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Soundfile 20000829GRSROTF01

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location SR

Topic Odyssey to Freedom

Transcriber Helen Breault

Date December 21, 2019

Good morning everybody. I have, I hope, you people had some nice sleep and a little bit of rest and relaxing. I don’t know.

Today we’ll continue where we left after yesterday. You know, normally teachings like this, you’re just doing Mandala Offering, lineage prayer and all this. And there’s the system of the lama who gives the teaching also has to do certain things. And also, the teaching, whatever they give, they sometimes repeat four times. But we’re avoiding all of them today, this time because we’re trying to buy a little more time here. So that’s why there’s no Mandala Offering. There’s no system of inviting the formless beings, asking them to remain wherever they are, listen— and all of them we’re not doing. We’re also not repeating just because we just wanted to get down. And we’re also avoiding detail because I would like to have a little more time at the end, for what we did not do last year. And also, Marianne was telling me yesterday, and I said, “Well, where did we do this Odyssey to Freedom?” And she said, “Here!” And then I said, “How did I get time so much?” And she said, “No. It was this short at the end.”

[01:48]

So we’ll try to do a little more, whatever we have not done before. We’ll try to make it a little short, whatever we have done before. However, we cannot be completely making short because there’s quite a lot of new people and they have to it complete. So anyway, we are not going to repeat up to yesterday. What we have, is Seven Limbs. It is very important for an individual to practice.

You know, people ask me, “Where do I begin?” That’s where you begin, with the Seven Limbs. Because everything’s in there. [2:26 Tibetan]. In the Shantideva’s Bodhisattvacharyaavatara is says buddhas had a couple of eons some conference, saying, “What is the best way we can help people?’ And they drew the conclusion: Seven Limbs. It might not be all seven, but add up a little bit here and there. But actually, the invocation is actually also added up. We don’t call it…we call it “prostration” here but we had a different word yesterday. Instead of salutation we used something else: praise and entreat the quality, asking. That’s what it is. Remember, that’s an important part of it.

[3:39]

Then this offering is very important because it’s activity of generosity. Actually, the best generosity is the offering. And I don’t want to emphasize so much it has a bad effect too. You know, if you look in the Asian culture, the most generous people have been very generous towards teachers and monasteries and monks and lamas. And then they will slightly neglect for what we Americans call charity: sort of hospitals, and this and that and even the educational institutions and all of them. Because they’re looking at the benefit of the individual. So there’s sort of this problem too.

Anyway, it is considered one of the best generosity because of to whom you offer, what you offer, how you offer. These are the main points how one builds the benefits on the generosity part. So I don’t want to go in detail on that. That’s an important point.

[5:07]

What else is there? Purification is equally important. Four points, remember, four points. You know Stokes was telling me at the breakfast table that compensation is something you do towards the other person and antidote is something you do for yourself. I think it’s very, very clear. So I told Stokes, “Good one.” So now, don’t confuse. No matter whoever uses what language, there’s four powers. Somebody tells you “base” or something. Or somebody tells you “compensation” or somebody will tell you building a “fundamental foundation.” Whatever language they use, something you give to the other person that you hurt: that is love/compassion or refuge. If you don’t the other person—if they’re fully enlightened or not enlightened—then that’s where you use both. That’s something to give from you, so compensation. And then what you do within yourself to diffuse the negativity, that’s antidote action. Then regret and not repeating is there. So whatever order comes, whether it comes from the east, the west, the south or the north, it doesn’t matter.

One of the important points in the Lam Rim teachings they will tell you [6:59 Tibetan] every teaching of the Buddha can take it by somebody like a square. Square in the sense if you have a small square carpet, from whatever angle you pull it up, you pick it up from the middle or from the east corner or from the west corner—everything comes together, intact. And that’s what’s important. We should not hang on, don’t have a hang on some kind of, sort of, remember I was telling you last night, “My teacher says ‘pot.’ Your teacher says ‘pillar.’ Tsa, tsa, tsa.” Right?

[7:45]

You can’t do that. Everything has to be… What matters is how it effects ourself. It’s not the point that exactly you repeat the same word, that you use the same word. It’s not. The purpose is to get the message. The language is the medium through which you give the message. So whichever is getting effective to yourself, use that language. And make it use by yourself. And share that with others. That is how it is all about it. And the teaching is all about that. The only, whatever you know, however you experience, you’re sharing that teaching. It’s not sort of becoming making a scholarly thing, to prepare your speech, quotation from here and there, write them down. It’s not an academic presentation here. Whatever you know, whatever you experience, whatever you do, that’s what you share. And that is much more helpful.

