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20081013GRGRWisdom8

(Mon morning with Gelek Rimpoche)

Heart Sutra

I don't think we need to do a mandala offering this morning. This is not going to be a formal teaching. We received the formal teaching from Kyabje Lochö Rimpoche. That is perfect. So we would like to look back on the last 2 days and talk about that. I am sure you will have a number of questions, not necessarily on these teachings themselves, but also in your own practice. Some of you meet very often, some don't. So when we are meeting, we should take advantage of it and talk about the practice and what difficulties we have with that. You don't have to feel bad. We are all new and stupid in the field of Buddhism, myself included. Don't think your question is childish. Everybody misses everything anyway. So if you have any doubts and difficulties, you can share these. Buddhist practice is not easy. Particularly, the way I function is very casual, yet very serious. We don't have to go by a rigid structure, like "First say ka". We don't do that. Some organizations have a very good structure and treat you like you are a kindergarten kid. But they may not have that much substance. In certain cases they have both, structure and substance. In our case, we have no structure. We just pour information on you and then we leave things up to you.

That is how it was done back in Tibet in the early days. In one way you think that the monasteries were well-disciplined. Yes, that is true. If you walk around without your upper shawl as a monk you probably get a couple of lashes. But they will not discipline you about what you meditate, what prayers you say. That is entirely up to the individual. No one tells you, "Now think this way, now think that way." That is only done during the instructions and then it is entirely up to you. 12.29

We have a lot of solitary heroes and heroines in Jewel Heart. Some have been studying on their own for many years. It is entirely up to you how you want to do this. Maybe you want to do nothing or everything. There is no one to tell you what to do. We don't have a structure, with gongs beating and then you have to start the meditation session. Even back in the old monasteries we didn't. Gongs were beaten, but only for two purposes. One, for when the monks get together and tea is served and you say your prayers. The second purpose is when you meet and debate with each other. That was the basis of learning through analytical meditation. This was introduced not in India, but in Tibet by a great scholar from Zangpo, Sharpa Chogye Sengye. He started the debate system in Tibet.

The debate system in Tibet is not like the presidential debates here. The Tibetan debates produce strong arguments. Not only verbally, but even physically, you dance and clap and jump. All of body, mind and speech is involved. You put all your efforts in and raise doubts. Kyabje Lochö Rimpoche's said it in his talk yesterday. You may be reading a book in which it says this and that. This part of learning is called yi chö. It is your mind's presumption of what the text says. For our tradition that is not good enough. To make sure whether this presumption is right or wrong, you talk to other people. There comes the debate.

Debating is done on the basis of your assumptions. That will change into doubt. The doubt will be divided into two: positive doubt and negative doubt. If it is negative doubt, you need a lot more work. If it is positive doubt, it is a little easier. On top of that, to clear the doubts, you give reasons and quotations and then you get a comprehensive understanding. Still, that comprehensive understanding is better than the assumption of your understanding. You cannot say that all your assumptions are not right. Many of you have very good assumptions. That is okay. But that is still not good enough to prove what you thought was right.

Even if you have excellent assumptions, you still need to check that, either by reading or analyzing or discussions or debates. That assumption must become either positive or negative doubt. When the doubt is cleared, it becomes reliable understanding. We call that tse ma in Tibet. In Sanskrit it is pramana. In English it means "valid means of knowledge". Why is it valid? Because you went through with that process. That valid means of knowledge you have is your knowledge. That is not your development, that is not your spiritual result. That is simply knowledge.

That knowledge has to be changed into individual quality. That is the process we go through. When we talk about lam rim, we do that too. Take a subject like the guru devotional practice. We say that guru is buddha and buddha is guru. So you may get the idea that this is just something Buddhists say. That is an assumption. You have to raise the doubt: is guru really buddha? You will say: no, how can that be? The Buddha came 2600 ago and we are in the 21st century. How can that be? Also the pictures of Buddha always show him with a big ushnisha, a bit funny looking? Today if we saw such a person in the street, everybody would run away - except New York (general laughter)

Particularly, if you are looking at your own spiritual master, you will ask, "Buddha is supposed to be perfect and faultless, how can that be? My master is so angry, he gets so mad. How can that be? My master is so jealous. Buddha is supposed to be free of jealousy, so how can it be?"

