Archive Result

Soundfile 19961108GRNY6 (_Normalized0&Amplified5db&NoiseReduction12db)

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location New York

Topic Five Buddha Families

Transcriber Matthew McKinley

Date 4/16/22

[Introduction for Rimpoche by Allen Ginsberg 0:00:00 - 0:02:07.8] Good evening everybody. I was looking at this, it's transformative Buddhism introduction to the five Buddha families. I don't even know what I'm doing. [Audience laughs] I was told that the subject of the workshop I'm supposed to do tomorrow on the basis of the five-Buddha families,

0:03:00.3

if you look at this you know it looks very strange, I don't even know how to begin talk to you. When you get into the Vajrayana Buddhism and then it sort of divided all the sort-of wider tradition of Indian system, they divided the people belong to the five different Buddha families, they do have five different looking Buddha, they look the same thing, but something fancy way like that. So anyway, five of them, they divide them, the reasons why they divide that, actually is not five different Buddhas at all but the five different aspects of one Buddha. Aspects of one Buddha. And one of the aspects idea is, actually it is really sort-of related to our life and our self and our emotions today, and particularly our neurosis. And when you become Buddha what do you suppose to become? You suppose to become pure of all the negative neuroses, right? That's why it's called a Buddha, awakening mind, pure being, all-knowing, gone-beyond, all of those. Because you've gone beyond our neurosises, so when you go beyond what happens? Like we said our anger and what happens to our hatred or ignorance or jealousy or part of negative, um you don't want to spend money, you don't want to share anything? [Audience answers: Miser!] Miser, miser. What happened to all this, so probably many people will think "Oh you can't have it", by that time it is gone. So, well in one way, you can look at it in pure sutrayana or the Theravadan system, yes in one way. In the Vajrayana, it is really very quick way of working so therefore it really doesn't get away, completely having disappeared, so what happens is it transforms. So the transformation

0:06:01.0

of the neurosis in a positive way, in the positive path, is the special extra-ordinary, they are the Vajrayana Buddhism. Are you familiar with the [two-knowledge?] called Vajrayana Buddhism? If you are not could you raise your hand please? A lot of you are unfamiliar, ok. Ohh, alright [I'm going to go with that?] now. Basically, [unintelligible] go little bit, Buddhism is nothing than that of overcoming our negativities, does that make sense to you? Anybody? Does that make sense to you? Allright. The question is how do I overcome, allright? So the Buddha shared three different ways of overcoming, to some people he emphasized the total discipline, total discipline, are you with me? [Audience agrees] Total discipline, you can not handle it, don't look at it, don't touch it, and don't drink it, and don't feel it, don't taste, and that's total discipline part of it. And when the discipline is emphasized and, I mean you [trudge?] through a proper discipline [nobody does on board], that is one way. I don't know if I am giving you good explanation but that's one way, we basically [unintelligible], we call it the Theravadan teachings. Theravadan in the sense of the teachings that been very popularly used in the countries like [Salam?], or Thailand, and whole in that South-East Asia. That is more emphasized on the Theravaden tradition, so the discipline is so important. Those of you who to been to Thailand you know, how the monks are supposed to walk and you're not suppose to cross on the bridge together with them anyway. If the monks come from the other side of the bridge they suppose to jump in front.[Audience laughs] All these sort of things are considered and [oriented?] because they try to keep the person focused on, and try not to enter any of those, what I call it, Samsara's delight. Samsara? Also meaning the circle of existence,

0:09:01.2

the delights in that. And that is the one way of doing it, and that's what we call it Thervadan-yana or Hinayana or that's the how one, one yana. Yana is vehicle, the you use that way, to cut through. Another vehicle is the Bodhisattva way, called Mahayana, it is a not so much so strictly discipline as it was in the Theravadan tradition but then maybe something [unintelligible] meaning of some samsara's delights there is some usefulness in that, so you may be able to use that and your main vehicle is love-compassion oriented. It is a principal, love-compassion is a principal, and try to move with that. And that is, that is not so much as strict discipline as it was in Theravadan but it has a lot of discipline and it take tremendous amount of time. Are you listening? So that is the second kind of vehicle, but even at this level, even at this level, there may be certain samsara's delights may have some use for you to assess yourself or the others and there may be some way but still you have to be very strongly disciplined and [unintelligible], ok? Now the third, which we call it Vajrayana, or actually the Buddhism whatever they develop in Tibet is actually Vajrayana principles of Buddhism. So the Vajrayana people can [differ on Vajrayana?] on the Mahayana is the Vajrayana people said it is correct that one can become fully-enlightened within a couple of eons, it is world of hope, how many lifetimes it may be? Couple of eons, that is great and wonderful but I don't have that much time, all the patience to do with this, isn't there something else to do that is a lot faster than better way to do than that? Then the Buddha come out and shared the Vajrayana path, which is really suppose to be extremely quick path and dangerous path too. Quick and danger both, but it is very important.