[9:05]

I was just reading through here. There was a great teacher called Tchangu Chombay [9:11]. It is in the lineage of Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche and I saw it somewhere around here. Anyway, there are different teachers. Some teachers can present very well. And some teachers will use very short language and don’t talk too much, very brief. They’re saying the Tchangu Chombay is the three or four incarnations before Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche, the famous Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche, in his lineage. And according to this book they said, Tchangu Chombay is a bald-headed person, says very later in teachings, he finished very quick. He says very little. And also he probably uses snuff. And then the things comes out here (Rimpoche demonstrates) and then he blows them off during the teaching. And sometimes he just rubbed them. And so sometimes you see this snot put on the head, very often, so you see it. [laughter]. But every word that he said was very, very effective. [laughter]. So that’s the point.

It’s not the same language you have to repeat. It’s not the same vocabulary you have to use. But the real message, whatever it is, and how it’s effective to the individual. And also people must know, must be able to look from any angle and recognize them and pick them up.

[11:20]

For example, Krishna Murthi was talking in Delhi. A friend of mine called Samdo Rimpoche who came here once too (no more he resigned this year), he was Chairman of the Tibetan People’s Deputy or something— anyway, looks like House Speaker. Anyway, Samdo Rimpoche and I was staying, sort of listening to Krishna Murthi together, and Krishna Murthi sort of gives you the total image of emptiness. But it’s total different language, total different aspects, taught from a totally different direction he comes in. And whether he really makes a perfect example of total emptiness or not, but he’s making a very good shot at it. So, when you’re looking at it you can definitely recognize it it’s coming from a totally different direction. He doesn’t even call it emptiness. He just simply called it his way of thinking or something, his way of understanding.

[12:39]

So that’s an important point. People must be able to know it exactly. And mind you, we’re in the twenty-first century. This has to go beyond all our normal limitations. Basic framework what we call it— this is Buddhist tradition, this is this, this is that. This is definitely going to go beyond. And that’s sort of box we put in. It’s American’s culture, we’re very good at putting in the boxes, square. This is this, this is this, this is this. You label them and then if somebody says, “Oh, Buddhism doesn’t say that. It doesn’t fit in this box so we have to move you.” They will move you—I don’t know where they will move you— Unitarian or something. Put you in a different box. [laughter] Or New Age. Whatever. I really think you definitely have to go beyond that. Because all these little boxes the wall’s going to fall. The wall’s going to fall. It’s going to go beyond that. So we should also definitely master the essence rather than the rules and regulations.

[14:14]

Where did I get it to? Where are we? Seven Limbs, that I know. Purification, yes, so it is important. Four powers apply. Whatever angle, wherever, however you bring it doesn’t matter but four powers. Order doesn’t matter as long as you have the four powers no matter whatever it may be, it clears.

And it’s also important not to have doubt here. It is good to question. But too much questioning is also not very good. We used to talk that all the time with one of our very good friends. It is important to question. But if you keep on questioning every single damn thing then what will happen is by the time when you answer all your questions you’re dead. [laughter] It’ll go to that time and then you wasted totally life. So it’s not right. Yes, you must question. But question with the limitations and with the open mind. It’s not the point of debating who wins. But it’s the point where we understand what it is. You have to be reasonable. Remove your stubbornness. Apply and you have to work that way. Otherwise, the stubbornness can waste your life completely too. That’s important.

[16:11]

I’m not discouraging people asking questions. You must question yourself. But don’t overdo it. That’s important.

It is important here also you think it’s going to purify and you sort of believe it a little bit for the time being. “Oh, I’m pure. Mmmm… I’m clean, I just had a shower. I used soap too. So I’m clean.” Think about that for a little while. Absolutely might not have completely cleaned it. But if you keep on doing that for day after day, month after month, year after year, then it gets somewhere. Just simply doing one purification doesn’t really clean everything. If that’s so it’s so simple. We can do everything, whatever we want to do. And then, just before you think you’re going to do keep doing the four powers of purification. That won’t work, right? That won’t work. But if you keep on doing that for day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, it builds up somewhere. Remember the drop of water in a bucket makes the bucket full.

