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20120310GRNYTB

Welcome everybody here. Our New York…. Should I call you a director or what? Sangha President called Netta. She made this new schedule from one until four which is very convenient for me and hopefully it is convenient for everybody thank you.

Anniversary of Rimpoche leaving Tibet

Today is a very funny day for me, honestly. On this day, 53 years ago this is the day that I was packing to leave Tibet. Though there is nothing to pack - it makes you unable to be there. So it was the beginning of the end that I can no longer be in Tibet. 000144

So that is 53 years ago – quite a long time. I was back in Tibet once in 2007 so I was able to get back once. During this period, though I was not in a difficult situation during the time when Tibet was independent and when Tibet became sort of part and parcel unsettled with the Communist Chinese dealings. Though I was not in an economically difficult condition in Tibet when I left, I left Tibet without anything at the age of 19. I left without my parents, without my family, without anything honestly not even a few pennies. So I left Tibet and I went to India as a refugee until now.

It is not been so bad for me. Yes it was difficult because I lost my monastery, I lost my teachers, I lost my monks, I lost my parents and all my siblings were left behind Tibet except for one. All that was bad and my life of course was a tremendous struggle however I never got into trouble breaking the law or anything like that. I never landed in jail so in that way I really feel gratitude to the three jewels for managing that. 000454

So the three jewels for those of you don't know are Buddha Dharma and Sangha not the other three jewels (Rimpoche laughs). I'm sorry we always have the dirty mind right? (audience laughs) (?) I said it. So Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Rimpoche’s life in Tibet

So looking back at my life so whether you have it, that period of the first 20 years of my life I was quite well to do in Tibet.

I even had three cars - not so many people had any vehicle at all. I used to have one station wagon, one little jeep, and one truck. So I had three vehicles but gasoline had to be carried on the shoulders from India. Can you imagine how life went? People carried the gasoline over their shoulders on the Himalayas across the mountains and then on the other side of the mountain the truck would pick up the gasoline and bring to Lhasa or wherever.

So that sort of tells you what thing were like in that first 20 years of my life. In the second and third 20 year period and almost the fourth 20 year period of my life - I was sort of almost penniless for a long period. Then sort of okay managing just making ends meet together. So all these are that great (jewels?) it really goes to Buddha Dharma and Sangha because I'm not capable of making money I am not capable of engaging a profitable business or any of those. 000752

But we saw it was okay and then in my spiritual life I had the greatest opportunity for the first half of the first 20 years. Though I went into the monastery when I was four or five years old, the actual opportunity to learn and practice was almost 9 or 10 years. 000827

That was the greatest period. Then I continued in India for little while. In India the circumstances brought together as all these great teachers such as Gebchey Rimpoche, Ling Rimpoche and Teyzan Rimpoche likewise Sor Rimpoche Sawang Rimpoche and the elder generation. Then a little below that Wochu Rimpoche and all of them and my monastery teachers - Mamajesee, Nengyima all of them are in India together in Dharamsala with His Holiness.

That gave me continuation of opportunities particularly receiving more teachings in the teaching form rather than in the monastery study form. There were many teachings in the teaching form as well as initiations for about five to seven years thereafter.

Then I got busy working. First I tried to teach the Tibetan kids, the little babies, and little young elders, the school kids about Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan culture, language and all of those.

Rimpoche’s rebellion against tradition – wine, women , and song

Then I had that unprecedented holiday rebelling against tradition. This was in the late 60s not in the early 60s. When you people were busy in the early 60s in the mid-60s rebelling I was still a good guy. (Audience laughs) then when you people started changing then I became the crazy guy and tried to find something some kind of something different than what you're taught. 001129

What I have been taught is the Dharma. So I think I was looking for different from the Dharma. I was looking to get some kind of kick out of life something different some kind of buzz or something jumping - honestly so that is what I was looking for. So then there was nothing else so I tried wine, I tried a woman and I tried what?

Audience: song (audience laughs) Wine, women, and song Rimpoche

Rimpoche: Song……I never sing because of my voice I could never do that. You know this is a unique voice that I have. It is very unique. That's because when I was a kid, I was forced to memorize. I used to memorize a lot. I memorized many pages and my teachers pushed me so much so much so that at the peak period they would bring a little needle and put it through the pages.

So whatever they could get in the page with the needle they give me to be able to memorize early-morning. So it could be 10 or pages 20 pages double long.

How Rimpoche would memorize

So whatever it is. For me to memorize I just needed three times reading. First reading was very careful and then second reading was superficially and third reading was half looking and half closing eyes and the fourth it will go through my head.

Then I have to repeat once in the evening repeat once tomorrow morning then maybe tomorrow evening other than that I don't have to do it because it remains in my head.

So I memorized so much and I was one of the only persons who memorized 5000 pages. 5000 double pages the double is counted as one in Losaling. Being an incarnate lama we don't have to go in the memorization competition. Somehow I did not get in there. But my teacher who happens to be the Losaling Abbot Geme eh geh. He told me if you go in there you are going to be the number one. But you are well exempted so you will lose your number one status too. So anyway number one was a fellow classmate and he memorized 2000 pages. 001455

I memorized 5000 pages so I memorized a lot. During the memorization in the evening they used to make me scream and shout and then I got something like laryngitis and yet they still made me shout continuously.

