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20010826GRAASRGLGD01

Good evening Joyful Retreat 2001, it's joyful to see familiar faces and new faces, welcome to JH, tonight is orientation.

8*0:02:08.4

Chanting Heart Sutra: 0:05:27.30:17:48.1

Rimpoche: Welcome to old and new ones.

As usual, we are taking out 7 days of your precious and valuable time just to ear mark for this retreat for the purpose of to make it something better for each and everyone of ourself here and those who are not here with us, whether it is gone gone or not join here. So in short, in normal buddhist terminology - for the benefit of all beings. So we have earmarked the time for this, so I hope you will utilise the best way you could without torturing yourself and taxing yourself. Bruce has done beautiful orientation. I heard your orientation, Thankyou. 0:20:18.5 Accommodation - here for Spiritual Retreat, not for picnic, so difficulty with accommodation, dormitories, new nice one this time, a bit better, someone will move at night, hell of noise. All these are normal circumstances, don't get irritated - for 2 reasons.

1. If you get irritated, it is not going to change anything. Just going to make yourself a little more frustrated, so don't do it. If there is somthing that can be changed, you could change, if nothing can be changed, nothing can be changed. Remember, dont make irritation for your self, just a little too harsh to say, but try to adjust, it is ok, maybe somebody will have stomach problem, eat a lot of beans, blow your nose, ear plug, nose plug? When I sleep, I have to wear something on my nose, have to plug everywhere, 1/2 joke, not to get upset. 2. Someone having a cold, sit separate, you're going to bless everybody. Contagious, stay away, even doctors, Don't let facilitator tell you, step aside; by yourself, open window.

Basically we are meeting in the middle of nowhere, the facilities not that good, utilise this as opportunity to learn a bit of patience, purification, good way of opportunuty. If you have health reasons, but Kathy she will do her best to accomdate, even in Buddha's life, special adjustment for people with health reason. Don't try to bear it, not try to think it is purification, but learn a bit patience, a bit of purification. Milarepa built a 13-storey buidling, triangular, then square, funny thing, so that's a good way to do, and we also insist cooks to make a menu. Look at package, menu for whole week, so it look suitable for you or not. very nice honey, good valuable honey, honey that didn't eaten by bear. Also mention in there but Saturday morning White Tara initiation, in your schedule, fire puja one day during the week. we didn't not figure, watch weather too. One day fire puja for clearing obstacles for everybody throughout the year. And during lunch time, some people have to go ahead of others, everybody is hungry not only you one person, however, some people in the store, they attend to you to take your money; and so let them go first go. Some people have group meetings for different purposes, let them go through, easier to get to time limits. During this, one day - Tues night, do Tsog offering so, they to keep schedule as much as possible. but sometimes change here and there a little bit. OK, Also specially everybody should be careful around, bites by mosquitoes, you heard on radio - something in New York, also in Michigan now, beware of that too. Don't let mosquitoes get round you. So enjoy and beware of the childcare here good responsible person. beware of particularly when in lake, parents, does'nt mean you don't have to watch, beware also be careful nothing wrong to be careful. This time we would like to utilise opportunity to learn some of the tools you have to somehow make it special timing for people to learn those tools, select people, to learn tomes, separate session, and that may affect some of the groups and may affect the facilitators. So good opportunity to learn because a number of people interested, sometimes here, there, at least pick up the usual prayers, draw mandalea tools, Heart sutra, Lama Chopa. Food offering not today. Many of you brought back last year your share, only one person brought back

Next time I introduce a longer one - gives your quality of the Buddha, quality of the Dharma, quality of the Sangha. The abbreviated version, but the longer ones give you more quality.0:35:51.5

