Archive Result

20030806GRALSR06

Gehlek Rimpoche – Joyful Summer Retreat 2003

Wednesday Evening 8-6-03

verbatim

Welcome back for the evening session and those who are coming new, for the first time, welcome. And I guess, um, and we will um, have to talk a little more about this. Now we did talk about mind, we did talk about how it is, we did talk about where it is remains. We also talk about how it is function and all of those.

And then some people may have idea, say hey, what has that got to do with Buddhism? Or, some people may not. But then if you think that way you got, I mean that’s the real essence of Buddhism anyway. And uh, some people may.. I think I touched that last night anyway already.

So. So now we know what mind, how it is. Oh by the way, the promised distribution of those... what? Not all of them, you’re not going to get all the mental faculties. If you’re going to get all the mental faculties, probably the publisher will sue us. So what you really need is first ten. And five which follows absolute every mind, and five which makes the mind sustain and function.

And then the rest of them, they’ll be like eleven virtues. And then there’s twenty-six negative emotions and four changeable emotions. Out of fifty-two. You know it’s really, really simple. Five constantly following mind, and five makes mind sustained. That makes ten. Plus eleven virtues makes what? Huh? Twenty-one. Plus ten root will make? Huh? Thirty-one. And plus twenty secondary will make? Huh? Not yet. Huh? Should not be.

OK. Somewhere in forties should be. And then plus four changeables. And then virtues and non-virtues are. It is very easy for you to know, but what I want you to read is those five plus five. That one. And also the statement about the consciousness itself. And all going to be available tomorrow when Shawn comes back. Shawn Isaac, and if he doesn’t come back you won’t have it. Am I right? OK.

And you know then, right now I’ve been holed up downstairs by, ganged up by people down there, and forced me to sign those books. So the Good Life, Good Death hardcovers are signed. And so. And there’s no names. Whatever. So that way if you want to buy some “kids”, whatever. So you will have it.

And I also have other goodies to give you. Did you people pick up this Odyssey to Freedom? You should really pick up. Pick up for giving to people and all of those. Don’t force me to sign that. But I also have other nice goodies to give you. I think Hartmut will, would you mind start to distribute those. And we did order some photos of the Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, Tara, Tsongkapa and all those. Some of them came. And what we wanted for the purpose is, that is, there’s a little packet, there’s a little, what you call that? Huh? You know, the sangha council worked and they made a little, welcome package. It was meant to be put in there, and the photos are good but they complained to me and said the photos were crooked. So alright, the photos are crooked so you can’t them in there, fine. It won’t hurt for you people to have a photo here. Give some extra, she wants for Matthew.....

What was wrong with this photo anyway? Huh? So we’re giving you because it’s bad. [laughter] What is wrong with this photo? [answer from sangha] OK, the brocade round is not even. And I think it is...., huh? [laugh]

And also they’re not using the photo because in that prayer we have, we printed them in Nepal on handmade paper where they said it’s misspelled. So, these are some complaints, so if you want those prayers I’m sure they’re valuable too. So that is what we say here, the [seven limb]? and all that. So, that is what it is.

OK. Now, we talked the mind and we talked last night. Is it last night or yesterday morning, we said the mind is like a monkey. We talked about a monkey. The monkeys will catch one thing, let it go and another one. All this. So now the question is, what to do with it? OK. [interaction with sangha] It’s a good idea because people who are next to, if they’re not there, you better get a copy for them, otherwise when they come back, probably nothing will be left, so...

So, now the question is, what to do with that mind. And, what to do with mind. Now, mind is like a monkey, and mind is like a wild elephant, and all of those we talked. So now, what to do. The most important thing is try to tame the mind. Why? According to the Buddha. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

So the Buddha himself said, the best thing what you can do is to tame your mind. If you could tame your mind it will open the doorway to the happiness. And it is simply, it will also, if you tamed your mind it is also a best protection. There’s countless things I can say, because when the mind is not tamed, we are not in the exposures [meaning?] of, the mind is not occupied by the mental faculties such as faith, love, compassion, and all this. All this.

And normally, it’s sort of occupied mostly by the addictions we have. Which with all of you are very familiar. So, therefore it opens the doorway. That’s why the Buddha said [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]. So the tamed mind is the best. The tamed mind brings the joy.

And Tsongkapa says [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]. When Tsongkapa praising Buddha, he had praised the Buddha as one who can overcome all the forces of ego without holding weapons in your hand, all by yourself can overpower all the egos. Such a method. Who else, besides you, who else knows? So I praise you. That’s what Tsongkapa praises.

The reason Tsongkapa praises is because Buddha had the method of overpowering all negative forces that were attacking him.