If you don't shout you get hit - you'll get a good hit. Something happened here I don’t know what it was but the voice became permanent. For a little while nobody could hear me, my voice was like a whisper and then gradually my voice developed again and settled into this husky voice.

I was not born with that husky voice and none of my siblings are like that I'm the only one. As a matter of fact my sister who sings a lot is a good singer. So this is due to a sudden push and so much shouting that's what happened.

So wine, women, and not song! So I tried everything and ultimately nothing else really gives you a little peace or harmony and than that of the good old thing that I was lucky to be born with it honestly born again Buddhist (Rimpoche laughs).

Back to the Dharma

So going back to that and to make life I don’t know whether it is worthwhile or not but to make life not disappointing to make life a little helpful to yourself and to the others. That is for me - I did not find anything else except that Dharma that I was lucky enough to be able to be born in there 001736

Also the Buddha Dharma in Tibet was slightly different than the Buddha Dharma in other different areas such as Thailand or Cambodia or Burma, (Mama?) or Japan and all that. As a matter fact if you go into deeper Japanese Buddhist practitioners and go deep enough it is almost like the Vajrayana Buddhism.

It also looks to me like the Chinese too not necessarily the Chinese Mahayana not necessarily the Confucius but more or less there are a lot of good Chinese Buddhist practitioners who engaged in the air as the energy and chakras and channels.

Also there is a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism. Many of them are very similar too. There is a lot of similarity within the Tibetan Buddhism. And then the Tibetan Buddhism itself is very unique. 001938

Tibetan Buddhism developed first in Northern India

It is unique Buddhism. But it was not developed in Tibet. It was developed in India. It was developed in India. Early in India, as you know, it was known as “Northern Buddhism” not southern Buddhism but Northern Buddhism.

Ashoka and all these great early Indians you know we see these Ashoka pillars everywhere we go and all this and develop the southern Buddhism. Others developed Northern Buddhism tremendous amount of Buddhist institutions and Buddhist Mahasiddhis.

Mahasiddhi Tradition

Actually truly speaking, earlier and of course these days we all talk about Nalanda and the great Nalanda tradition and all that. There is equally another tradition the Bigramshela tradition that Atisha came from in (Bangor?) and then this Mahasiddhi tradition. This Mahasiddhi tradition is something that again is very very important all these famous Delo Naro Marpa Mila and all of those and all these great Mahasiddha this Mahasiddha that they are all from the Mahasiddha tradition. So the combination of those with Nalanda.

Nalanda is the Nagajuna, Asangha both plus Dharmakirti Chandrakirti and all of those The great dialectic tradition of a very famous subject such as Panjaparamita, the transcendental wisdom, Madamika the Middle path or the emptiness aspects of it. Benaya the monks rules and regulations and metaphysics. That also comes from Nalanda because of Asangha’s nephew Basu. 002227

Basubandu is Ingnee in Tibetan, hopefully so Asangha’s nephew and all of those. They are from the Nalanda tradition and then this Mahasiddha tradition and all these are great early Indian civilizations of Buddhist studies. All of these merged into northern India. North to north.

Buddhism expands out of Tibet

All of those you know this good old prophesy that the iron bird flies in the air Buddhism travels north and north all of those. Even the native Americans talks about it. All of those at the beginning of what we call Tibetan Buddhism. In other words Buddhism from India went to Tibet and settled there for about 1000 years and developed. Then Buddhism came out or was*kicked out” or came out whatever is is. In one way, I think we are very grateful to the Chinese. If they didn't kick us out especially His Holiness in 1959 then Buddhism would not have come to the West as we do now. So that's thanks to Chairman Mao - he did one good job. 002434

Mao kicked the Buddhism out of Tibet including His Holiness and many other great Masters of all different Tibetan traditions. They came out - all of them. So this Buddhism developed in India and in Nepal as well as in other countries including the United States.

Sometimes when we have meetings during the retreat or something we are always suddenly realizing that we are in the middle of nowhere in Michigan and we are doing something fantastically great.

Sometimes wondering why but probably we do owe gratitude to the Chairman Mao. (Rimpoche laughs) You know earlier Tibetans teachers used to say even the negativity has one good quality and that is to be able to purify, if you purify.

Here I will say Chairman Mao has one good quality - kicking Tibetan Buddhism out of Tibet. So that's about it. So we're here. So what I'm going to talk to you about this time is whatever the text that you use it really doesn't matter. The point is you have to use some text so that:

it is true to the tradition

it will keep us grounded so we don't fly all over the place

it will also organize within your own practice this thing, that thing, this thing.

So that is why we are going to keep one text in basis. Many of you I am sure have heard this so many times too but then many of you have heard a detailed teaching on this particularly those of you who have been in summer retreat last year in Michigan. So we went through this in a very nice detailed way. 002725

Some of you who have great hope for future also have to miss it because whatever circumstances may be. So if your ground has been washed away you have no choice except to visit so what else can you do. So anyway detailed or short and many of you have this New Lim teaching which I did between Ann Arbor and here and they all will link up. If you're new today here just look at the root text – it is very short, very very short. Actually maybe one page or two pages or something does everybody have a copy? If you don't it is in that blue book of Jewel Heart on page 28 you have that.

