Archive Result

Soundfile 20061109GRNY

Speaker Gelek Rimpoche

Location Gelek Rinpoche

Topic

Transcriber Michiel Kerkkamp

Date 10-08-2022

0:00:00.0 Needles to do, our spiritual need will be there. The number one, if you started counting (from) backwards. It will be the number one project if you count backwards, it means the last one when you count straight. So that is what we do. That is not an excuse. But really, when you can’t do anything, can’t help it and then you have to turn to somebody, so who do you turn (to). And various traditions will give you a lot of ways to whom you can turn. I mean really, lot of them give you a lot of things. I mean, everything is right, I mean whoever you, I mean not a cancer, everything is right. And there are people who tell you; if you worship the tree, it will be ok, if you worship the water, it is ok and that may be true to a sudden extend but how much a tree can really help you? That is different. Maybe the spirit within the tree may be able to help you to a certain extent, that is a difference. So, but beyond you are that, if you really go of any (?) tradition: Judea-Christian, Hindu-Buddhist, wherever you look, they may have someone there to, to take refuge or to seek help or to get some guidance, blessing whatever. It is there. And if you are seeking a guidance, blessing from the enlightened beings, no matter whatever tradition it may be, as long as they are totally enlightened and that will be perfectly ok.

0:02:32.3 But I have to talk to you from the Buddhist point of view because that’s all only I know. So that’s only I know. So, from the Buddhist point of view, Buddha recommends Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Sort of three refuges. So it is easy to say: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Also it is nice to chant: "I take refuge in Buddha, in Dharma, in Sangha” or whatever: "Namo Buddhaya, namo Dharmaya, namo Sangaya.” Or you want to say: .......... (?). Whatever you say, it doesn’t, I mean it does matter but. But the most important thing is, even taking refuge: let’s say, we say taking refuge in Buddha. ok now, who is that Buddha, who is that? What it is? How can that one help me? And these are (this is) the most important thing first. It is one thing to have sort of a blessing and goes down and get blessing and go home, that is one thing. And taking refuge is another thing. That’s why I am saying, it’s not so simple, as we take it so lightly. It’s not.

0:04:05.4 Before we even take refuge, to whom we are taking refuge? Who is that Buddha we are talking about? Are we talking about that historical Buddha, that Buddha that came 2600 years ago who was a prince of India. Is that the one you are talking about? Or which Buddha you are talking about: the medicine Buddha, the Tara, the, you know, all the lineage Buddhas, who are you talking about? And how does that help me? These are the questions one has to deal with that people. Buddhism recommends Buddha, the historical Buddha is the representing (of) enlightenment, it is the representation, it really represents. When you say Buddha, some kind of picture, image, something you have to have it so to represent that, we talk about the historical Buddha. By taking refuge to historical Buddha, it is interesting: historical Buddha is historical Buddha. Honestly speaking, if you are thinking today and you say: well historical Buddha, the Buddha Shakyamuni who was in India. To be honest with you, that Buddha died 2600 years ago. We can’t say it’s not there today but is very hard to say it is there today, here today.

0:06:13.1 So truly, what it is? What is that? So Buddha himself gave us an interesting answer here. He says: Buddha is like a doctor who can look at you, observe (at) you and give you a diagnosis what is wrong, what you are suffering from. And the actual cure of pain, you know, curing the pain and suffering is the Dharma. Dharma is the actual refuge and Buddha is like a doctor. Dharma (is like) the medicine and Sanga helps us. Brother, nurse all that, whatever. So it is almost like going to see a doctor, see a doctor: hey, I got a pain here, I got a pain there, I am sick, I’m this, I'm that, what can you do? What do you think is wrong with me? So that doctor will check nowadays you know: check your blood, check your blood pressure and check your urine and what else, you know. And if they can tell you one straightforward, they will give you medicine. If not, they will do all kind of tasks and they will put you through an MRI and all of those and finally they give you a medicine. So whatever they do, whether they feel your pulse or whether they check your blood pressure or whatever they do: the actual cure or antidote of the actual suffering or pain is the medicine they give you. Or surgery they give you. The real treatment, the real thing is the medicine: that helps. Not a doctor. Just looking at the doctor if you are going to get it, collect all the best doctors in the world and put them in a museum and everybody can go and look at the doctor whenever they say, you know, it don’t (doesn’t)work.