Motivation - I did it, you people should have good motivation. Whatever you do, remember I always say 2 important activities - of beginngin and the last activity. Beginning is the motivation - makes everything whatever you do, good or bad, it is motvation that makes the difference. So the motivation you need to remind them but basically, our life in general, in particular this week, whatever I do, I would like to do something that benefits everybody. So the motivation, whatever I do, even daily chores, such as taking shower, lake to swim, or all of those, eating your food, and specially if you're cleaning, it's a great opportunity to remember "clear the dust and clear the dirt", remember that. For the new ones may not heard about it, I say a little more details, than what I just say it. There was during Buddha's lifetime, there was a young boy who want to learn something, apprarently he has an elder brother who belittled him. The family followed same footstep, send the elder to school, he couldn't learn anything, each and every school has rejected him and kicked him out and then went to learn with Hindu teachers, they kicked hime out, went to Buddhist teacher they kicked him out, then he went to his own brother. Maybe brother can help something, so he kicked him out. Each and every school has rejected him. Finally the guy was crying and sitting by the roadside and Buddha came by and say hay! what are your doing? I have been kicked out by everybody, so I'm crying. B said don't worry, ok, he said not ok. I'm not learning anything. So you learn something, come with me. No I won't. Why not? Everybody kicked me out, so you're going to kick me out. Unless you're going to give me your word that you're not going to kick me out first. And then I may come. Buddha said I won't kick you out. So what you want me to do? Buddha said - oh sweep the floor0:40:38.8 That I may be able to do. Buddha brought him, told him you just sweep the whole area, podia, while sweeping - just say "clear the dust and clear the dirt", he can't remember, when he remembered dirt, he forgot dust, when he remembered dozen doesnt clear he forgot clear. Buddha made a rule, for every disciple - whenever they see him - they have to say clear the dust and clear the dirt; whatever they're doing, walking up or down and they will say, he keeps on hearing and he sweeping sweeping, then one day he began to pick up the dust and dirt and then Buddha said enough, you clean outside, you clean inside. Buddha made some magical tricks, played on him. Whenever he cleaned this side, dust covered up; he did again again, he did that all day. He also cleaned every body's shoes, everyone sat in meditation chamber and leave sandals so he had to clean his sandals, the person who is meditating inside has to keep on saying "clear the dust and clear the dirt" - that's going to be your meditation mantra, so everbody has to keep hearing that. So one day he hears clear the dust and clear the dirt, he keeps on thinking, analyse, suddenly he burst out poetry words when I say clear the dust, I don't mean ordinary dust, it means the dust of attachment. When I say clear the dirt, I don't mean ordinary dirt, it means dirt of anger. Like that ignorance, confusion, fear, so on. This was the best way actually, one of the best way for ourselves to open ourselves up in this spiritual field to open ourselves for our own development. 0:43:51.8

So that's why even if you have to do cleaning, table whatever or anything else, everything else will disappear. And they mean that here, are all those good opportunities to open yourself. A lot of people say I need to purify, I need to do Vajrasatva recitation, forget about Vajrasatva recitation. Just clean after yourself, that's good. That means your place of meeting, eating and all of them, so it is opprtunity for you to do this, and doesn't mean some junior person has to do it or something like that. Don't think in that manner, good opportunity and also no nasting please. 0:45:53.5

No nasting, cos' if you start nasting around, anybody who would like to clean up, it is a big problem, also we have items on table, both sides, note books, mala, instead of putting on the floor, put it some little high level, so we normally have 2 tables on both sides, put all the items on top, do not walk over, jump over, sit or stretch your leg over the items, it goes against the refuge. Normally I don't say it that way, normally I say it gentle way but now you have to know. Don't do it. It is against refuge, it goes along with non nasting, lift your things, including your mala and that little cloth you put down your items, all of them have to go a higher platform, table and all that. Did I forget anything else?