Can someone give my chairman a copy? (Rimpoche has an aside) Thank you. If you look at that page the text is so short, very short. But you really have to be listening to the talk and then try to make some sense out of it. Those of you who have heard - either heard the liberation the Palm of your hand or the New Lim what do we call it - the quick path? Then the Dellim, the smooth path, I think as far as I remember….. Oh then they say the J Tsongkhapa lines of experience. So all of them will land - it is almost the same thing with a little different words here and there.

So they give you the same message. The reason why it is the same message is because the experience of development, the experience that improves the individual from Buddha onwards – it is the same experience.

That's why different words but the meaning will boil down to all in one, all in one. That is how it works okay? Now before I even going into that, I would like to say, why do we do that? Why this is it?

When you say… the question is…. we talk about the spiritual development, we talk about improving the individual. 003151

What does a spiritually developed mind look like?

We talk about the person getting better. All of this is what we talk about. When you say spiritually developed, what does that mean? 003218

What does that mind look like? All these are the questions. I'm sure a number of different people will have different explanations. From my point of view, from the…. Actually I should talk from my point of view only. From my point of view, when I talk about a spiritually developed person I don't look at everybody as spiritually developed as one stage. I don't look at that as one category.

The mind of a Buddha is supposed to be the best

Although you can but there are different levels of the spiritually developed person. I guess I have to say, I have to say, the best of all the levels is the Buddha. I have to say it because that is “supposed to be” the best. Why am I using such a funny language? I guess I have to say “I suppose”. Why? Because I don't know exactly what the Buddha's mind looks like. What it feels like, what it is. I can simply narrate what I have heard, what I have read, and what I understand but I don't know.

What I read, what I was told, what I understood is something called total knowledge. Total knowledge here means there's nothing they don't know. Everything is known. When you say everything is known even there is a question.

The question really is you know it's supposed to be this way yet it had happened this way. It's supposed to be going that way changed it and it is gone in that way. Which path of the Buddha knows.

What do you mean by everything? Do Buddha’s read what is supposed to be going or do Buddhas know every twist and turn it's going to take and where it's going to be landing and what's going to happen?

All of this. So to me when I say total knowledge that should include the twists and turns they are going to take and that should include where it's going to land.

So total knowledge means there's nothing that the Buddha is not aware of. I guess the Buddhas don't get Alzheimer's disease and say like Ronald Reagan says “I don't recall”. So I don’t think that they have that they don't have that excuse. 003636

Honestly so that was supposed to be. Total knowledge means total freedom - totally free of all faults, all negativities, negative faults. So there's not even the slightest effect, forget about actual, but effect or influence. Even a smell of hatred, anger, obsession, or jealousy all of them they are totally free of these, totally.

When you talk about peace, when you talk about harmony, when you talk about the joy, what is disturbed within ourselves right now? Our peace, our harmony is disturbed by the hatred it is disturbed by obsession it is disturbed by jealousy all of them.

We know this very well from within our own experience honestly absolutely. It is. When you say freedom great freedom so from all of those when you talk about the great joy the great harmony the great peace. We are talking about this. Not only does the mental peace bring the physical peace unless there is something directly wrong with the physical body. Like you have a sore neck which I have today or something like that, then you have pain. That has nothing to do with your mind.

Maybe it has something to do. A lot of people will like to interpret and say it has something to do. Maybe or maybe not but for me it's not. Probably I slept wrong or use I used the wrong pillow or maybe I was looking in one direction or another. So something got twisted so you have the pain but other than that most of our discomforts are because of negative emotions and its effects.

Because of negative emotions and their effects we don't have the joy, we don't have the harmony. We don’t have it 003954

So then you manage that with a whole variety of all funny things. Human beings have so many ways and means of handling honestly. We have so many ways and means of handling. (Rimpoche has an aside)

So we do all kinds of things right? So we are looking for something - peace and harmony to be free of pain. I think this is what we’re looking for. We label them as happiness, joy, whatever you label them, whatever you call them.

So when you're looking through the spiritual you are looking at the same thing. Honestly normal everyday people and even these little insects who don't know anything, I'm sorry to say, but anyway it is. They don't know anything but they are running around everywhere and are looking for some happiness some joy some comfort some warmth some cool whatever.

Then we as human beings through material things and other means are also looking for the same thing like it or not honestly everybody's running around, doing something, looking for something. What are you looking for? Something that makes you…. I don't even know what it is…. called happiness or joy or comfort right? That's really what it is. Those of us who are running around for the spiritual path, we will say to ourselves well I'm not really looking for material comfort. I'm looking for spiritual development and we run around.

We are looking for the same thing. Maybe slightly different than what the material things can do. Material things can do limited things. They're very limited. They can do a lot. Unthinkable things they can do. However they are supposed to be limited. Spiritual things are supposed to be unlimited. We do not know that yet. Honestly we read about it we are taught about it but we really don't exactly know what it is.

So we meditate. We say mantras. We do sadhannas - we do all this. There is something we are looking for. We are taking hardship. We are thinking that there is something better and something wonderful beyond (the hill?) or whatever and that somehow if you look we are all in that in that soup. 004442

What is total knowledge?