[17:30]

Then purification. Then rejoice is equally important. And then those requests to remain, and requests for teaching, etc. are important but not that important. And if you’re so busy you can skip that too. [laughs] And then dedication is equally important. Equally important as the other one. Even within Seven Limbs all these are the thing.

[18:08]

Then now the acknowledgement. (Rimpoche talks to the audience.What is it? Is there any other change in this? Can I have some kind of correct copy? But there must be old version there. Probably what they did is they printed very very old version. Does anybody have a different copy? In the book. Okay. Now I got another one here.)

[19:54]

(Anyway, it doesn’t matter whatever. So somehow we have to keep alert about updates. Otherwise we get the same thing again and again. And there’s no point of changing it. What you really have to do, particularly in the office, if you have these old copies burn them all out. And keep only the updated ones. Otherwise, somebody else will pick up something and redo it.)

[20:45]

The acknowledging the spiritual master—we reached to that level now.

[21:03]

Now this is the tricky subject. Controversial, tricky subject. It is guru business. I don’t know how I’m going to talk through here today. I think there are several questions. What is guru? What is it? Sort of looking like article, what is guru rather than seeing who is guru. Is guru necessary? What qualifies to become a guru? What makes it? (Can somebody keep track of what I’m saying…Mark?) How does one become a guru? Is a guru appointed? All of those questions are important.

[22:21]

First of all, is guru necessary? According to what little I know, it is absolutely necessary. It is absolutely necessary. Whether the guru has to be living person, the answer is very strange. Probably not. Even in my case, when I’m looking at guru right now, most of them are gone. They’re not living beings. I mean, they may be living beings but they’re not in life what we identify as life, most of them anyway. So it doesn’t really have to be a living person. But, on the other hand, since I don’t have time I’m not sure whether I’m going to do service or disservice to you. But if you have questions, you must openly ask in your group discussions as well as in the evening. Because this is important.

[23:48] [Tibetan]. In order to liberate oneself, there is nothing more important than that of guru, according to all the traditions, at least in the Tibetan tradition. There’s nothing more important than that of guru. It is true if you look in the Hindu tradition. Almost all the eastern traditions will tell you that. It is important, very important. So one needs to know it a little bit more on that. But it may be important that one individual should have contact with that guru while that person is in life. I don’t think we can have some kind of 18th century, 16th century comes in trance and makes guru. I don’t think it works at all. I’m making those statements in literally, blub blub, in lumps here. Normally I will not even say such a thing because there are a number of people who do that.

[25:17]

It has to be somebody in life and you’re connected with that person in life and then I think it’s fine.

The thought’s been popping up in my head madly, so I might as well share it. I don’t want to but… Yeah, it’s okay, so let it go away…

Okay. Then you may have a number of different gurus, many of them sometimes. During my generation, in my generation, it is very common that we have thirty or forty gurus. There’s nothing wrong with it. But when you meditate, when you practice guru yoga or something then you can have thirty or forty up there but it’s not very easy to meditate. So you can have one single being, which I’ve been talking yesterday.

[26:52]

Tsongkhapa look-like, Buddha look-like, so that’s how you can meditate.

It is also very important to check very carefully about the guru rather than just simply you just buy it. It’s not good, it’s not advisable. It’s almost becomes to a certain extent it becomes a fashion. It’s, “Hey, a Tibetan lama’s going by and giving initiation. Come and join.” It’s almost like a fashion to a certain group of people. I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. Because it is so important, as I said earlier, there’s nothing more important than that of guru. I’m not saying it, the traditional teachings always repeated it everywhere. This is the most important. That’s why, you know, Sakyapandita says…now I don’t remember the words. The message that Sakyapandita really gives if you have to buy a little box of dry tea or have to buy a couple of horses, how many people you consult, how many things you check, how much you do. But then what’s most important in one’s spiritual life is the guru. Here you don’t check. You don’t do anything. Just like throwing piece of chopped liver to a dog. They’ll just eat it.

