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20030607GRCL3P4

So to continue where we were talking this morning.

0:00:24.0 Dan ye ke ba le so

NAM DAK NGE JUNG ME PAR SI TSO YI

DE DRE DÖN NYER ZI WAI TAB ME LA

SI LA KAM PA YI KYANG LÜ CHEN NAM

KÜN NE CHING CHIR TOK MAR NGE JUNG TSAL

NAM DAK NGE JUNG ME PAR SI TSO YI

DE DRE DÖN NYER ZI WAI TAB ME LA

‘Lacking the determination to be free, you remain stupefied by samsara’s delight since obsession ropes all beings to samsara’. First, free yourself from it.

NAM DAK NGE JUNG ME PAR SI TSO YI

DE DRE DÖN NYER ZI WAI TAB ME LA

SI LA KAM PA YI KYANG LÜ CHEN NAM

KÜN NE CHING CHIR TOK MAR NGE JUNG TSAL

So the first determination is absolutely necessary- the determination to be free. It’s absolutely necessary because if you don't have that then you don’t have focus, you don’t think about it, you don’t work hard, everything will be just casual and curiosity and so probably doesn't get much trait. So this particular verse, verse number three is again sort of with a statement saying ‘without that, nothing will help’ so but the first what you need is a strong mind that you want to help yourself, you want to free yourself. Again, no one else can free ourself except ourself. That is for sure. Though we will say ‘Yeah, we will pray to be free’, yeah but if one can free us why didn’t they free us all long time ago? Why are we still lingering around here? So I don't think any third person or any second person cannot do that much for us. That doesn't mean the power of the enlightened or the gods have limitations. No it doesn't have limitations but when we don't give them opportunity to do anything, so then they can't do because they can't, somehow they cannot force to, even God cannot really make us do something that we don't want to do. No way.

In short, no one cannot force us to do something which we don't want to do. Every way, any way, politically, economically, whatever, militarily. That's really true. 0:04:18.6 Except [inaudible]. To certain extent, not all the way through, you know. They can go disappear too. So but no one can really force. We didn't even get this guy yet, Osama Bin Laden or whatever, years ago now, couple of years ago, right? Two years? So really no one can really force anything, anybody, particularly our mind, we are such a- our mind is such a, what do you call it? It is a wonderful mind, it is such a tricky mind and you never know what you’re going to do by the next minute because your mind is such. And so it has to be convinced, sold, very gently, and sold for good. Otherwise, it can play tricks. 0:05:33.2

So even when we wanted to be, you know, there is a willingness, there is a desire within our mind to be free, to wanted to make ourself, but way, how we think we can get free will differ, differ. The spiritual people will say well material things cannot make you that happy because so many well-to-do, good family, kids or even parents themself, commit suicide so it indicates they’re not happy. They may be wealthy but they're not happy. It’s a true fact, if they’re happy why do they commit suicide? Just for the fun of it? No, no one does that unless you're crazy. If you're crazy it again shows you're not happy so you become crazy.

So but majority of people think material things can make us happy. That's why we work hard, that's why we make money, that’s why we try to you know, we try to do all that, do all this money over money, we try to save and do this and do that and all of those because we think that that is security, that make us happy. To certain extent, there is truth because if you don't have money you don't know what to do, you become homeless, you become hungry, you have no medical insurance and you will have no social security anyway by the time we become... Most of us anyway, maybe few of us maybe getting social security. But most of us by the time we get there, our social security is gone, you know. Especially when you see the deficit figures. You know CNN load up every night it shows the figures how much the deficit’s going up. By looking at that we will not have social security. So but anyway we think money is the answer and that's why some people kill themselves trying to get.

So the money might not really be able to answer everything, that we know. We get sick, we make ourself a little more comfortable by hiring a nurse, twenty four hour nurse, but that doesn’t help you. I mean that helps you but it doesn't make us not get sick, not to have pain, doesn't make us not be miserable, doesn’t answer. The money doesn't prevent not to get sick. May contribute a little bit. So more or less we know the material world doesn't really answer and plus, there's a setback. The setback is sometimes quite bad. Even the scientific things; scientific things are great but when they go out of hand, we get a lot of accidents and all kinds of things- unknown disease, where do they come from? It's there, but it's materialised. And a lot of them has something to do with the scientific things goes out of control. So all of those really indicates- and then besides that, that is external. The true happiness is the internal happiness because external happiness- a lot of money, a lot of facilities, lot of things, everything- doesn't make the internal individual happy. 0:10:58.0 No matter whatever you have, you know, you don't get happiness, it's not something you can find, it is internal only.

