3 p.m.

The Three Upper Realms of Suffering (Page 101)

1. Human

We briefly talked about the sufferings of the human realm. Generally, poor people, those who are limited in material possessions have more material problems, and those who are not limited in material possessions have mental problems. Both those limited in material possessions and those not limited in material possessions are suffering.

For instance, the high leaders always have much worry even if there are no material problems. However, same thing, as the poor people limited in material possessions are in suffering, the high leaders with much reputation are suffering, same thing, they are worrying about things. For instance, kings, presidents—the mind is not happy, not always well; there are so many things to think of, so many things to be concerned about—worry that they are not able to control the enemies, that they will disturb the country or family and have to undertake the responsibility of the suffering of that country or that village. According to the person, like this; finding it hard to control the population, the people, so many disagreeable things happening, much complication, confusion in the mind, and much worry; also much worry about losing the job and also much fear of losing job and making mistakes, losing the job and losing the reputation; if there’s a mistake, they lose their reputation. For the beggar, the way of suffering is different, but it’s still suffering—worrying to lose the reputation is suffering, mental suffering; so many things, not happy, no real place to lose power; many things, finding it very hard even to relax for a few hours, very hard, so many things. And also as he receives all kinds of information, this is also much worry. And the general shape of the job is based on something that is done rooted in greed or hatred, like this, mostly an action like this. No matter how great the job, how much it is famous, no matter, it is mostly done with negative mind, is an action of the negative mind.

So totally, on this earth, some people are poor-looking, some people have heavy jobs, do different works, heavy works, some people are rich, so there are many different aspects and many different looking people, but it is the same. However they look different, all of them are suffering, same thing. Spending suffering life is the same thing. However the customs look different, the peoples’ way of living, however the people’s way of talking is different, the clothes and place they live is different—it is equal. It is also equal to the lower creatures, it is the same thing.

As we see the outside example, the way that different people live, as we see, we shouldn’t have the conception that we have never experienced, never lived that life, we shouldn’t have this conception—this conception gives wrong interest, and is a disturbance. This conception makes you involved in the same life, involved in the same conditions. So it is useful to think, whenever one sees people having a miserable life, or having a life that is rich-looking, many different things, think that it’s my old experience, I went through this countless times. This is very useful, as you see other examples outside thinking this, remembering your own experience, your experience of your lives, so there is no conception that it is new, the way the people live.

For instance, some people are making big business; some making a boat, some making a truck, something happening—so you see that as a happy life, you get attached to that life, thinking with the conception that it is not your experience. Then, because of that conception you get involved in that, and then thinking that it is new to you only keeps you in samsara because it is only following attachment, and it only keeps you in the bondage of suffering. Most of the people are doing this; they look at other people and do this. There are two ways of looking at other people. However, it should be checked, even though you want to do that, your own motive, check the basic mind, whether it is positive or negative, to protect your life. Otherwise you ruin your life. Many people waste time, life like this, as if the experience is new to you, then generating attachment for that. So anyway, it is useful to think, “It is not new, that life is not new, I have gone through this numberless times; there is no such samsaric karma that I never created, no such negative karma that I never experienced, never created.” Thinking like this proves, makes you conscious of your past experience, and in this way stops the interest in that, because it’s old. So not having interest, you don’t get involved, and this way you always protect your life.

These things are not for Dharma reason. You may think, “I am doing this for Dharma,” everything you are doing, from the mouth saying, “Doing for Dharma, doing for the sentient being.” But you are just saying that, and that does not protect your life from suffering. The actual thing that protects your life from suffering is checking your own motive before, then doing things—this is helpful. In that way, that kind of thing does not mean making the life meaningful. Usually, ordinary people’s connotation, commentary on the meaning of the life is this—if the person is physically doing something, it is meaningful; if not doing something physical, is not meaningful. That is the way, their understanding of the meaning of life. Even the insects, the lower creatures can do fantastic things, physical work that we cannot do. Spiders can make fantastic webs that we can’t; one spider can make fantastic things like this—he does not have any machines, factories, or anything to build those things. Anyway, there are many other animals that can do many things. As people make war, also animals can make wars, for example ants make war with other ants. Birds are also like this, birds also have laws—some cannot come to certain places—there are certain places in Tibet where birds cannot come, it is not a law made by people, and birds get killed by each other. Many things—not surprising—any kind of physical work, making physical things. It is good, but it is not surprising, not a new thing—not complaining, not saying it is bad, but it’s not a new thing.

The example of those animals, the spider. To take care of his life and body he makes a web and hides and lets the insects, the flies go through and then he comes down and eats them—very wise method, so wise, very wise. Many times I checked up when I was small, he always gets it like this—the fly gets stuck and it moves and then he comes; he doesn’t know if it is an animal or something, just because it moves, he runs and checks up. If it is not something he can eat he drops it, or leaves it there, if it is an animal he eats it from the bottom first and leaves the head until last. Totally, that is to take care of his life, for the temporal life. Same thing, people making fantastic physical things to take care of the physical body, same thing with animals. Animals can’t make machines, but people cannot make webs.

Also look at the bees who collect honey—they also collect this for their life, they collect this to have it at a different time. Our enjoyment, pleasure from the honey depends on the bees’ work, collecting the tiny sweet drop from each flower. This depends on the bees’ hard work. We never think of the hard work of the bees collecting and going to each flower, that they can carry each time is nothing—it is something that when we enjoy it we feel competent, something done by oneself, not the bees’ hard work. What I am saying is this—even for honey we have to depend on bees, we do not make it by ourselves, not dependent on the bees. So also there are animals that collect such sweet things, so even if they are animals, like this, there is no surprise that the physical works are done for the temporal life, the work of the bees is done for temporal life. Many things, there are stories, lives of the insects, what they can do that we human beings cannot do.

