Archive Result

19970520GRAABWL17

Side A of tape 40 of 05/20/97

[This is the 5th in the series of the videos made in preparation for the Tuesday nights teachings while Rinpoche is oversees]

To continue from last time: If such a situation is a possibility for me, then what do I have to do?

Verse forty-five

Who can afford me real protection

From this great horror?

With terrified, bulging eyes agape

I shall search the four quarters for refuge.

Verse forty-six

But seeing no refuge there

I shall become enveloped in gloom.

If there should be no protection there,

Then what shall I be able to do?

Basically, this is definitely a warning. When you run around and encounter the terrifying horrors, ‘with bulging eyes agape’, you are searching for somebody who can protect you from this terrifying fear, who can give you hope. Weak and full of sadness and sorrow, you look around and can find nobody to help you. This is not because Buddha, Dharma and Sangha don’t have the power to help, nor are they unavailable at that level, but the trouble is that because of our negativities we don’t have enough positive karma engaging at that time. That is the reason why. The negative karmas are trying to cash in on you. It is very difficult to see the protector, even if he is right in front of you. Because of that you go into a helpless, sad mood.

This is telling us that when it is too late, it is too late. This thing can happen. The individual can go into the lower realms, into the hell realms, the hungry ghost realms, the animal realms. Even if you get reborn into the human realm, you can be handicapped, you can be mentally incapable and handicapped. You can also become somebody who has extremist viewpoints. That is equally an obstacle for Dharma, for open-mindedness. Extremist views are thinking that there is nothing else of value other than materialistic concerns. I don’t want to critize the scientists but many people think that you can only believe something if it is scientifically proven. Some scientists are open-minded, they are open for every possibility, but there are others who shut out every possibility. These are called extremists, from the spiritual viewpoint and maybe even from the materialist viewpoint.

If you get such a rebirth it is not going to be very helpful. Now out of the four powers we are moving towards the power of the base which is the objects of refuge.

Verse forty-seven

Therefore I now seek refuge

In the Buddhas who protect the world,

Who strive to shelter all that lives

And with great strength eradicate all fear.

In the Tibetan original it talks about Buddha as the protector of all beings, who is working for all sentient beings and has great power to clear all the fears and that I take refuge to him from today onwards. I don’t know if Buddha protects the world or not, but he protects all beings.

This verse is talking about the qualities of the Buddha - the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha’s capability. They have a very strong capability to eradicate all fears. This is continued in the next verse.

Verse forty-eight

Likewise I purely seek refuge

In the Dharma they have realized

That clears away the fears of cyclic existence,

and also in the assembly of Bodhisattvas.

All the objects of refuge are introduced here: Buddha is the one who has all the power, unlimited capability. Then the Dharma is that which is experienced by the Buddhas. This is showing us again that Dharma is nothing external but is in ourselves, realized or not realized. It really is the spiritual positive development which you have gained. That is the Dharma, whether it is realized or not, because the positivity you have is your own spiritual development. It is your real true refuge. The refuge within you can help you. For the refuge outside of you it is very difficult to help you. That is the true reality.

You know that there is relative and absolute Dharma. Let us talk about absolute Dharma, our spiritual development within us. A lot of people think that spiritual development is some kind of mystic, psychic power. That is not spiritual development. The real development has to be grounded, not flying in the air. To be grounded is to have overcome our negativities and neuroses. When you gain that positivity you have a grounded spiritual development. The measurement of spiritual development is how big and powerful that is. If you just overcome a little anger that is a spiritual development and that is okay. But if you reduce the anger completely that is great spiritual development for you, but still not the best. If you eradicate the anger from your system completely, then that positive eradication is your big spiritual development. The same goes for hatred, attachment and ignorance. That is why wisdom is so important. It comes after eradication of ignorance and that is why knowing Dharma is also important. People often say, ‘You don’t have to know much, you just meditate and gain something within you.’ Enlightenment is called enlightenment for a reason. It is not some kind of mystical pop-up. You are enlightened, you know all. The name of the Buddha in Tibetan is sang gye, that means the one who has cleared all obstacles and developed all knowledge.