So you have to challenge the assumption of guru is buddha, buddha is guru. You have the change that into doubt. That is necessary. Otherwise, if you simply say guru is buddha because so and so said it or because this tradition says so and therefore you have to believe it, then that is totally B.S. You don't have to believe anything. Honestly. Buddha himself clearly said, "Whatever I say, don't buy it just because Buddha said so. Check, analyze, like when you buy gold. Cut, rub and burn the gold. When you are convinced it is pure gold, you buy it. Otherwise you don't."

The reason for questioning the assumptions is that assumptions cannot become reliable understanding. These are the steps: assumption, doubt, analysis, reliable understanding. That becomes unshakable and the object of meditation. Then that makes it become part of life. Then it is really mixed within the personality of the individual. That is when it becomes spiritual development. So just sitting in a specific posture doesn't become spiritual. Trying to look holy doesn't become spiritual. I said it so many times. Recently I stopped saying it.

In the 60s people would wear malas and all kinds of things. They heard there were skull malas and wanted these. So the Indians started carving skulls out of bones and people would wear those. They were dressed up in all kinds of funny ways and pretended to be holy, but that doesn't become holy. You only waste your money buying these carved skull malas. Maybe you like how it looks, then that is fine. Otherwise, it is wasted. It doesn't become spiritual at all. Even if you dress in monk's robes, wrap yourself in brocades, it doesn't make any difference. Spiritual development doesn't come through wearing dresses. It is an inner personal development. It is the quality of the soul. When spiritual information effects you on the mental level, then it becomes spiritual.

Wrong doubts become right doubts by a process of elimination. If you look in the buddhist logic they will never say "this is it". They will say in hundred different ways, "This is not it; that is not it." When you have gone through hundreds of those, then at the end you get something. 25.17

That also has to be like a tool. For example, look at emptiness. Emptiness is also one of the "not's". It is not what? By eliminating every existence you are left with that empty. That is how it is established. There are two types of eliminating:

1. me ga (Sanskrit: a-bhava - not being)

2. ma yin ga

1. me ga

That is something that doesn't exist, like the emptiness of self or emptiness of ego. It doesn't really exist. We don't know that it doesn't exist. So we eliminate every possible way it could exist. Then finally we realize that it doesn't exist. It is not there. Emptiness is like that.

2. ma yin ga

That is if there is a mistake. When all the mistakes are eliminated you are only left with what is really true.

The more difficult one is [the first one: when you eliminate everything and you can't find anything. That means what you were looking for was false.

This is a little difficult at the beginning. So, like I told you through the example of guru devotion. That is how we look. Similarly, the precious human life. You do the same analysis. Is this life really precious? It doesn't seem to be. There are zillions of human beings. What is so precious about it? That is how we analyze. That is analytical meditation. At the end of all that analyzing you will see that you have a profound understanding of what really is. Then you begin to find your basis of concentrated meditation. Then you focus on that. When that is becoming a little weaker, you analyze again. Make that basis strong again and concentrate.

By analyzing you find the right angle. By concentrating, it becomes personalized. Then knowledge becomes quality. If it is knowledge, you have to recollect and think. You forget, you remember and so on. That is the level of knowledge. When it becomes quality, it is within you, a part of you. It is a part of your personality. That is quality. You can call that spiritual development.