Also, there is one insect that is flying around here, which has quite a tall body and long wings—anyway he also does that, he has some skill to take care of his life. At some corner place he lays foundations with mud—he takes mud and transports the tiny drops of mud and lays a foundation. After he has done this he goes to find the worm in the grass and leaves it there, and it doesn’t move. Then as he transports each drop of mud he covers it; then he brings another insect and then brings mud; the insect and the mud. Like this he piles it up—then what happened was one monk touched the top and took off the mud, but the animal wasn’t dead when the insect came back he found the hole and ate the worm. Then the rest became like him, with wings. He collected for it food, but unfortunately it became an animal.

So any work that is done for temporal life is no surprise—there is nothing to be attached and no surprise.

2. Asura

They always fight with suras. The asuras are jealous of the suras, of the perfection of their power, their higher power, they are jealous. “Asura”—”A” is a negative word, means generally “non-god.” They are like gods, the way they look, but they cannot compare their powers to the suras. The suras have usually many beautiful women, and the asuras have usually miserliness, covetousness, and attachment, and when they come to take them from the suras they lose. When they fight the asuras, usually the suras are more powerful in the materialistic sense, they have more control, more powers. They have also much suffering—for both sides there is much suffering, but usually the suras have higher pleasures, they have nectars of long life, they have the power of the enjoyment, more perfect, higher. If a sura’s neck is cut it dies, but if the body is cut it grows back.

There are four main cities, places for the asuras. Mt. Meru contains different categories of gods. It is not like an ordinary mountain, there are different categories of gods on different levels. There are four levels under the ocean on the side of Mount Meru. On top are the samsaric gods, situated in the different categories. So they always fight.

The asuras’ main suffering is jealousy, not liking others’ perfection, power. Always this is one of the main, great sufferings. When we do meditation on these things, try to think—when there’s a person who has more knowledge, something, and you feel very strongly jealous, sometimes wishing that the person didn’t exist, the person who has that knowledge, or has that friend, wishing he didn’t exist; when you have mental problem, jealous people, having different friends, having people, knowledge, power, many things, wanting to kill him, such uncomfortable feeling. Try to remember this, if there’s a past experience, then try to remember how it is uncomfortable to you. As they are greater than the usual, ordinary people’s jealousy, they have strong jealous suffering, and always the life finishes in suffering, being jealous. So by remembering our past experience of this and trying to make it bigger, try to visualize this much greater suffering of jealousy.

When they fight each other, the sura are much more powerful. How much the asuras have powerful weapons, all kinds of things, just one powerful elephant of the suras by blowing his trunk destroys many of them, and their powerful weapons. Usually, when on the earth, when more human beings create good karma, the suras win; when the human beings create negative karma, less Dharma practice, less merits, the asuras win. Their fighting is much more scary, much more fearful than human beings’ fighting. As scared as we are when there is a fight, war in the country, why not in those realms, when they fight with much more power, much more fear? Even if the asuras win, there is a special lake in which they look in and see everything like a mirror, a special sea, and in that lake they see their companions killed and they experience much fear and suffering. They see everything from this special sea, like a mirror, much suffering.

However intelligent the asuras are, there is no chance to discover the absolute nature. They are like human beings who do things beyond the usual human actions, usual human behavior, such as very evil persons, evildoers. These beings do things that the usual human being don’t do—as they are recognized as not being human beings, recognized as lower than usual human beings because of their lower actions, so the asuras are recognized like this, but even much more so—they are unsubdued and more evil than suras, more cruel, unpacified. So they are called “asura.”

3. Also there are many sufferings for the suras.

a) These seven days are their seven days, not seven human days. Usually these beings bodies have no smell, no dirt, but at death time they become dirty; usually water doesn’t stay on the body, but at that time everything changes, there is a big difference. Even the flowers they have put on decay and become rotten. These are the signs of death. Not desiring to sit on the bed. They usually don’t blink their eyes, but at that time they blink their eyes. They become ugly and the usual attached friends they enjoyed with in their lifetime since they were born don’t want to look at them, so that being has much suffering because he remembers all his beauties, pleasures, and enjoyments. Now everything has changed, decayed, even the usual friend doesn’t want to look at him—so his feels much upset and worry. Also, remembering what his present life was before, and karmically seeing that he will be reborn where there is much suffering, where there is no perfect enjoyment as in the god realm. So as they see the sufferings of the naraks, animals, and pretas and compare them with what they have there, it is completely the opposite, and there is great worry. Their seven days are 350 years for human life, and they see so much suffering, especially the horrible suffering of the lower realms; greater suffering than those narak sufferings, greater even than the lighter narak sufferings. Generally, we forget about seeing our future lives, and even when the usual people are looking at us and caring for us, we experience suffering, an upset feeling. Our enjoyment is not like what they have. Anyway, this is one of the greatest sufferings that they have at the death time. During the seven days, all these things happen.

(b) Also, they experience the suffering such as embarrassment. Also the suras, who have more power and perfection, control the asuras so they experience much worry as a result of being under this control.

Gods of Form and Formlessness

The gods of form don’t use the sense of the tongue and the ear. There are other senses.

Gods of formlessness—they only live on consciousness, they have no other senses.

In regards to these there are sixteen categories, and in the formless realm there are four categories. Being born in those shapes comes about because of the different desires, different ways of thinking causes one be born in those categories. There is much to talk about in these evolutions.

If one is born as a formless god, the being is only conscious at birth and death, but between that, as long as the living being exists in that realm, it is like sleeping, like a person who is completely unconscious the whole night until its time to get up. So anyway, they are completely distracted, and do not have any other chance to develop wisdom or to practice Dharma—it is useless, however long they exist, it is extremely difficult to receive, to realize the absolute nature and to practice Dharma—that is also in the nature of suffering, not out of ignorance. From that stage, also it is possible to be born in the narak, animal, and preta stages. There is no such definite place like those sura and asura beings.