[29:21]

Even some dogs, some smart dogs will smell it first. They just don’t eat it. Many may eat it. That’s what Sakyapandita said. I forgot the verse but that’s exactly what Sakyapandita said. It’s important! And, yeah, then in certain areas you may not be getting good teacher at all. So therefore anybody who claims to be or whoever whatever may be you may just, because it’s better to have some teachings whatever it may, so you may just do it. But it’s not, you have no alternative. However, it’s still extremely important for the individual about this. Very important. One should not behave just like a chopped liver thrown at the dog. You have to check. Yeah, it is very simple, I say you have to check. And normally they will say twelve years to check, twelve years. But then also there’s other question. Remember one of the Sakya lamas, when invited by the Chinese emperor to be guru and wanted to check twelve years. After twelve years they proved that teacher to be fit to be guru of the emperor. So they asked him to give teaching. So he said, “Well, you checked me for twelve years. I have to check you for twelve years.” So during that twelve year period Kongyen Nyingpo [31:23] passed away. And then his nephew Pakpa was straight away made the emperor’s guru without checking by either side. [laughs] They just made him his guru without checking by either side. So sometimes that happens too.

[31:44]

But anyway, it’s important to check. Why is it important? I think it’s quite an interesting thing here.

Before we said it is necessary to have guru. And we say this is the most important. Then here you have to know what is the criteria of guru. And what is the criteria of a disciple? And how is the relationship. What is the relationship? At least these three points. And there’s a benefit, disadvantage, and blah blah blah. There are five or six different points there. But the criteria of guru, the guru must be able to guide me— I’m talking about me. When I’m looking for guru I’m looking for guru that must be able to guide me to the level of, if possible, in total enlightenment. If not possible, at least to free me form the samsara, to free me from the suffering.

[33:27]

Guru or spiritual teacher, I don’t see much difference personally. Spiritual teacher—spiritual teacher and spiritual guru are almost look as the same though we’re using three different vocabularies and two different language—add up a Tibetan “lama” makes three different languages, four different vocabularies. But it’s almost the same thing.

One thing you must look for: a good person, good character. I would like to quote here the Kadampa teacher, Potawa says, “If you have a lama who would like to drink, then the disciple’s also going to drink. If you have a lama who’s not drinking, then more chances the disciples are not going to drink.” It’s true. I have personal experience, okay? [laughs] That’s an important point here. This is one vivid example, one vivid example. That’s why, you know, guru is, in other words, what is guru? It is this thing: a role model. It is a role model. And if you have a role model, when we follow the role model, what do we do? “The Gap” would like to advertise some people that you admire, you know. I remember Allen did advertisement for Gap jeans, do you remember? He did and he made some money and he donated the money to Jewel Heart too. [laughs] Person who admires wearing that Gap blue jeans, so showing his hips so then people would like to wear it because it becomes the role model question. And likewise if a spiritual teacher, however he or she behaves, and it sort of gives you a role model so you’re showing to the other person how to behave, almost. Even you’re not showing, even if it’s not done intentionally, it is bound to be the role followed. And that’s why it’s important.

[36:31]

It is important to have the qualities of the teacher. You must look for that. Detailed qualities, whatever you are are going to look…I mean, we have mentioned in this transcripts, it’s available there, I think we counted all ten.

However, I noticed here slightly different here today. And this is one of Pabongka’s teaching of the Lam Rim— not The Liberation in Palm of Your Hand. This is what he had done, like, decades before the The Liberation, in the Pembo area. I was looking, I wanted to read this but I didn’t get a chance to look. I carried this book up and down a couple of days. I didn’t get to open it. Looking at it and it’s slightly counting different here.

(Rimpoche asks audience: What he was saying was out of these ten qualities, what are the ten qualities? Can somebody repeat that for me? Can anybody? Does anybody have it available? People are going busy with the Liberation in The Palm of Your Hand. And if you go through with the Odyssey to Freedom, I’d be more happy. I don’t want the book. I don’t want the book, thank you. Okay, it’s in the Lama Chopa book. Okay, then I’m not sure anybody brought it.) So then I’m going to add in today. All right.

[38:34]

(Does anybody have Lama Chopa transcript available to you here? I don’t want your notes, thank you. Everybody’s turning books, so that’s interesting. Can you count one to ten. The ten qualities, yeah, go ahead.)

Audience: Inaudible.

What page number? Which edition? I’m trying to make the English easier so you can make it easier. Just read it once and I’ll repeat it.

Rimpoche: Subdued. That’s number one. They use the word “subdued.” (Amy can you throw an alternative). Subdued is the word but need another not so sort of, you know…Anyway, we’re borrowing that word “subdued” but actually, well-tamed. Tamed, yeah. Controlled is different. Your control has issue.