It will start at a very small level and then go up gradually. In the sutra level, that is what we do. In tantra we do it slightly differently. Here is not appropriate to question like that. In tantra we will tell you, "First say this, secondly say this, thirdly say that". But you have the background of the sutra meditation. Then, whatever your tantric visualization is, will become reality. When that happens, you have actualized your visualization. Until then, it is imagination. Imagining itself will become reality. That is why you cannot use your free mind so much. If you do, something very funny can come in. Then your visualization may never materialize or actualize. All your efforts will be wasted. That is why in tantra you really have to stick to the texts and descriptions very carefully. You cannot go on and think, "I am Napoleon or Julius Caesar or Cleopatra or Marilyn Monroe." No matter how much you think that, you are not going to become that. That is why tantra is restricted. You don't want to waste your time and efforts. 32.57

That restriction is quite suitable for not so intelligent people. For intelligent people analyzing is extremely important. Otherwise, whatever understanding you have will be very shaky. It won't be strong and won't be valid. From that logical angle, it is valid, because it is reliable. It is not cheating. It will not let you down. Even a direct mind cannot contradict your understanding directly. That is the validity. Valid understanding will easily become quality. If the understanding is invalid, even if you try, it doesn't become quality, because it is not the truth.

The same on the tantric side. Trying to become Julius Caesar is not valid. You may devise a Julius Caesar sadhana and think, "I am Julius Caesar." You may visualize being surrounded by soldiers and Roman senators. But it is never going to happen. It is not valid, just a cooked up story.

Let's say someone comes, an intelligent human being, who doesn't know anything about it. You tell that person, "Visualize yourself as Buddha." Then tell that person, "Visualize yourself as Julius Caesar." What happens? That is why the Buddhist way of establishing the truth by eliminating that which is not is important. All the possibilities of what is not will pop up. You eliminate them through analysis. Just saying, "I eliminate, I eliminate", will also not do. You are not a dictator. You have to have a valid reason why you eliminate something. Then you gain a valid understanding. That is basically how you begin and how you proceed. That is what you need to understand as back ground to the whole thing we are doing. It is all based on that process.

It goes for every subject we introduce. We mentioned guru devotional practice and the precious human life. It also applies to the subjects of death, bardo, refuge and so on. It is easy to say, "I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, until I become fully enlightened." This is on our lips. We don't have to think. Our lips will move automatically.

But when you say, "I take refuge in Buddha", what are you talking about? Who and what is Buddha? These are important points. Are we referring to the historical Buddha or who? When we say, "I take refuge in Dharma", are we talking about books? Do I have to put my head in between the pages of a book or put the book on my head or what? Should I go to sleep in a library? Honestly, these are important points. 39.03

Recognizing Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. By eliminating who is not Buddha you get there. Even the historical Buddha is simply a representation of enlightened beings in the past tense. I have to deal with my own Buddha, which is the future. Isn't that funny? You have past, present and future and link them up. You are putting the consciousness of the individual towards that direction. By eliminating who is not Buddha, you are looking into the qualities of Buddha. You check: does that person has that quality, does that person have this quality? These are all given for you to eliminate who is not. There are qualities of knowledge, compassion and power. So is the dharma. The books are not dharma. Even the image of Buddha is not Buddha, though we sort of believe, trust and respect that. We don't believe that the image itself is Buddha, but that within that image there is some kind of Buddha's deeds and functioning. We do know that this particular image here in Garrison is made out of bronze. I know that. It was shipped here in pieces from Nepal by post. We put the pieces together here. We filled it up. So we know it is not Buddha.

Maybe I am talking too much. Instead of contributing to your practice, sometimes that can lead to destroying your practice. That really happens. Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche told me that once.

There was a very big family in Tibet, called Lhalu. It was one of the noble families. There was a huge area behind the Potala that belonged to the Lhalu family. Probably miles of territory in Lhasa belonged to them. It was a big family. Somehow all male members for political reasons did not exist. There was only one lady. She was known as Lady Lhalu. She was a very devoted buddhist practitioner earlier. Everybody, her husband, kids, brother - in law, all died. Something happened. Some were killed in fights, small little civil wars and all kinds of things happened. So she was very frustrated. She said, "All my life I was totally devoted. And this is the result I got." She had a private, very special temple. So she went her and passed excrements in the middle of the temple. She waited till she had a very big one. Then she closed the door and left and said, "That's the end of my spiritual practice." For a number of years she remained in that state.