The cause to be born in the world of form is not desiring and feeling hatred and having renounced mind towards the objects of the senses, the greater pleasures such as the raptures and ecstasies of attachment that are received through samadhi meditation, and feeling hatred for the common objects of the senses.

What causes one to be born in the world of formlessness? First of all, getting bored by the pleasures of the senses after being born in the world of form, hating them, and developing the mind renouncing them, wishing to develop indifferent feelings, not suffering, not happy feelings, but different feelings. That desire causes them to be born in the world of formlessness. So, for them there’s no changeable suffering during that life, while they are unconscious for long periods. However, they are totally in the bondage of suffering, in the circle of death and rebirth, not cut out of it.

The future rebirth depends very much on the death time, the karmic desire at death time. This way we can realize, as the whole rebirth is only forced by the ignorance, by attachment, each of our individual rebirths, taking continually like this, caused by one’s individual mind—different karma and desire.

6 p.m.

After karma, we usually meditate on the human realms, then the asura and sura realms. Then after this, on the specifics of the eight sufferings. First of all is this meditation on the lower realm sufferings, those of the animal, preta, and naraks; then the meditation on the suffering of the human, asura, and sura realms; then on the general sufferings, the eight sufferings—the suffering of rebirth, old age, sickness, death, the suffering of not finding the desirable object, the suffering of encountering the ugly object, the suffering of separation from the desirable object, and the suffering of the deluded body. These eight are more related to the human and sura realms. Also meditate on the six divisions of samsaric sufferings and then last, the three sufferings—the suffering of suffering, changeable suffering, and pervading suffering—the suffering which is all over the body, from the head down to the feet. So the whole thing is meditating on suffering, and by making divisions like this you see the whole, the total thing, like trying to see all of an animal like a sheep—trying to see inside the body, the intestines and so on. Meditating in this way is very helpful and useful for the mind and causes you to recognize samsaric suffering. Then also, there is a way to do the meditation—if, after meditating on this suffering, if one can remember those six root delusions (Page 92), it is helpful. Also, it is useful to recognize the twenty secondary delusions (Page 93), and meditate on samsaric suffering through checking the twelve links (Page 96).

The Six Principal Delusions (Page 92)

(2) Greed

Chag—attached, do—desirable object. So just this term makes much sense.

“Self-nature beauty”—the wrong view, the wrong conception. This is one thing I was talking about yesterday, so if you look at it, at the void of self-nature, there is nothing to be attached to. If you look at it with self-nature, the attachment comes.

(4) Pride.
(a) Generally feeling higher than others, feeling important.
(d) This is difficult to recognize, the wrong view. Besides recognizing right view, the wrong view—how we are perceiving it—is difficult to recognize and becomes a subtle subject to understand. Meditation and understanding of the teachings on the absolute nature, the meditation to recognize this wrong view, how you are perceiving it, depends on understanding of the truth. Ordinary people cannot explain it well; the wrong view is not an easy subject. Even knowing this clearly depends on the teaching.

(e) Sometimes people make trips through drugs, and think they really have gained some realization—there are things like this, but they do not really know; many things like this.

(g) Sexual intercourse, which many people think of in modern times.

“Great pure love stops pride.” This is remembering sentient beings’ happiness and then having pure, great love, the bodhisattva’s love, the Mahayana love—this can help us to lose pride. Also, meditating on the absolute nature of oneself can help.

(5) Doubt

“Maybe it exists, maybe it doesn’t exist,” “Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t.” We are always on two points, and because of this it takes much time to receive the realization. “Maybe the ‘I’ exists, maybe the ‘I’ doesn’t exist,” thinking like this. So it takes time to recognize the absolute nature.

Nagarjuna’s quotation. As there is doubt, if one tries to dispel it soon, it becomes helpful to realize the absolute nature. If one doesn’t try to dispel doubt, it takes much time to receive the realization.

(6) The Doctrine of Delusion, a kind of theory.

(b) Such as, “At the death time, ‘I’ ceases.” Such as, “When receiving Nirvana, ‘I’ ceases.”

Twenty Secondary Delusions (Page 93-94)

There are different types of negative minds that it is important to recognize—much of the problem is not recognizing the negative mind.

When we don’t recognize we always think it is good, just as people think attachment is good, not knowing exactly what is good. To clean yourself you must recognize the negative mind, otherwise there is no way to clean.

2. Spiteful.
10. If you create negative karma, then don’t confess, and the negative mind hides it.

12. Keeping the body looking good, not something that is healthy for Dharma practice but in order to look good; things like this.

17. She.shin—consciousness.

18. Like sometimes when you meditate, the visualization doesn’t come in your mind, and you feel very heavy, drowned, in complete darkness, easy to fall asleep.

19. Go.pa—scattering mind. This negative mind is mainly caused by greed. Usually this negative mind arises in relation to the object that one is attached to.

20. Mental distraction, general; being away from the object of meditation.

Four Changeable Mental Actions (Page 95)

1.Sleep can be virtuous or non-virtuous—we can sleep in a positive way or in a negative way, or in an indifferent way, without any motive, just falling asleep. Sometimes you can sleep with greed or anger—before you go to sleep you have greed or anger, and then the sleep becomes either virtuous, non-virtuous, or indifferent, depending on the motive. So, if one makes the nighttime valuable, there is a way to sleep positively with meditation and visualization.