[41:20]

Composed, okay. Composed. I get different picture when you say “composed.” Anyway, so what I really wanted to do is, what did we use? What did we decide to use? Tamed. Tamed your mind. Now taming, to tame your mind. The word that’s used normally for training elephant, right? And I think it’s not a bad idea. So how the elephant trainers tame the elephant is they’re using this little hook on the ear and that’s how they control or tame the elephant. Instead of a hook here, what makes the individual to tame is actually the vows, the commitments and the vows, particularly the vow of self-liberation’s vow. The question now arises if you don’t have the vows. The self-liberation vow is a technical name for self-liberation vows. But really it’s not necessarily vow alone. See I’m getting in trouble here. I said the vow, but it’s not necessarily the vow alone. But it is the morality—the moral and ethical issues. Yeah, good.

[43:44]

It is the moral and ethical issues which are the most important for taming the individual. Even if you don’t have a vow it’s okay. You should be okay morally, ethically. You know what those are. I can talk about the moral in the six paramita level, there’s actually completely moral there. And even you can talk here, it’s okay. So probably I’ll like to talk here because at the end I don’t know how much time we’re going to get.

The moral issue is extremely important issue. It’s not the issue of the moral-ethical issue. It’s not so much of what normally we think of moral-ethical issue. The normal moral-ethical issue is whether it is Monica Lewinsky or whoever it is, you can think that way. I don’t think we’re talking about that at all. Nor it is issue of whether you’re gay or whether you’re —you call it straight, right?

I was talking to Diana (Rose) a few months ago and saying— I don’t know whether Diana said or I said— “That was the last century’s issue. And I don’t think we’ll bother in the twenty-first century about that.” But there’s much more than that. Much more than that.

[45:54]

Actually, spiritual path is actually guided with the moral and ethical issue. I don’t know whether you noticed or not. It is. It is very much moral and ethical issue. Total spiritual path is. Positive-negative karma creation is totally guided by ethical issue. Virtue and non-virtue is totally based on ethical issue. This moral-ethical issues are extremely important for each and every individual. I’m not saying you have to be a monk. I’m not saying you have to be a nun. I’m not saying that. I’m saying one must observe one’s principle, the principle of your own commitment. I don’t mean sadhana commitment. I don’t mean your commitment to pledge commitment. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your own commitment for your own good. Creation of positive karma. Avoiding negative karma. Basis of avoiding hurting other people, including yourself. These are very important issues. On top of that, now with the development of biochemical developments, and you do have a tremendous amount of moral issues.

[48:13]

Tremendous amount of moral issue. Issues such as cloning, human cloning. It is very interesting.

And I met one priest in Italy who knows you and happens to be old Allen’s friend. He’s a guy who lives in Rome and said he had been offered bishop twice and he refused to take it. And he’s very active and nice and wonderful guy. So he came up to Jeanie’s place and spent one night. So I asked him, “What is the Vatican’s policy on the cloning?” It’s a very interesting answer. He said, “Vatican accepts the individual organ cloning—like you’re making a liver or you’re making a heart or you’re making kidney or something—they accept this. But they’re against the human cloning or any clone.” It’s very interesting. And I just made a joke. I said, “Where do you get the tissues from?” And he said, “Well, Vatican doesn’t support the abortion, but if it’s already aborted you can use the tissues to grow.” But that’s not a problem. I mean that’s an uneasiness there. But you can also get the tissues from anywhere, right?

[50:19]

I think it makes a lot of sense to me because people do make cloning because we do want additional organs that our body will not reject. We do. But I’m always worried that if we clone another human then we may produce another retarded— or maybe not retarded. But we cut another human being. And then we cut from another person and we start harvesting and that will be extremely a big issue, of ethical issue.

Then of course we have this genome, right? Might not be new. I think it’s been going on for a while, we all know that quite well. But at the same time it also raises possibility of bringing to separate categories of human beings. I don’t know whether you see it or not or have I been crazy? But probably not. Because you’re going to have the genome, the separation of the gene so you begin to look, “Well, I’d like to have— not a total Caucasian person but a total brown person— but let’s mix it up and see what it looks like. Well, I don’t think this person should be shorter than 6 feet tall so let’s add that gene here. And they should be built up, they should be this…”

And we’re probably going to, you know, Larry King asked His Holiness on “Larry King Live” saying, “Do you worry about producing human in laboratory?” And it is really issue of producing human in the laboratory which I don’t think there’s anything with producing a human being in the laboratory but rejection of it. Equally you’re going to reject, eliminate so many other beings to be able to born as a human being and that becomes very important ethically issue.