I can’t help it here to draw, to remind you. I’m sure many of you have seen that little movie called Little Buddha. [laughter] It’s not a little movie but there’s a movie called Little Buddha. So if you have seen Little Buddha there’s a scene in this and Buddha was trying to meditate and tried to be, tried to be fully enlightened. And when he’s doing that, sitting down, when he’s giving the commitments, equally the ego forces are determined he should not get succeeded.

So what they do it, first they try to seduce him through all kinds of things. And when they fail to seduce him completely, so what they did is they attacked him. Attacked him with all kinds of weapons so they’re willing to, they’re ready to kill him. So they’re making sure that he doesn’t get succeed. That’s why it is called “ego force”.

And they are throwing all of those weapons. I mean the movie says, shows when he was meditating under a tree, when they are throwing all kinds of weapons, all the weapons change into flowers, right? So, where does that come from? How did that happen? And these are the result of meditations of compassion. Compassion for self and compassion for others, and love. And actually love and compassion is the most important protection. Not the fearful vajras and [vajra name?] and [vajra name?] and this and that are not necessarily the best protection. But the compassion is.

When Tsongkapa praised the Buddha, Buddha one could overpower all the evil forces single-handedly without holding any weapon at all, he’s referring to that mind of the Buddha. The perfection of love/compassion. And that has become a mental part of mind, it is mind that happens.

So, when we have to overcome all our things that we don’t wanted, and when we have to complete everything what we wanted, is then the only method what Buddha’s experience shows and recommends this, to tame the mind.

Great Mahasiddha Saraha [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

Saraha says, a great one of those early great Mahasiddhas, Saraha says [Rimpoche recites Tibetan] “the seat of everything is the mind only. It is the mind that leads you to samsara in the suffering or nirvana in joy. And it is the mind who gives you every result that we hope to be. It is like a jewel. I bow to this mind.” That is great Saraha.

By the way, this jewel-like, and all of them, that each and every one of us have that. You know? We’re not mindless robot. So we have them. But our minds are not in that level. Furthermore, and you know it was so interesting and now, just as I saw this quotation here, it is Dharmakirti’s quotation, Dharmakirti says:

[Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

So Dharmakirti says, talks about the Buddha. He said the Buddha, who had managed his mind to be able to look equal to everybody – enemy or friend. So, [Rimpoche recites Tibetan], so then Dharmakirti’s example is for the mind of the Buddha, he makes no difference with anyone, the enemies as well as [laugh], enemies as well as friends, it is no difference. One who brings little, what you call this, the old-fashioned carpenters use to chip the wood, chisels, alright? Not the small one but the ones like the hammer with the little sharp... no, no, no, axe cutters [sangha interaction] OK, axe.

So, one who chops one’s body with that axe, and one who gives you massage with the oils of the sandalwood, from the Buddha’s mind point-of-view they look you equally. One who is cutting, chipping your flesh out and one who is giving you massage and petting you. Of course, without pain. [laughter]

So that is the mind that can go to that level.

So I remember, when I mentioned this in a teaching in New York during the Lojong teaching, Mickey Lemle was very upset with this and raised so many questions. I forgot the questions what he asked, but I do remember it makes sometimes a little uneasy, for a number of people.

Shantideva. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan] OK. Now this I have to go a little more. It is the fifth chapter of Shantideva’s Bodhisattvacharyavatara which we already read in the Tuesdays. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan].

So we get a lot of fear, against, you know we are afraid, you know if we meet, came across, direct face-to-face, you know tigers, lions, elephants, cobras and all other enemies as well as the gods of the lower-realm, hell-realm and devils and evils and all of them and we will be very afraid of them. And that constant fear we have. Sometimes we are afraid of ourselves also.

But if you have to train your mind not to be afraid of tigers, not to be afraid of lions, not to be afraid of elephants, or one-by-one if we have to work, there will be no inner life [right phrase?] for us to so that. So, Shantideva says [Rimpoche recites Tibetan] He says it is only one key, the key is our mind. And if you can tame that mind, all of them will be tamed. If you cannot tame the mind, all of them will not be tamed at all.

There are all a number of people. Every people not necessarily love you, though people are wonderful. Though some people will hate you. And many would like to see you not be succeeded. It is in our life. If you try to challenge each and every one of them, you’ll be never have peace. But, if you can tame your mind, you will be happy with everybody.