0:09:10.0 And we do the same thing with the image of the Buddha in the temples and the monasteries and everybody goes and see them. It’s almost like they get those living doctors in the museum and doctors that gone out of the world and put them in .... (?). And then we all go and see, that doesn’t help. So the real refuge comes to (from) the Dharma itself. It’s like, you know I am going to see a doctor, you know and: ooh my god, I have a horrible headache or you know toothache or something and go and see and go and see and go and see the right doctor, right? So the dentist (says)"ahh my god, you have an abscess and you got to do this and that and that and just like that. So you are going to see Buddha or Buddha representing. Or going to see, here I got a terrible unhappiness or misery or this and that; what can I do? Ohh, you are sick with a disease called obsession or you’re sick with a disease called hatred or you are sick with your ego. And that is how they diagnose you and so if you want a cure you have to do this and that. These are the actual antidotes or medicines you can take it. And that becomes the Dharma.

0:10:52.9 So the actuals deeds, whatever is really helping is whatever we do. Dharma makes a difference. Buddha doesn’t make that much difference. Gives you a diagnosis and that is that. And in our cases, the diagnosis is already been given by Buddha. All these teachings of the Buddha, collected the works of the ....(?) and ... (?) and all those collected teachings, they are already giving the diagnosis. It’s almost like it worked out very well. So your manner of looking at it and seeing it and what is wrong with ourself. Whatever it may be: whether you may have a disease called obsession or disease called hatred. Whatever it may be, it is totally, it comes from, it is root: ego, ignorance, confusion combined together. What do we call that? Ego, and that is the illness what we have. Everything else is the symptom, everything else is the symptom of that ego. So even you taking refuge is seeking protection. Protection from what? From those pains and illnesses that we get. The whole reason why we take refuge is because we don’t like it what we are, how it is happening. What is happening now, I don’t like it. I want a difference. I want to make a difference. I want to help myself. I want to be free of those pains that I am experiencing; how can I get it?

0:13:19.3 And that is the question. And now I have to go back and tell you why Buddha, why Buddhist recommend Buddha: buddhist recommend Buddha because ( talking to the audience: I thought you were completely lost, you can have a seat....). Why do they recommend the Buddha? Because Buddha has a quality. Without quality, you don’t worship anything or you don’t pray or take refuge to anything without knowing it has quality. Really, the quality. What kind of quality does Buddha have? Buddha has, number one, the most important quality, books will not emphasize. Books will go: mind quality, speech quality and physical quality. But (what is) the most important quality that Buddha had is experience. Experience that Buddha was just like one of us, one of us. Historical Buddha represents, I am telling you, it just represents because we need one figure to (have a) picture of or talk about it (?). But there are a lot of hundreds of thousands of Buddhas among ourselves. And each and every one of us has Buddha nature within ourself. These are our true Buddhas. ......short (?) Buddha nature, like a seed, seed. But wat is the quality of the Buddha, now we talk about the historical Buddha point of view, it’s just like us: simply normal usual human being with all its neurosis and addictions and pains and misery and they walked through with this, they walked through with this. Walks through with this and Buddha did not sit there and said; ohh I am miserable and have pain and so and so. What can I do? I can do nothing, I can’t help myself. Buddha just doesn’t sit in a corner and cry.

0:16:42.0 Or Buddha doesn’t sob, he went out of the (his) way, out of the way to find out: what can you do? I mean it is knowledge, knowledge that makes a difference, right? It is without knowledge, you can’t, you can’t really learn or do anything without knowledge. So the Buddha took first the knowledge and saying: how can I help myself? And that is not easy. If you look at the life story of the Buddha and (he) goes for six years without eating, they say a grain a day. I don’t know if you can really survive with a grain a day but almost no food, nothing. So much sacrifices and it went (on) for six years. And just sacrificing alone doesn’t help, he realized that. So then he has to eat again, honestly, honestly. So he walks through and found two things which is really working: that is wisdom and compassion. Wisdom and compassion are the two things that deals with all that where the pain come in from. Honestly, compassion, compassion for self and compassion for others. Traditional buddhist doesn’t (don’t) talk, doesn’t say about compassion to self. They say renouncing, renunciation. But the true idea is compassion to yourself. If you don’t have compassion to (for) yourself, you don’t care for yourself. And when you don’t care for yourself, how can you help? If you can’t help it, who else will help you? It is my job, my responsibility, it is me. So if I don’t do it, who else is going to do it?