[52:53]

And there’s so many of them. The more biochemical technological development goes up, much more, more of that important issues, the ethical issues go equally up. And people like us who are interested in spiritual path, if we can not raise this question who else is going to raise this question? Though, the great scientists, they would definitely like to raise that question. The more they’re educated, the more great the person is, and that much concerned, more or less they have it. But we have to raise that question. And if we keep on raising the question and we keep on looking into this, then, you know, the people makes the society. And the society makes the country and whatever that thing is. People make society and it makes a difference. We learned that. Each and every single individual can make a big difference in the society. We have to aware of that. And that means, when you’re looking at the teacher’s quality, when we’re looking at the moral-ethical issues, we should not be limited ourselves to simply looking at whether that person, that any individual’s having any sex scandal or having any other scandals, you know. I don’t think… I mean you have to look at that too. I don’t mean throw that out. But I don’t think that’s the major issue, even.

[54:49]

There are much more issues involved. I’m not saying throw that out, okay? And so that’s the moral-ethical issue. Taming mind of the individual. I think that’s what it is. But only taming in the traditional sense of controlling and behaving and all that. But at the same time have awareness and be able to see what’s happening within yourself, within the society, within the people [to whom] you’re connected. And I think all them are number one quality of the spiritual odyssey. I mean, when you’re counting one to ten, the first one. I don’t mean the one, but, you know, the first one here.

And I just very briefly mentioned this. And we talk about the quality of the spiritual teacher. What you have to look, you have to reflect on yourself. It is also reflection. Reflect on yourself and you’ll see whether you’re going to have, each and every one of us, we have to look for those qualities. That’s what we have to do. We have to be aware of all this.

And then, you remember we had all these issues of toxic. And all of them. You know these environmental issues. They’re also ethical issues. I don’t mean you have to vote for the Green Party. [laughs]

[57:09]

Has the Green Party really made a difference for the election this year? The chances are very much, the difference is 3-4%. That’s exactly what the Green Party did. I don’t mean wherever, whomever you vote that’s not my concern. But I don’t mean you have to vote for the Green Party because we have concern for the environment. That’s supposed to be a joke and nobody’s laughing. [a few audience members laugh] Thank you for laughing.

[Audience member says something inaudible]

Rimpoche: Or Bush. I think the two-party system is really great. I’m very much aware of the multi-party in India, in everywhere. Then there comes a coalition government. It backs out and all kinds of continuation of trouble.

[58:35]

The number two is “pacifying” or “peaceful” or whatever. The language is in that direction. [laughs] It really means the individual has a good peace. The individual must be in peace. He must be relaxed, not nervous person. Must be relaxed. And actually this moral-ethical issue is the, you know those Three Higher Trainings: the ethical training, the meditative training, and wisdom training— actually these are the most important qualities in the teacher. The first one is the ethical. Second is peace. The one must be peace with yourself. Because if you’re angry with yourself that person can never be a good spiritual [teacher]. Not only a spiritual master but also spiritual friend, companionship. I think these qualities are really reflected to not only the spiritual masters but actually all sangha members and even family members and everybody. If you’re angry with yourself then you can never a good company, good companion.

[1:00:37]

Because one person’s anger can really rock the total boat of a whole sangha or whole family. We have a funny saying in Tibet. [1:00:58 Tibetan] When they build a building, they build with square rocks. And if you have a round one in there it will be very difficult to put it, to fit it. Unless you’re going to put a lot of cement down and make it look like a square one. The one round. One round rock is good enough to destroy the whole wall. That means, you know, one person who is angry with yourself is good enough to spoil the whole party. More than good enough, much more effect than anything else anywhere. One must be in peace. So we said, “Tamed. Well-tamed.” “Very well-tamed” sometimes we say. That is the wisdom part of it. The wisdom part of it.