This is interesting. I must share with you. I do occasionally say this. We have a friend, her name is Louise. Louise, she’s an African-American woman with us Jewel... now she’s quite old, and when we meet in Michigan she can’t come, but whenever we meet daytime she still makes sure she comes. And actually she’s quite old and she hasn’t come in New York in Jewel-Heart for 2-3 years. Except she might have come, once, in between that, in the daytime. But she still sends her pledge without fail. So she does that.

So she told me, one day she thanked me, and I said why? That was quite early, she said “whenever I go to those department stores, I have to fight with those people all the time.” She says “I’m in...”, she’s in some kind of, I don’t know, some suburb, where there’s a lot of... now she’s in... wherever.. anyway, she goes some kind of department store where she finds, it’s quite difficult every time because they think, she probably stole, whatever it is.

So, she says “since I’m contacted here, and since I’m trying to think better, they treat me tremendously better, they don’t suspect me”. They say “how are you”, they say “goodbye”, they say “thank you” to me and she says it’s really changed tremendous, that’s what she says.

And that’s also true, and it happens, to people who’s there, who is still living, an African-American woman. And that happens. So that’s exactly what Shantideva says [Rimpoche recites Tibetan] So if you can tame this hatred, anger, suspicious, jealousy-oriented mind, you can tame that, and all your enemies automatically get tamed. That is true.

This, the next verse, is very interesting. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

If you want to go travel smoothly and if you want to cover all the areas wherever you are going to go, covered with the leather to walk smoothly, you’re not going to find that much leather to cover all of the ground. But if you have a piece of leather which covers your foot, which means shoe, right? So if you have that, and then all the areas that you manage to cover, wherever you walk, exactly, if you tame the mind, that’s exactly how it works.

Otherwise, if you have to challenge every anger, every hatred, every jealousy, every thing, every challenge even, you know everything, not the positive challenge, the negative challenges, and every one of them if you try to cover, cover, cover, and never going to work. But if you tame your mind it will be like having a very good leather shoe which we can walk in every rough area.

[Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

So I think that is, that is sort of very briefly, when we know the mind, when we know mind how to function, what it is, the purpose of all this is to make the mind better. And, you know, as I said, the first day, the base, path and result.

The base we talk about two noble truths or four noble truths, which we will re-visit again. But path, we talk about it, wisdom, and um, method and wisdom. And method we are talking about, um, compassion, love and all other. So we are leading towards that now. I’m sure you will notice because all of you are great intelligent and wonderful people.

And all, huh?, zombies? [laughter, interaction with sangha]

You know, one thing, one thing, no matter wherever, whoever, whatever, but one thing will never worry in Jewel-Heart is, actually there are no zombies here. And, not only that, [laughter, interaction with sangha], what? [laughter, interaction with sangha], then you will become zombies [laughter], but you know people here are really, honestly this is I’m not even joking, people here are so intelligent and so good, and no one will buy anything whatever, whoever says funny things. So we don’t have to worry about, in Jewel-Heart at least one thing, there is not going to be, you know, like what happens with the Jim Jones and you know, Heaven’s Gate, and all of those type never going to happen in Jewel-Heart, because the people are really very, very sharp and wonderful and they’re not going to buy easily.

And also, any other teacher who talk to the Jewel-Heart people will be very difficult too, and really I have confidence in that because you know, they are skeptical enough, really true.

So, let me continue. And also, you know one of our biggest problems is really the fear. The fear is, you know to overcome the fear the most important thing is to tame our own mind. Popula, Nagarjuna’s disciple, Popula, is not Shantideva, this is Aryadeva, Popula. Popula says. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

So everywhere, wherever we talk about it, “killing”, “we’re going to kill you”, or the Lord of Yama, or death, makes everybody scared. But when you are talking about becoming enlightened, taming your mind, even the lord of death will be scared of you. So that’s what Je Popula says. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

Even the sound and the efforts of hearing about this person is going to tame his mind, or her mind, by hearing that alone, all evil forces will be afraid of you. Rather then you be afraid of them, they will turn the table around, in other words.

So, the most important taming of the mind is overpowering, overcoming what they traditionally call ignorance, but really, it is the ego, fear, confusion combination. And that is the most important. So that is the wisdom part of it. Earlier the method part of it, that is now the wisdom part of it.

If you have that mind, that mind. You know, that “I” of the wisdom. Even, if it is one “I”, it sees everything. You know I really wanted, you know we used to make this joke, and you know I really wanted to make a that joke in there. Menla retreat, in that Medicine Buddha thing I did not find the opportunity because there’s too many of them, so I did use [aya dewa - Tibetan] but what I really wanted to say was “wild, one-eyed wizard from Woodstock”. It’s “www.” [laughter]

Why I remember this? Because big naga says [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]. So big naga says even if you have one thousand eyes, thousand points of light, remember? Even if you have one thousand eyes, and if you’re not with eye because you don’t see the liberation, you don’t see what is right and what is wrong. And therefore you don’t have eyes.