Then, years later, she came into contact with Kyabje Pabongka. She had conversations with him and finally she changed her mind. She opened her temple, cleaned it up, put up new offerings, and then she invited Pabongka. That was in the last days of Pabongka in Central Tibet. She received a Heruka initiation and a Varjrayogini initiation. Pabongka spent five, six days in her house and taught her a very simple sadhana practice. It was based on the eleven yogas and simple and straight forward. She really enjoyed that and became very devoted and did very well.

Then she met the Ganden Tripa called Minyang Ami, a very famous Ganden Tripa. She began to study with him. He was extremely learned and very logical. He must have been teaching her a lot of logical things and she lost her total practice. Whatever Pabongka had taught her, she lost that and what Minyang Ami taught her, she didn't really get it. He was teaching so much detail. So finally she went to Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche. He always mentioned that and said, "What the great Lama Dorje Chang said, was lost and what the great geshe taught, she didn't get that, so in between she got completely lost." So Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche spent time and put things back together for her. She got her simple little practice of Vajrayogini.

Sometimes that can happen. So it is important not to lose the manner in which your practice is organized. At the same time, try to pick up the analyzing. If you lose your practice, it is not worth it. That's maybe why Kyabje Lochö said yesterday it is not proper to analyze the vajrayana practice. (laughs). Otherwise, you might really think, "I am not Vajrayogini. How could I be?"

So that's one thing I wanted to discuss. This is the difference between information and knowledge. Knowledge has to become the spiritual path. That is important. I also covered the basic point on the Buddhist logic that is based on how the mind apprehends through exclusion.

We did not talk about the big picture why you need information about the Four Schools of Buddhism. As I told you: the emptiness is a negation - a negation of what does not exist. What you are negating, every particular school has different views on that. One is better than the other. It goes more and more subtle and ultimately it comes to the min yang ta yö - the bare label and something you can label and be able to function. At that level only can we talk about existence.

The emptiness of the lower schools is emptiness. It is okay. But it is not a really refined emptiness. The upper schools will tell you that the lower school's emptiness is wrong, but still it is emptiness, still it is wisdom. It can still function. It has to be refined in order to function perfectly. That's why the four different schools have increasingly refined explanations of the object of negation. You are negating something that is not there. You are not negating something that is there. We falsely accept something to be there, which in fact is not there. So we are looking at that and reducing it until finally it comes to a very subtle level. And that is why the viewpoints of the Four Schools are important to have with us.

When we have these four school viewpoints, our emptiness will become much more refined and better. That is the simple reason. Also, at a certain level a certain understanding of emptiness might not be able to function that well. You will not be able to eliminate [the object of negation [. When you are eliminating false assumptions of what the self is you are really destroying the basis on which we have attraction and attachment as well as the need for protection what we want to protect. By eliminating the basis for protection you are eliminating the basis for hatred. The reason why you have to hate is "because you are hurting me". That is how it is.

When we really find that there is nothing to be protected, nothing to be afraid of losing, then basically we have a tremendous amount of freedom. We will be free of hatred, obsession and fear. So if we could eliminate ego, the projected self, the combination of ego, ignorance, confusion and fear, we would eliminate a huge monster that we have made within us. We can eliminate that because we come to know that it is not there. You cannot eliminate something that is there. 56.41

That is the reason for learning about the Four Buddhist Schools and their ideas on emptiness. Right this moment, do we really need it? Some people, yes and many, no. But when you begin to focus and concentrate on that, you have to refine your mind and the way you identify the object of negation. Refining the object of negation makes the emptiness perfect. That is how you refine it, by looking at the four Buddhist schools and the five non-Buddhist schools. At least it gives you some idea. You have nine varieties to look at.