0:12:00.9

And so in the principal of the Vajrayana what you do is actually you try to transform the neurosis into the perfect wisdom. I didn't want to use the word transform and don't ask me how, it's going to be a difficult one. So that is the, the transform yourself, your neurosis and when each one of them [unintelligible] the anger, instead of the anger it will become some kind of wisdom and which, well I suppose a Buddha appears. And when the jealousy transforms it becomes another wisdom and with that another Buddha appears, are you ok now? So that's the transformation of that, transforming it and a process it goes through. Very very simple yet difficulty process that the individual goes through, in that process what happens is like a pure white cloth and you take it and you dip it in a color and take it out and then you are white sweater, blue sweater, or red sweater, or something. In that hope, in that manner, the neurosis becomes pure wisdom and become one aspect of a Buddha. So are you with me? Anybody have any difficulty with that? Don't think about how! Try to talk to you about transformation, ok? So why we are so proud of the Vajrayana? Why Tibetans keep on bragging that Vajrayana is something important, great, this-and-that, and wonderful thing because this is the only process in which one can deliver the state of the Buddha, of fully enlightened state of the Buddha, be able to deliver to the individual either within the life or at least at the time of the death or bardo or rebirth and ever. Or any reason within eight-lifetimes, worst of the worst [Rimpoche quickly quotes in Tibetan: Gyewa .. Nyer...?] sixteen-lifetimes, that is suppose to be Vajrayana guarantee.

0:15:00.3

So that is why it has become important and we carry that as so important, really very proud of it, even as something [valid?]. That is basically the principle how [work?] is suppose to be happening, ok? Suppose to. Will it work? Between you and me, if we sit down here and hour or so and spend, I don't know what, tomorrow bout couple of hours, and couple of hours tomorrow, it depends it is 10-12 and 2-5, if we spend that, is that going to happen? The answer is no![Audience laughs] It's not going to happen! Very true, are we going to pick our method how to do that? Perhaps not, even then its not... and then you probably saying "Well what am I doing here?", what you are doing here is to let you know there is a sense of method. That's what it is, there is a sense of method. So the question will rises, are we eligible to have that practice? Are we eligible, can we do it? The answer here is yes, we can definitely do it, we can work, we can do it. We can do it with the proper foundation, are you hearing me? This is very important point, ok? With the proper foundation, when you have the proper foundation you can do anything you want to and when you don't have the proper foundation you can do nothing! Really true, particularly in the Buddhism, in particularly to [unintelligible] Buddhism, if you don't have proper foundation no matter however you try, whatever you do, nothing going to happen at all. So the far most important for us is to get a proper foundation, very simple, basic, Buddhist, Tibetan Buddhist foundation. What is it? This is very simple, what is it? What is the most simple and important foundation? I like to raise a question, question here is why are you interested in this particular path? Why are you interested? When Allen asked how many of you have heard of me,

0:18:00.7

or seen me before, most of you have not. So the question rises, why are you interested? You can answer that, you yourself, not me, you can answer. My answer, my hope is, I hope you have interest that you need a spiritual path and you need a good one, and you want to help yourself, and that's why you are going to. I hope [that stands?], is that all? No. You going to have to say, pick your self. You know what I would like to do, one thing with you? This is a spiritual path and a Vajrayana path, whenever I am talking to you I want you to think, I don't want you to look at me and say "Whats this guy's talking about it" but I want you to think, whether this is relevant to me, whatever he saying it, is this connecting with me? Is this the reason why I'm here? I want you to think that way and if you do we are going through a process. If you don't then this is not a [unintelligible]. Ok? So to make it useful to you, to make it useful to you, I want you to think: is this the reason why you are interested? If so, if so, for what is the meaning? I'm building the foundation, building. If so what you need is freedom, that's what we need. A freedom. Ok? Is that right? You may think, oh this is a [unintelligible] Tibetan who have been kicked out of his own country by the communist China and now he comes here and tells us we need freedom. [Audience laughs] Americans, do you think that? I don't know. You don't need freedom, as I mentioned we all have freedom no doubt. We do have freedom, to certain extent. To certain extent. We don't have freedom from our neurosis, we don't have freedom from our karma. Through our neurosis we don't have freedom.

0:21:00.5

Do you have it? Anyone of you have freedom from neurosis, if so please let me know. [Audience laughs] You see? I don't see any hands. So the point is we are not free from our neurosis, we are not free of anger, we are not free of hatred, we are not free of the jealousy, we are not free of attachment. So the spiritual path, what do we have really can help ourselves, the true, truly one can make difference in one's life that is spiritual path, is nothing but [unintelligible] of material self free from [unintelligible]. Do not go after love and light, it has its purposes, it works well in certain period and it can not be able to deliver a total [unintelligible] by love and light alone. Are you with me? The love and light. [Audience laughs] Everything is wonderful and nice and wonderful, my feelings, I feel good, I'm corrected and I saw it, I know it's right for me the moment I touch over there. You know all this love and light. I think you are more exposed than I am, but love and light will not be able to deliver the good, it will make you feel good temporarily but it is not been able to deliver the goods. To make yourself free from all these neurosis you need a very serious and solid practice, ok? [unintelligible] The moment I said serious and solid practice you may think, "Oh I need to shave my head and go to Himalayas" or change my dresses or something. No, no, other way round, I change backwards. I was a monk, for twenty-years, ok? So I change backwards, that doesn't mean the monks aren't capable of delivering goods and there's another opportunity also [unintelligible], so that's why I changed backwards. You know you change from lay to a monk, I change backwards. So