Um, I don’t know where it is. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan] I have that verse in my, by heart. It pops up, but from where? I don’t remember, so. This very similar to this. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan].

There are some deities of even Hindu, Buddhist, mythological deities who had a thousand eye. Even then, they had a thousand eye, they don’t see the reality of the world. The arya [deva?] only has one eye but still sees the total reality of, reality of every existence.

So the most important taming, you know taming the mind is trying to be developing the wisdom. One “ism” love/compassion. The other is wisdom. Remember you have to go both side-by-side. Yesterday I had to keep on yelling when Nancy said something. Keep on yelling because – not yell, but, ya know – everytime I can’t say that or repeating it.

...You’re not here, how come [dialogue with sangha person] not now, thank you. [laughter].. You should have gone when you first walked in. But now why get up. [laugh]

So when we talk about practice, that’s what it is. Practicing to develop love/compassion and practicing to develop the wisdom. That is really the method, what it is. I’m still talking about the mind so I’m not going to go on that. And I was a little worried, because, you know, a little worried I’m not really getting any feedback from so many people at all. So some people maybe, may find a little boring, and a little diffi..., a little too difficulty for summer retreat. This could be the subject of winter retreat but, you know, on the other hand, to some people.

And to some people, and particularly those of you who have been here for the first time, And maybe, I’m afraid it may be going on, you know, a little too what we call it, overhead. Or over the head, or whatever. So maybe I’m sort of in a bit of a “thing”. And um, but still I don’t know when I’m, when I will talk again about this mind so much. So I’d like to whatever it may be, I’d like to do a little bit more.

So now, going to touch a little bit. And we talked that mind, and then the continuation of the mind. The continu... the mind continuation is considered very, almost permanent. Permanent. I mean there is, as I say, according to the Buddha, there is no beginning and there is no ending. When there is no beginning and no ending, not a beginning, not having ending is talking about mind.

And person, being. When they are talking about beings doesn’t have a beginning or doesn’t have an ending, which really means the mind, there’s a nothing beginning and nothing ending, so therefore it is quite stable we should say. Always there.

That doesn’t mean it cannot develop or it doesn’t, it cannot go back. The continuation remains continue all the time. No one can cut the continuation of the mind. No matter, you know, whatever. Even the atomic bomb or no matter whatever is thrown, the continuation of the mind cannot be cut. According to Buddha.

And such a mind is not only with the human beings and it is with every beings, even including, even those little insects and mosquitos also.

And so, again Dharmakirti says [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

Well, I may not have to tell you this. That’s OK. It’s the same thing what I said earlier, the verse is almost say same thing.

So, at this level, at this Dharmakirti, at this level, [Kesab je?], Tsongkapa’s disciple, [unintelligible] one of them said, they said “the love, the mental aspects of love is stable. Give the reason why it is stable. Because it is in the nature of mind itself.” So Kesab Je says: “love can constantly increase. Compassion can constantly increase and fully develop because it is in the nature of mind.”

Shantideva adds up on that. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

When you learned there’s no single thing which is not easy for you. Remember? The compassion can be very easy for some people and I talked Arya deva has no hesitation to give away one eye of his. It is for him, it’s easier.

OK. That’s are the, not only mind continuation is most stable and love/compassion, etc. There’s a lot of them, I’m just going to skip it. Love/compassion, etc. can fully develop because it is in the nature of the mind itself.

Then, another point I would like to make is, the mind is also the most powerful one. Almost bullying one too. There’s no, there is no power or bully than that of mind. Both body and speech are completely controlled by mind. It is the bully-guy within us.

And also, not only that, every living beings, every person is also completely controlled by his mind. There is not a single person who is not controlled by mind. And, there may be some, one or two, who is not controlled by mind. Then they go crazy. Cuckoo. Not that type of cuckoo, but, you know, really crazy. You know we call some people cuckoo, with the affectionate way. Not that type of cuckoo I’m talking about. Really cuckoo I’m talking, you know.

And Shantideva says, you know I just read this verse in the last couple of weeks. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

Our mind doesn’t have any weapons, particularly negative mind, doesn’t have any weapons . And there are not even hand, or leg, but that maybe the [unintelligible] that’s what Shantideva said, it is true.

So, maybe I’m becoming too detailed here. Shantideva continues. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan] As long as you don’t tamed you mind and let your mind be controlled, influenced by our addictions. You know “taming mind” here means taking away from the addictions we have. [Rimpoche recites Tibetan] If you cannot tame that, we will never experience peace, we will not have joy or happiness. Worse, sometimes you can’t even sleep.