0:19:26.5 So that is, that is the self-caring and that care becomes ... (?) self-compassion. Compassion is nothing than that of wishing to separate from the pain and the individual who is suffering. Whether it is focus towards yourself or focus towards others. So the compassion for all living beings begins with the compassion to ourself. And that compassion brings responsibility for the individual, responsibility. You know, one problem with the spiritual interested people, I have one big problem: at least, one had in the sixties: no responsibility. Everything is beautiful, wonderful, love light, you know, everything and no responsibility. And that doesn’t work. That is not spiritual, at all to me, at least what little I know. Spiritual people are absolutely responsible people. Have to be. Without it, I mean mind the goal of the spiritual person, especially that of a Mahayana (practioner) is to become a Buddha. How are you going to achieve that without being responsible? It is not possible even, you know. And freeing ourselves from pain, freeing others from pain: how are you going to achieve that without being responsible? No way! You can really say: No way, José. Honestly, that’s not possible at all: responsibility. Without ......(?) never work. No one even in the Buddhist history, at least that I know, no one has ever achieved Buddha level by being love and light. Never, ever. It’s never heard before, never there, never will be. So the responsibility is really important.

0:22:27.4 So responsibility means taking care of what you need to take care of. You may take responsibility to (for) certain things, you may not take responsibility to (for) certain events and that’s absolutely ok (talking to the audience). That is the responsibility. And that responsibility makes you to do something, to take care of, to work against that (those) strong forces. And what do you do becomes the Dharma. The antidote of negativities, negative emotions, because negative emotions give us pain and suffering. Positive emotions don’t give you that much pain and that much suffering. Though compassion may keep you (?). Anyway, the compassion begins with self and as we experience: helping ourself, as we experience that the suffering that we have and looking at others and realizing, recognizing having the same thing. As much as you pain, that much they will pain (?). .... (Tibetan). Take the example of hurting you own physically and see how much pain you feel. Accordingly, don’t hurt others. If you don’t know what does hurting others means when you hurt yourself, you feel it. And remember that and use that and say: so that much hurts me when I hurt myself so try not to hurt others because they will feel the same thing. So using the self-experience of recognizing the suffering and developing compassion, then try to develop it on the others.

0:25:26.6 So then you know how to help others and that is the real compassion. Then you need wisdom. Without wisdom, this is the Dharma ok. The Buddha Dharma, Dharma is this. And then you need the wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge and knowing. Knowing what to do. For example: we now at least told, we now know, at least we are told, ....... (?). We now know our pains, sufferings are coming from negative deeds. Negative deeds are the result of negative emotions. Negative emotions are products of ego. So the deeper source is going deep deep down is the ego. So how do we handle our ego? That is the wisdom Buddhas talking about. In addition to usual, whatever the wisdom but really the deeply, when we say wisdom and compassion: that wisdom is how to take care of that problem. That is the ego problem. For the recognizing. How does the ego come in? What is made of it (what is it made of?), where does it come from? Is it changeable or is it not changeable. Is it permanent or impermanent? If its impermanent, it is changeable. If its permanent you can’t change anything so you can do nothing, why bother? When you do something, can do something even when it is impermanent then you can do something. We know it is impermanent because it changes, we change our mood all the time. We change our physical look all the time. Day by day, year by year, month by month, more wrinkles. Every day, more ornaments like glasses, hearing aid or whatever: these are changes. Day by day we get them. When you are young, we don’t even think about it. When you become older, you know, you need glasses, you have to do this, you have to do that. And then they give you little glasses and still it is very good to have something to wear and make it see it, wonderful.

