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032

As we have been continuously talking oh yeah before we continuously talk we should congratulate ourselves (Rimpoche laughs) and congratulate everybody that the visit of His Holiness has been very very successful and I think His Holiness is very happy and we’’ve been very fortunate to be able to arrange that properly so we have been really fortunate to be able to connect and become instrumental to be able to like you know thousands and thousands and thousands of people here to be able to connect with His Holiness we should be very happy and rejoice and we should congratulate ourselves once again I would like to take the opportunity to those of you who have been constantly working for a long time to make it a success and the volunteers everybody wanted to thank you. Now to continue what we been doing all of them be connecting with the Dalai Lama and having him learning everything all of them why we’’re doing it and what for and all of them if you counted down to and to make a better connection to ourselves to bring better life to bring our spiritual development to make ourselves a little more Dharma person so that we have better karmic purposes and so in order to get better karma in order to have in order to build a better karma more than what we have been building before or in order to improve the individual all of them we need a good training of our mind we have to train ourselves the best training known to the Tibetan Buddhism or for that matter the Buddhist tradition throughout India throughout Tibet the best training known is the stage by stage development training which we now call it Lam Rim339

Lam Rim

I don’’t think there is any better training of the mind than comprehensive short easy to follow anything better than Lam Rim you will never going to find it. There are certain Dharma practices they will say well you don’’t have to do much and you just simple little thing here and there and when you try to follow that simple little thing that simple little thing will gradually lead you down to the Lam Rim without mentioning Lam Rim so leads you and if you really look through if you needed a comprehensive good training of the mind you will not find anything better than this stage of the development whether you call it Lam Rim or (?) Rim or whatever you may call it the stage of development even if you just call it inside if you look inside where and how you look inside will somehow lead you through the way the Lam Rim leads you so there is nothing I mean I almost can say there is nothing other than this as far as the Tibetan Buddhism or for that matter at all Buddhism’’s concerned a comprehensive easy practical nothing other than Lam Rim you will not going to find. So the essence of the Lam Rim in shorter form what we been talking as a Foundation of Perfection and most of you have the textbook with you we will not be able to provide new textbook every Tuesday so what you have got before you have to reuse them if you don’’t bring it back it shows you that much care you have for you try to pick up. If you forget your books you forgot what you’’re learning if you forgot what you’’re learning and you forgot your practice and when you forgot your practice you forgot your training when you forgot your training you are not going to train yourself so that’’s as simple as that so that’’s one of the reason why we are not providing new textbooks every day so but those who did not have before they may be able to pick up so anyway whether you have the textbook in your hands or not those of you who don’’t have those who have it please share it and look it and get yourself a book not a book just a little pamphlet that little two-page or three-page little thing and so then you do have a basic foundation so anyway it is divided into two root of all development guru devotional practice and the actual training of the mind actual training of the mind will also divided into three categories common with the lower common with the medium and Mahayana training. Common with the lower level you also have embracing the human life and recognizing it is impermanent and recognizing impermanence that includes death and dying and then it brings the next question what happens thereafter and which sort of moves you to the common with the medium level what happens thereafter is also you have basically I may be jumping too fast embracing the human life and death and dying and what can help at that time actually Dharma way of concluding is nothing but Dharma can help at that time that was basically in Lam Rim outlines you will find nothing but Dharma can help. So Dharma can help is not part of dying or death or dying but it is included in that because it is an important reason so how you die what happens what can help what could harm so that’’s why what can you take it so we went through that you cannot take wealth you cannot take health you cannot take your body you have to leave them all so naturally health insurance and life insurance all of them are left behind 934

Karma

So what is going with us what is going to go what will go is only the positive and negative karmic reactions the karmic imprints and one of those karmic imprints going to connect with the temporary immediate cause one of the karmic imprints is going to connect with the cause. You get me one of those karmic imprints is going to contact with what you call it temporary cones? There is not even a temporary cause we have those different names original karmic cause and conditions sorry that word what I’’m trying to the temporary conditions the conditions one of the karmic causes is going to connect the conditions so what conditions you going to meet and one of the karmic things is going to connect this condition and that’’s as simple as that sometimes it’’s by sheer luck you get good karma connected with right conditions sometimes by sheer bad luck the bad karma can connect which is all possible which is nothing ruled out nothing ruled out so that’’s what happens that’’s why uncertainty is a problem that’’s why uncertainty problem for Westerners it’’s going to be tremendous problem because they really have to be certain you know everything worked out by minute by minute (Rimpoche laughs) three or four years before but that is not going to happen1156

