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20051210GRMLLLR31

And earlier there’s one big question that we didn’t deal with yet and when thinking about that question, it is a very important and it touched everybody and everybody had that issue. If I remember correctly, when the person had difficulty in life, because of that, the concerned person may not be so compassionate. May be true, may be not true. So what’s happening is person cannot disappear, the love and compassion in his root, in his mind, in his or her heart. But so much hardship during their lifetime they took. So it looks like everything is not right and so angry and so fed up but sometimes it's also due to certain disease and they manifest in that way as well. So we have to be quite careful. Whatever it might be, whether the person is upset or not upset, by the time you reach that much age, by the time you went through that much difficulties throughout the life, there’s bound to be some bitterness in there, some upset is definitely there.

And I think as a matter of fact, it’s right of the individual to be able to be upset a little bit too because that person is almost losing everything that you worked for throughout your life, you’re losing everything. You’re losing your environment, you’re losing your wealth, you’re losing your companion, you’re losing your children, you’re losing your every existence. So therefore, there is bound to be a little upset too. So what we require is- it’s not the requirement we have to change the person’s mind. Yes, if you can bring love and compassion, it’s wonderful. But even if you cannot bring love and compassion, it’s not the requirement. I think the responsibility of those loved ones near is to try to maintain and keep her happy as much as possible, whatever you could, whatever makes that individual person happy, food-wise, clothes-wise, conducting life. You should not allow or be instrumented to engage some kind of funny- some people want revenge of something. In that case, I don’t think it’s a good idea to engage.

Other than that, just a few little things here and there, moving, changing, moving address, going somewhere else, changing doctors, whatever makes the person happy. So instead of telling no, it is the time to let her be happy. That’s my opinion. Yes, to bring Buddhism is very important, good for her no doubt, but if the person doesn’t want it, the person definitely has a right to choose what is good for him or her rather than we impose our will, our knowledge, telling ‘That is good for you and that is not good for you’ unless the person is completely in senile. Other than that, I think bringing reduction of anger, reduction of hatred, not by giving a lecture but by providing the atmosphere. This is our part, that’s what we can do. By reducing hatred, by reducing anger, you’re already helping that person tremendously, even though you don’t want to do it. You are making little sacrifices. These are hard sacrifices. However, it goes a long way. 0:06:49.2 Chinese translation

Sometimes we think that’s right thing, we know better than they do and we impose our will on them and then they resist and that creates quarrel or disharmony. That happens with children too, we do that with children all the time and when children begin to grow up a little bit bigger then they start rebelling and having difficulties with dealing with children and we also do this with senior citizens and senior family members. That also creates additional pain, pain to those who are suffering, who are 0:10:37.7 [inaudible] and additional suffering to the active members of the family because they didn’t listen the way you wanted to and they also think ‘Who are you to tell me what to do, I brought you in this world, you didn’t bring me in this world’ and all of them happens and possible. So it’s very difficult but it is very wonderful the person is thinking about it and looking for how to help.

And it’s also very brave of that person to raise this question and it’s very wonderful and I think it will be- it definitely touched so many people but my thoughts and answers may or may not be the solution to help people but that’s just my thoughts. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak about it. This is something that everybody faces this problem, almost. Some people don’t, very lucky ones, but many do so it is not one person’s problem. It is a very common problem. It is a society problem. It is not only the Eastern society or Western society, it is everywhere we have this problem and I wish there is some kind of golden solution but not that I know. Thank you. 0:12:42.6 Chinese translation Ok, well we are going through the question and answer. Do you have any other questions, anybody would like to have any other questions and difficulties or want to make statements? Go ahead.

Audience: Rimpoche, I would like to ask you, since you’re leading us through a journey towards enlightenment, what is the difference between nirvana and pure land?

Rimpoche: Pure land and nirvana. I think I did explain the nirvana the other day. Sort of clearly talking to you nirvana is higher than pure land. Status of the nirvana is actually person who born in nirvana are free of samsara because nirvana and samsara. Circle of life, delusional control, ego control, negative emotions direct influence. All of them pacified and therefore, it’s called nirvana. The idea of pure land is a bodhisattva idea. So from the standard idea point of view, it is more important, more higher status than that of nirvana. However, the person who are in nirvana should be considered more senior and matured in the spiritual field. However, Pure land may have better priority over the nirvana people because- in Buddhism there are two categories of ultimate yana, you call it.

Yana is vehicle. Ultimate vehicle is with one vehicle or three vehicles. There are early Buddhist school who say all three vehicles and all three of them sort of equal. Then there are later Buddhist schools, later in the sense not time-wise I mean in the Buddhism the ideas are presented in the lower level first then contradicting that and presented higher level ideas. Later means later presentation in the text is what we see today. So this later presentations will say the ultimate yana is only one yana and that is Buddha yana. The whole purpose of Buddhism is to bring everybody to the Buddha level and mission of the bodhisattvas are to bring everybody to the level of the Buddha. So according to that, pure land may be, from the purification point of view they may be superior than the younger junior bodhisattvas. However, from the point of their 0:19:20.8 [inaudible- path? Father?] and their result point of view, they’re considered more advanced than arhats.