0:24:00.3

when I say solid [extended pause], I mean serious. You don't have to spend so much time to do some kind of thing called practice. A lot of the people will think, "I have to spend time to sit down and meditate" or chant mantra, or do this and do that, and people will identify that as practice. I don't believe that is alone is practice, to me the practice really means you involve yourself. Really deeply that, and actually total of your life should be involved in that. It is not that you have all the time to spend and sit down and meditate, you can't do that, there's no way you can do it. So the other way round, bring that love-compassion and awareness in your life, and total life, everyday life. Bring that in there and get it in our daily mind and that is how [you get] serious mind. Are you alright? Mmm? Yeah, no? Yeah, good, that's right. [unintelligible] ... Sit down and meditate, I'd rather tell you go and do your chores but be aware compassion. Be with compassion, with love and awareness, and do whatever you have to do in your daily work. And that is I call the [sea/seed?] of wisdom, total involvement. Does that make sense to you at all? Yeah, it SHOULD make sense to you. Because we're not back in the 14th-century or 15th-century where we had all time in our hands and sit and meditate. We can't do that, mind you this is the year 2000 coming, right? In about 4-years or something. So people are going to be much more busy than what we are, if you're looking for certain amount of time for we label that as practice and then we have to

0:27:01.5

extended that, it's not going to work. So every part of our life, be part of that, so be involved in that. If you look back at the old Tibet, look at the life of like 13th-Dalai Lama, this is 14th, the 13th Dalai Lama and so and forth, and if you look at them they daily works, whatever they do, is they occupy much more than that of sit-down and meditating and practice and saying your prayers and giving teachings. The 14th Dalai Lama is doing a lot of teachings and things like this, the 13th [inaudible] he doesn't have time, he doesn't have opportunity because he has to run the whole state, yet he's been able to have total practice together and with running the state and practice together. And that opportunity is not only available to the 13th Dalai Lama only, it is available to everybody [inaudible] could happen. And I've been fool-, no really been very foolish. Tibetan's are, the traditional older Tibetans, that are older than us, older than me, within year-60, so older than that. They used to say, we are proud of combination of spiritual and temporal life together, they will say, they will say politics and Dharma together, they will say, they're very proud of it. And I could never understood while I'm in Tibet, could never understood, I keep on thinking oh yeah it must be something, the head of the Tibet is Dalai Lama, so the Dalai Lama being head temporal and [spiritual head?], it must be joining up here somewhere. So that's where my understanding was, and I've been such a fool. You know what I mean? And when I begin to get in deeper in that, I begin to understand the opportunity of combining the daily life and spiritual practice, combine them together. And that opportunity every Tibetan had before 1950, and that's why it makes sense that they called Shangri-La. Are you familiar with that... thing? [Audience murmuring] So that's one moment, I'm sorry.. [Audience interjects question]

0:30:00.5

Shangri-La, ok? So that is, that become the real Shangri-la because when they able to combine them together, make working together will "bam-bam-bam-bam" building [Audience chuckles]. But to earn your living and to do your spiritual practice together and you don't separate that, you combine them together so any daily work that you have to do it becomes spiritual practice. Are you with me? If you wanted the job your job may be, if you are, whatever your job is, you go for your job, do your job and that is becomes a spiritual practice and that's why they're so proud of it. These are the [unintelligible - the long hats?]. That's what it is. Are you [unintelligible]? So that means, what we really mean is that today we not going to have time to meditate and sit-down and do something and shave our head and change our clothes. Not going to work for us! So what do we really have do is become every part of our life, what can we do has to become a spiritual path. Can you do it? Sure you can do, unless your job is a butcher's job or something, or not even a butcher, a slaughter. Even butcher is ok, slaughter or if your job is to produce a B2-bomber or something, then it's a different thing. B2-bombers might not be that bad but [Audience laughs]. Some ammo producing bullet or bullet or something, that means it's different. By natural it becomes a negativity because the original idea, the motivation is for killing. How best way we can poke through it, human, whatever protection there may be, skin or whatever and bullet projected, whatever it is, how it get beyond that. So with that motivation, we come in with negativity because of that motivation and whatever you do you cannot change into positive. Or you get job as a slaughter one animal after the animal, so normally even you think no matter whatever you do because it's very hard to be positive. Besides that, every other job, whatever you may be bringing it, whatever the job may be and that's will be able to become spiritual. You have the opportunity,

0:33:00.5

you can do it. So when you really do transform, the first transformation is the actual time that you spend, work [with?] you do, get some profit in the spiritual business of yours. Are you with me? That is necessary.. [To Audience] You want to raise question now? Ok, go ahead, but one only cause I might not be able to talk about it.

Audience: [Inaudible] There are certain negative occupations or jobs [or tasks?] that by definition can be transformed. Like building bullets and bombs, by definition they can't be transformed into something positive.

Rimpoche: Not by definition alone, by nature of it.

Audience: Yes, yes yes. Aren't there human emotions or something about the human condition itself that can't be transformed?

Rimpoche: Yes it can, you can. I'm going to come to that, because I haven't touched how to do that yet.