Uncertainty at the time of death

It is uncertainty is definitely is reality uncertainty is reality it is really depends on which karma is going to connect the conditions and which conditions are going to be valuable for that individual person it also depends on the karma itself sort of like a vicious circle one depends to the other so you may call it a vicious circle or you may call it interdependent relationship so whatever you may call it you know but anyway one depends to the other so that what one makes the other work that is exactly what happens so when you die if you are lucky enough or then this is possible you going get a shock with this statement but it is reality even if the person is a bad person extremely bad one like say for example Saddam Hussein or something let him be the bad one anyway huh okay George Bush I don’’t care all right either George Bush or Saddam Hussein or who ever you want to call the bad person the bad person probably been very bad throughout his life or his or her life but there’’s a possibility by sheer luck that person can connect one good karma at the time of the death and can be reborn as a better human being or something that is all possible it is all possible because I am simply saying it is possible1406

It is most likely? No it is not most likely but it is all possible why is it not most likely there is a lot of reason why it’’s not likely. Why is it’’s not likely? So why is it not likely because that person during the lifetime what that person used to it is negativity the person used to it negativity most of the time so what you’’re mostly used to it you going to most likely you are going to get it that is the likely but the possibility way yes it is possible. Mao can be reborn a young Tibetan guy. Why not? It is all possible. Hitler can be reborn as Jewish. Why not? Saddam Hussein can be reborn and become American president later (crowd laughs) 1545

All are possible all our possible there’’s not so much guarantee of it I mean really truly it is possible truly it is possible I mean it it is because of the karmic points it is all possible one two it is always not uncertainty it is never certain the good will be not certain it will remain good forever bad is not certain it will remain a bad forever. We all are subject to change. Healthy person there is no certainty it will remain healthy right? The sick person is not certain they will remain sick forever. It is uncertainty is our basic structure. I almost say uncertainty is our inherent existence it is and that’’s why things go wrong all of a sudden and that’’s why things get right all of a sudden because it is uncertainty. Get it? So that is the reality so what happens very simple way what happens when the person dies what happens the negative karmas that we have accumulated it is not going to help us it becomes a liability the positive karmas what we have it becomes our credit right? So if we were lucky enough if the conditions were right so we may be able to connect one of the good karma and have immediate future life is a good one. If you’’re unlucky or something goes wrong we may connect one of the bad karma and our immediate future may be bad let’’s say supposed if the person is very angry at the time or immediate before death at the time of the dying or immediately before death if the person is very angry it doesn’’t matter to whom maybe for him or herself maybe the society maybe the family maybe the nurse maybe the bed maybe the medication the matter whatever if the person is angry and that anger if the person is angry and died that anger is most likely they will bring connect negative karma because actually negative brings negative and positive brings positive so it is important for us to notice at the time of the death we should not be overpowered by anger we should not get drunk by anger we should not get drunk by attachment right? Jealous hatred so and forth we have six root negative we have introduced last course you know I cannot bring everything all the time together so the reason why six root negativities we have what is it in November or something right six root negativities and at the time of the death what you have to do is what you have to do to your self and what you have to do to others the question for everybody rises what can I do? What can I do is the only thing you try to make sure that they do not have the negativities are present particularly in their mind stream try to replace that if there is try to replace that with some kind of love compassion or wisdom or guru devotional practice understanding of samsaric nature or even meditation on Buddha or anything of that sort of thing we will change the aspects of the mind the aspects of the mind there’’s a possibility may help to link a better karma because if you look in the karma people talk about it I work with my karma blah blah you (can’’t?) work with your karma for sure each one of us are carrying millions forget about millions billions different karmas negative as well as positive so we try to purify our negative karma as much as possible we try to accumulate the positive karma as much is possible but in our store we have a tremendous amount of both negative and positive we do that will be very hard to find a human being who does not have good supply of positive karma there will not be human being. We always have it we also equally have a very strong storage of negative karma as well so what we have to make sure at the time of the death it connect positive one and how can we make sure of that how can we make sure that the daily practice makes the difference every day you try to practice2340