The moment you start thinking of "me", you will find it among one of those nine points. I doubt very much you will come up with an idea of self that is outside of these nine, except if you only have some little, preliminary thought of "me". When you are looking at these points you will begin to see more and your knowledge will tell you how refined your meditation is, how refined your object of negation is. That makes for a different quality of your wisdom.

Then we have a very lay-man's idea of self, some idea of body and mind together, or mind itself as the self. You will begin to see what it is.

So we do need these wonderful teachings on wisdom. But I also want to urge everybody not to overlook our basic practice, the lam rim, without which you are not going to get anywhere. It is the road map to enlightenment. You can see where you are going and also where you are right now and how you can uplift yourself.

A number of people may say, "I have been practicing for a long time. Now I would like to practice completion stage." But your own development will push you into that level. It is not what and when you want it. You will be doing the same thing, but the result will change. You are doing the same sadhana, thinking the same thing, doing the same meditation. But just by doing that, eventually you will be on a different level, from development stage to completion stage.

It is the same with the lam rim. First you preview and review everything. Your mind will be focusing on certain subjects, and by doing that, the result of your focusing will change. The changed result will determine whether you are on the 'common with the lower level', or 'common with the medium level', or the mahayana level. We try to do everything together. But that is only previewing.

It is previewing what you are going to do in future. The previewing will show you how to go on the path. That's why we say the long lam rim prayer at the end of the lama chöpa, which gives you all the steps from guru yoga up to total enlightenment. The Foundation of Perfections is similar. Again, it shows you the steps from guru yoga to total enlightenment.

When you are doing the preview slowly and carefully, you will notice that you are focusing on certain areas more closely and feeling more comfortable. That comfort will gradually shift from one level to another. That is how you are really transferring. There is no one who decides that "now you have been transferred to the next level". Some centers, I believe, give you certificates. But we all know that this doesn't mean anything. Maybe it helps to develop a motivation to learn, gives you some kind of incentive, maybe. Other than that it doesn't mean anything. It has to be the individual person who moves.

That is the spiritual path I know. That is the spiritual path I share with you all. That is what I understand from 69 years of spending time in Tibetan Buddhism. There are more refined and more detailed explanations, but we need a comprehensive practice. In the sutra path that is the lam rim, in tantra it is your sadhana. Those who are not in vajrayana may not have the sadhana pracice, but those who are, almost all of you have both of them together. You may be previewing the lam rim every day. That is fine. That will give it's own result. It will give you the result. If you don't do it, that's different. If you think, "I have heard that before and don't need to bother", that's fine too, but you don't get any result.

Remember, knowledge is not spiritual development. Knowledge changes into doubt; doubt changes into valid cognition and that changes into your spiritual development. That is a simple process.

In Tsong Khapa's style you are doing that through the steps of learning, analyzing and meditating. That exactly fits. Analyzing will change assumptions into doubt; then doubt changes into valid understanding; then that changes into individual development. That is the purpose of analysis and focusing. I guess that's it.

1.07.52

Are there any more questions?

Audience: When we are analyzing, what do we turn to as the basis for analyzing? For example, when we try to evaluate for ourselves who is a valid guru, I think you said that is where all the attributes of a Buddha are laid out. Is that what we turn to as our basis for analyzing?

Rimpoche: If you take the guru-devotional practice as example, you would first ask: what is the purpose of guru-devotional practice? What do you hope to get out of it? It is realizing that guru is buddha and buddha is guru. That is the goal you want to achieve. You are looking towards that and then find out what doubts will come up. See what negative and what positive doubts you are going to get. Deal with your negative doubts.

Guru-devotional practice is placed at the beginning of the lam rim. But it is not recommended to do that at the beginning. Traditionally, they do tell you: if you struggle with the guru-devotional practice you can waste your whole life. So they recommend that you simultaneously investigate the precious human life. Find out if that is precious or not. This is also divided into three categories:

1. Recognizing the precious human life according to the tradition.

2. The importance of it

3. How difficult to find it is

By going through that you will realize the value of what you have. When you have a very strong understanding of the value, then a sense of urgency develops. You don't want to waste your time. In other words, you stop fooling around. Without saying much, that becomes part of your personality. You stop fooling around.

Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. 1.11.03

After the death of Tsong Khapa Gyaltsab je became the first regent. He had not desire or plan to become regent at all. He probably thought that Khedrub je would become the regent, because he was more eloquent and elaborate and all that. But Khedrub je prepared Gyaltsab je to be the regent. When they all got together, Khedrub je said to him, "Please come up and sit here." Gyaltsab je said, "No, no. You sit there." Then Khedrub je said, "You are older, more senior, that's why you should sit here." So finally Gyaltsab je sat there and Khedrub je came up to him, took a scarf out of his pocket and ex tempore composed the famous poem called pal den yön ten

pal den yön ten so gyi kye pa yi

mi je seng gye tril la o wang go

gyel wa nyi pei gyal tsab chö je che

mi lam la ma nyi pa gyö ye ji

So in that poem he labeled him as "Second Guru". It is huge, beautiful poetry. Khedrub je was like that. At the end Gyaltsab je asked, "Who wrote that poem?" Then Khedrub je said - again in verse:

rab je di yang kang ri trö den na

nyan ga ong po kun gyi go wo la

tse ga gong po gö ge gelek pel

tsang po tsi gi cho wa pang de me

This is composed by someone called Gelek

who knows how to walk over the head of every poet

with his legs of words.

So that's how Gyaltsab je, by force, had to become the first regent. It was only for a short period. Then he resigned, because he didn't really want that position. Then Khedrub je became Tsong Khapa's second regent. He was much younger than Gyaltsab je. He was also a sort of happy-go lucky kind of guy. He enjoyed picnics and things like that. He invited Gyaltsab je for a picnic. He wouldn't come. Khedrub je kept insisting and finally he came. Khedrub je probably planned that picnic to last for a couple of days. But Gyaltsab je came for only a very short time, just for lunch. Then he said, "I am going." So Khedrub je said, "Why are you going?" and Gyaltsab je said, "I am very busy." Khedrub je asked, "Why, what are you doing?" Then Gyaltsab je took his head off and showed his white hair. He said, "I am really busy. Look here."

So for him not wasting his life became a deeply personalized thing. He didn't have to meditate and push himself. He only had to take his hat off and show his hair. So Khedrub je couldn't say anything and had to let him go.

So when it becomes personalized you don't have to push and force anything. It is there.

Audience: Can you clarify the distinction between positive and negative doubt?

Rimpoche: If you think that the guru may be buddha, that is a positive doubt. If you think, "How could that be?" that is negative doubt. It is doubt leaning towards the negative. Quite simple.

Audience: There seems to be a strong cultural suspicion in the west that intellectual analysis can serve as a smoke screen for how one really feels about the world and oneself, one's emotions and one's strongest belief system. How can one really have confidence that this analysis is going the change the way we perceive both, ourselves and the world, phenomena, etc.?

Rimpoche: Our culture is interesting today. I think it is a very lazy culture, I am sorry to say. Actually it is very active, no doubt. The most active. On the other hand, it is also very lazy. People don't want to think much, they just want to believe. They like to be told what to do. That is not necessary correct. The scientific achievements are great. They do tell you what to do. Based on their findings it comes out as the truth and then they tell you what to do. That is great. But on the spiritual path, if people tell you what to do, they could tell you all kinds of things. 1.18

We don't really want to think. People like to do all kinds of things. They like to go astral traveling, far away. They are sitting there and their mind goes zoom, circling the world three times and some people tell you to do that. Then of course there are belief systems that tell you, "Believe this."