0:48:40.9

So far what have we covered? Well looks like everybody agrees or understands or whatever, so now for the time wise, in the early morning, we have a yoga, a guided meditation on Tara, that it very important, very important, as you know we use White Tara all the time, every retreat whether it is Vajrayana or non Vajrayana retreat whatever it may be, we use Tara all the time because of a number of reasons why Tara is so imporant, it is really amazing thing, not only just because it is Tara, not just because it is healing, all kind of things, I very often tell you, a doctor in Holland, supposed to die, of cancer, supposed to die 5 years ago. The doctor says No Hope including herself as doctor, but she does the White Tara practice. It's 5 years she is still alive, when I was in Holland, the doctors say she can't last another hour, even yesterday, She is still alive, not only alive but do everything but she can't do what she used to do before but like that. It's really amazing stuff, when she meet many people, ancl people who are here, who have great difficulty, somehow Tara finds a very funny way of walking through each and every individual. And those of you connected to Jewel Heart, have a special connection with White Tara. So that's why White Tara practice is so important. That doesn't mean you're not going to be guaranteed not going to die or not getting sick, but whatever it is, there is a very special mysterious way of working, and somehow, we have a very special connect to White Tara. A lot of Taras, Green , White, Yellow, Blue, Black, Heartful Peaceful Tara, all that kinds of things, but we use specially the7-eyed White Tara. Also represent common things in Buddhism, special healing, and also unlike any other diety, or yidams, she is like a real kind mother, no matter how much you make mistakes, she will forgive you, she is really fair kind in that way. A very easy convenient and also very effective. The Tara Tutare ture itself -----0:54:03.4

It means form of truth way or liberate or quickly liberate, in that way, there is a lot of ways translating Tare Soha, very quickyly, very swift way, very special, and she has been specially kind, good while to members of Jewel Heart, people connected to Jewel Heart, she has been been connected to that so though it's that early in the morning. A number of people who are working with Tara who has with good results from her practice are sharing that in the morning, so it is really important, so though I never make it compulsory because it's early, but from your own side you should really make yourself compulsory to come here. Do you know the way and how the typical way of doing it? Do you know that if somebody has to force rules on individuals, it is not a good way and a sort of self-disciplined way is the correct way so say if you do it youself, unless you have health reasons again, and I do have health reasons, I can excuse myself, because of my time limit. So I always have excuses, this and that type of thing, I think it is very good and whatever simple way that is so many different ways on meditating on Tara, you read transcript, you don't have to do all of that. Do one of them, it is guided meditation, hopefully they will guide similar way, whatever the individual have, better benefit, they will share there. They will not share everything. This is not examination, not a knowledge test. They wil not say everything. If you are a sparrow, a little bird called sparrow, if a sparrow have a sudden grain, you cannot shut them up. chi chi chi all the time if they have certain grains in their stomach. So one shouldn't do that, you will have a lot of information, you can't really share everyhting, you have to select out that is going to be easy for the people, what can they do, something simple easy thing. 0:58:38.2 It is also different things on different occasions.

If you hear the same thing again and again, I'm not talking about Tara, even Lamrin, say if youre talking no. 13, guru devotion practice, if you hear the same old stuff, it is not correct, everytime you talk on the subject, you talk different angle, different points, so the individual who is listening, who practise, they have all different information. If one works, they can try a another one, if one dosen't work they can try another one. At one time you can't say all of them. No one will keep anything in their head; all going to go away, so it is so important that whoever the facilitator or presenter, who will be future teachers they have to do in such a way so that it allows people to adjust, suited for help and that you have to do, it is not exhibition of your information and your knowledge1:00:08.1

If it is exhibition of your information and knowlege then you can exhibit everything, whether people know it or not know it, it is an exhibition. But in a gethering like this is not exhibition, it is for yourself, for people to help, so you really the theme and the purpose is to be able to help. To be able to help you have to give things which are just are, not everythting you know. If you do that, and if you say if you do this .. they may not do that 1:00:49.9, if you keep on doing this it is not going to help. At the end of 7 days, oh I heard something, I heard so many things but I don't know what I heard.