Something beyond - is there? That is what I'm saying. What is total knowledge all about? We have read about it we have heard about it, we been taught, we been told but I don't know. Is there something called improvement? Yes. Very, definitely, very definitely whether it is due to your maturity of age or it is due to your… I don’t know whatever is but there's something called improvement for sure, for sure. 004535

Is there something called peace? Yes limited peace we have. Why do I say limited peace? I say that because it is subject to interruption. We do get a little bit of nice harmony by preventing our minds from submitting to negative influences or negative addictions or whatever. By not letting your mind go you get a better feeling each and every one of us.

Each and every one of us in here has had that experience - everyone. Because by not letting your mind control by the usual negative addictions that you have - you have been able to pull back and therefore the consequences which you suffer are much less.

That sort of experience each and every one of us has had. But that is not enough. We need something more than that. Something more than that is whatever you're experiencing.

By not letting your mind go in the control of negativity, you gain some nice little joy, harmony, or peace but we would like that to last. It should not be short lived. We want to make it last. You want to make sure that interruption does not deprive us of our joy and harmony even a little.

So when you're looking for the spiritual development, I guess we're looking for a large intensified peace and harmony which will last. There's not too many (?).

So I guess that is the temporary goal. The permanent goal will be…. whatever that is - even going beyond better as far as it can go and everlasting – which is probably total enlightenment.

So the spiritual person who works for the spiritual path there must be a goal for what you want to achieve. 004907

Have a clear goal – don’t do things just because other people do them

Otherwise it doesn't matter. Everybody does something and everybody's going is here so I'm going here, everybody does this so I am doing that, everybody is sitting down so I am sitting down, everybody says Om Mani Peme Hung so I am saying Om Mani Peme Hung. That will not do that much good. This is not the way for educated people such as yourself – don’t do that.

This is what uneducated people normally do. Honestly those uneducated people say you are going there so I am going there, everybody's looking to the right so I will look to the right, then they all say turn around, so I will turn around, they all say look at the lamp, so I look at the lamp. That is we do when we are uneducated.

But educated people will think about what you are doing, why you are doing it. This is because before we even start we have to introduce why are doing something. What for? What do you hope to gain out of this? Obviously we've become fed up with our daily events that overpower ourselves. 005058

Our miseries, our pains, things do not go as we want them to go - it goes the wrong way right? So we did not like that so we want to make sure that thing doesn't happen again. Things should always go right. things should always be happy. Whatever you do should always be joyful. That's what we are looking for. Perhaps it's introducing us to a temporary and permanent goal of a spiritual practice. 005157

Once we know what we are doing, why we're doing it and we know what we are seeking, a lot of people will ask you “what are you doing?” You say, “I'm seeking a spiritual path. What is it? You raise that question to yourself. You don’t have to say it.

Sometimes it is very profound. Sometimes it's embarrassing so you don’t want to say it. But your mind is direct to yourself so think what you're thinking.

So the whole question of the spiritual path really is something to be questioned for me. Though fortunately or unfortunately I was born in that and dragged through with this without thinking, honestly without thinking.

It's sort of like here's your book, read this, memorize this, say this, debate this, and write about it. It was almost like that to me. Lucky in one way, unlucky in another way. I did not struggle. Many of you might have. Many of you might not have.

If you have it, it is your asset. If you don't have it, many of you are a little too late. You went half way through everything – a little too late. For many of you it is not too late. Even for those who are a little too lake there is nothing wrong with (revisiting?).

You may reduce the power of your commitment if you treat it as if it were a tax burden

That will establish a whole purpose of your spiritual practice. If you have this then it is worthwhile for you. If you don't have that then it is (like a burden?) it is my commitment it is almost like you are paying a tax to the government, Alan Greenspan, or the internal revenue service or whoever.

Whoever we pay it's like paying a tax and then it's not worth it is very difficult. And then we look for the shortest possible (Rimpoche has an aside)

So if you are just simply paying tax, then we just do it as short as possible as quick as possible - just so the federal government or the state will not send you a bill or catch you. 005647

That might not be very good. The thing is this. It is very strange. it is almost the same thing for the Buddha's teaching. It is interesting. Buddha’s teaching so interesting. Bits of this, bits of that, bits here, bits there, it's all over the place. According to the Tibetan tradition we have a little over 100 volumes of what we call Ganyuh which is supposed to be the direct words of the Buddha.

Which Buddhaologists will say it's a Buddhist canon because it came 200, 300, even 400 years later than Buddha himself. So therefore it is not really Buddha's words but it is Buddhist canon. So whatever it may be whether you call it canon or the collected works or whatever. Everything is little bits here and there and everything is everywhere honestly.

Do it is almost like nobody has edited it. Nobody has organized it. It is somehow not made for one individual person to become Buddha. It is not organized in that way. So that is why the collected works of the Buddha are….. I mean there are volumes on profound wisdom there are volumes on transcendental wisdom there are volumes and volumes on this and that but it doesn't put them together. It does not put them together.

Organizing the path for one individual to follow

When the earlier Tibetan translators translated these texts anybody whoever wanted something and they look in that original Sanskrit or something and that particular portion or that particular title has been translated. And all translated things are put together regarding this or it is all put in number of volumes regarding that. They did not organize it in a way to show one individual how to travel the path to enlightenment. 010046

I don’t want to say disorganized but there are bits and bits of information here and there and here and there here and there and everywhere.

