 powers no matter how heavy the negativity may be, it will be purified. So with the Buddhist background coming in because you don’t see the four powers there, you are simply talking to somebody thinking that you are passing the message to the God or something. 005610

That God basically knows, he has to know because if he doesn’t know, he is not God right? It is limited. The limitation is not there whether you really say or don’t say it to somebody on the other side of the box who you don’t even know who was sitting there.

It doesn’t make sense to me personally because my background is different. My background is different so doesn’t really work. Only the satisfaction of getting it off your chest by telling somebody thinking that I sent a message to God or I took my initiative that much.

I don’t see anything more than that in there. Here what the Buddha had told people, Buddha’s way of purifying negativity is first to recognize, recognize, if you don’t recognize then it doesn’t work. Renounce, you have to renounce. Recognition, Renounce, you’re not going to do it again you renounce that completely. Regret you do not want to repeat it again.

So basically how it works in the traditional teachings it will tell you the power of the antidote action. The power regret, the power of committing to not repeat. That’s basically what they tell you. A friend of mine Alan Ginsberg who many of you know probably.

Alan worked with this and Alan came out with the 4R’s. I cannot repeat after him properly. Anyway he came with the 4R’s. Renouncing, recognition, non-repeatable, and regret, thank you that makes four.

It works well we say the power of the base is the first. The power of the base really means whatever we did wrong we recognize not only we recognize but we sort of compensate for it.

That is really the power of the base - compensate. If you have killing karma - you save life. If you’ve hurt somebody do something good for somebody. So that is compensate whatever you. It may not be able to do something good for the same person because sometimes our pride will not allow us to do that.005943

Sometimes the person’s anger on the other side will not permit you to do that. All sorts of difficulties you go through but do something.

Although jalapeno peppers and fruit cannot make a difference to each other but you can definitely use this to compensate for something.

You can definitely use it. So substitute the power of base. We call it the power of the base originally. 010019

The base on which we have created negative deeds to make compensation for that base which is the power of the base level. It is the base in which we think.

So where Alan puts it is recognition. So you recognize then do whatever needs to be done. It is sort of a little bit for the 4 Rs. We call it the 4 “R”.

Anyway so compassion to all sentient beings, taking refuge to the enlightened ones, making offerings, acting with the gift of generosity, taking vows, taking commitments, generating love/compassion, all of them will work for the power of the base…

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