So basically, basically, what is the most important under these categories, under this way. What does the earlier Bodhisattva did? What does the earlier great masters did? How did they function in their life? When you really look very carefully there is so much emphasized on the mind itself. The mind itself. The motivation level of the mind, actual functioning mind, and the mind which concludes and concludes them. Are you with me now? So this level of mind itself is so important and so powerful it can overtake anything else, are you ok? So when you are looking at earlier Bodhisattvas, and teachers, and Buddhas, how have they functioned in their life? They can spend all their lifetime meditating under a tree or in a cave, or somewhere. No he did not, some did, the majority of them did not. Majority of them did had a life like you and I do, they functioned like normal, normal people. If you look to Milarepa, I'm sure you know Milarepa right? He's an exception eccentric Tibetan saint, you've read about him, it's available in English. But if you look at the

0:36:00.6

teacher of the Milarepa, the Marpa, who founded the Kagyu tradition itself totally. And if you look at him, he's married guy, he has children, he has a family, he has a wife, he has a farm, he's a farmer! He looks after animals, he grows food, he functions, [people like it ?...unintelligible] and yet he is one of the greatest examples of today when you looking back. A teacher of Milarepa, the founder of total Kagyu tradition, a farmer with wife and kids and animals and household together. That's only one example because it's quite popular in the west, Milarepa, so you can say Milarepa's guru, and that makes sense. So there's hundreds of them, hundreds of them that function being that way. So what they did is every part of their work, whether it is money or whether it is training [house work?] or whatever or business, whatever it might be. Basically they did great job, did great farmer job, great business job, very shrewd business person however getting rich and a very great in the spiritual path. How did they do it? These are the delicate examples I think we need rather than how the one [unintelligible-sleep?] and how the [unintelligible] happen, they lived a different way, they have a different way. They don't have court, they don't have family, they don't have much responsibility, to tell the truth. [Audience chuckles] They don't have to pay bills, so that's what it is. So these people, how did they live, how did they combine together, can we do it? YES, we can do it! Only matter of [unintelligible] our mind, the level of motivation, the level of actual function, and in the beginning actual period and conclusion level at that period how you bring awareness in your mind, and that is all it is. Are you with me? Allright, so A: to look at the center of the transformative of Buddha's practice, what

0:39:00.5

should be the first path of ours? And I said beginning path, what should be? Should they be a path oriented by jealousy? Should it be path oriented by anger? Should it be path oriented by ignorance? No, that's the wrong way of doing. So then what instead of that, whatever it may be, path should be oriented by compassion, path should be oriented by love, by caring. First and foremost, if you do first thing in the morning the very first thought should be I would like to spend all my day today for caring for beings that come contact with me. I would like to spend all my time today [inducing?] compassion, I would like to carry out all my action today with the influence of compassion and love. I would like to spend my day with compassion and love, I would like to get up with compassion and love, I would like to walk with compassion and love, I would eat with compassion and love, I would sleep with compassion and love, and that's what we need. And if you can't do that, we can born with compassion and love, we can live with compassion and love, and we can die with compassion and love, that's what we need. In order to make that functioning in your life, we should be able to make that functioning in day. Do you understand me? Or am I talking [unintelligible]? [Audience chuckles] Are you with me, if you can make the day work in that way, you can make your life work that way. So each day is so important. So first and foremost thought itself is the one that make you transform your life, and you don't have to change your job, you can do that. Every work that you do, every chore that you have to do, the longer that you have to wash and the grocery shopping that you have to do. Waiting for the.. whatever, parking lot or whatever it is, oh waiting for a parking place or whatever driving around, all of them are

0:42:00.0

instead of getting irritated and angry but the love-compassion, how wonderful it would be. You could do that, it is simply matter how you put your thoughts. We created our thoughts, we created our motivation, we shape our life, the life doesn't shape us, motivation doesn't shape us, we do shape them. I'm sure I get that some thoughts, for me Tibetans, sitting in my head, popping up, I try to put them down, couldn't get it. They popping up all the time, I don't know whether that makes sense to you or not. Our teachers use to tell me, you suppose to be Rimpoche so you have to put the bell wherever you going to put it, bell will not put you here. You ring the bell, so we suppose to put the bell wherever we want to rather than bell put us here or there. You know what I mean? So we shared our value, love and light shared [unintelligible], does that make sense? You know where to put the bell, bell you can put wherever you want to, the bell will not make you physically out there. That is the beginning of the transformation. Buddhism really does not need for you to worship Buddha, I don't buy that a bit. Buddhism does not mean you have to say prayers, Buddhism does not mean you have to have mantra count, mantra. No, it doesn't, it means you correct your motivation, correct your natural bad ... addictions. And don't let yourself go under the influence of addiction, correct path. When you do that you have Buddhism with you. Whether you are bald-headed or long-hair, or even you have whole other [unintelligible], you know what I mean? So are you with me? So this is very important, you have to [unintelligible] the label called, so-called Buddhist. You don't have to have that.

0:45:00.4

If you are, fine, nothing wrong with that, and if you're not, fine. As long as you make the correction within you, are you with me? With your motivation, with your life, today is [what matters?]. If you try to look, some kind of very mystical level of some transformation where you meditate sitting there, a light goes "zoom" and melt into it and comes out with some very strange way, if you're working for that nothing matters. The stories will tell you that but it's not magician circumstances, just try to tell you and I don't expect that will happen to us in downtown Manhattan, I don't think so. Yet we have opportunity to transform ourselves in that way. If you have the positive motivation and then you do your responsibility, as a [sharp?] as a possible, as a [meaningful?] as possible, as a lucid as possible. If you do it, every work you do will become a positive spiritual work. In other words, we do create positive karma, are you with me? To make it a positive karma you don't have to sit down and meditate and chant, every word that you do can make a positive karma, and that's what I mean transform. And that totally depends on your mind, totally! Nothing else! You are mostly involved in your motivation and your awareness, ok? So everything single damn thing that I did today, if I had that motivation, will become positive karma? I'm not sure, but most of them will become positive karma. As long as it is by virtue, it's not negative part. As long as you're not hurting anybody, with the intentionally hurt, if you're not hurting anybody. Perhaps 99.9% of you would, will get positive karma. I'm not simply bragging that, if you read Bodhisattvavatara and if you read all these teachings