2. There is positive repentance, which is feeling upset with creating negative karma, and negative repentance, which is feeling upset with creating positive karma. For example, you came to the meditation course feeling much hunger, thirst, pain, cold, and many things; then you think, “I am foolish, if I hadn’t come I would have been alright, if I had gone trekking it would have been nice, enjoyable,” feeling upset with the positive karma, the virtuous action you did. Also thinking, “I would have gone back to the West and enjoyed it there,” feeling upset with your positive action. This is one of the big disturbances because it destroys the good karma you created before, makes it powerless; so it is important not to have repentance after your good actions, as it makes them powerless.

3 and 4. For instance, thinking like this (4)—if one thinks that by finding many reasons, many details. For instance a person, with many reasons and details, may have a mind that is attached to that object. They will have many reasons, saying that it is because of this person’s way of acting, way of talking, way of looking—going with the details, the mind gets attached to the object.

The other one (3) is when just by remembering the person or just looking, one gets attached. The details—like a possession, a property, “This is nice, good,”—cause the mind to be attached.

There is also a positive way to think like this, such as about impermanence and the absolute nature, that the person is impermanent, it is definite that it will get older—in a gross way (3) and with details (4) as the person is changing, decaying in each second, each minute, each split second—checking with details like this.

So everybody do checking meditation on nothingness, everybody do checking meditation on, “How does one perceive the ‘I’ ?”

(Meditation)

Rinpoche Question: Any information? How do you see your “I”?

Answer: I am unable to locate why I can’t see who I am.

Rinpoche: You don’t see yourself?

Answer: This particular body has senses, but in terms of the “I,” I can’t see. The “I” has been identified with those senses for a long time.

Rinpoche: So you don’t perceive the “I,” you don’t feel “I”?

Answer: No.

Rinpoche: Oh! That’s something new. How do you think in your daily life action, how do you think of yourself?

Answer: Myself is observed going through trips in the environment.

Rinpoche: You never think “I”?

Answer: Yes, I get caught in the “I” all the time.

Rinpoche: How do you see that, the old “I”?

Answer: Kind of like an illusion; it’s identified with this body, with my preservation of my breathing, my circulation—the thoughts that go through the head are identified with the “I.”

Rinpoche: How does the “I” think?

Answer: It thinks it is all there.

Rinpoche: How do you feel it?

Answer:(standing) You feel it when it stands up! (much laughter)

Rinpoche: Where do you feel it?

Answer: I was sitting very still and then I wanted to participate in it all, so I stood up.

Rinpoche: What about you?

Answer: What’s the question?

Rinpoche: The meditation.

Answer: I was suffering too much to be meditating.

Rinpoche: You know “I” is suffering?

Answer: Yes—in its deluded thoughts.

Rinpoche: “I” is suffering?

Answer: “I” is me.

Rinpoche: I see—”I” itself is suffering.

Answer: “I” is the—illusion of being itself, is suffering.

Rinpoche: Is the “I” suffering in itself, itself is suffering? How do you perceive the “I”?

Answer: The same as last night.

Rinpoche: It’s living in the heart? But how do you see, how do you feel it? When you think of “Meredith,” how do you feel?

Answer: Self-contained. Not in the positive sense, but as an entity.

Rinpoche: How?

Answer: Through my own personal experiences, my deluded thoughts.

Rinpoche: That’s not asking—how do you see “Meredith” as the “I,” as a self-entity, how do you see?

Answer: The “I” as being separate from other things.

Rinpoche: Is that really how you see?

Answer: Yes.

Rinpoche: Do you see “Meredith” separate from your body?

Answer: I am not the body.

Rinpoche: I’m asking how you feel, not theories. When you think “Meredith,” do you see it as separate from your body? You said you see it as a self-entity and separate from your body.

Answer: Not separately.

Rinpoche: Then not separately from your body?

Answer: If I’m confused or in pain, I’m conscious of “Meredith is suffering.”

Rinpoche: Only in that time there’s a “Meredith”? Usually there’s no “Meredith, only when ...

Answer: I really don’t know, Lama; that’s why I’m sitting here.

Rinpoche: Do you feel “Meredith” separately from your body?

Answer: No.

Rinpoche: So, that is you, that’s “Meredith”? So is that what you see—that’s “Meredith”? How do
you feel “Meredith”?

Answer: Then I say, “Me.”

Rinpoche: Then at that time how do you feel?

Answer: I feel I’m my body. I feel many things that make up the “I” as a conscious body.

Rinpoche: So you see “Meredith” and body as oneness? Or do you see “Meredith” separate from your body? So you don’t see as a self-entity. Before you said you see it as separately from your body?

Day 28
Thursday December 13th
5 a.m.

Before taking ordination it is necessary to be possessed by the pure thought, the opposite of the evil thought of the eight worldly dharmas. To take ordination in the Mahayana way it is necessary to be possessed by the Mahayana impulse, bodhicitta. Try to think of it briefly, like this, “Myself and all other sentient beings have been continually experiencing the samsaric suffering, such as the suffering of the three lower realms, without beginning. Still it is not definite that I will never be reborn in the three lower suffering realms; still myself and sentient beings are under the control of delusion and karma—conceiving impermanent things as permanent, selfless things as self-existing—such as conceiving of oneself as self-existing and independent; the samsaric impurities as pure, and the impure samsaric body as pure, and also conceiving of the samsaric sufferings as a pleasure, such as the changeable sufferings, the temporal pleasures derived from sexual intercourse, derived from temporal enjoyments—believing this is true happiness. As long as we continue like this, under the control of delusion and karma, having these wrong conceptions, as long as we follow this, our samsara will never end; we will have to experience each problem in samsara—each suffering, each tiny problem, each great suffering has to be experienced again, while circling. Anyway, we will have to experience these things endlessly.