Nagarjuna advise(s) us [Rimpoche recites Tibetan]

“Even there’s a fire cake on your hair or on your dresses, forget about putting that fire out, but try not to have reincarnation. You will achieve much better.” Can you hear me? You don’t hear. OK. Marilyn says no she couldn’t get it.

In other words Nagarjuna says you cannot afford to have time to put out the fire on your hair. Best thing to try to not have reincarnation. Not because you are going to die with fire, so then try to not have reincarnation, but you don’t have time to do anything else except try to not have reincarnation. That is great achievement.

OK, now what is reincarnation. Oh...I’m not touching, I’m not visiting that OK. I’m not visiting that. That’s my culture, I’m not here to sell my culture. Caught myself. I’m joking, I’ll touch that tomorrow. [laughter] You know why? I see it is quarter to nine. So I probably, today I’ll go with the [stokes? Person with questions] first.

Question: Rimpoche, how does the addiction inhabit my mind so that I take illusion as reality?

Rimpoche: I think it is interesting and good question. You know, I used to like sweet. Tremendously. I, I’m sure many of you heard as a kid I used to chew the rock candies all the time and even fall asleep with a big piece of rock candy in the mouth and drip completely and “stuck” my face against the blanket. In the morning you have to pull it because it is stuck so badly. And things doesn’t stop there. [laughter]

And then I like the sweet with the sort of chewy, doughy type of sweet. I really sort of like tremendously. I almost live on that when I’m in India. Lot. Lot, lot, lot. And even when I get here early in the late eighties, eighty-six, eighty-seven. Eighty-seven in Cleveland, when I worked with Dr. Goldstein on the Tibetan history.

And um, I used to every day, from his office, I used to go to the little Italy and have a cup of coffee after work, and buy Amy-Joy’s doughnuts and ate twelve of them over there, and, doesn’t stop there. [laughter] I buy twelve more and take to the [Chindella’s?] house and share with the late Mrs. [Uttal?]. She probably ate one or two. Again, rest of them I had.

So I cannot get away from this sweet. I had a tremendous addiction. And the consequences of that, certainly I became diabetic. I mean you gots to, there’s no way you cannot be diabetic, you know, really, because at that much sugar.

So the addiction to the sugar, even today I have extremely strong. Extremely strong. And then I know for sure I cannot have sugar, sugar or natural sweet even. It all becomes sugar. I also know all carbohydrates become sugar. But while I can stop eating the sugar but I still continuously enjoy carbohydrates, and of course, thank you, there’s nutrasweet. [laugh]

So, so, so I cannot get rid of you know liking the, the craving for the sweet, even though I can make up a strong mind and say I don’t want it. I can cut it. So I do, I manage to cut that. So I don’t eat sweet-sweet, sugar-sweet or even natural sweet, I try to cut. And I was also addicted for cigarette smoking for years, as I think many of you have heard.

When I had my late teen-age rebel against the Buddhadharma teachings, not really Buddhadharma teachings, but the culture which was sort of monastery-rule culture, which brought me up, so I think that was sort rebel for that. So in that I tried everything, everything that can corrupt you, wine, women and uh, huh? Song? [laughter]

I was not so much addicted to song! [laughter, applause]

You know, what I think I did was wine, women and intoxications, that including the cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking and all of those. And very heavy chain-smoker for decade. But when I tried to cut it, I had to cut it, and just cut it at that moment. And I don’t know, I don’t know, I never had a problem of withdrawal. And when I cut it, when I had to cut it, and I said “at this moment”.

One friend told me, finish that pack and then you can stop. I said “no” and then because of he said that and I said if I stop I have to stop now, not even going to finish this little cigarette I have in hand, I stop now. And that is one stop I managed after thirteen years of smoking heavy, you know almost thirty cigarettes a day. So it just went like this, and lucky enough.

The trick what I applied is, whenever you wanted to.. “oh this is not good for me but”, and I worked hard for two hours not to smoke. I just don’t want to blow that with one little puff. And then the hour goes longer. Two becomes four, four becomes six, eight, four, ten, twenty-four hours, two days, three days, week. So you just, it’s not worth of efforts you put for this time just to blow it one little puffing. So with that I managed.

Similar to the alcohol too, though I drink wine these days. That is after long, long gap of not drinking at all. So that’s OK. So, but, the addiction to the sweet is not easy to cut like that. You know, not at all. Cigarette’s fine. Alcohol’s fine. Everything. But sweet, it’s somehow, it’s really.. I mean I know I have to inject myself three times a day and uh, see it’s because of the sweet, but still the addiction hangs over.