Last thoughts before sleep as last thought before death determine what come next

You know what I mean? every day you try to practice. That’’s why people who says the Sadhana they have that everyday doing it so if you keep on going through every day and then you keep on recognizing and reminding yourself and first imagine the signs and then acknowledge them and then correct your (?) And try to put them up so if you keep on doing that every day and you’’ll be perfect when you need it. And that’’s the whole thing about the Sadhanas practice but those who are not doing sadhana even those people who bring awareness awareness of the negative awareness of the positive and try to link and that helps particularly before you fall asleep if you try to train yourself before you go to sleep you try to review the positive and the negative karma and regret the negative and rejoice the positive and you try to fall asleep within the influence of the positive karma there’’s a benefit two benefit benefit A you’’re going to get training yourself preparing yourself B all this sleeping period until you wake up it becomes positive karma so like Milarepa says (he speaks Tibetan) Milarepa says I have a great method of changing all my sleep period into clear light and I have but others don’’t have if others have how happy I will be I mean it’’s not really changing sleep into clear light but it is changing sleep into positive otherwise sleep is sleep2606

You sleep and it is karmic wise basically it is neutral neither it is negative nor it is positive there are four mental faculties the principal mind there is fifty two mental faculties and four of them are changeable that is sleep is one of them regret is another one and the doubt is another one and the mind up analyzing is another one so these are all changeable changeable between the positive and the negative it depends on the mind immediately before so in sleep when you fall asleep if you are reading a Dharma book and thinking about Bodhimind the whole of your sleep period will be related to Bodhimind and it becomes very positive on the other hand if you are reading a story about...

Audience: A Stephen King novel

Rimpoche: that type of thing it will become that type of thing (audience laughs) so that is how really it is so if you try to bring your sleep period into a positive that is everybody can do you just have to have a little discipline yourself as long as you have the discipline within your self you can very simply you can do easy way serves two purposes the purpose is whether you are losing the control of the gross mind and if you automatically switching to some kind of positive thing you are training your mind at the time of the death you will also change in that that is the gross mind going to sleep the subtle minds will take over the gross mind before you die when it goes before what you call a (sanitized?) or something so before you do that the subtle mind will take over so if you keep on training yourself even in that manner and this is a great help so that when you say what can I do so when you have everything in your own hand you can do all this when you’’re near someone who is dying try to bring that mind in the positive stream try to think try to remind that person something positive whatever faith that person may be don’’t try to impose Buddha on that so that the other person may get more angry on you so you’’ll be doing disservice if you do that you’’ll be doing a disservice what you can do is bring some kind of positive thing whatever that faith may be and if there’’s no faith at all love compassion and that everybody has it everybody it is a common theme love compassion does not belong to the Buddhist it is a common thing so compassion compassion to yourself the compassion to yourself sometimes can become attachment you have to be careful with that so anyway that sort of thing you can do which is become a possible for us to be able to do it is if you keep on training yourself daily particularly before you fall asleep it is a great opportunity really don’’t waste, great opportunity. So that all of them is uncertainty uncertainty is the uncertainty itself is a problem can we make certain no is not possible that is a generic samsaric problem if you don’’t like the uncertainty you have to get out of the samsara (audience laughs) it’’s really true it is and dissatisfaction is another one no matter whatever you do you cannot satisfy to satisfy is very difficult for a period you may satisfy with something that will change always change because it is a changing world changing nature so whatever we have whatever we do we have dissatisfaction and that is another generic problem that dissatisfaction is applicable for everything to your own cloth your own food your own thoughts your own companion girlfriend boyfriend husband-wife children house everything we have that everybody will have it3332