So I give you both answers but on the whole, the bottomline will be yes, nirvana and pure land are two separate we are talking about. It is apples and oranges. And so when we are talking about nirvana, we are talking about non-samsaric, free from samsara of a low yana such as 0:20:07.7 sharvagayana or parchikayana buddhas or arhats are the nirvana. They are totally free of the pain of samsara however, they have not accomplished, completed purpose of themself or others and therefore, for opportunity-wise, pure land has much more opportunity than being arhat. These are the two different things. When we are talking about the pure land we are talking about the land, we are talking about area, we are talking about actual land, actual mandala we’re talking about it. When we’re talking about arhat, we’re not talking anything about environment, we are talking about inhabitants only. So I guess these are the differences, I don’t know whether that makes any sense to you or I just made a lot of blah-blahs I don’t know. 0:21:27.4 Chinese translation You have more questions, continue.

Audience: Let’s say, if we’re still living, can we still reach the level of nirvana?

Rimpoche: I don’t know. Mahayana Buddhism says you can become a Buddha in this life. The Theravadan tradition says you can become nirvana perhaps- I’m not sure, I don’t know what they say, but probably you have to be at the time of death or during that period because you can become nirvana but you have leftover and without leftover. Leftover means the physical body leftover and all that so that’s the thing. So I don't have a straightforward answer yes, no and if I said that, I may be wrong so that’s why I have to give you a lukewarm answer. [Laughter] 0:25:25.0 Chinese translation Lady here, you go ahead.

Audience: Rimpoche, the question in connection with what was asked before. How does one attain pure land?

Rimpoche: How does one attain pure land? Do you know there’s a lot of pujas that you do, prayers you do to obtain pure land? Certain amount of virtues that we accumulate and sometimes even special virtues and those virtues or even not special, not very specific just general virtuous actions, any virtue. If you dedicate that virtue to reborn yourself in the pure land, that is for sure way of causing you to take reborn in the pure land. 0:27:51.2 Chinese translation Another point is at the time of the death, that you are connected with let’s say bodhisattvas because this is Mahayana path, connected with bodhisattvas, especially those of eight bodhisattvas who are with Buddha at the time when this Buddha was in life and giving teachings.

Those bodhisattvas are like you know Manjushri, Maitreya, the essence of Earth, the essence of sky, 0:29:11.7 Vajrapani… now I forgot…. Na ya cha… those are called eight close bodhisattvas, bodhisattvas who have maintained close relationship with Buddha and so what we do is we pray one of those bodhisattvas lead us to a pure land and way and how you reborn in pure land is not- the birth in pure land is not supposed to be birth giving by womb and it is born out of lotus and there are divisions of lotus born and womb born and heat born, all this sort of four, five different divisions but this is supposed to be lotus born so I guess these are the causes how you take rebirth in there. 0:30:50.7 Chinese translation

It is interesting you know, the background of Chinese culture. You can name those bodhisattvas it means something and if you’re talking to the large Western audience, you keep on name this bodhisattvas and it doesn't mean anything and looks like counting some Tibetan guys, you know, it’s almost the same, culture makes a difference. 0:32:01.1 Chinese translation Ok any other questions? You can follow up.

Audience: One knows the importance of guru devotion but just could not see the guru and Buddha as one which means could not merge. What is lacking in one?

Rimpoche: Thank you. Time, devotion and purification and maybe faith. That probably is the answer. Merging is not an easy thing. That’s why we are working for guru devotional practice but we are not perfected yet. That is exactly what that question shows. As I told you that yesterday, the sign of development of perfection of guru devotional practice is not the sign of doing guru-devotional practice, it’s perfection of guru devotional practice and I think it makes a lot of difference and I think it makes sense. 0:34:22.7 Chinese translation Any other questions?

Audience: Rimpoche, I would like to find out what does the additional eyes mean here on this poster. There is a third eye and there are both eyes on the palm and also on the feet.

Rimpoche: Oh, you’re talking about Tara. The additional eyes to watch on you. [Laughter] Well why don’t you wait this until- if I understand correctly, it is Friday. That means today is Wednesday, right? Ok, so let’s do that on Friday and Saturday, let’s not do that today, if you don’t mind. Thank you. If there’s no other questions, I’d like to do something else. But I do want to give you total opportunity because I do want everybody to be able to express whatever you want to express and because sometimes we can’t give you time during the first two days. The subject what we’re supposed to talk about is quite intense so there’s no time to give you a thing. And the journey to the enlightenment, I thought it’s ending today so I push-