Huh? [audience] Well, yeah but... [Laughter. audience response] whatever. So the question is...

Question: How does the addiction mechanism inhabit my mind so that I take illusion...?

Rimpoche: That’s it! And that’s why the, I have the illusion that sweet is something wonderful to experience, taste, sweet is really sweet. [Rimpoche laughs] That is how it’s effect to my mind. And that is example I give. That [unintelligible] we all know. Everybody will have the same problem if you’re addicted to it. That’s the same problem.

That is the external material. Now, internal mental thoughts. I have much less control for the individual then even the external ones. So you can figure out how much it’s going to influence our minds. OK.

Question: What is the energy that flows in the left and right channels? Can you talk about what happens when they knot the central channel? What’s that “squeeze” concept?

Rimpoche: Squeeze is squeeze. OK. And I think this morning I talked about this. The [namye] and the [chingyu], the two other root energies travel through. Ah, I’m sorry. The upgoing air and balancing air are the two which really follows through the right and the left channel so that, so that, so that... Yeah. That travels through right and left channel, and squeezing is nothing more than that of, you know it’s really sort of hooking like this, and one goes, make circle round, right and left, both ways, so that’s why, that’s why it doesn’t travel through.

Though, the subtle energy, which becomes the basis of, of primordial type of mind, subtle mind is at the heart-chakra level of the central channel. However, all other energies cannot travel through the central channel.

So the idea is, the passage has to be shifted. The passage of the right and left channels are going to be shifted into the central channel, so that when you call, you know, even this, you know even in the some of the massage people will even tell you “I’m now going to open your central chakra or throat chakra” or all that.

But the idea of opening the central and all those chakras are, chakras are something good we even know even through, even those massage people will know. I don’t mean I’m looking down on them OK.

So. So what was the question?

Question: What is the energy that flows in the left and right channels?

Rimpoche: I think I did that, yeah.

Question: And then you explained what happens when they knot the central channel.

Rimpoche: When they knot?.... Central channel, it blocks the central channel actually. That’s exactly what it is. Make it a little simple

Question: Does analytical meditation develop clarity? And does concentrated meditation develop lucidity?

Rimpoche: I don’t know. I don’t know. Analytical meditation does develop clarity and as well as lucidity, both.

Ah, concentrated meditation, I don’t know whether it developed lucidity or not, but it make ah, stable, make very stable. Lucid means, you know, it’s more understanding and concentration makes you more stable. More solid.

Is that enough? Jim[?] shakes head. [laughter]

Jim: enough for me. [Rimpoche laughs]

Rimpoche: I don’t know whether the question, people really thought a lot behind those questions and we have to be careful. So, would you like to hone your question? Anybody? I don’t see. Maybe group leader would like to. Where, who? Oh, John, see, here you go.

John: It was actually sort of a group question.

Rimpoche: OK. Are you the group leader?

Answer: No.

Rimpoche: So, what do they have in mind anyway.

Answer: Well they were just thinking, you know, that the way, what do you call it, just what the question said, and I don’t know, seemed like you answered it.

Rimpoche: OK. So I should say clearly, the concentrated meditation does not really develop lucidity, or clarity either. It does develop, it’s sort of a big, good training, training to be stable. You can remain focused solidly.

Answer: We were thinking that lucidity was related to the stability, duration, being able to hold the image longer, was related to that.

Rimpoche: Lucidity?

Answer: Yeah.

Rimpoche: Does the language express that? Huh? Holding, did you say?

Answer: Yeah, also you mentioned holding.

Rimpoche: that’s the lucidity?

Answer: Holding and duration and stability were all sort of related so we though well maybe that’s.

Rimpoche: I mean the word you used, lucidity. And to me lucidity means mind that is clean, crystal-like you know, crispy.

Answer: Well then, what’s the difference between that and clarity?

Rimpoche: Ah, I think I explained three times this morning, remember? So, [Laughs] three ways of looking at clarity, you know? Yeah. [responding to question]

[audience, unintelligible]

There may be question there, you know?

[audience, unintelligible]

Concentration can bring joy. Yes. I don’t know whether it’s called bliss or not. It can bring joy. Ok? Thank you.

Question: Rimpoche, what is traveling I?

Rimpoche: Um, the primordial mind. Thank you.

Question: It’s e-y-e, traveling eye.

Rimpoche: Eye? Oh, [laughter]

I don’t know, what is it? Maybe the third eye?

[interaction with audience]

Oh, yeah, yeah, why do you call that traveling?