0:48:00.3

during the lines they give you all these messages, as large as life in there. They give you in-between the lines, do you hear it? That's what it is. Because it's not possible, with exception of few people, it's not possible between you and me, we would not sit down and chant mantras all the time, we not going to shave our heads and go to Himalayas, no not going to do that. [Tibetan quote: 0:48:36.6 - 0:48:41.4 - Gyo che chepa...Marpa?] Even the great Tibetan teachers will say, you will remain in our home and you can attain total liberation just like that of Marpa. That is how, you have a family, you have responsibilities, you have your life yet you have spiritual path, even sometimes better than those other paths. We have that opportunity. It is very rare, the Tibetan teachers keep on saying that, and I have no idea how rare it was, they keep on saying that its extremely rare opportunity. One of the Panchen Lama keep on talking and giving the lecture and saying that it is very rare opportunity, blah blah blah, and Chinese benefactor got up and told him, since you have not been to China I understand what you're talking about it. Meaning that there's so many human beings in China, you know what I mean? And I didn't get it because it's a rare opportunity until I get out of Tibet. And I get out of Tibet looking at zillions of people in India and you see so many people in the West, throughout everywhere and when you look in their life and see how much they have, then you begin to understand what a rare opportunity it has. And it is. And all of us here, I don't know if you're deeply interested or out of curiosity, or whatever it might be, but you have interest, you have opportunity. You're here, you have opportunity. And you know many of your friends, your family, person that you care, you try to drag the person in here, will not come. Simply not interested, simply will not have the opportunity. So that's what, when I look here, when I look that's what I see

0:51:00.4

what a truly great opportunity it is. Everybody wants joy, everybody wants happiness, who doesn't want that? Those friends of yours who are dragging here will also want happiness but they never thinking that happiness can come from a positive karma and spiritual work. They just don't want to insult you, they just want give you respect or lip-service, but they don't really [unintelligible- pay you] is in there. So they think happiness remains in material success and you know, I know, material alone cannot answer our demand at all, can it? Donald Trump could have. [Audience chuckles] Didn't hear me? So that's what it is. So the real true freedom, [unintelligible- free from] neurosis, challenged by us, with our motivation and with our way of thinking, with our way of dealing with life, with awareness, with love, with compassion. It is like a war, the war between compassion and anger, a war between attachment and love, and it's taking place within our mind. And we're habitually addicted to attachment, we're habitually addicted to anger, however we have great human consciousness in here tells us, hey it's love, there's something beyond that. We are, we also had great opportunity in the sixties. Due to the cameras, or whatever it is, we had billions beyond this very world of materialist world. And cracks they're seeing through them, something beyond this world. Beyond this material life. Did you or didn't you forget?

0:54:01.0

If you can, [unintelligible- get it pass] Allen. [Audience laughs] I'm sorry. No really true, if you can, great, and that makes us open, bring our awareness, bring a sense of something beyond death. It's been shown to us, experienced by us, yet it cannot hold on it because it did not come naturally. It can because of [unintelligible- karma?]. Does that make sense to you? So that is, that itself tells us there is something in death, something much more. Do not think of physical form, do not think of open [unintelligible]. It is more than that, inside, inside work. Internal freedom, internal compassion, true love. And that changes the nature of original human being, whatever the shape we are. Influenced, addicted to anger, attachment, hatred, will change, the addiction will change. That is possible! If you keep on thinking, bringing awareness of change, compassion, automatically cuts-down on anger, jealousy, hatred. And keep on keeping them with you, they don't have opportunity to pop-up with your mind. Are you ok? And that's how you remove them. Then there's [unintelligible], I hope it does. That is the beginning of the transforming our anger, beginning of transforming our attachment. Whether it's going to become five different Buddha or not, whether its going to become five different wisdoms or not, whether the Buddhas face this way or that way, doesn't really matter. What does matter is these individuals feel different,

0:57:00.3

experience different, open, awareness, kindness. That is all about Buddhism, that is the basic Tibetan Buddhism, little bit more. That's what it is. Doesn't matter if you're Tibetan or not Tibetan [Rimpoche chuckles], I'm just joking. [Audience laughs] I'm the only one here at least. OK, whether you're Tibetan or not Tibetan, whether you're Buddhist or not Buddhist, doesn't matter. As long as you are good human being, that's all it is. You don't have to subscribe to the label of Buddhist. Don't, really truly don't. I'm being extremely comfortable with anybody, as long as it's good human being. Actual [indistinct- come to], whether you have to label Buddhist or not, doesn't matter. As long as you're interested to helping yourself. That's good enough. I'm sure many of us are interested to help others, benefit of our American nature. We like to help others, great, wonderful, but first help yourself. You don't help yourself you can't help others. I mean you can help, you can be writing a check, don't have a different way, a nice way, great way. But, but that's not uncommon. I'm talking about sharing to be free from the neuroses. First you have to help yourself! Even the old American [myth?]... saying, the charity begins at home. Right? You have to help yourself, that is far most important. That doesn't mean you don't help others, you can help others as much as you can but you are the primary important person responsible for you. You see what I say? And where and how you practice is this, putting down your neuroses. And don't give them any opportunity to pop their head with your mind! Really!