[1:02:21]

Actually, in that earlier point I forgot one thing. There’s

[1:02:42 Tibetan] I forgot. It is during when you’re monk when you’re compassing [?1:03:32] they read you a sutra. In that there’s a verse. [1:03:36 Tibetan] That says, “The mind is like that of wild horse. It is so difficult to tame. And when you turn the horse, put the bit— to pull this way or that.” So to train the wild horse, pulling the direction, the bit, is the moral-ethical issues like this. This is how that’s how it works. That’s what this sutra says. I don’t remember the words exactly. It’s probably now about thirty years I haven’t heard it. When I was a monk a heard it twice in a month. [1:04:46 Tibetan] That’s it. That is the depth to training, like a wild horse training, to train your mind like a wild horse is the moral-ethical issue, that do this. And that’s why number one here is important.

Number two is important because you cannot have an angry person. Person who is not in peace with him or her self is not a contribution to anyone including yourself. And therefore if a person is not at peace with him or herself he’s not fit to be a spiritual master or spiritual friend.

Then wisdom part of it. [1:05:47 Tibetan]. We call it “very well tamed.” That means the wisdom really destroys the ego. Ego in the sense of really in the sense of Buddhist point of ego. Or I don’t even want to say Buddhist point of ego. Ego in the sense of spiritual point of ego. Not in the sense of some psychologies even try to build ego up. And don’t they do that sometimes. What do they call it? They call it ego. A-i-i- [1:06:25] has a different meaning. But the same language, same vocabulary as if more on human confusion. [laughs] But everybody has a right to use any language you want to. Our society’s right, that’s what it is. As I was saying yesterday, the totally suffering, the total pain is the ego production. The wisdom defuses the ego completely and therefore that’s called “very well tamed.” [1:07:10 Tibetan].

The wisdom level, what you’re really looking for is if possible that person must have true understanding of all Noble Truths, Buddha’s teaching, that particular wisdom. Actually, one should be able to, one should really encounter the shunyata personally. Not even personally, directly. If possible, that is considered best. If not directly, encounter this shunyata, at least the person can have an unshakable understanding of what shunyata is, all about it through using logical reasons and quotations. Actually, logical reason and unshakable understanding even though you did not directly see it. Even you don’t have that, at least you have some idea what it is all about. At least rely on the quotations of the Buddha and so and forth. At least, worst of worst, you should not have misunderstanding. You should have something about, you know something about it.

[1:09:06]

And also it is important for the teachers who try to share that with other persons, because you know the contributions that you make to the people, or damage, disservice you do to the people, that’s a very tricky risk. And chances are you do more disservice than service unless you know what you’re talking about. And unless you know people, whomever you’re talking to, they are on some level, they are sort of thing. So I avoided talking wisdom/shunyata for years completely, completely. Because it will be, there’s a danger of doing more disservice than service. You know, once you give the wrong information, when you try to correct it is very difficult.

You know, as Alex Berzhin, who now is in Germany, he used to live in Dharmsala told me the translation of a word Tibetan ningjung when translated into English language as renunciation. He said whoever introduced that word the first time has done tremendous disservice because majorly people get the idea you have to give up something, go away, cut your hair, shave your head, and get that idea completely. So you have done tremendous disservice than service.

[1:10:57]

That’s the reason why we picked it up as “determination to be free.” That’s his word, he used that. So we picked that word up. However, more and more you pick that up, the more and more you think about it, it’s actually learning how to develop love and compassion on yourself rather than renunciation. Or even determination to be free. Actually you’re really learning how to develop love and compassion on yourself. See how much the translation makes a difference. Developing love and compassion on yourself— when you translate that as renunciation— you see the gap of the picture. How far you’re going in that. For yourself, for yourself. Love and compassion for yourself. And when you translate that as renouncing and see the gap. That’s what’s happening. So we have to be a little more aware of it. And that’s the reason why we get these questions yesterday. “I’m giving up my family. I’m losing my family” and so and forth. All these questions probably it is just because of the word renunciation.

[1:12:36]

Anyway, so these are the most important qualities. There are five of them, right? Three so far only, okay. To have more quality than you, that is another important point. Anyway, out of that, the other five you can discount it. These you cannot discount it. That’s what I tried to show. If you give discount on this, then we’re buying trouble. At least, at least the spiritual master or friend that you’re looking for should have their quality should not be quality less than their fault. At least equal level. At least equal level. And if the quality is less than faults then chances are that you or I develop less quality and more faults. So that’s why we don’t want it.