So for one, we don't want to think. We are lazy. Secondly, we don't like to go against those who tell us what to do. But if you begin to do a little analyzing yourself, you will convince yourself. It may not be a strong conviction right away, but clearing your doubts a little better. Then the mind itself becomes quite clear on this point. Then, when you get a valid understanding on that point, then it becomes absolutely clear to you, no matter whoever tells you otherwise. You cannot be shaken. You are very stable. That will clear by itself. It will work within the individual. I don't think the world as such is going to do anything. It is an internal matter. I don't think we can prove it like a scientific proof. Individually, you have to experience it; individually you have to gain realizations. That's how it works.

We are living in a very interesting world. In one way, we are in a terrible world. There are enormous challenges. On the other hand, simultaneously, there are also tremendous opportunities, especially spiritual opportunities - and challenges. It is beautiful and fantastic, as well as horrible and dangerous. Perhaps it is coming down to the individual responsibility of everyone in the world, individually and collectively. It might be a time for us to act. Be responsible for yourself and thereby this becomes expanded and everyone becomes a responsible person. The world will improve.

The world means society and society is nothing but the collection of individuals. Individual deeds add up, making each and every one of us responsible for ourselves and not only for ourselves, but now also for the world. The world has become much smaller than at the time of the Buddha and the great masters. Now it is so small. We all become responsible for the world. We do make a difference - very much.

1.24 Normally, people will get the idea of improving the world situation. Yes, that is true. To some people that means better food, a better life style, and so on. I think we are looking for much more than that. When we talk about improving the world we are talking about more compassion, more caring, more concern for society as a whole, rather than just for some individuals, more enlightened qualities.

Kyabje Lochö Rimpoche was repeating the words (p 55) of the second last verse all the time after every session:

pen dz dei i ten pang si pei tar

ge dun lung gi nam par mi yö shi

ten pei nga dzu shen gen dön pa la

ye she nye pai tag tu gang war shok

(May I spend day and night carefully reflecting by what means can I enhance this teaching achieved by the supreme savior through strenuous efforts over countless eons.)

May the teaching of the Magnificent One

till world's end

be unshaken

by the winds of evil thoughts.

Unshaken by the winds of evil thoughts" refers to negative doubts.

By understanding the reality of Buddha's message, may I gain respect to Buddha, etc...

Gaining respect to Buddha is one thing, but understanding and experiencing what Buddha's message is and having the effect of this in every living being in the world, that is another thing. So when we think we are improving the world, that is what we are looking for, rather than providing better food, better this and better that.

That is also needed, but we are looking beyond that.

Audience: The doubt or question, regarding the gratitude for this precious life and the repetition that it takes eons to reach enlightenment, is the nature of that doubt something that should be eliminated with analysis or should one cut that off like with a sword?

Rimpoche: Repetition that enlightenment will take eons and eons to reach is purely the sutra's teaching aspect. We do have the vajrayana, according to which it is not supposed to take eons. I think that is important to realize. It can be much quicker than eons. The sutras say it does take eons. That's why vajrayana is very important and relevant in today's world. Sometimes it becomes difficult to some people. There was somebody in Ann Arbor very recently who said, "These Buddhists have hell realms and they are cheating us. I wanted to talk about enlightenment and they are sending me to the hell realms again to suffer. "

It is not that somebody is sending anyone to the hells. But it happens.

Audience: That sort of statement about whether it takes eons or not eons is not something that can be resolved through analysis.

Rimpoche: There is a logical system of establishing liberation. We have to deal with that probably one day. Dharmakirti has a very strong logical system of establishing liberation. He goes through whether everybody is eligible for liberation and says they are. Then he establishes why that is so. It is because of impermanence and dependent arising. Change is a big reason. What changes can take place? Those for which we prepare the causes. 1.32

That way you can change negative doubt into positive doubt. The faults and negativities are something that can be exhausted. They are not permanent. If you are building new ones and adding up, then they will keep going. So one thing is to stop building new negativities and the other thing is cutting down whatever negativity we already have. So then it will be exhausted - finished. That very exhaustion of negativity becomes the liberation or nirvana. That can definitely develop within the individual. The obstacles can be overcome. That boils down to obtaining liberation in two ways: cutting down the obstacles and building up the positive. That is sort of the bottom line Buddhist practice.