1:00:01.0

And if you say get out of here, they won't go. They will more harder, but if you keep on working with them, good understanding, if you keep on coming, coming back ...[trails off, indistinct]. Doesn't matter if you realize much later, always later, the anger takes over the people. You don't realize you're angry, that's fine but if you realize it later that's good enough. That's where you begin. During the anger period noone will say "I'm angry", very few people will say. And most of them say, "I'm not angry" back, because that is denial. If you don't have the denial, why the anger will grow? Nothing will scare, it needs shelter. [indistinct] The denial is the shelter, have to be. But if you realize it later that is good enough and keep on, you found base on which you're wanting and keep on working. Are you with me? That is important, ok? [1:01:33.8 - Audio cuts-out and cuts back in abruptly mid-sentence] -with the problem with working with yourself, by yourself, with your intelligence, that's how you can help. That is true Buddhism believe it or not. Purpose of the Buddhism is nothing than that of cutting down the neuroses and building up positive karma. If you cut down the neuroses you will automatically begin to help [indistinct], it is automatic. That is the true Vajrayana. [To audience member] Now you don't tell me you don't know. [Audience member responds indistinctly and Rimpoche jokes with him] Allright, so that's it! So anyone have any questions? Sir?

Audience: Why are these neuroses, such as anger, so addicting?

Rimpoche: You need a reason for that? [Audience chuckles] Addiction is

1:03:00.4

addiction, you don't need a reason, do you? People who are addicted smoking cigarettes [indistinct]. Even you know the smoking harming, is giving you choke here and giving you problem here, even though you know, you want it.

Audience: Critical theory but those kinds of addictions...

Rimpoche: Mind will, physical and mental are everywhere. You may not see in black and white with the scientific explanation or some kind [indistinct- tendency? that] can assure you. But mind is ... [indistinct]! Whenever you have addiction you wanted more all the time. I believe it, unless, until you change you change the addiction itself. And we did that, ok, another reason you want to, you don't really want it to come up. The life after life you get used to it, not only use to it you feel comfortable, you feel so natural. Physical and emotional ... [indistinct].

Audience: Do you have some books you would like to recommend to people?

Rimpoche: Books, books, books. I'm not certain how to read English, so it's hard for me to recommend anything.. but I hear people say Sogyal Rimpoche's book on living and dying, [indistinct - "tendrel"?], and Chogyam Trungpa's Cutting through spiritual materialism, journey without a goal, all this I hear is good. [Allen: Meditation in action is his first one] Meditation in action. I hopefully hear some of Ram Dass book, such as "Be here now"

1:06:00.5

[indistinct] is great. Have him back, like couple of kids... that's because I don't know. Sir?

Audience: [1:06:16.9-1:07:36.1, very indistinct question - something pertaining to an "outside view[world] that makes you angry", the environment treating you badly judging from Rimpoche's answer]

Rimpoche: I heard you. I have a friend, she's not here tonight, black lady by name of... Louise. She's been friends with me for 7-8 years, maybe 9-10, and one day when I was walking in she came up and said "Rimpoche, I thank you!" and she gave me a big kiss here. And I said "What happened?" and she said people treat me better now. I said what you mean? I go to grocery shopping, they always hustled me, now they don't hustle me they treat me better. I go to the department store run in and run out, they don't hustle me anymore, they treat me better.

Audience: [Indistinct - something about projection onto others the outside world]

Rimpoche: I don't know, that's what she told me. Another thing is, in Tibet when I was kid

1:09:00.5

there was less people, there was not so many people here, not like here at all, right? So there's some practitioners that's called, there's a practice called cutting-through, cutting, cutting through the neurosis and ignorance. And these people mean practice, they really had to sit and practice and do all sort of things. So then they come into cemeteries at night, middle of the night 2 or 3 in the morning, they [lie in the?] cemeteries [indistinct]. The reason is there is not so many human beings to attack you but there is plenty of ghosts to attack you [Audience chuckles]. It's a challenge, how you take it is up to you. To have a challenge is better than not have, actually to be able to become let yourself perfect downtown Manhattan is much better than try to make yourself perfect up in Ann Arbor Michigan. [Audience laughs]. It's a true.

Audience: I've been to Ann Arbor, I agree. [Audience and Rimpoche laugh] But my question is this, I don't hear anything that you're saying to be controversial. I mean it seems very obvious to me, and not just of Buddhism but of any faith of practice, to you know, to a point it becomes a part of a person's daily life.

Rimpoche: Are you happy with that? Thank you. That's Buddhism, it can be anything else, that is also fine. Very true, the whole purpose of all these spiritual paths to make the individual better. To make the individual a little kinder, a little gentler, little more open. Little more, you know, [take it as you go?]. A little better understanding and that's how you go, I don't belive there's any [indistinct]. Some people like to sit-down and meditate and close their eyes and do all sorts of things, and in years a little bit become so aggressive and so proud and, you know, our traditional Tibetan teachers would tell us you wear the sky as

1:12:00.4

your head and use the cloud to tied to your head, down on your chin there. You know it? There some of those big heads have some, what do you call those? [Audience: Tie] Tie comes down and can you tie that hat and fly away. So they say the sky is making your head hot and the cloud make you so proud. So that is a problem, it's not problem for us but it is problem. Many people have that, many people! Particularly those of us who have that little name and title and all sorts of things. [Audience chuckles] That's a problem! Yes sir?