The end of samsara, whether there is an end or not, depends on the individual. Such as the perfected being, Guru Shakyamuni—before, he was like us, an ordinary person, and as he met his guru and received teachings, and also followed the precepts such as these, he received enlightenment. By receiving enlightenment he released infinite sentient beings from suffering and enlightened them, benefiting so many sentient beings, leading so many sentient beings to happiness, just as the teachings shown by enlightenment to escape from sufferings. Therefore, it is definitely possible that if we, if each individual, each person tries to achieve enlightenment as Guru Shakyamuni did, it is definitely possible that we can receive it.

Receiving enlightenment is necessary, not only to release oneself from samsara, but because sentient beings, most sentient beings, are in incredible suffering. They are needy objects for the beginning of our Dharma practice, and also in the middle and the end of Dharma practice we have to depend on sentient beings—enlightenment has to depend on them. All of our past, present, and future happiness and perfection has to be received by depending on the sentient beings, and the sentient beings are much more precious than even all the jewels in the earth put together. The value of one sentient being can never be compared to the all the jewels that are on the earth. The materialistic jewel cannot benefit one in that way, just as one enemy can benefit—one jewel cannot benefit in that way, it doesn’t have the value of even one enemy sentient being—its value is priceless, the enemy is priceless. They are extremely kind, they have been our mothers in countless times—and they do not have the wisdom eye to fully distinguish negative and positive actions, do not have a leader leading them on the path to enlightenment, and have not received a perfect human rebirth. Like this, of course there are mother sentient beings who are in other realms missing their chances. So at the moment we, who are the sons of the mother sentient beings, have received all the chances. So each individual is responsible to guide them from suffering, to try as much as possible, as quickly as possible, to lead them into enlightenment and release them from suffering. Also, it is the best way to repay them. Anyway, at the moment each individual doesn’t have the capability—knowledge, powers, or compassion—therefore, it is necessary to be enlightened. To receive, to complete the two accumulations—totally this is done to subdue or clean the body, speech, and mind. Subduing the body, speech and mind, making it clean, making it pure, depends on making the mind pure. The best way to clean the mind is by following the disciplines. Therefore I am going to take the Mahayana ordination.”

Visualize the person granting the ordination in the form of Guru Shakyamuni surrounded by infinite buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats, and you are taking the ordination in the presence of them; also, all these holy objects are all are facing you, looking at you with great happiness—just as like when the mother’s son, the very naughty child who never listens to the parents, for once does something right, listening to the parents, the parents are very glad—just as the parents look at their son with an aspect of, an appearance of happiness. Just like this, we have been, most of the time, doing the opposite to the teachings, creating negative karma, the opposite of the teachings shown by them. So for once we are doing something right, trying to listen as they explained in the teachings. So because of this, all these holy objects are facing you, looking at you with great happiness.

(Ordination Ceremony)

9 a.m.

This is from the same holy speech of this great guru, the bodhisattva [Khunu Lama] Tenzin Gyaltsen, “The one that is close to the action of the sword, cutting the delusions stems (plants) which is called the bodhicitta, it is the weapon to protect the sentient beings.”

As the sword cuts the stems, plants, the bodhicitta is also very quick, powerful, just as the sword, to cut the delusions. For ordinary people, there are weapons, external things, swords, artillery, guns—many of those external things, ordinary beings’ weapons, the weapons of the ordinary worldly beings. But the bodhisattvas, the wise noble beings’ weapon is bodhicitta, their weapon is bodhicitta, the full realization of the absolute nature, and the fully renounced mind of samsara. And none of these external weapons, even from all the countries on this earth put together, even the power of that cannot destroy the delusions, even all that power together cannot destroy even one single negative mind. So, as regards the power of those external weapons, there is nothing to compare with the priceless powers of bodhicitta. It cannot cause any danger to oneself, even an atom, it can never give harm to oneself. The external weapon always gives harm to the other beings, usually it is to destroy, to give harm to other people, usually it is used for that, to destroy others’ peace, protecting oneself by using these external weapons is done by giving harm to others, killing others for one’s own protection. The methods of inner protection and outer protection are completely different, completely opposite. Also, by using the most powerful external weapons, the most powerful existing weapons, as long it they are used, they can never completely cease the enemy, the hindrance; they can never cease them—however long we depend on those external protections, however long we use them, however much we make these weapons powerful—they can never cease the enemy, the hindrances.

For instance, even if a person could kill one enemy, destroy one enemy—again he will find another enemy; and even if that is killed again, there is another enemy. Even in the countries; if one country could overcome another country with machines, again after some time another country becomes the enemy—this proves that external weapons cannot stop the enemy, only producing more. As long as we rely on those external weapons, we will always receive enemies one after one, one after one; this is clear, this is usual—controlling one country does not mean control over all enemies, like this.

Even if one person could kill all the sentient beings on earth, leaving only himself existing, still there would be an enemy because still there is a reason for the enemy to arise, a reason for hindrances. Because the cause for enemy is in his mind—as long as this is not destroyed there will be an enemy arising, either a living being a non-living thing. Even if we forget about the external, non-living things, even the elements of our body, which are non-living, disturb us, harm us. When the person gets sick, that is because of the unbalanced elements.

So it’s nonsense relying on external weapons and trying to control others, receiving peace from this is nonsense. It is something that cannot be ended, which will never end; if we continue like this, as this samsaric action has no beginning, as long as it is done, it will never end.

So the big difference, the knowledge that is the noble beings’, the bodhisattvas’, those wise beings, is that they see the great knowledge of bodhicitta through the achievement of the inner protection, bodhicitta. The more we use this weapon, the more we bring peace, the more the inner enemy is controlled, extinguished, and destroyed. Also, it brings enlightenment more quickly and it guides the living beings, this is extremely worthwhile. Thinking of these things, it is extremely worthwhile to practice them while we have such a chance. So it is necessary to train with our present mind, from this motive, bodhicitta. It is necessary that the action of listening to the teachings to be possessed by the pure motive, bodhicitta. Think, “I am going to listen to the Mahayana teachings on the graduated path in order to receive enlightenment for every and all sentient beings.”