Thirteenth Dalai Lama gave Lamrin teaching in Lhasa. A guy from village called Pembo, north of Lhasa. A guy attended one month of teaching everyday and when they came back, the village people said, why you lucky you attended Dalai Lama's teaching for a whole month. What did you learn? 1:01:41.7

Oh, I learned a lot, What did you learn? Oh ya a lot. What did you learn? Well one thing I learnt he said little area, there were two districts, two of them fighting for a little village, so the 13th Dalai Lama said (Tibetan) I learn my chakra belong to Lung-----, with the division of the district, suddenly some area gone into that side bigger village, and we have to have the division all the time. And specially with the Republicans in power. Laughter..

Anyway if that happens you have wasted your time.1:02:40.3

And so not to happen that way that's not you have to put effort in, but also the facilitators. And myself, we have to put effort in. At least you get something. So in order to do that you can exhibit your total knowledge, if you keep on -- the info that I have heard or learned, I have 60 years of information, and if I show 60 years of information in one week you're not going to hear anything. So that's that. So it is important to have something that people can take it, can learn it, and then it is something called Good Life Good Death, we put that to remind - Good life good death is the theme of the retreat. We have to really talk what is a good life. In order to learn what is good life, we have to learn what is bad life. Is all about if you watch TV, and then you will know what bad life is. So we are going to sit here and talk about the opposite of what the TV give you. Pictures of life - just the opposite of that, we begin with our motivation, our motivation of ourself being exist here. Motivation for what do we do for our life and motivation for what do we do for the week, motivation for the day, for the hour and all of those. And we also go and work and talk about awareness. Awareness. But so much in mindfulness, notice, notice any__ is there.1:05:25.8

This morning before we came up waiting for a couple of people, maybe late, maybe they came and go, so I said probably they came to the house and acknowledge, so I will go. I am not talking about that kind of awareness. I'm talking about a little awareness of our functioning in that moment, taking our life away from that busy1:06:30.6

Add the wind blows whirlwind tornado so that ourself a little away from tornado of our life and give ourself a little bit of time and opportiunity to take a break, both body and mind. So since I said body and if you have difficulty sitting cross leg, then you don't have to sit cross leg, you can get up and sit over the chair, or stretch your leg if there is room but don't kick the person, don't kick the butt of the person who is sitting right in front of you.

You can stretch your leg, relax, don't force yourself in the pain because you have enough trouble and you don't need additional pain. I keep on thinking I can sit cross leg and I have pain here, so I change my way of sitting and so can you. You can do it ok. Relaxing body and mind both. A good life1:08:58.7

A life that is free of attachment, life can't (can?) be free of attachment, but not a sort of severely controlled by attachment, by anger, by hatred, by confusion, by fear. So that will be a good life. We will talk about that in order to recognise to be a good life, we really have to see what a bad life is which, of course, the TV shows. But what make us function that way is the mind. Mind when controlled by emotions such as anger, jealousy, hatred and all this. Am --This is not out of place too. I have to mention too. When you talk about mind very often I say mind is not tangible, you cannot catch mind, and say this is mind, or you cannot; there is no shape you cannot touch and say this is mind, not tangible but however, it is very funny. In a way it is very pervasive throughout our body even to the extent that how much we can see, how much we can hear, sort of very pervasive; on the other hand you cannot pinpoint it and say this is mind, notion or colour and yet I have to give mind the way and how it functions.

1:11:12.4 like a clear (clean?) crystal lamp shade, clear crystal lamp shade. Then you have those mental faculties we call it emotions, like anger, attachment. And they are like a light bulb and then you have this red light bulb called anger. Put the light1:11:48.4