Audience: You often tell you the story about an older woman who asked, "How do I know if there is enlightenment?" You never finished the story.

Rimpoche: No, it didn't go like that. Louise asked me, "What is Buddha?" I said, "Something like God." She went and thought about it and then came back afterwards and said, "If Buddha is God, then I have no interest to become God for whatsoever." 1.36.11

Audience: When I set aside time for study, someone calls for help. Even though I try to do my practice very early in the morning or very late at night, still that happens. I wonder, are these calls for help an obstruction or are they part of going towards liberation and making progress. I would like how to balance this. I like the story of the striped-footed spirit story, where Buddha said to the spirit, "Please let me go study some more so that I can be of more help." But if I say that to people, I don't think they are going to get it."

Rimpoche: I think there was a little mis-translation yesterday. I asked Geshe Lobsang Tendzin, "Did you translate it that way for

a particular reason or what happened?" He said, "Oh, I didn't hear that." So that story went slightly differently.

So, this Prince Chandra learnt about the spiritual path from one of those sooth sayers. Then this spirit came. Whether it was a spirit or a human being, I am not actually sure. Why was Prince Chandra crying? That guy asked, "Are you afraid that I am going to eat you up?" He said, "No, I am not. I didn't get the opportunity to give a gift to that person who taught me." So it wasn't that he wanted to go back to learn more, but that he wanted to give him something because of what he did for him.

So then he went back and gave a certain amount of gold to the teacher and then came back.

Now, in your case, if you have set aside a certain amount of time for your practice and you get a call for help, there are two ways of looking at this.

One way is this: if helping people is the priority for you, in the sense that you look at that as your spiritual practice and functioning, then if you have that as priority practice, that can be huge sometimes. If you are a doctor, it can be a huge thing. You can save a life. Then you wouldn't take this as an interruption, as an additional opportunity to give service and to benefit others to obtain enlightenment. If you go in that manner, then it is the icing on the cake.

But if you think, "I am trying to do a little practice. How horrible they are disturbing me", then it becomes the yellow part of the vegetables or moldy food. That is talking generally.

However, if you have certain commitments of your sadhanas, particularly a commitment where you don't exchange words with anyone, like the sadhana period, in that case doing something else becomes an obstacle. So it depends on the individual how they take it. 1.43.10

Early in the old days I used to walk into the homes of great teachers. One day I walked into Serkong Chenshab Rimpoche's house. He welcomed me in with a gesture and then I started talking. At that point he held up his mala. So he was not finished with his recitation yet and indicated to wait for just a little while. It was not an emergency for me. I was just yapping. So it was a very polite way of pointing at the mala, saying, "There is this much left. Let me finish and then I will talk to you." But it also means that first one should finish that and then do whatever else.

This is because of the commitment of not interrupting with other words. If you are doing Vajrayogini mantras for example, you don't interrupt that with different words in between.

We will conclude here and as always there two most important points: first there is the motivation in the beginning and at the end, as conclusion, we have the dedication. We dedicate all the positive karma we built by learning from Kyabje Lochö Rimpoche for the last 2 days and all our own good effort to the longevity of Buddha Dharma, as well as the longevity of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all great teachers in the world, including Kyabje Lochö Rimpoche and any other great teacher we have. Tsonyi Rimpoche just arrived, so we dedicate for his longevity too, because he is doing a lot of great work. Finally we dedicate to our own longevity, that we may have a long and healthy life, not so that we can create more negativity, but for creating more positive karma. Then, of course we dedicate our merits to the well being of all sentient beings.

Without many words or saying prayers, we simply dedicate and say thank you for everybody being here. As usual, we thank the staff and everybody else. We definitely have to thank the cooks. The food is really wonderful and great. I guess that's it. Somehow, directly or indirectly, we have also be in touch with Ann Arbor and all other centers with transmitting this weekend. Thank you so much.