The listening subject is the graduated path. If it is divided into three, the graduated path of the lower being is briefly finished. Now we are talking about the graduated path of the middle being. So, the suffering of the human realm—the suffering of the sura and asura, then the eight sufferings, then the six ways of meditating on the samsaric sufferings also in three divisions, and also checking the cause of the suffering, those six root delusions and the twenty secondary delusions and the four other changeable minds.

All the delusions that we talked about last night, even those six root delusions, all these, if the number is amplified it becomes 84,000 delusions. Anyway, all these delusions are rooted in the wrong conception, the “I” conception, the “I” consciousness, which means the wrong conception of the self-existing “I”—the whole thing is rooted in this. Therefore, this is the reason that this whole teaching, this whole buddhadharma, emphasizes realizing one’s nature, one’s mind nature as being of the utmost need in order to cut of samsara, that cutting samsara means cutting the ignorance from where all the rest of the delusions start. Because the opposite, the remedy, like the medicine to cure fever, just like that powerful medicine which stops it right away, the remedy of this wrong conception of self-existing “I,” is the wisdom of the absolute nature, the wisdom of one’s own absolute nature, the wisdom realizing one’s own nature, the nature of the “I.”

In regards to the realization of the nature of the “I,” there is the nature of one’s own “I” and of others’ self, of one’s own self and of their self. First of all, the absolute nature of one’s own self has to be realized. So, because it is oneself who suffers, who suffers in samsara, who creates suffering, the whole thing is the person, the object of the “I. Therefore there are four doctrines in the Buddhadharma. Each doctrine has its own conception of the object, about the object “I,” where it is, this things called “I,” but none see it as permanent. The four doctrines arose because of the different theories, different ways of conceiving of and recognizing the “I.” So, usually, they study gradually all these different doctrines, which have these different theories. Each one helps to understand the higher one, understanding this subject clearly, the highest one, so they study gradually like this. If one starts studying the right way, the right subject, the right theory, the main doubts cannot be solved. It is difficult to understand right away, so they gradually embody those four. The second is more difficult than the first, the third more difficult than the second, the fourth more difficult than the third—but the fourth is the right one, the doctrine which is the right explanation, the fourth is the Madhyamika doctrine, the Middle Way. So the right understanding of the absolute nature of the “I” has to be received by studying this, studying and doing the meditation practice as one studies, like this. This realization of that first wrong conception, the ignorance, is like destroying the root, burning the root by fire, the stem and everything never grows, there is nothing left from which stem and leaves and branches can grow. When this wrong conception, the principal ignorance, the wrong conception of the self-existing “I” is ceased, completely destroyed, all of the rest of the delusions are destroyed—so the realization is powerful like fire and also quick, like destroying the root of the tree.

So now—if you wish to receive this realization of absolute nature, only study that, meditate on that, just doing one thing doesn’t cause one to be released from samsara without purification, without having the renounced mind of samsara—the main thing is this. Meditating only on one thing does not bring a quick escape from samsara. To do this, you need the help of the mind fully renouncing samsara. Some people who don’t know the important way of practicing Dharma, have mind that are so hung up in checking emptiness, without having the understanding, discovering the nature of samsara, of suffering. Without having strong renunciation of samsara, however much we meditate on emptiness, on the nature, on shunyata, the vices, the old thoughts, the old actions do not change—it takes much time to change the mind, takes much time to clean the actions. However much a person can express, explain about shunyata, since there’s no fully renounced mind of samsara, or understanding of samsaric suffering, however much he can explain well about shunyata, there’s no change, there’s always old thoughts and old actions. Then in this way there is no way to escape from samsara. To escape from samsara, the old things, old thoughts, and old actions have to be avoided. So anyway, as the fully renounced mind is necessary, needed for release from samsara with the realization of the absolute nature, to receive the fully renounced mind depends on fully understanding the nature of samsara. To fully perceive the absolute nature (just to receive the realization perceiving the absolute nature doesn’t require the realization of fully renounced mind, but) to have the realization fully perceiving absolute nature, it is necessary to have the achievement of the fully renounced mind of samsara. When there is the wisdom fully perceiving the absolute nature, at that time there is the achievement of the right-seeing path, the first path (there are five paths). But the fully renounced mind of samsara is necessary in order to receive the path. To enter the path it is necessary to have this. So whenever it is received, the person has reached the first path—the path has to be received from the foundation of the fully renounced mind of samsara, from this cause, the fully renounced mind of samsara.

The Wheel of Life (Page 96)

Khor.wa—actually, “Wheel of life” in Tibetan is sib.pe khor.lo—khorwa just means samsara or the wheel, the circle. But wheel of life in Tibetan is sib.pe.khor.lo. Sib means life. Also it explains the nature of samsara and the twelve links. Ten, dependent; del is combined, or joined—Teh.del, interdependent. Just like the bell and the material.

Symbolic—why the wheel of life is always held in the mouth. This means the living beings are under the control of death and rebirth; are living in impermanent life and the circle of death and rebirth. The two hands holding the wheel of life represent the true cause of suffering and true suffering that living beings are living in, the true cause of suffering and true suffering.

1. Ignorance. Rig.pa means understanding or seeing; ma is a negative word. There are two divisions—ignorance of absolute nature and ignorance of karma. When the ignorance of the absolute truth is ceased, such as the Four Noble Truths, also the ignorance of the karma ceases. The ignorance of karma arises from the basic ignorance of absolute nature.

2. Karmic Formation. The action of the ignorance. The ignorance creates many kinds of karma, just as the man makes many different kinds of pots.