[1:14:13]

And also spiritual person, particularly Buddhist spiritual guide or friend or master or guru or whatever, to do that person this life and future lives, which is more important? When you weigh to that person? And that person must be from his bottom of the heart, the future life is more important to the individual rather than what’s going to happen in this life. Yes, this life is very important. I have to live with it. I have to manage. And I have to have a good life. I have to be a good person, well known person, famous person, well taken-care, well companied. All of those are truth. However, the future is much important than this. If you find a person who chooses something happening in this life, this life’s well-being over your own future life, that is total disqualification. Powerful disqualification. To both, to both spiritual master as well as spiritual friend, that is very important point. Because the spiritual path really needs the individual—I’m not saying you don’t have to worry about this life, I’m not saying you forget about this life—then it very much sounds like renunciation. I’m not saying that. But what I’m saying is it’s more important to the individual this life or the future life— if you have to make a choice— the choice should fall on the future life. Why? There’s much longer, there’s much more, and there’s lots more longer, and all those. This life is limited to another hundred years at the most. That’s the end of it. That’s the end of it. The future life begins then and who knows how many lives it’s going to go.

[1:16:56]

God will only know. [laughs]. How many lives are going to go? [laughs] That’s a private joke. That’s why…

The person should not be wrongly choosing. That is an important quality. When you’re looking for spiritual friend, spiritual master, that actually goes for your companionship as well. You may not have to be so strict of like a spiritual master but companion also important because companion makes a different in your life, remember? There were two disciples of Drom Rimpoche, Atisha’s disciple. No…two brothers in one family. And one is quite a good character. The other is a little bad, a little shady character. Drinks all the time. Intoxicated all the time. And little funny deals and things like that. A shady character. And the other one didn’t do anything, he was okay. What happened is these two brothers went on a holiday. One chose to go to Lhasa. The other chose to go to Reting to see see Drom Rimpoche. The shady character went to see Drom Rimpoche and the quite okay guy went to Lhasa. They had like three months’ holiday. And after three months they came back to their home. And you know what? You know what happened? The shady character who went to see Drom Rimpoche stopped drinking, no longer lying any more, not even white lies, he wasn’t telling white lies. He’s not stealing. The okay guy came back drinking all the time and a lot of things he brought and he sort of picked it up here and there—meaning he stole it here and there. That change took place within three months. That’s very short— three months a big change. It’s all because of the companion. The companion makes a hell of a difference in your life. So that’s that.

[1:20:10]

We talk about this as the quality of a spiritual master. It’s also the quality of a companion. But I’m not trying to create a roomful of bachelors and single women here. [laughs] But it also—because it effects you, it effects you. We’re not, ourself is not really well-established and we influence them, they influence us. It is like halfway through the water. When you get up to the water up to this level you begin to understand what’s happening.

That’s what Kyabje Ling Rimpoche told me—what he told me a long time ago when he taught the Three Principal Paths. I said, “I have no experience, nothing.” “You know when you go in the water, when you get in the water up to here [demonstrates] you begin to understand.” [laughs] So that’s what it is.

[1:21:22]

It is an important issue. And every important. And for a long time I keep on thinking it really doesn’t matter. Whatever you do you, it is important. But it does matter. It does matter, it is important. And it effects, particularly the idea of sangha is to contribute and help to each other. And what best sangha you can get than that of your own companion? So all the sangha qualities that we look for is also applied to companion too. That way your life can become a little more easier and more worth. It’s also very nice when you see a number of families together in this. And I think that’s wonderful to see. But that doesn’t mean those who are not together have to feel bad about it.

[laughs]

I think that is about the quality of the spiritual master. And then the actually what you really need is…Okay the spiritual master’s actually again it is very un-American. In American system, if you know a little bit you have to announce, you have it to make it, you have to blow your own trumpet. Because if you say you don’t know, they think you really don’t know. But it is the air… It is the quality of the Kadampa tradition—whether it is the new Kadampa or the old Kadampa—all your qualities you must hide like a candlelight inside the flower vase. So let’s say if you have a beautiful red—I’m getting picture in my head right now—vase. That’s a ruby flower vase. And if you have a burning candlelight inside this, you’re not really blowing your candle out yet it’s reflecting very strongly. That’s how you advertise yourself. You do not advertise, “I can teach this. I can do this. I can do that. I can initiate you. I can do this.” And that’s not. This is actually sign of no having a quality.

[1:24:26]