And internal happiness you cannot buy with the money, you don't gain with drugs, you don't develop with alcohol, you don't. It doesn't build up with the chemicals either. Maybe it does help but not. So it is internally we have to make our own mind, and make ourself. Anyway, this particular verse says have that very strong determination to free yourself from the suffering first. So the message out of this verse three is without firm determination, nothing can work because you will not be focused, you will be doing everything casual, you don't mean what you really wanted to be so you're not putting in your efforts, you don't expect to get result.

So now move to the actual developing compassion to yourself.

DAL JOR NYE KAR TSE LA LONG ME PA

YI LA GOM PAI TSE DI NANG SHE DOK

LE DRE MI LU KOR WAI DUK NGEL NAM

YANG YANG SAM NA YI MI NANG SHE DOK

So when you are determined to free yourself then you have to see what obstructs that. Why when I wanted to free myself, what is my problem? What is my problem? What do I do? How to free myself? We cannot free ourself because there is obstruction. What kind of obstructions do we have? Two vivid obstructions we will face. That is, again, addiction to samsara’s delight within this life we are addicted to samsara’s delights here, we are addicted to obsession, we are addicted to hatred, they're not samsara’s delights but we are very addicted. In addition to that normal addiction- some people have it- addiction to alcohol, addiciton to drugs, addiction to sex.

All of those, or addiction to cheat, addiction to cheat people. Some people are so funny, you know, they just can't help it, they have to cheat and if they could cheat you for a penny, they’ll be very happy. 0:15:37.2 You see them a lot in India particularly, really, really, they just have to make something, they just got to cheat, even you know you've been cheated and you accept them and let them cheat you and pretend you don't know they will be very happy and they don't cheat you big, particularly many of those, just cheat you a penny here a penny there, that's it. It is just bare addiction, and you see those cab drivers, don't take you straight, take you round, zig-zag, everywhere and charge you a little more, maybe a dollar more, maybe 20 cents more, maybe a quarter more and happy. They say ‘I got you’ so you play a fool, ‘Yeah, yeah you got me’. These are the addictions they’re playing, simply, you know, simply. And we do that a lot. Whatever we are supposed to do, we don't, we don’t do it.

Me, addicted to food, addicted to be couch potato. Really, these are my problems. So, couch potato, I know if I move and exercise I'll feel better and lose weight and I know absolutely I know for sure, but everybody tells me, gives me lecture everyday, tells me ‘You’ve got to lose weight, [go on] diet…salt...blah blah blah, everyday 0:17:30.2 ’. Believe me, I know everything, it's not that I don't know but this information came to me hundreds, maybe thousands of times keep on coming all the time. However, I am addicted for food and I'm addicted to be couch potato so I just can’t do it, so this is what the addiction does. So particularly some people are addicted to, as I said, all of those. So, how do we cut that addiction.

Just information doesn't help- I myself is the example, I do know, I do get diabetic magazines, I do get cuttings of diabetic information from, believe me, more than 20 people all the time, anywhere, something about diabetics, I do get copies of those DVD or video copies, if anything comes on TV or something about diabetes. I get it. People are very kind, they send me. I do have information. And every one of them tells you eat less, do exercise, bottom line is that no matter how they say, whatever the way they talk to you, they say ‘take this pill you'll lose your appetite, do this, do that’ but whatever you do, bottom line is don't eat too much and move more and you’ll lose wait and your sugar will work, that's what it is. It's very true, very true because I do at least get sense- the insulation has to go around, and if you have so much fat it can’t go around and there's not enough to cover so naturally sugar comes out, we know that. I do know that, there's nothing that I did not know, I do know but I can’t do it. Why? Because I’m addicted to be couch potato. Honestly.