But the jigsaw puzzles are not put together - it is everywhere. So what happens early in Nalanda and Bigramsheila is the Mahasiddhi traditions in India - they are the ones who had to put them together. So if one individual wants this then this is the way, this is the way.

So even in Tibet according to J. Tsongkhapa even in Tibet as late as 1300 they are still not well organized. So J. Tsongkhapa himself with the help of Manjushri obtained the highest state that was humanly possible at that time. J Tsongkhapa had attained this state.

However when he wanted to lead the individual and guide him through the path, he found it was difficult. So one of his teachers from the Sakyu tradition known as Lama Umabah wrote to J. Tsongkhapa saying “what are you up to these days? What are you doing? So Tsongkhapa replied saying. “ I myself as my own path am pursuing rigorously and everything is making sense and it's great but as far as leading the other people who are seeking my help - I found it difficult to lead.

J Tsongkhapa had thousands of people following him during that period. It was so strange if you look at it… Talking about disorganized - it is really true. You know Tsongkhapa would give a teaching somewhere. 010343

The people heard that Tsongkhapa was giving a teaching so the whole family would go.

They would say oh in August he is giving a teaching in Tashilumba or the Shigazey area. All right and then everybody goes to the Shigazey area and many will reach at the end of July fine. Many will reach the same area at the end of August and miss the teaching. Tsongkhapa has done the teaching and is moving to the next area somewhere else. They begin to arrive after he has given he teaching so they stay there month and then try to follow wherever he goes. It is all like that.

So he said I find it very difficult to lead the people on the path. So Tsongkhapa found Atisha’s system. Atisha is a great Indian Mongolian teacher scholar . To bring him to Tibet then Tibetan King sacrificed his own life..

Tsongkhapa looks to Atisha’s system

So Tsongkhapa said Atisha’s system I have found to be the best. So I am leading the disciples through Atisha’s path. So Atisha has a two page a little booklet called “a light on the path”. So Atisha had that system sort of saying at the beginning level what to do and then at the middle level what to do and then at the highest level what to do.

Atisha made three different circles which they call three different scopes. That is how it had been organized. I do have a slight experience here. My experience, to be honest with you, the Tibetan history…. There are Tibetan histories there are all of those there but history is not together. It is very much like this - somebody is talking about this somebody is talking about that somebody is talking (? Reading?) but this is not even synchronized.. It is not.

When I was in India I was with this professor at Case Western Reserve called Melvyn Goldstein. Our Tibetan friends don't like him much

So he wanted to make a Tibetan history book. He asked me if I wanted to work with him and I said fine. 010751

Rimpoche’s personal experience with organizing historical data

So I did work with him. When we started working there is no synchronization - nothing I did not even know where to look find this find this find this - where to put it – nothing!

So the only thing that I could do in those days, at least 20 year ago, was meet with a number of older Tibetans. So we would be sitting there listen to their story and then say “and then what happened” . Then they would explain more and I would ask them what happened after that? After talking about it with some 60 or even 70 different Tibetans and then we began to find that the events coordinated.

We found that In 1920 this happened then in 1921 this happened then in 1922 this happened, then in 1923 this happened. So then we put the events together and we got a basic framework of the history of Tibet. It began to work - that was my experience.

If you look at Tibetan history they talk here, they talk there, they talk here, they talk there. You have to take the pieces and put them together. So once you have the basic framework then everything is easy to plug in from everywhere.

Even talking to different people, interviewing people, talking, listening to their talk, lectures, and conversations, with the basic framework you are able to plug everything together. That is how we built that history.

This was his book so he decided to label it (Dharhaasis of Lamaistic Road?) I don't like the title he chose. So he called it a political history from 1930 to 1950 whatever it is. 011024

So Dharmaisis of Lamaistic…. Truly how Lamaistic rule died. This is what you see it. So he wanted to use that title but I did not like it but it is not my book. It is there he put his name the Political History of Tibet by Melvyn Goldstein with the help of Gelek Rimpoche.

So what Gelek Rimpoche did was put all these events together. One after another year after year. Year after year we put together so got the basic framework, the basic structure that worked. Then everything is easy to add.

Likewise, like that, in the spiritual path too. I realized that too - in the spiritual path too. We need to synchronize. Where you're going. What you are doing. What will follow. What we will do. Once you have synchronized that every bits and bits comes and adds up on that.

Synchronizing the chronological order or steps

Then it becomes richer and great. So what J Tsongkhapa has done here, he said “I followed Atisha’s system.” So what he really had done was synchronize the chronological order or steps that he developed and even named it Lam Rim.

He didn't identify himself as the author of the Lam Rim. He even denied it. He said, “I did write the book on Lam Rim, big, small, and medium and all kinds of things but I am not the author of the Lam Rim. The author of Lam rim is Buddha. Because it is Buddha’s experience, Buddha is the one who discovered it.

The early Indian masters and sages, they are the confirming persons, they confirmed. I experienced, organized them together so I made that stage. So this is how J Tsongkhapa came out with Lam Rim.