[interaction, laughter]

I don’t know what I [unintelligible], I’m sorry.

There’s supposed to be something, what do we call it, inner pure form. I don’t know whether that travels. Inner pure form for ear, nose and eye, all together, remains inside somewhere. And these are the, are the immediate causes for perceiving those, you know, I told you this morning, three causes.

So there’s one cause called immediate cause and these do the immediate causes of perceiving. So, it is some kind of internal thing. I don’t know exactly what it is.

OK. Let the traveling eye go.

Question: What is the definition of space, and [in] what context are you referring to space as permanent?

Rimpoche: What is that?

Question: ...space..

Rimpoche: Definition of what?

Question: space

Rimpoche: Well, I think I talked last night. I talked about it yesterday, three or four times.

Question: There’s a second part of the question, which is, in what context are you referring to space as permanent, because doesn’t permanent imply static?

Rimpoche: Ahh, permanent implies for what? Static, yes. Yeah, nobody created space. Space is there. Space is always there, it’s not created.

Ah, this morning I needed an example of permanent, so the normal examples used in the dialectical teachings are, cannot be [phrased] in twenty minute explanation, so I used space. And space is anyway, is permanent. Permanent anyway.

Question: Rimpoche, can you use different parts of different religions without losing their value? How do you know if Buddhism is the right path and at what point do we develop faith for what we cannot grasp?

Rimpoche: This is very important question. Very important question.

Depends how you look at what you are. If you are very orthodox person, then everything is not right except your own. And if you are open-mind liberal, and liberal, everything should be OK, particularly, like you know really, those great religious tradition, whether it is eastern or western or whatever, they should all, they all should be able to deliver the goods.

And why Buddhism is right, I don’t know whether Buddhism is right for you or no, but I do know that Buddhism is right for me. And there is a, there is a lot of reasons.

A number one reason is I see Buddha is a reliable person. The reasons why I see Buddha as a reliable person is not because he is Buddha. But his statements, whether it is made, it’s all made in 2600 years, however it is absolutely relevant and true in our life every day today. And the more we deal with our life, then it is more true.

So that’s why, because his statement is reliable, therefore I see him as reliable. Not because he is Buddha so his word must be right. I don’t go for that. I go other way around. The words are reliable. It has been proven, it proved to myself for a number of times, almost every day. And it happens to so many others.

Because the words are reliable, the person is reliable. That’s why. That’s how I see it.

And then there’s a third part of the question, what is it?

Question: At what point do we develop faith in what we cannot grasp?

Rimpoche: At what point do we develop faith? That is very important. When you use the reasons that convince you this is right, no matter even you deny, even you try to ignore, it pops up in front of you. When that is happening you are getting close to developing faith.

But talking about faith, for me, I do not entertain the blind faith. By not entertaining the blind faith. You know, I made a statement earlier, I’m confident people in Jewel Heart will have, will have no problem such as Jim Jones and all that type. And that because we just don’t buy because some bigshot says so.

So we only buy because it makes sense, it does not contradict with the absolute. I don’t mean absolute / relative in that sense, but in the real things happening, it doesn’t contradict. In other words there is no reliable mind it can really contradict these points, and therefore they are reliable.

So then, the faith which is developed is what I call intelligent faith. It’s not just blind faith. It is faith, it is intelligent faith.

So there is no time limit, there is no state limit. There is no age limit, there is no “any” limit. It is individual who is really convinced, with a solid reason, not just, not just I “feel” it, or I’m sure it’s right. They are just valueless. Valueless.

“I feel this is great.” Many tells me, what can I tell, thank you. But in my mind of mind I say do you really understand or do you simply “feel good”. And if you “feel good” you are fine today, you’ll be shaky tomorrow.

So, so, so it really has to be solid reason. You know that’s the reason why I’ve been quoting a lot of them here, and also giving you the ideas, and giving you some kind of logical system how you look, and all of them because of that.

Did that answer that question? [stote?] don’t move his head at all. I think he’s afraid of the shining light. [laughter] Don’t bend down, you shouldn’t bend down.

Question: How does karma travel with the subtle mind from death to birth?

Rimpoche: Karma doesn’t travel. Imprint of karma travels. It is like a person carrying I.O.U. When you carry I.O.U. you have nothing packaged to carry with you. So just like that.

So call it imprint. Though, imprint also sounds like “stamped” something. You know, maybe we’re “stamped” somewhere, but what you really carry is I.O.U. thing. So karma itself doesn’t travel. Karma disconnected with traveling person.

Actually karma, the moment you created any individual karma, it goes to sleep until it awakens, with the terms and conditions. So it just pops up there. So it doesn’t travel.