So if someone has the idea to overcome that addiction, yeah, then that will be great, rather than telling me what the diabetic should do or should not do or should eat or should not eat and all of those. And they will tell you lot of those- ‘don’t eat this, eat this, eat that’. Don't buy it, honestly, the bottom line I noticed when you have balance limited, everything’s fine. And when you go off the limit, everything’s bad. We know that for sure. But when you’re addicted to food, then you get that problem. 0:20:49.4 Similarly, we have addicted to actually samsara’s goodies, picnic spots, I like to call it. We are addicted for jealousy, tremendous, we enjoy being jealous. We are addicted to attachment and that brings jealousy, that brings hatred and we play around with this, we do, all the time. We play, we have hatred, tremendous hatred.

As Americans in general, we do have hatred against Osama Bin Laden. More or less but that is understandable because of 9/11 but we also develop hatred to Saddam Hussein. This guy has nothing to do with 9/11, we all now know quite clearly. And oh, it doesn’t matter, he’s got weapons of mass destruction, alright, go get [jot?] 0:22:18.1 go get him, go get him, we say, go get [jot?]. So, now there’s no weapons of mass destruction so then why do we get him, for what? I mean that's alright, we got him because he’s a bad guy… But how are we going to justify so many people died in between, so many of our own kids, and so many of their kids, there are kids, remember? There's a twenty four hour plane flying, remember? For a few days. And 0:22:56.6 [inaudible] one plane drops all the bombs and that's all but the other one comes down and continues dropping all the bombs. Can you imagine, if you're sitting there dropping all the time over here how are you going to do? So but we did that, making sure we don’t lose our kids. And that's what we did. Superior power.

So how are we going to justify this? So all of these are all problems, these are clear indication of addiction, addiction to hatred and addiction to obsession and jealousy, we’re not jealous of Iraq but there’s hatred for sure. So those are our problems. So how do we handle this? So now the answer is, ‘Wonderful is this life, short its nature.’

DAL JOR NYE KAR TSE LA LONG ME PA

YI LA GOM PAI TSE DI NANG SHE DOK

Truly, thinking our life, how wonderful, how wonderful our life. It’s really wonderful. Basically speaking, we are good human beings, each and every one of us. Good human beings. We have kindness in our nature, we care, we care for ourselves, we care for others too, we don't want to see people suffering. And especially, one good quality with Americans, honestly speaking, we always would like to help the poor and suffering and weak ones. It is natural in there. We always side ourselves with the poor and weaker section of society, we do. 0:25:43.2 We are very good persons in nature, we always keep in mind and we always also reject ‘Me, me, me’ is not that good. We all knew it, we all say it, we all accept but we may not act. But we have that and that shows the good nature of we, the human beings. We really do. We are beautiful persons. We don't want to hurt anybody, for what reason. Unless you are forced to do it.

Maybe some few crazy people would like to show the ‘macho-ism’ and hit you or whatever. That is with the exception of a few crazy ones. Maybe too young, immature person, or maybe too high with the chemicals, or maybe they don’t think, just being 0:26:56.3 absolute [buthu], absolute stupid, who just want to show ‘I’m a macho guy’ you know so except that, everybody else more or less, I should say 98%, maybe even 99% of all Americans are like that. So it is wonderful, almost all the human beings are there. Because the weaker economic section people, they may be wonderful but they can't do much and here we have a better opportunity to do, and that’s why we are great.

However, this is a short life. We all know. We all know. Within very few years we become old, we will become old. Within very few years, we all go, we won’t be here. That's the reality. We were here yesterday, but not today. We were here this morning but not here this evening. We were here this evening, we will not be here tomorrow morning. That is how this world is, again, sad but that's what it is. So we are in that situation, situation of the wonderfulness yet the sad point, that’s where we are. So is there time? Is it worth for us to fool ourselves with something else?

This person who wrote this letter, Tsongkhapa, he has two outstanding disciples- one is a younger one, the other is the older one, the two of them, you can see, if you look at that painting you can see, two little monks sitting there, one is older, one is the younger one. So the right hand side guy became, after Tsongkhapa passed away, he became the first person who took over all this thing and he became successor. He’s old, he doesn’t want to become successor, he want somebody else but the young one is absolutely clever guy. So they said ‘Well we have to commemorate Tsongkhapa, our teacher passed away.’ And then the older one is worrying that he may be made the successor, so he won't go up and he says to the younger one and the others ‘Please go up’. He wants to sit at the end of the road somewhere. But the younger one says ‘No, no you are the oldest one so you should sit up there, you are the oldest of all by age.’ so he was forced to sit up there. The moment he sat down, he got a scarf out his pocket and sat down and push him down, didn’t let him get up, and pushed the scarf there and had a long poem, it’s a beautiful poem.