0:28:35.0 But there is always time and this will not even manage you know (?), people will get through to that point (?). Anyway, .... (?) clearly is impermanent, even look our mind, how many times we change our mind. How many moods we change, it is clearly impermanent. So if it is impermanent, it is changeable. The meaning of the impermanent means it is changeable. Who changes? Me, not you. I change me, you change yourself. Not me. I can’t change you, you can’t change me. And that’s why Buddha has to go and say: Dharma is medicine. So they have to give you that pill and you got to take it. If you don’t take it, the pill is not blessing, it doesn’t help. I mean, people, you know I did that to, you know: get the prescriptions and don’t go and buy the medicine. Leave the prescription here, it doesn’t help right? So that’s why the pill has to take it (be taken?). And like that, one has to work. And knew ( know) it is impermanent, it is changeable. You are the one who can change, for you only. No one else can. So then you know your wisdom will increase your compassion as well. Your wisdom will increase your own caring as well. They sort of complement each other. And that’s why wisdom and compassion work together. Anyway, so if all this are correct, if all of us suddenly, if I have to go tonight, or the next minute, it is a reality it happens unfortunately. Impermanent matter of this world is as such: someone is right here and the next minute it (he) is gone. Those who are (there) in the morning are not (there) in the afternoon. Those who are (there) in the evening, they are not there in the morning. That’s reality. So in case if that happens, what I have as a quick solution, what can I do? And that is what the refuge aims to do.

0:31:32.8 Again, this looks like a sort of vicious(?) circle anyway. So take refuge to Buddha because you have experience. So guide, help me. One day I'll tell you an additional thing here. Guide me, tell me, guide me and guiding you and taking and taking the help and all this, correcting ourself is one long thing. And that is not a quick solution either but one thing I can tell you: there is a lot of information in Buddhism they give you. Number one: acknowledge information. Every person, every individual person passed away. While the person is passing away, if the mind of the person itself is occupied and influenced by hatred, by obsession, by fear, then it's not that great. Because hatred brings hatred, obsession brings obsession, fear brings fear. That’s the reality. Even when we look at ourself, we are thinking about hatred and keep on thinking about how much I hate that person, how bad, how much I hate that person. Keep on thinking, you get more and more, you get more and more angry. Hatred brings hatred, obsession brings obsession. Keep on thinking you are obsessed with something and keep on thinking how many good qualities this and that: the color is so good, the age is nice and old and wonderful and shiny and there is no problem, no crack, nothing. I wonder how rare it is, what year it was made. Keep on building it up, your obsession will grow more and more.. It is true, I am talking about an object, something, some article whatever.

0:34:09.7 I learned the same thing (goes) for one human being to another: you can build obsession so easily. Fear brings fear so if your mind is occupied at the time of your dying, something like that thought becomes harmful to the person. I am talking with the background of reincarnation. I'm talking the next transition. So it is going to be bad because negative brings negative. That’s why Buddha tells buddhist followers: if you die, when you die, you are thinking about Buddha. If you keep on thinking about the Buddha and you are making the transition, at that moment, and you will have a goof future life. And that’s what Buddha says. Not because Buddha is so holy and Buddha can do, come there and switch your karmic things around but really the idea of the positiveness brings the positive.

0:35:41.9 Faith, I’m talking about intelligent faith. I'm not talking about blind faith. I'm taking about intelligent faith. Without intelligent faith, nothing can be developed actually. The faith is like a mother: mother can give birth to children. No matter how capable the father may be, you cannot give birth, nothing. No matter how many are there you know, you can’t. It is the mother is the one who gives birth so the faith is the source of the spiritual development. ......(Tibetan). I think it’s a sutra called da la la ... da la la ?(Tibetan) says it is like a mother who will give you the birth of spiritual development, that’s is intelligent faith. It’s a combination of thinking about the Buddha and a combination of having intelligent faith together, that goes together. When it goes together, thinking about that alone when the transition takes place. Alone, becomes short cut. An easy way of linking so that’s why refuge has been introduced. It is not a permanent solution. If you keep on praying, praying Buddha, I mean it is a good prayer. Praying (to) Buddha: make me enlightened. We do that, we say that, we do that but make me enlightened alone, saying alone, cannot. We have to put our own efforts (in). Remember, the true Buddha that we would like to take refuge (to) and link up is our own Buddha, the Buddha within ourself. Right now it is at seed level, incapable of functioning and it is our responsibility to make it function. And that is what we call our spiritual activities.