Some people in the spiritual field say, ‘You don’t need much knowledge. You just need to meditate and sit.’ Just sitting meditation is not going to make you enlightened. It will reduce your anger, your hatred, jealousy, etc. because of the concentration power. But the concentration power alone is not able to give you enlightenment, not even the path of seeing. You don’t see it [i.e. the emptiness] because you don’t know it.

Verse forty-nine

I, trembling with fear,

Offer myself to Samantabhadra,

To Manjugosha also

I make a gift of my body.

Verse fifty

To the Protector Avalokitesvara

Who infallibly acts with compassion

I utter a mournful cry,

‘Please protect this evil-doer!’

Verse fifty-one

In my search for a refuge

I cry from my heart

For Akashagarbha, Ksitigarbha

and all the Compassionate Protectors.

These verses introduce the different Bodhisattvas. Akashagarbha is ‘Essence of the Sky’ and Ksitigarbha is ‘Essence of the Earth’. These are also objects of refuge. In the general Mahayana the Bodhisattvas are Sangha and in Vajrayana the Dakas and Dakinis are Sangha. In Sutrayana the monks and nuns are sangha. In our western societies, those who have taken refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are the sangha. That is how we are moving. A few more names are introduced, notably Samantabhadra. He is well known for making great offerings. Manjugosha or Manjushri is the embodiment of wisdom of all enlightened beings. Sometimes he is also called ‘Buddha of Wisdom’.

Why do you offer your body to Manjushri? Not for the purpose of becoming his subject or that he can do whatever he wants with you. The most important and valuable thing that I have is my body. When I am offering my body, then there is no question that I also offer my wealth and other things. This is the higher example of the maximum offering. There is no other reason for offering one’s body.

In these verses we also call Avalokitesvara who is the compassion of all the enlightened beings, seeking his protector for ‘this evil-doer’. In normal Christian language they call that ‘sinner’. If there is such a thing as a sinner, there is definitely the possibility of help. ‘Sin’ is just terminology. Sin is impermanent. You create it, you act, you get the consequences, and it is gone. The sins are impermanent like the clouds, not permanent like space. The sky may be permanent, but not the clouds. So the sins are impermanent and therefore the sinner is impermanent. Even if you are sinner, don’t worry about it, you can become a saint. You purify the sins which makes them go away and you become a saint - as simple as that. Verse fifty ends with ‘Please protect this evil-doer’. So the evil-doer can be protected.

Verse fifty-two

And I seek refuge in Vajrapani,

Upon the sight of whom all harmful beings

Such as the messengers of death

Flee in terror to the four quarters.

I talked about that situation last week. How to take refuge is mentioned in the next verse.

Verse fifty-three

Previously I transgressed your advice,

But now upon seeing this great fear

I go to you for refuge,

By doing so may this fear be swiftly cleared away.

That is how you take refuge. That is how you pray. You do this before you get into trouble, before you get negative karma which gives you that kind of result, before it begins to functions. People ask me questions, ‘Isn’t karma definite? Yes, it is definite once it has started to function. That does not mean from the time on when you have created the karma. Karma does not function immediately when you have created it. Karma goes into the seed state - it goes to sleep. It becomes an imprint, like a seed. When the seed meets the right conditions it starts to function. So when the result starts functioning it is too late. So all the fearful terrors that welcome you to the hell of Buddhism are the negative karmas that we have not taken care of before we lost the control of our lives, before we lost control of our minds - when we still had the control of our body, mind and speech. This time is the right time to purify. You have to do your purification right now. Don’t delay, don’t wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.