You know 3- 4 days ago, I have a new paint in my house and I came back at night and looked at it and I was talking to Thupten, it is very pink. Actually I chose colour yellow, but it is pink. Thubten said if you look in the light it is different, ok it is another light there, slightly different. Then, I begin to look that. The light bulb I had is a pink light bulb, so when it is a pink bulb and I'm seeing my yellow walls as pinkish walls. So just like that when you have a red light bulb put up, it looks all red, even the clean crystal lampshade is going to look like red; and from a distance it looks like oh ya, it is a red colour lampshade. Likewise, green follow what attachment, blue is attachment. What is your favorite colour? Yellow - being attachment. I always use green they say, anyway one light colour goes for attachment, and one colour goes for confusion, one for fear. So when those mental faculties are functioning, then the total mind somehow is influenced by that particular emotion, so you see like a green lampshade, yellow lampshade, or even multicolour lampshade, so it is. Though mind is pure clean like a cryatal, it is influenced by the mental faculties1:15:02.6

So good and bad, for a number of new people, your coming to Jewel Heart, you're going to hear a lot of bad things too. It is not that bad fragance (??).. Um .. A number of people don't like to say that there is nothing bad, everything is wonderful, beautiful, and great, what is bad I dont know what it is. And then all this everything nice and wonderful, there is -- called bad freezone (fragrance), so you don't have bad freedom (fragrance) here.We supposed to have fragance-free zones but not a bad free zone (fragrance?). So there is a lot of bad things you're going to hear. If free of bad, automatically it becomes good. Good life begins when negative emotions reduce. 1:16:46.1

And they really can (can't) have bad freezone (fragrance?) when you really have a good life. And Good death is just follow good life. You know when you go Do Re Mi, Laughter1:17:39.4

That follows good death follows good life, that's natural law, follows the karmic system. I really don't have much of a scientific way to prove it or show you and if you really keep an open mind and give yourself a chance to analyse things it is not that difficult to understand. A lot of people like to pay attention at the time of the death. Is that true? But the real attention you really have to pay when you're not in the death zone, I'm getting all the zones tonight. And way before, at the time when you haave some kind of illness, probably ... and then no one can really talk to you about that. You know the idea is to fight the illness and not to think about the dying and blah .. they will take over completely, even if you want to say it, it becomes very very difficult, even if you want to talk to, you can't talk to. You have to do that way before. Even if you want to say something at the last minute, what really can you do too much and then in such a short period. It really goes to dedication and then pray. Almost you can really do nothing, too late at this stage. Actually you don't have to do anything for good death; if you have done something for a good life, a good death will follow. So what is slow death follow? Laughter and question. Something that follows, more laughter, 1:21:17.4 Do re mi singing back to Do oh oh oh, clapping.... So that is exactly. So a good death follows a good life ok? So in another words you don't work for good death, you work for good life. and that just follows. Anyway. So we talk about how we talk about how we really going to reduce negative emotions and you look and observe yourself. How does negative emotion work with yourself. And that you will have to spend your time individually or collectively. Together you can talk about it, not only here, while youre eating lunch, when you're eating your dinner,you're swimming in the lake, when you're taking a walk.Talk about it, tell somebody else. When I was angry this anger does this this this this to me. The other person will share that, when you begin to talk about it you begin to recognise the symptoms of your negative emotions and what they're doing to you. These recognition of the symptoms will recognise the negative emotions, when you recognise them you can work with them, you can reduce them, you can eradicate them. If you don't recognise, then normally I'm not angry, But blah blah blah. I'm not angry but somebody says blah blah blah. This all comes in with denial. So the first step is to get get rid of denial completely, just be honest with your self, be true with yourself don't cheart yourself. Denial is cheating yourself. For once we can be honest with our self, We don't have t o tell to public, talk to somebody or we can talk to ourself. Fine. Don't let the other person think you're crazy, talking by yourself, to yourself walking somewhere. As long as you don't do that you're fine. 1:24:46.8

Then use the opportunity, stop think about this and that for the week or for the day. Stop thinking about whatever you worry about and tthink about your negative emotions, try to recognise them. If you're slowly crazy, try to recognise that too. But believe me, most of us are crazy anyway, slightly. If you haven't moved ca ouple of screws you won't even be here 1:25:33.5