Question: Shortly after my mother took her last breath, a cloud-like element rose out of the top of her head. What might that be?

Rimpoche: Cloud-like?

Questioner: element.

Rimpoche: Element. Could be transit of consciousness. Could be.

But if you have a transiting [of] the consciousness from the crown it’s also considered good sign. Good sign, because basically when you are going out, if you are transiting out from your upper part of the body, it is sort of sign, if you believe in reincarnation... I shouldn’t say “believe in reincarnation”, that’s sort of one of the signs of having good reincarnation. So could be that.

So? Is that the question, only that, right?

Questioner: there’s one more, then Rochelle.

In the past you have described gross, subtle and very subtle minds. Are the types of air or lung you described today subtle or gross body or mind?

Rimpoche: Body of mind did you say?

Questioner: Body “or” mind.

Rimpoche: Yeah, did I? I think we talked the whole day on that. So? So?

Questioner: The question, are the types of lung you described today subtle or gross, body or mind?

Rimpoche: Probably at this stage. But if you develop further more, at the developed stage, and then the subtle consciousness and subtle body and... we may be talking completely different level, something else.

Even whatever we talk, different level, or even this level, the subtle, primordial subtle type of mind, is that mind which will be very subtle level what we call it clear light, or even, yeah, clear light, or the, and that will be.

So. That probably what it is.

OK. Thank you Stokes. It goes to Rochelle.

Rochelle: Rimpoche, the question is, does consciousness arise from the primoridal mind, or does it arise...

Rimpoche: Consciousness of “I” or “eye”?

Rochelle: No, does consciousness from the primordial mind, or does it rise separately and then become associated with the primordial mind.

Rimpoche: Well I think I tried, I thought I made it very clear this morning. From the subtle consciousness grows the, grows consciousness and so forth, as well as the mind, as well as the energy, and everything, and what really comes in is only the subtle energy and subtle consciousness.

I thought I made it clear this morning, and if I did not make it I’m sorry.

Rochelle: the second question, do the primordial mind and the gross mind communicate with each other?

Rimpoche: I don’t it is two separate. It is one comes out of one. They may be separate identity.

Primordial mind we will not normally encounter much. So therefore, I don’t know how much they communicate.

Rochelle: That question has a second part and then there’s another part that refers directly to what you just said. The second part of their question is does the primordial mind influence the gross mind?

Rimpoche: Yes, since it comes from there.

Rochelle: Then this question is if one encounters with their primordial mind, is this the gross mind encountering primordial mind, or is this the primordial mind perceiving itself? If it is primordial mind recognizing itself, how is that gross consciousness, how is it that that gross consciousness retains a memory of that encounter?

Rimpoche: Gross consciousness does not retain memory of that encounter. We use the word “encounter”. Maybe it is the wrong word. What happens is, like water in the water. water in the water is the example. Milk in the milk, water in the water. Not water in the milk or milk in the water. [Rimpoche laughs]

Rochelle: Do the holding consciousness and the perceiving consciousness apply to both subtle and gross mind?

Rimpoche: I don’t know if it applies to subtle mind. We’re talking about gross mind. Subtle mind should also have to have it because definition of the, definition of the mind itself if clear lucid and clear here, we’re talking about two points, and you know of perceiving and perceiver, holding so, it’s got to apply because [it’s] the definition.

Rochelle: So then the question do they occur simultaneously or do they necessarily occur in sequence?

Rimpoche: Actually they do occur in sequence, but perceiving, projection, acknowledging all comes one after another. But it happens so fast, we will not be able to tell. But actually, that much, mind is also changing at the same time.

So that’s the reason why one of the causes of developing that mind is mind immediately before the acknowledging. So that’s why it happens sequentially. I don’t think it happens simultaneously unless you’re enlightened. Maybe that’s the difference between the enlightened and unenlightened. One of the differences.

Rochelle: You explained at the very end of today’s morning teachings, you explained “temporary gross mind” comes from three conditions: outer physical, inner mind, and inner lucid ball. Could you expand a little on the last two?

Rimpoche: Um, lucid ball we already talked, and um, mind immediately, when you see a form outside, the seeing mind of that will leave imprint to the next switching mind, so the next mind is becoming the same mind and mind immediately before that direct, whatever we call it [Tibetan], immediate condition.

Rochelle: That’s it Rimpoche.

Rimpoche: Thank you. So thank you so much, and I’m glad it is, and OK, so I guess that’s it and so thank you so much for everybody and have a very good night’s sleep and see you tomorrow.

[Tsongkapa mantra]