Audience: I have to work very rapidly in front of a computer screen, is there some way that that... I have to spend 8 hours a day, 10 hours a day, doing that. Can that time be more [indistinct]? Whenever I feel more [indistinct] I don't feel like doing that work.[Audience laughs]

Rimpoche: I'm so glad you give very open, straightforward, simple example. I like to ask you question, what do you think before you go down to sit on computer, sit in front of computer? What sort of motivation do you have? Virtually nothing

Audience: My motivation is usually a feeling of pressure, to have my tasks done for that day.

Rimpoche: I understand that. Can you contribute, can you put up a little bit of compassion in there? [indistinct], people who you are working for, people who you help to give them for, that are dependent on you and you help to [indistinct]. And number of people will be benefit beyond that, so for that reason I would like to do that. Not only the simple pressure. And the dream when you are sitting and reading and working with the computer, from time to time, awareness that you would like to fulfill the wishes of those people. That is going down pop-up,

1:15:00.4

When that thought [opens?], sharing that, fulfilling their wishes and when they're going down, pop-up a little bit. So that influence of that compassion and that love that you have are ... will be extended throughout. So what will happen, as a result of that you will feel the pressure that you experience goes down and joy [indistinct-comes back]. And at the same time, same time as well, you keep authentic you will build up positive karma. That's what I mean, take life into the positive karma buildup, so when you see and use them, single example and then you can talk through them. I hear [indistinct- someone "ah"], and that's what it is. However, and that's what it means take your life into positiveness. I don't mean meditating during the working period! [Audience laughs] [Indistinct].. you can't do that, but have that influence of love and compassion. Artificially from the beginning, not going to be automatic for us, artificially [indistinct-is fine ]... And keep on pumping it up, from time to time. Not only you have, you have to work so then you work with that and positive karma creation. How wonderful it is. You know Milarepa use to say, I am Milarepa meditate while [indistinct-equally] true, I have a certain method that others don't, how happy I will be if others know how to do that. I meditate while I'm walking, I can and others cannot, how happy I would be if others could do that. I meditate while I'm asleep, I have a certain method, I can and others cannot, how happy I will be if others could. These are the [indistinct], even three is extremely important because we spend tremendous amount of time asleep. Four, five, six,

1:18:00.1

seven, eight, nine, ten, whatever you can count, right? We spend that time out of 24-hours. Turn that into positive karma creation, how wonderful it is. Even you cannot do the yoga of sleeping, it's the yoga of sleeping, [indistinct] But what is the method, it is to change the period of sleep into the positive karma creation. How you can do that? Reminding just before the sleeping, turn into the positive, meditating on love, compassion, thinking about it. Processing, analyzing compassion and try to pop-up the challenge of the compassion within your mind and try to analyze that, how positive way how you can resolve the challenges. That is meditation, wether you do it with the [indistinct- prostrate] or sitting on the chair, or sitting on the [indistinct- park] in your home, or [indistinct- on the lawn-chair]. That's what we need to do, and that's how you change the [indistinct- neuroses?] into the positive nature. It becomes virtuous, mind you it is better than meditation and better than saying mantras and all the rest. And by doing that you will be able to sometimes recognize the dream as a dream. Most people are dreaming straight, you really recognize dream as dream. And if you can recognize the dream as dream there is a tremendous opportunity there. It is special window in computer, what you call it, no really tremendous use in that. [indistinct] Sir?

Audience: So what value is there in spending 20-years in a monastery, if indeed there is some value?

Rimpoche: Right, they do have [indistinct] value. I'm not saying they don't have value, they do have great value. Discipline, learning, although... the purpose of monastery is to provide you a great atmosphere to cut-down your neurosis. That's for me what is the purpose, providing opportunity and atmosphere. That's for me, it was the purpose.

1:21:00.4

Providing opportunity and atmosphere [muffled- cut neurosis]. Ok, so that's what it is. And you get help, especially when you don't have awareness, when you want to be sort of [indistinct- "hala gola" business and] discipline helps. Yes sir?

Audience: What is the role of say meditation and meditation on emptiness, and such?

Rimpoche: A tremendous important point. Meditation will bring to help you, the purpose of the total mediation is to bring awareness. To be aware of what you are doing, what you are thinking. You know I was told when I was a kid, when I was a kid, your mind is like a monkey you cannot let it go, let it loose in the temple. Mind or monkey in the temple, knock down all the butter lamps down, and pee all the here and there, everything knocked down and fall down. That was example, the mind is like that. So the meditation is like little leash to tie it down. And then they think you have problem with that?

Audience: No, it just seemed like you put all the emphasis on intention.