3. Consciousness. The trip of the consciousness depends on karma. Just as the monkey swings from thee to tree, so the consciousness goes from rebirth to rebirth, from this to the next. The meaning of this consciousness is a mind that joins to the next, from past to present and from present to the next rebirth, with the ability that is left by the actions, the impressions. The mind is the place where the actions leave impressions or ability. This is the meaning of consciousness; this is the mind consciousness—the meaning of the mind consciousness is like this.

4. Name—ming: from—sug. Skandha—phung.po.

Fifth, the consciousness that is not the skandha of feeling and not the skandha of cognition and not the skandha of form. In regards to the skandha of compounded phenomena there are two things—the skandha of compounded phenomena, which is mind, and the skandha of compounded phenomena, which is not mind. Then there are secondary minds, which are not feeling, cognition, or consciousness—those can be compounded phenomena. Also, there are compounded phenomena that are not mind, such as the impermanence of that being, which is not mind.

5. Six Sense Organs. There are two things—those for the senses, and which are the six objects of the senses—outer kye.che.dug and inner kye.che.dug—these are the inner kye.che.dug. Also, those six consciousnesses. For instance, the mind that is newly conceived in the mother’s womb and the formless beings do not have the five senses.

6. Contact.

7. Feeling. Also, same thing, many of those previous yogis, pandits, lived life simply in order to give an example to others, to the followers. Also, this is useful at the beginning of practice, when the mind is uncontrolled. Generally, of course, it depends on person’s control, realizations.

(a) Suffering causes hatred to arise.
(b) Happiness causes greed to arise.
(c) Indifference causes ignorance to arise.

8. Craving.

9. Grasping.

(c) Self-”I,” the same as the self-existent “I” concept.

(d) In ancient times in India, there was a Hindu who remembered his previous life, just one previous life, through meditation. His previous life was a dog. He thought, “To be born again as a human, it is necessary to act as dog.” He realized his previous life was a dog, and then he became a human being; so he thought that to be reborn human, he would have to act like a dog again. So in his human life he acted like a dog, crawling on the ground.

10. Becoming. This is the ability to take the next rebirth that is made ready by craving and grasping.

3 p.m.

11. Rebirth. There are human beings who were born in previous times, such as kings and arhats, born by heat and spontaneous rebirth. For example, the original human beings who came onto earth took spontaneous rebirth, without depending on the parents.

The preta realms has all these four rebirths. Also, there are animals born from the womb, egg, heat, like this. There may be also animals taking spontaneous rebirth. Also in the narak realms—there is spontaneous rebirth. There is also spontaneous rebirth in the realms of the formless beings, and the realms of the gods of the world of form.

12. Old age and death are put together. At the same time the rebirth is taken, old age starts. But the appearance of the signs of old age are not certain—there are many beings who die before having the signs of old age. So old age and death are joined together.

(Page 99)

Paragraph 3. Nagarjuna’s quotation.

This quotation is very effective to think about, to know. It shows how the twelve dependent links work, how they go round and round. There are two deluded actions—karmic formation and becoming, three deluded causes—ignorance, craving, and grasping, and seven uncontrolled results that arise from those two deluded actions—consciousness, name and form, the six sense organs, contact, feeling, rebirth, and old age and death.

Ignorance creates negative karmic actions that leave ability on the consciousness. Then, for instance, let’s say we create the karma to be born as a chicken. Ignorance creates such karma, the karmic formation, that makes the cause for us to be born as a chicken. As soon as the ignorance has created the action, the karmic formation, it leaves the ability on the consciousness. So if the craving and grasping of the twelve links arise just before death that find rebirth as a chicken in the next life, karmically desirable, if this arises during the death time, then just before the mind leaves the body, it is definite, it is sure that one will be born a chicken after this life. Then the rest of the seven results have to be experienced in that life of a chicken, the rest of the twelve links of the chicken. Becoming gets stronger as the craving and grasping arise. The craving and grasping of the twelve links arise before death, so—like a seed planted in the ground, after a time the conditions such as water gather, become perfect—like water, heat cause the seed to get ready to produce the stems, the sprout, just like this—these make the ability, that impression left by karmic formation more strongly take that path, go in that direction, become the chicken, and experience the seven results of the chicken’s twelve links.

For instance, simply talking about our consciousness, the consciousness is like a basket. There are all kinds of billion and billions of impressions, abilities, and seeds that cause us to take all kinds of samsaric lives, all kinds of funny things, bodies that maybe we never saw before in our lives, very fearful looking bodies, big and tiny, many things. There are incredible numbers of seeds that make us take those different samsaric rebirths. It is already in our consciousness, our consciousness is like a basket full of different things. So each of these seeds, abilities, that is left, collected in the consciousness, these are gradually experienced. As we talked about during the section on karma—whatever is heavier, closer, more habituated, or done first, that will be experienced first, as we went through. All these billions and billions of seeds that are in the present consciousness, all these gradually come out, are experienced. There are many things already, many seeds of many twelve links of samsaric bodies, karmic formations created by ignorance. We have incredible numbers of seeds in the consciousness, yet even in this life we are creating and planting incredible numbers of seeds, making karmic formations with ignorance in the consciousness. Just as you plant all kinds of different seeds in a big field, such as corn, rice, wheat, and gradually they grow, bringing stems, so already the twelve links, through ignorance, have made karmic formations for incredible numbers of suffering samsaric bodies, which we will experience gradually. We have already created the samsaric bodies of those living beings through ignorance and karmic formation, through the twelve links, in our previous lives. There are so many—the seven results and the three, becoming and craving and grasping. The twelve links of each of the future rebirths will have to be experienced whenever the time of that rebirth appears.

