Archive Result

20051210GRMLLLR10

Are you prepared to be here today and talk about whatever, introduction to Buddhism- good life, good death? Are we?

Audience: Yes. 0:00:21.3 Chinese translation

Rimpoche: Thank you. Now, I’m not very sure whether the ‘Good Life, Good Death’ is a good introduction to Buddhism or not but with the idea- when I wrote that book, I wrote this book is definitely inspired by the principles of the Buddhist ideas and Buddha’s ideas and I’m not very sure whether the book itself is good introduction to Buddhism or not, that was not intention of writing this book anyway. 0:01:38.8 Chinese translation It is interesting, you know, when I’m looking at it, most of you speak English, there may be one or two who needed Mandarin translation. However, you know, what happens is when you have the translation, people may think ‘Well, this is redundant and not important as the information’. However, we also find it is very useful for a person to reconfirm twice what you have heard as well as time to adjust and think that. This is what I noticed when His Holiness the Dalai Lama was giving teaching, he gave half in English and half in Tibetan as you all know. Then it was retranslated into English. So it gives an opportunity for me to think twice and remind myself and reconfirm so I hope you’ll be using that opportunity as well. 0:03:37.1 Chinese translation And it also gives me opportunity, sometimes if I want to take some notes, it gives time to write too. Chinese translation

Now, I said earlier whether this ‘Good Life, Good Death’ is really a good introduction to Buddhism or not, I think that you have to make the judgment. It’s definitely ideas and everything coming out of a Buddhist background because that’s the only thing I know for 60 years, 65 years of my life. That’s only I know so that’s where it comes from. However, when I putting the focus, I did not focus on really introducing Buddhism so that’s why I’m seeing whether it is right or wrong but definitely essence of the Buddha’s teaching, no doubt about it. 0:05:47.8 Chinese translation And since this workshop has been advertised, announced as ‘Introduction to Buddhism- Good Life, Good Death’, so I sort of really thought I need to talk to you a little bit about introduction to Buddhism because way the announcement is already made. Chinese translation

To introduce Buddhism is the most difficult thing, absolutely difficult because it is very, very profound thing in there. It’s not in the simple, straight way, it is very, very hard to introduce. It’s very profound as you all know, and not just simple. You know, people would like to have the simplified Buddhism, just the simple little thing, ‘Hey, go and worship’, or just say prayers and do this and do that, just very little simple things people wanted. However, Buddhism is such a profound and it’s very, very hard to put in that way so I mean, as you all know. There’s the historical aspects of the Buddhism, there is the essence aspects of the Buddhism, there is a schools of thoughts aspects of the Buddhism and there’s traditions of Buddhism, there’s all kind of things in there. 0:08:38.2 Chinese translation

And also there is the Theravadan Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism and all kinds of different schools are also there. Chinese translation And also there’s the yellow monks, grey monks, red monks, you know, all the things we see all the time anyway. Chinese translation But bottomline, when you look through, what really goes through, you know, goes beyond, cuts through this boundary of the boxes what we call it. You know, a little square box called ‘Theravadan’ and another square box called ‘Mahayana’ and that also, Chinese Mahayana and just general Mahayana. And then there’s the Vajrayana and the Tibetan Vajrayana and all of them if you look through, what really goes through, what is the deepest bottomline in the Buddhism? What it really is? It is nothing but Buddha’s own statement. The first and the last and all the statements of the Buddha is really based on nothing but four noble truths. 0:11:21.1 Chinese translation

These four noble truths is the real situation of our life and I don’t want to talk to you how holy it is, how great it is, you know, I don’t want to touch that line. I really want to talk to you how relevant it is in our life and what is it. So when you’re looking at it, our life really is sort of totally the four noble truths. It’s basically what it is and that also divided into two: the positive aspects of our life and the negative aspects of our life. The first two, the noble truth of suffering and noble truth of cause of suffering, is the negative aspects of our life and the third truth, truth of cessation, and fourth truth, truth that leads to the cessation, these are the positive aspects and positively how we move and where do we go, what do we get. These are the two last noble truths and the first two truths are where we come from, what are we, so that is exactly how four noble truths deals with this if you cut out that holy business out and get to the bottom of the line, that’s what it is. 0:13:55.3 Chinese translation

And this is nothing but the discovery of Buddha himself and you hear lot of Buddhist teachers, especially where we come from, the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and that of great Tsongkhapa’s traditions, so you’ll hear all the time ‘Buddhism is nothing than that of Buddha’s personal experience and development’ so here, the four noble truth will tell you exactly how it is. Here’s why. 0:15:51.7 Chinese translation If you remember last night, I briefly talked to you during the question and answer period. I said- it’s very interesting last night, that young lady who asked the question ‘How can Buddha be compassionate when he abandoned his family, his wife and kids?’. I mean it’s a very good question and very thoughtful. It is wonderful so when she raised that question, I did say- I didn’t give the usual, official line answer you know, I did not and that’s not relevant. Usual, official line answer is well family is samsara and blah, blah blah and that I didn’t use that.

And you know, when you’re really looking at it, you know what this little young prince and who are locked in a palace with an artificial life, I mean virtually artificial life. Tremendous amount of suffering outside the boundaries of the palace and however, inside there it is so beautiful. You know, when Indians built a palace, they know how to build, really. Look at the Taj Mahal, I mean there are a lot of those. Really, they know how to build. So mind you, they built this beautiful palace which has the running freshwater, swimming pool inside the room and all that and plus music is going on, all of this.

Poor little boy was made and have a completely artificial life, locked in that palace. All he sees is the young and beautiful only and doesn’t even know what’s going on, he’s wondering what is out there. Like last night I told you Allen Ginsberg used to say ‘Always wondering what is behind the tree at the back of my house when I was 11 or 10 or something I walked around and I found a glue factory’. Just like that, this young little prince is wondering what is out there and then found suffering and that is discovery of suffering for that boy.