Roadmap to become Buddha

Actually Lam means road and Rim means synchronized - one after the other. So truly speaking to me, it is nothing but a roadmap to become Buddha. The roadmap to become Buddha. It's like a GPS. Honestly whether it is a Garmin or Tom-Tom. Some will give you a little shorter route comprehensive, some will give you a little runaround and whatever it may be ultimately you get there. 011411

They will tell you turn right, turn left, turn right and if you get to the point where you should turn they'll give you an audio signal and if you miss it they will say recalculate right? The Lam Rim does the very same thing, honestly. The teachings will tell you, turn right, turn left, and if you miss it they will say recalculate. That's what this roadmap to total enlightenment with the GPS voice and map guidance - that's really what it is.

So if you look at that first word…. the Tibetan and English there is always difficult the difficulty is that does not really go that way. If you look at the Tibetan the first word is “Yundan”. Yundan means quality right?

if you look in the English first word is “following”. Following the kind master okay. So doesn't tell honestly but when you have the whole sentence….. probably there is not a single person today who is translating Tibetan Sanskrit word to word into English.

There are a few. There is a professor in Michigan called Luis Gomez. He Is not a Tibetan professor, he is Sanskrit. Luis Gomez, as far as I know, is translating Nagajuna’s text, Sanskrit text, into English. I think the root text is about 70 falus….double it 140 or so right? So since the 1980s - 1985 1986, 1987 he's been translating. So I worked for two or three years on that with a Japanese professor and three or four other Indians and three or four people all working. He never came out with that book - it never came out.

And you know Thurman came once to Michigan to give a lecture and Luis Gomez introduced Thurman. He said he's the only person who can make sense out of Buddhist original text in the English language. That's how he introduced Thurman. 011814

Thurman can make sense of it so people can read it. Maybe that is true. Maybe Thurman’s translation will probably translate word for word and meaning to meaning but it will not be good English sentences at all maybe (Rimpoche laughs)

So this guy probably worked for 15 years with a number of different professors together. This expert from Japan comes from Japan every year regularly. So probably that's really what it is.

So when you look at the Tibetan, the first word is quality which is equivalent to the perfection which we have right - perfection isn’t it? 011922

All perfections

So when they give you the first word - perfection, quality what we are talking about and they're giving you the goal first, What you're wanting to achieve is a perfect quality perfection. So they give you the goal first and tell you that you want to get there.

Then the second word when you look at it in Tibetan, it is “guu” “yen den guu” which means all!

So all perfections, not just one perfection but all perfections is what you want. You want all perfections. So it gives you not only that your goal is perfection but all perfections. All perfect is nothing but total enlightenment nothing but a Buddha.

Whether it is Buddhist or non-Buddhist totally everything perfect is a Buddha. It may be a non-Buddhist Buddha that doesn't matter honestly. Non-Buddhist Buddha it can be - it doesn't matter. But anyway Buddha is not Buddhist is it?

What do you think Sky? Buddha is Buddhist or not. No right? You're shaking your head good. Buddha is not a Buddhist and all Buddhists are non-Buddhas. That does make it a little interesting, huh? (Rimpoche laughs).

So anyway enlightenment is all perfections. So that is really the true goal of the path that is following Buddha, the path that is following the Vajrayana, the path that is following the Mahayana is this.

The difference between the Theravadan and the Mahayana whether it is Sutra Mahayana or Vajrayana Mahayana, is the goal. The Theravadan will never aim to become a Buddha. It is like the fact that many Christians are not interested in becoming God. They think it's almost impossible - some of them think. 012244

Buddhas are not born as Buddhas they start as persons

Some of them think that is not something you talk about or think about. That is the gentle way of putting it. The Mahayana Buddhists think that Buddha is something that we all can become. It is possible. The simple reason is they say all these Buddhas whether it is Shakymuni, Maitreya, Love, Wisdom, Compassion, Amitaba Buddha, Amitabu Buddha whatever Buddha you may be - all these Buddhas weren't born as Buddhas, they did not come down from somewhere as a Buddha they started as a person, just like you and me. They were persons who did work through, who did something, who made sacrifices in their lives, who did struggle and who did achieve something.

That is why they became Buddha. Even Buddha Shakyamuni, our official Buddha did this. Although the points that the Mahayana accepts and the Theravadan or Hinayana accepts are different. Although the Mahayana accepts Buddha has been Buddha for however long he has been but he will appear here as a usual person. What is usual? Just a boy born.

Although a little unusual, he walked seven steps which is not what a usual child will do. Or they say the lotus will grow under the feet when he steps but the usual kids won’t. So he is supposed to be as usual as possible. Anyway that's why you see a lot of those statues in Southeast Asia and China of the Buddha as a child with his little finger in the air saying I am the best. So that's what it is. Con se kaneyah….

So the most important two legged person when he was born raised his figure and said, I'm the best, then took seven steps and proclaimed that I'm the best. 012558

This is still not very normal either but still it's supposed to be normal. He was born from a mother…okay then I had better keep my mouth shut here… I don't know where Buddha was born from. Some say he was born from the (?) and we see in the area where the mother was holding a tree and the baby coming from out of the (Umpeh?) and all this. It is the (Lumini?) right? So we just saw even during this last tour the pictures and all that.

However if it was normal the baby doesn't come out of here does it? (Rimpoche laughs) So maybe it comes out of the usual place where they come from but I'm quite sure Buddha had come from the usual place. It is because it has been almost 2700 years ago, so the poets have made little bit of poetry twisted and turned it.