0:31:14.6 Ban de yun do...

It’s really, if there’s a time this beautiful. 0:31:26.0 Chun ne nam...

Anyway, so it's a beautiful poem to read, so [inaudible] he said it and so maybe the successor, and actually he physically forced him down and didn’t let him get up, made him the successor so he sort of acted successor for a few years and then he resigned and then they decided younger one become the successor. They call it ‘throne order’. Chairman. Chairman of the group. Make simple way but in other words, the pope is the chairman of the Roman Catholics anyway. So in that way it becomes that way. So then the younger one took over and he had a picnic so invited everybody for a picnic and he invited the older one too and he came. This is what I wanted to talk to you. And they're having a picnic, so they’re enjoying, so the older one wants to go and he says ‘Relax, just sit, relax and enjoy’. He took off his hat and he had completely grey hair. He said ‘There’s no time for me’, touching his grey hair. ‘I have to go.’. He said ‘all my hair is grey, so there’s no time for me’, meaning the life’s about to go. So the young one is a little embarrassed and couldn't say anything and let him go.

So, that’s really what it is. Wonderful is this life, short its nature. It's really short, wonderful, if you look in this side, at this level of the Lamrim, transcripts or even the commentaries of the three principles, if you look there, they give you the qualities of this life. Tremendous, the spiritual qualities of this life, the material qualities of this life. There is opportunity at this life, tremendous. And particularly America, it's the land of opportunity. Not only for economic opportunity. Now, it is spiritual opportunity, it was not there before. Actually, we should also thank the people who are in the 60s. Just don't listen to Ronald Reagan’s wife, Nancy Reagan. Just don't say ‘no’ only to the 60s. There are a lot of good things have happened in the 60s. If the 60s things were not there, we would not be open today, not at all, we have to credit this openness of the United States society, open mind.

Today, all these spiritual paths, everything, you name it, if it exists in the world, it exists in the United States. 0:35:39.8 It's everything. Eastern tradition, Western tradition, Shamanism, [Buduyism], anything, anything. It's all there. Right or wrong, good or bad, is a different issue but talking about opportunity, it is all there. Earlier, when the Tibetans tried to develop this buddhism, it's not so easy, not at all. Though, Tibetans now treat it- not this present Tibet but the Tibet in pre-1959- now we look at it as the home of the spiritual path.

I was a little surprised and I was first hearing from my good old friends, like Allan Ginsberg or Ram Dass, Dr Richard Alfred or Timothy Larry and all of those people. When you look into them, hearing that, they will look at Tibet as a source of spiritual home and of course it was originally from India. In India there were so many wars, earlier, the Mughal wars then the civil wars, the British Raj and so forth, somehow it's gone. So Tibet is the source of all these spiritual things. I don't know why I'm talking this, I lost train of my thought. So the Tibetans, even though it has become the home, it is not easy at all, not easy, so difficult to develop this pure Buddhism, so difficult, lost so many lives, or sacrificed so many lives- not sacrificed in that way. No. People lost their lives for bringing that, including a ruler, the king of Tibet, he lost his life too just to bring the Buddhism, pure Buddhism into Tibet.

It was not easy, those great Indian monasteries or early universities. They don't want to give their scholars sent away, especially upcoming young, good scholars, they don't want to send them away. They want to keep them. So in order to prevent them going to Tibet or any Tibetans want to invite them, they say ‘Alright you can take this guy but you bring gold equal to the weight of this guy’s body’s weight’. So how are you going to find that? Tibet was a poor country, extremely poor, even now it's very poor. You know it. The climate itself makes it extremely difficult. Height, the temperature will make it difficult, everything. So but that's why even the king lost his own life in order to bring a great scholar to Tibet. And they made a good choice, they're warriors. So when the king was arrested, his nephew who became the king, he thought ‘Alright I’ll collect people and go and attack that nation who arrested the king’ and he could have easily done. Might not be so easy as we took over Iraq.