So a couple of screws are loose for sure, so when you beginto see that, don't think only yourself, everybody is. Ok? So that is what I would like to Good Life, good death and how we would use our time. You use your gossip a little bit but not too much, talk about your own negative emotions, talk about, set a time to forget about your problems; I mean the financial problems, family problems, it is time to talk centered on your emotional problems.1:26:33.5

And also handle in such a way, don't let your emotional problems rise, recognise them, kiss them goodbye, and let them go, don't entertain unless you can challenge them. If you can challenge the opportunity, also there may be a number of people or a couple of people who love to observe silence, just don't want to say about anything so they will write a littel piece of paper or smthing, put on their chest, I'm observing silence, so please have respect. Respect them so don't try to talk to the person, don't ask questions, don't do anything, let the person go, let the person be themselves. If you want to observe yourself silence, when you don't have anyother responsibility related to it, you're welcome. 1:27:48.3

Those of you involved in certain activities, you can also silence the day you're not involved, so that's that.

1:29:54.9At the end, Dedication, every good work that you did throughout your life, throughout the year, throughout the week, throughout the day, particularly that day, whatever good work you've done, dedicate it for the benefit of all beings, one would like to become buddhahood, that is yourself. Yourself would like to become a buddha. Every good work that you did, you dedicate that. Make sure, you want to become a buddha for the benefit of others, not just becasue for the sake of becoming buddha . For personal purposes, buddhahood is not necessary. Our job, our purpose, our goal is freeing ourself from suffering, for that you don't have to become buddha. If you can free

yourself from the uncontrolled samsaric life that's really come out of the confusion and the fear, and then attachment and anger, and that really drives your life completely crazy, and if you can free that and that is good enough for personal purpose, for self purpose, but for the purpose of benefiting others, that's not good enough; you have to become fully enlightened so that you know almost all different ways to reach people. So if you becone fully enlightened Buddha, you need to know Do Re Mi too. 1:32:05.2

Otherwise the Buddha doesn't have the knowledge of Doremi so that doesn't work. So, ok. so for benefiting others, you always have two purposes, self purpose, and the purppose of the others. Self purpose is you really complete if youre are free from suffering, free from samsara. That's why Theravada tradition practice is complete buddhist practice because it ends suffering. But it does not reach out to the others. THe only way to reach to others is to become a Buddha. So we wouldl like to fullfill both. Self purpose as well as purpose for the others. So to benefit others, you dedicate all your positive karma, to become buddha. That is a great way, sort of good insurance, it is good insurance policy. Any good work that we did is good insurance policy, because it insures your positive karma will give you the result that you want. 1:33:42.6

Not only that, it will not only give you enlightenment and doesn't give you anything in between. That's not going to work, there is no buddhahood that doesnt have money, there is no buddhahood who is sick all the time; so health, weath, beauty and all of them come together. So you don't get worried, if I dedicate everything to enlightenment, what about my health? What about my wealth, what about my beauty? All of them comes together. So it is very good insurance policy that covers everything, it covers the dental care, eye care and everything. Not only the catastrophe thing, it's a good one, good insurance policy. I remember Greg, I remember of beginning of Lamrin teaching you make the things, you remember? Karmic insurrance thing, are they available in the store? Still available, yes very good. Yes, it is really good insurance policy in the dedication. Dedication really locks in goals box1:35:41.3

Dedication is the lockbox that ALGore keeps anyway, that really insures; so that's why dedication is important. Motivation and dedication. Not only the beginning of the day but everyday, and during the day having the awareness, practice compassion. Compassion to the person who is sitting at your back who is kicking you on your buttock, practice compassion to the person who is sitting in front of you who blocking your view. Practice compasion to the person who is sitting on your right and your left who is passing gas all the time. OK That all you do, right? Anything else.1:37:04.2

Once again very happy happy to see everybody coming here. Thank you for coming. Good night.1:37:18.3

Questions?

A couple of Migtsema.