That has got to be the reason honestly that's got to be the reason so anyway they made it look like that. So it becomes you know a mixture of the myth, faith and the reality - truly speaking it has to be the normal usual reality made to look like it's little more. (Rimpoche has an aside)

We are talking about myth and reality here. I'm quite sure that Buddha was born from the mother's womb. All of you know better than I do anyway so truly speaking you know really. So you can figure it out. They made it into some kind of a holy thing by making not from the usual place.

I'm glad they did not make Buddha come out of the ear or the head or something that's also good (Rimpoche laughs) maybe they think that the ear is too small to come out. So maybe it’s a little bigger here maybe, I don’t know. 012910

Anyway but I'm quite sure Buddha was born in the usual way. He is the usual human being. He was a usual human being with the ego, with pride, with jealousy, with all of this that's why he had all this competitions with his peers. He had a very strong struggle with his cousin who'd been challenging him every step that he took.

Every step he took his cousin was challenging him and all of this. Even after Buddha became extraordinary, even then his cousin was still challenging him. So Buddha’s are normal persons with normal negative emotions with normal negative functions with everything normal then they find a way how to handle the problems and achieve the Buddha state.

True to the Mahayana point, fully enlightened before, because just overnight in just six years of contemplation may or may not be able to achieve enlightenment - it is not that easy. Buddha went through the process showing everyone this you can do this is how it's happening to me this is what's happening to me here I am this is what it is. So when Buddha is doing that showing us you can do the same thing. Not only showing us you can do the same thing, Buddha himself said “first you and I were equal, everything is equal but then you didn't want it, you got a little lazy. I got a little enthusiastic and I got little conscientiousness. So I worked a little harder so now I have become Buddha it's too bad you didn't become Buddha 013209

Everyone can become a Buddha

Honestly… So that shows that everyone can do it. Everybody is equal. Everybody has a right to become a Buddha. Everybody has the way to become Buddha. Everyone is entitled if they want to access a way to become Buddha.

Whether you do it or not do it that is up to you. It Is totally in our hands. When we are a little bit lazy we don't want to put in efforts or you are switching around saying this might be better, that might be better this may be better that may be better so we don't pursue it.

Many of us will think we are adding up on our progress on wherever we are going. Sometimes it doesn't add up. It menaces, it reverses sometimes, honestly. That is why the purity so important. 013340

I spent 10 days or week whatever it was in the winter retreat. How important to remain pure in the tradition, how important to have a perfect path that is pure. You know really I spent so much time because I myself am aware of it….

A Pure (systematically worked out) path will push you forward

I have the knowledge and I do but when you are getting mixed here and there it becomes very difficult. Sometimes it goes together very well – it becomes a plus. Sometimes it becomes so much (menace, madness?) so you are pushed backwards. So it is important to remain pure path. Pure path will lead you…. push you forward not backwards.

Pure here has a special meaning. Nothing is impure honestly every teaching, everybody, everything is pure. Pure here means well organized systematically worked out - a system. Whichever system you are following, follow that path. It doesn't mean don't respect others - do respect others. If you don't have the negativity despising a Dharma or something - which is horrible. Kang ghen zom….

So even Buddha himself said, you can dismantle millions of stupas and that negativity is nothing measured against the negativity of rejecting the Dharma of some teaching tradition.

Learn, learn, learn is not a good strategy

So that is not the point. The system itself is worked out systematically so you need to follow it properly - if you are following. If you don’t follow then don’t follow. Picking up information, it does not matter. How we do this… what I really wanted tell you too is not only is the path systematically worked out but there is also a system for how the individual practices. The system is learning, analyzing, meditating - three systems. Learning, analyzing, and meditating - you have to do these together. A lot of people think learn learn learn learn and then they do not do anything else. Then you become a great…. I don't want to say professor but…. that's what it is. 013726

an information resource. So learning learning learning even the computer learns a lot better than us they maintain much more information than we can do. Whatever you learn - analyze that and whatever you're convinced is correct practice that. Combine these two together.

Learning, analyzing, practicing together - this is key

Learning, analyzing, practicing together - this is key. Otherwise you keep on learning learning learning – what! Then you say whatever I have learned or not learned, now I have to meditate. What do you meditate on?

So when the meditation time comes whatever you have learned has been forgotten. Then when you want to analyze you have to read the books and study studying studying putting books and information together and you become confused and you say what is what?

You try to sort it out and that does not work. Whatever you learn, check – don’t just buy it. Whenever you learn – don’t buy it. 013856

Use what makes sense to you

Whatever I said today even from me, whatever I said today it is not the last word at all! It is an expression of my thoughts. Then you can think about. If it makes sense and you find something useful pick it up and take it. If it is not making sense and it is not useful then throw it in the garbage. That's what you have got to do. Even Buddha encouraged you to do that for Buddha himself - so for a person like us for sure. When you find it is making sense when it is right when it makes a difference in your life then you practice that. Then this question of forgetting does not rise - truly speaking.

You may forget the word but you don't forget the meaning because you're practicing. So together learning, analyzing, meditating, together on the path that has been systematically organized. 014021

So the first one here is following the grandmaster what is it? So the first thing that they are introducing is Vajrayana based teaching not Vajrayana itself but Vajrayana based teaching - Vajrayana oriented teaching.