Rimpoche: Yeah. Well yeah, that begins with intention, that's what I mean to some extent. And if you don't involve meditation on emptiness, that not going to get anywhere into this. So what's the point? [indistinct- Or reason] I'm sorry to said that, it did. The argument that you can mediation on emptiness is wonderful but it has to make sense first. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, no tongue, no nose, no eye, no ... no [indistinct], no head, no hair. Then you got [indistinct]. Hard to make sense. The sense will be made if you emphasize all love and compassion, these are the call it method path. Through the method of "kundrel", "kundrel" is method, the wisdom is deeper. If you try the [indistinct] right from the beginning

1:24:01.6

through the window of wisdom, you're not going to get anywhere. Ten-years later, twenty-years later, thirty-years later, forty-years later if you're lucky enough to still be doing a practice. That is a problem! Anything else? Should we close shop? [Indistinct]. I'd like to close shop because [indistinct- have to be] in the [indistinct- Maryland?] for four-hours. [Rimpoche chuckles][Indistinct- In the plane, mountain for hours?]. Sooo, I'd like to thank you so much...

Audience (Allen): Really quick...[Audience laughs] We've been talking about [indistinct] or popping-up with love and compassion as a preliminary to any daily work, or any everyday work...

Rimpoche: Anything, yeah!

Audience (Allen): But what... are there any tricks or mind-tricks that can be used or any specific techniques can be used to rouse a genuine feeling of love and compassion aside from the thought? Or just the thought of doing it...?

Rimpoche: Um, very good question. The truly love and compassion will be able to rise within the individual if you recognize the purpose. Pains that we go through, the sufferings that we experience: mental, emotional, physical, pains that we go through. When you recognize them and instead of encountering with those pains with the irritation, with the lack of patience but look at them as how it comes, what it is, is it me only? And how do I feel when I have those pains, that others will feel the same thing. That's why the four-immeasurables, immeasurable of recognizing suffering, immeasurable of giving love, joy, combined together that's what Buddha shared with people. Because when you recognize the pain

1:27:00.5

that you go through the others will have the same thing, and you not only feel "What I can do, what I can do, what I can do" but you also get "How can I help, how can I help, how can I help". You know, meditating on the love and compassion really helps individual to relieve depression, [indistinct- Burr (someone's name)?] said that all the time. I didn't get it, it took a neurological surgeon to explain it. [Rimpoche chuckles] Can you believe it? A neurological surgeon was talking to me about the [indistinct- Tibetan path?] and I was very interested in what he say how it work. And then, [indistinct- Bob?] passed away from [indistinct] and he said "As a Buddhist you suppose to have that love and compassion, suppose to help to that". I said, "Yeah I heard about that but I don't know how it works" [Audience chuckles] And he said it's very simple, I said how, depression is fundamentally based on the self.. uh.. what do you call it?

Audience: Cherishing? Grasping?

Rimpoche: Actually kind of grasping. How can I do it? How can I get out? How can I do it, how can I do it? And the moment you [indistinct- out loud], the other people also suffering like me "How can I help?". So you shifting the focus on the self-grasping to the caring for others, is actually pulling the red-carpet under the feet of depression]. So the Buddha taught for 2500-years and at least for me to understand that a neurological surgeon [indistinct- see?] stop.

Audience (Allen): What you're saying, to use your metaphor of the computer. You'll open a window on compassion and that experience of your own leads you to empathy with others and that lead you to love and compassion for yourself and others. But the thought of your own and others suffering...

Rimpoche: Thought! It's only the thought.

Audience (Allen): Or the recognition of it?

Rimpoche: No, it is only the thought. Or label, whatever you may call it, they're labels to me. Actually what happens is your mind is involved with that, your mind somehow observes that, your mind will remember how difficult it is when I'm going through that, this is terrible for me. And then [indistinct- dating, the deadbeat ones?] that think

1:30:00.9

how can I do it, how can I do it, [indistinct- like what I do it]. Who get a handle, they make means of others who will have the same problem. How can [indistinct- turns into ask for them?]. It must be from them, at least for me. How can I help. I believe that's practically how it... I'm glad you brought that question up. That is the, that is the life of how we try to stop [indistinct]. Basically in my life I'm not, say I'm grateful, anything, in my life the principal of all those things is that going to be helpful, useful for the people. Can you help in someway? That is my primary concern. And after a little while, you may think I'm making it up, but anything [isn't?] right or wrong much, you'll simply think is that going to help? And when that becomes part of your mind, you're OK. I suppose. [Audience chuckles] Presuming... same thing.

Audience: I forget, you know, all the time. I lose my motivation, you know I get angry or whatever and I lose my motivation and I don't care. And I'm wondering is it just like, a matter of sticking with it, like with flexing in yoga and doing OK. I really want to be able to bend over and touch my toes and I [indistinct] if I keep doing it, eventually it will definitely happen. Is it sort of like that? You just forget and you remember and then you eventually forget less?

Rimpoche: Everybody forget that, everybody gets angry, not you only. Everybody does, more or less. Gets angry, everybody forgets motivation, doesn't matter. The realizing you're getting forget itself is great, and that is the beginning. Whenever you realize [indistinct] pop-up the motivation [indistinct], you go about it. That goes for everybody, every job that you do. Sitting in front of computer, sitting in front of people arguing, whatever you have to do. Sitting in front of dying people consulting, sitting front of the family who is needing consult, whatever you do, that's what you do. Influence the basic mind which would help them, with that touch whoever you talk to will always make difference to that person too.

1:33:01.3

If this is artificial, that is artificial, this is genuine, that is genuine. That is the karma, that is cause and effect. This is the where and how it functions, that's reality. Can we close shop now? [Audience laughs] Thank you! [Audience applause]

[Silence until EOF@1:33:51.3]