0:38:23.2 What makes it function is the Dharma and who helps to bring the Dharma within us is the Sangha, the community helps us. The true Sanga in traditional Buddhist teaching is more than four monks. Four full fletched (?). The total bow taking more than four monks. Although we now say, monks and nuns but honestly at that time. The time Buddha talked about, it is 2600 years ago, it is the male chauvinist society in India. It has it effects. If you truly start looking in the books, it will tell you more than four Buddhist monks. Why four? One may not be free of all faults. Sangha really means: role model. Help really means, it’s not, don’t think we use the word nurse sometimes so you may think it is some servant or something. Some assistant or servant or something, no. Sanga really means a role model. Sanga really means: one who can uplift you. Sangha quality, there are a lot of them: .......(Tibetan). Number one quality is honesty. Well behaved, well behaved. Well behaved means you are not controlled, influenced by negative emotions. Negative emotions doesn't (don't) overpower yourself. Hatred, obsession doesn’t (don’t) overpower yourself. And (being?) good with other people to. The quality of the sangha doesn’t mean that you can (close the) door and be like: I am a spiritual practitioner, I don’t care whatever you say. The person who gives a cold shoulder is against the Sangha quality. It means very nice and very gentle and always nice to talk to. And a good person to be able to take as an example. .... (Tibetan). Not a twisted personality. Some people are maybe nice but have twisted personality, you know. So you have to leave the person aside. You can’t do much because this person has a natural twisted personality. We find them a lot, even within the old monks in old Tibet. Some of them are very twisted so you have to leave them alone. So you can’t be really label them (?) there to. ...(Tibetan). It is a worth to (have an?) object where people can fold their hands and look at you. These are the Sanga qualities.

0:42:28.7 So more than four means three will at least overpower another’s fault and that’s why four. But here in the west, now Shanga’s are counted slightly different and there is sort of a system where every people (one) who takes refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, we call them Sangha's. I did not introduce that system. It was already in the west going on and so that how it is. The true Sangha, in tradition, is that. So because of these qualities, because of, I mean, ultimately it is the Dharma itself. Because of this Dharma and that’s why Buddha, Dharma and Sanga has (have?) the quality. Now if I don’t touch (teach?) the traditional way and I will be maybe doing disservice. Traditionally if you say: Buddha quality is (talking to the audience), traditionally Buddhas quality is, actually you have two qualities: the quality of knowledge. Knowledge and quality, that’s right. Knowledge and quality. Knowledge is knowing, knowing everything. You know, Buddha is called total knowledge, awakened state. Awakened means total knowledge, enlightenment. Totally knowing, not simply knowing but knowing everything simultaneously together which is unimaginable for us. We can think three things together. If we can manage one thing, we are lucky but (at?) enlightenment level, anything there to be known is knowledge is present to the Buddha. Is totally present. Not past, not future: present. The seed altogether which is unimaginable for us. That’s why they said indescribable or inconceivable and all of those we say.

0:45:41.4 Because, can you imagine, let’s say there is eighty people here, one hundred people, whatever it is, here. If you are looking at it, and looking at it, knowing each and every individual what they are thinking, what their faith will tell in the future, how long they live, what ....(?) they have, whatever. Without focusing, it is totally knowing to the individual, present all the time. that is what total knowledge is all about (it). This is an example I am telling you but beyond that: total (all?) living beings, their mind. That is mind quality, that is what enlightenment is all about (it). Not just knowing this, knowing that. Or if you analyze, you will be able to analyze and you can almost get it.

That’s not total knowledge. That’s not enlightenment. That is the mind quality. Speech quality, .... (Tibetan): Buddha speaks in one dialog (dialect?) but everyone hears it in his own native mother tung dialog (dialect?). That has happened with the Buddha in India. There was no simultaneous translation like we do in our conference, right? Not like that. Does Buddha simply speak in one language, one dialog or whatever. If there are ten different dialog people or ten different languages, each one (of them) hear(s it?) in their own language. That is the speech quality. This is not a story I am telling you: this is exactly what happened to the Shakyamuni Buddha, alive in India so anyone who doesn’t like including his own cousin, keep on saying it is weird. Always say weird. So that is the quality: he speaks in one language, everyone hears (it) different in their own native language: the same message. That is the inconceivable quality. Here we need to translate two or three or four languages. We need electronic help and translators help and all this. And there they don’t: that is the speech quality.