Besides that, one of the great Tibetan teachers, the 7th Dalai Lama or Gungtang Jambelyang, said,

Whether the future life comes first or tomorrow comes first, you can’t be sure. Therefore it is better to prepare ourselves for the future life rather than what we think will be tomorrow.

This is true. We should do daily purification or the seven branch practice. Don’t wait till tomorrow, do it right now. If you do, it will benefit you, it will help you, it is better for you. When it is too late, it is too late. Then you can’t help it. You will experience what we have just been talking about. You will search all the ten directions but you will no find a protector, although the protectors are there.

Remember the story of Asanga. He wanted to see Maitreya Buddha and so he went into solitary retreat for twelve years. At the end of the twelve years he was able to see Maitreya and Maitreya took him to the pure land of Tushita where he had the teaching transmission of the prajnaparamita, the transcendental wisdom teachings. He brought them down from Tushita. In that story Asanga said to Maitreya, ‘How unkind of you! You took twelve years to answer my calls.’ Maitreya said, ‘The moment you sat down in retreat, I was there, right in front of you, but you could not see me. You could only see me after you developed great compassion for that sick bitch’. - I am sorry, I don’t mean ‘bitch’ in the other sense of the word. In this case it was a sick female dog. The lower part of her body was covered by wounds and worms within those wounds. Asanga saw that and had tremendous compassion for both, the worms and the dog. He did not know what to do. If he picked up the worms they would die. If he didn’t the dog would die. At that moment he did not hesitate to cut some meat from his own thigh so that the worms could go onto that. Still he could not pick up the worms with his fingers, because that might have smashed them. So he put out his tongue, trying to lick the worms and transfer them onto that little piece of meat. However, when he closed his eyes and tried to do that, he could not reach the dog. So he opened his eyes and suddenly saw Maitreya standing there in front of him.

I might have done a disservice to you by telling you this story in such a short form. If you hear it in the long version it is very effective and helpful. But the point is that Maitreya told Asanga at that time, ‘Hey, the purification did it. Purification with compassion did it. You did not hesitate to cut some flesh from your own thigh and you did not hesitate to put your tongue out to reach to those worms.’ and he said that he had been there the whole twelves years but Asanga could not see him. Then Asanga said, ‘Now, this is the opportunity to show everybody that you are here. I am going to take you on my shoulders and run around in the market area.’ Maitreya said, ‘Nobody is going to see me.’ But Asanga insisted and took Maitreya on his shoulders and ran to the market. Everybody thought he was crazy. They thought, ‘After twelve years in retreat he has now gone crazy.’ He was shouting that he had Maitreya on his shoulders, but nobody saw anything, except one old lady who saw him carrying a dead dog around.

So it is not that the protectors are not there. The traditional teachers will give you the example of the hook and the ring. The hook of the protectors is always available, but if you do not provide the ring, how are they going to hook you in and pull you up? You have to have the ring and that is our positive karma, our intelligent faith, devotion and our practice. Then they can hook you in and pull you up. Thats what it is.

This weekend is the forty-ninth day after Allen Ginsberg’s passing away and we will have a big practice to do in Ann Arbor on Friday and the memorial concert for him on Saturday. Thank you everybody for helping to arrange and prepare for that concert. I am not giving you compliments but I am very grateful. It is your own organisation. It is the same as working for your monastery - if you are a monk. That is one of the major practices that we do in the monasteries. So it is the same thing - this is the modern monastery. In the United States this is Jewel Heart. It is open to all the lay people. It is the modern monastery. So you are working for that. This is a good way of purifying and accumulating merit. This is a way of seeking refuge. Do not forget that! Do not think you are doing a favor for the organization. It is for your own benefit. If that is not purification, what is? And cleaning! I have been repeatedly mentioning to people: Please try to clean up the centers, whether it is Ann Arbor or New York. It is not just a few people’s job. It is for everybody to participate. Help yourself. Carry your own responsibility within your sangha society. Thank you so much.

end of side A and B - rest of tape 41 empty