First and foremost they will tell you how important the guru is. It tells you that the very root and foundation is following and properly practicing guru yoga yes. Following a grandmaster may or may not make sense to you. Even the word following is funny.

Very recently we had a retreat in Ann Arbor . There were a number of people from Malaysia and Singapore. There were standing around and they began talking to a guy who was going to give them a ride. One of them said I am going to follow you.

Then I realized for Malaysians saying, I am going to follow you means that I'm coming with you in your car. That's what it is, honestly (audience laughs) that's what it is. For the Americans, saying I will follow your means you go first and I will follow you in my car right? So for Malaysians I follow you means – I am coming with you in your car. That is really what it is.

One other thing when they say “just now is better” what does “just now” mean? It is not this one but rather the previous one. If you have two different choices this first one or this second one and they say just now is better – it means the previous one – not this one.

So following is an issue. Following means coming with you, jumping with you, coming over you, all of those are following. 014321

So actually it's guru yoga. They're talking about following but it has is nothing to do with following. Guru yoga, Guru Yoga, that makes sense because it's a little more mystical guru yoga you know why? The word yoga makes it mystical because it is not English honestly.

The word Guru is also not English though they use guru and pundit and all this in these political commentaries. They do use it but still it's not English so it is a little mystical. So the first thing that they are telling us, Guru Yoga is your first yoga - all these verses will tell you.

The question for us is - what is guru yoga? What is a Guru. What does Guru mean? What does that have to do with me? All of those are huge questions – huge questions. What this question means for you, if you are really going to follow that properly or even if you are going to understand that properly - you really have to know what is a Guru and what does guru mean.

Most important Guru for Guru Yoga is Buddha Shakyamuni

Who is most important guru? All this. To me the most important Guru is Buddha Shakyamuni. Honestly there's nothing more important than Buddha Shakyamuni – no one. Why Shakyamuni is the Guru? Because it is he who showed us the path, it is he who is sharing the path, it is he who is teaching us, it is he who taught us, it is he who made us to understand, negative, positive, right, wrong. 014623.

It is he who tells us about something called karma in life. Is he who told us karma governs our life - our life just doesn't go where we wanted to go because it is controlled and run by karma. It is he who told us we are the creators of our own karma. It is he who told us that I am responsible for my future.

When I say I am I'm not talking about this I - I am talking about each and every one of us. I am responsible for my future. I'm the one who makes the difference for me in my life and lives. So at the bottom line it is me and that's what it is honestly. So many may think, Oh you are a Buddhist so you're not supposed to think about me. You are supposed to think about the others – compassion , love and all this. Sure you are supposed to think about others, you are supposed to think about love, you are supposed to think about compassion 014814

But it is me who makes a difference in my life, I am responsible for myself. This is what the Buddha told us. That is why it is Buddha who is the guru. He is the guide. He is the teacher. He provides guidance. We cannot even make heads or tails out of this thing called karma. We had no idea about karma until Buddha who discovered karma told us about karma.

It is Buddha who told us about compassion. It is Buddha who told us about wisdom. it is the Buddha who taught the Vajrayana. It is the Buddha who told us about Buddha honestly. That is why he is the most important guru of all for us is Buddha.

So when you're talking about the guru yoga you are talking about guru Buddha. If you look at Tibetan Buddhist tradition in many places it says guru Buddha bodhisattva blah blah blah. But when you read it we say Guru Buddha bodhisattva but we don't get any ideas all.

So this is the most important guru in Buddhism. So when you're talking about guru devotional practice or guru yoga you are talking about activity dealing with the Buddha and ourselves our relation, our relation.

There is no guru other than Buddha. There is no Buddha other than guru

All other gurus that we see this guru that guru all of them are part and parcel of Buddha. Part and parcel of Buddha. There is no guru other than Buddha. There is no Buddha other than guru - honestly.

Not only Buddha, even those Yidams those Yidams fully enlightened Yidams, all of them are gurus and all of them are Buddha all of them are the Yidam.

All Taras are Buddha all Buddhas are Tara

So honestly the bottom line for practical purposes in practice the moment you are thinking of the guru and the guru yoga you always have to think Guru Buddha, Guru Yidam, Guru Dharma and Guru Sangha. Think that way and then you will get somewhere - Although Guru and Sangha and Dharma and not necessarily the same. But Guru and Buddha and all of them are the same all the Yidams such as Tara or wrathful or peaceful or whatever they're all Gurus, all Gurus are that, they are all Buddhas all Buddhas are that, all Taras are Buddha all Buddhas are Tara. They are all Gurus and you should think about Guru Yoga that way.

Guru yoga will be the totality of life practice - if you can do that. So whether it is a foundation or whatever it is we will talk later and that is what I wanted to talk about today. Thank you and bye-bye (audience laughs) or are there any questions?

We just really covered the first half of a word okay? (Audience laughs)Half of a word but that is very important. So it will give you the background. It will give you the goal and give you the purpose and the way and how to go. Then what is Guru Yoga all about. In essence that's what it really is. Alright if you don’t have a question I'm going to call it a day, thank you (they discuss jewel heart business)