0:48:29.6 Mind quality, speech quality and body quality, physical quality. Physical quality is again: each and every physical aspect of the Buddha is not because he looks different. Not because …Each and every physical aspect of the Buddha is the result of a tremendous amount of good karma and that’s why it is special qualities. And all of those qualities, where it comes from, how did the Buddha built, it’s built through the Dharma. The real quality builder is the Dharma. That Dharma was built with help of the Sangha and that’s why (there are?) three refuges: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And then taking refuge is actually rely on. Rely on does not mean, I am sorry, it is almost like going to go and see a doctor as I told you exactly. Going to see a doctor and saying I have a pain her, a pain there, everywhere, what can I do? So then the doctor says: take this medicine, take that medicine, do this surgery, do that surgery and that makes you better. Just like that, going to Buddha alone, just seeing the Buddha doesn’t help. The Dharma, the medicine they tell you: take it. Taking medicine means: negativities, how you challenge (them?), how you cut it. How you cut your anger. I told you an example the other day. Similarly obsession, jealousy, all of them. And then, one time blocking is one thing, blocking it forever is another thing. Blocking forever is working against the ego.

0:50:44.3 I guess that is the really true refuge (is) and then people will say true refuge were and hundred thousand and this and that and if you say the words, you have benefit of saying the words, if you think, it becomes true refuge. If you don’t think, just say the words, just say the words. It has its benefits but the benefit is limited. So the main thing is the Dharma and that again, that again, is the antidote of negative activities, negativities. And knowing that where it is coming from: it is coming from negative emotions and challenging that and the sources of negative emotions: self ego fear confusion combination, removing that. It is important, right now there is a confusion among some of those practitioners. The confusion is this: if I destroy my ego and I am going against myself then I let nothing (left with nothing?). And we don’t separate our ego and ourself. Ego is an impersonator, it’s a sort of a fake me. The real me is completely sucked (?) by the ego. Honestly, can’t even function until ego drops. The moment ego drops, the self picks up. For example, when the people, somebody comes up and say: hai (?), he, who are you talking to? me? Ego will immediately run away because it is so embarrassed, so shy. The moment ego sort of steps (?), me comes up. That’s me, that’s me not to be destroyed, that’s is the me we have to build the self-esteem. It’s not there usually, its ego ........(takes over?).

0:53:42.3 My big fact, ego’s bad/back (?) is sitting on me all the time. That’s what it is really is. So there may be occasions, if I bound to fall somewhere and that ego gone, ego steps out and me picks up. I don’t fall, that’s what it is. Other than that, usually ego functions. So that ego aspect of that is: to be destroyed, that little one there who are aways ready to catch, ready to pick up. Other than that, normally suppressed is the me, the true me who has to be, who has to built the self-esteem and who had to be nurtured and grow and that is going to be my Buddha in the future. Buddha within me. That is the one who is going to challenge all the negativities within me. And that’s the one who is going to do it over (?). And that is really, that’s what it meant: enlightenment or achievement is nothing outside. It is within me. We very often think it is somewhere outside. We always like to look. Maybe it is in the Himalayan mountains or maybe it is the forests in Thailand .....(?) in south-east Asia somewhere, it’s not. We went to Tibet in August, many of us and somebody. (talking to the audience) Did you get to Tibet at all? You did? Ok. So but we didn’t find spiritual development there, it is within ourself. And it is right down in Manhattan, downtown here. Within our self, wherever you go: it is not in the Himalayas, not in South East Asian Forest, not in Tibet, not in Dharmsala. It is within ourselves. And bringing that up is our spiritual work and that is how we are taking care of ourselves and that’s is how we serve others and that is really what it is all about.

0:56:38.8 So I like to say thank you so much for coming and I like to wish you very very happy holidays. And I hope your New Year’s resolution will be taking care of that little me within me. Within me and pull the red carpet under the feed of ego. And take care of yourself, that little one. Normally when we say: take care of yourself, mean take care of yourself mentally, physical, emotionally. Here I mean: take care of yourself, that little one, bring it up. I guess that’s it, I just want to say thank you to everyone. Hopefully I see you in January. Because I have to go to Europe. Normally, half November and then December early half I'll be in Malaysia and Singapore. And then comes Christmas and New Year so it is January. Ok? And thank you so much.

0:58:03.5 Prayers.

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