It is reality if there is no problem something is wrong absolutely true that is samsaric nature if you don’’t like the problem you have to get out of samsara until you get out of the samsara you’’re not going to find another simple easy solution it’’s not going to find it. If you’’re happy today you will not be happy tomorrow it has to be so that’’s what it’’s going to happen that’’s what it is happening that is that what had happened that is what’’s happening and that will happen continuously and if you don’’t like that you have to get out of samsara. So that’’s why Buddha’’s idea of telling you telling the people Buddha’’s message saying everything is a nature of suffering that doesn’’t mean everything outside is suffering you know what I mean? Buddha doesn’’t say everything outside is suffering what Buddha means everything what we experience bring us suffering otherwise pleasure is pleasure suffering is suffering. Buddha did not say in the cold weather if you get in the hot tub he not say that is suffering that’’s pleasure if you drink ice cold water when you are hot thirsty period Buddha does not say that is suffering its pleasure but it doesn’’t last long it is the reality and actually the suffering is what we perceive 3607

And we mostly perceive a lot them in suffering nature that is our samsaric genetic problem if you don’’t like that you have to leave samsara we can that is the beginning of the training of the mind common with the medium level common with the lower level will tell you I have to break this down properly so that you know common with the lower level will tell you the importantness of the life embracing the life difficult to find how valuable how important life is and also tell you how impermanent it is and to solve the temporary problem in case if the individual practitioner could not go beyond that then the solution they provided here is the refuge. Taking refuge to Buddha Dharma and Sangha has been provided as a solution just by taking refuge to Buddha Dharma and Sangha is that enough no that is not enough when you take refuge you get into trouble you go and see a lawyer say can you help me the lawyer will say yes I can help you but you must do this this this so you have to listen to him right you get sick and go to a doctor and say can you help me and he says yes I’’ll find out what your problem is now I recognize your problem is I will prescribe you this this and this medication like it or not you have to take it if you don’’t take it is that going to help you right? That’’s what it is just like that you take refuge to Buddha Dharma and Sangha taking refuge means I rely on you the rely on does not mean you’’re not going to employ Buddha to work for you it doesn’’t work that way it doesn’’t affect that way so rely on means I will rely on you you tell me what to do. So the very simple message says it is the karma remember during the Clinton election period they said dammit it’’s the economy here it is the same thing it is the karma dammit it’’s the karma (crowd laughs) yes that’’s right that is the answer for the refuge it is so who makes we talk right I make it who enjoy I enjoy who suffers I suffer right? So that is the karma dammit pay attention that is the key that is the principle of the training that’’s the reality that’’s the bottom line that’’s it that’’s the governor who governs the lives that’’s the nanny who looks after the lives I guess that’’s it so I have to go on the Foundation of Perfection where are we what verse?

audience: Sensual guttony?

Rimpoche: we did not reach their yet

(Rimpoche confers with Sangha members) that’’s right that’’s where we are can you say that loudly nicely so everybody can follow?

audience: After death I must remember that death is quick to strike for spirit quivers in flesh like a bubble in water and after death one’’s good and evil deeds trail after one like a shadow trails the body.

Rimpoche: after death that’’s what we are talking today so that is what we’’re covering today so we are beginning we are sort of bridging between the common with the lower and common with the medium okay so the common with the lower begins to embracing life and up to refuge and after refuge karma dammit karma begins the basic common with the medium level training the Buddhist basics teachings of the four Noble truths we had a wonderful teaching of the four Noble truths from the Dalai Lama remember not counting suffering suffering changing without counting how very nicely he presented and also the essence of the Mahayana practice of the Bodhimind compassion that originated with the wisdom wisdom that originated compassion and that’’s very beautifully very unusual short but it is all concise he talked so anyway the four Noble truths and the twelve dependent links we also talked the twelve dependent links link or what twelve dependent relation or something which also have the negative dependence and the positive dependence both we talked so if you look in those these are the basic structure of the common with the medium level what we are today is between the common with the lower and common with the medium the next Tuesday I’’ll be here so we’’ll be talking common with the medium level what is sensual gluttony or whatever (Rimpoche discusses the text and next lecture with Sangha) the one Tuesday Aura will follow continuously the same thing another Tuesday Sandy will run and another Tuesday (So choda?) Rimpoche will do it so the three Tuesdays and I would like (So choda) Rimpoche to try to his speak in English by himself without interfering from other person (crowd laughs) so that way you know so no interfering so and that’’s what we like to do and on the fourth Tuesday I’’ll be back so that will be so anyway I’’ll be here next Tuesday (Rimpoche discusses Jewel Heart business)