Our previous life’s ignorance created karmic formation, left impressions on the consciousness, and just before this human life, the craving, grasping, and becoming arose for the human rebirth. That made the ability, the impressions, the becoming of the human rebirth stronger; so that made us take this body right away, right after whatever our previous life was just before this one. So that’s how we are reborn as human beings in this life. Of course, there is no doubt that there are all kinds of things in our consciousness, seeds planted by karmic formations in our consciousnesses—sura, (form and formless) asuras, naraks, animals, and pretas—also seeds to be born in the human realm, created so many times, planted in our consciousnesses in numberless previous lives.

So perhaps, if you don’t keep precepts, don’t discipline the mind away from negative actions—if you don’t create stronger good karma in this life, it is for sure, it is definite that there is already a result, already something arranged. Maybe different types of animals, birds, different types of birds, peacocks, all kinds of animals, birds, different types of birds, peacocks, all kinds of birds and animals. Something is already arranged by ignorance and karma. But until the craving, grasping, and becoming of our future lower rebirth is finished, even though the karma of those rebirths is already created, at the moment, before the becoming, the craving, and the grasping of the twelve links finishes, right this moment now, we have the chance to turn the path, to take the better path. There is a chance. We do that by creating stronger good karma, stronger than the karma that causes us to be born as a dog or a snake or whatever it is—the karma created should be stronger than that karma which causes us to be reborn as an animal in the next life, such as the karma to be reborn as a human again. So by creating that karma, the craving, grasping, and becoming, the ignorance to be a human being creates a karmic formation that becomes the seed to be reborn human in the next life. So at the time of death, the craving and grasping to be a human makes the ability to be a human stronger. So then there is the chance to again receive the human rebirth.

So like this, circling round. How? Generally, as I said before, in numberless previous lives we have already created great numbers of seeds to take future samsaric rebirths. So as we already created the two, ignorance and karmic formation, of all the future different samsaric rebirths, and we only need craving and grasping, and becoming to arise and then we will experience the seven results, we should therefore think that now we are only in the twelve links of the human being. Of course, we are on the way to finishing the seven results of the twelve links of this present human body. The cause was finished in the previous life, so now we are finishing the result, what is not finished is only death, only this is left. We are not only involved in the twelve links of this human rebirth but we are already involved in the twelve links of so many different samsaric rebirths. It’s like this—let’s say we are here, but we are surrounded by so many fences that we cannot cross over, many billions and billions of fences. So now, finishing this present human rebirth, finishing the twelve links of this present human body, is like, almost like, being able to release from just one fence. We are inside, almost ready to get out. But still, to really get out there are many billions of fences to get out of, one after one, one after one ... like this it is clear—so it is not easy. If you think clearly about evolution it is like this example—but that example, just talking about what is already there, it is not exactly the same—the example is talking about what is already there, but in life we are creating more, always creating ignorance and karmic formation, that causes us to take many future samsaric rebirths. So it is not the same, the example is easy.

If, for instance, I create a negative karma—for instance, a heretical mind toward the Dharma arises, and I think, for instance, “Why is there the need for all these rules that Guru Shakyamuni said, why? It is just torturing oneself, why is there need for such a thing?,” disbelieving in this Dharma, in his teaching, criticizing like this. This karma, as we talked in the karma part (Page 78) on the result of sinfulness (“fullness of the sin”), the result of similar to the cause, the twelve links of this karma bring the result of being reborn in the narak stages. But that does not mean that we have finished the suffering result of that karma, because due to other karma, the twelve links created by other karma, by creating merits, I am born as a human being. But with this result, the seven results of the twelve links of the human being, it is possible that I am still experiencing the suffering that is the result of the other karmas, criticizing karma, like this, besides experiencing the suffering of the narak stages by taking rebirth. So one should not think that experiencing the result of that sinfulness does not mean finishing the result of criticizing the Dharma, criticizing ordination, or rules.

The other part we finished—here we are talking about the twelve links, the circle of death and rebirth, the karma in the twelve links, so that is how it works. Also, besides not finishing experiencing the suffering of the lower realm, it can be possible to be born as human being, still experiencing part of the result of that karma, but still not finishing it, and again we can be born in narak stages dependent on the karma, how heavy the karma is. By taking one, experiencing one result of sinfulness, being born in the narak stage, it can be possible that the person has to be born in the narak stages many times, even though there is just one karma. Calling the holy objects names, like saying a monk looks like a dog or a monkey can bring this result. For instance, in previous times one man called someone a dog, a monkey—the karma is just one, but he had to be reborn as a dog 500 times, and take a monkey rebirth, but the karma was so simple, easy, created just once.

So by thinking in different ways, as I have briefly talked about, thinking about how many incredible numbers of twelve links we have started already and will have to experience gradually, thinking like this, “So far we did not cease the ignorance, the actions are the same; as in each life, in the whole time, even in years, what other karmas have we created? The negative karma is more, and the positive karma is less.” Anyway, by thinking like this, it is for sure that we have created incredible numbers of the twelve links for the different samsaric rebirths. We have already started—ignorance and karmic formation have already been finished, left an ability on the consciousness, a seed. So actually we, in this way, can clearly see how much we are uncontrolled, bound to suffering, bound by the twelve links. So because of ignorance and karmic formation, the craving and grasping and becoming, then the seven results, are always circling round like that.

So anyway, totally it is like this—we are so bound by suffering, just as in the other example, surrounded by many fences, it is for sure that we will have to experience the seven results of the different future samsaric beings’ twelve links, even if we create more merits in this life. In place of being born, even if we can stop the result of the lower rebirth as the other karma arranged, even if we can stop that in time, it means that the twelve links of that animal rebirth that we were supposed to take have ceased. Still, even if we stop the twelve links of that animal rebirth that our other karma arranged to take after this life by creating merits, still the twelve links of that animal are there, as are the seven results—it is just a matter of stopping the craving and grasping and becoming from arising. The only chance we have of being born as a human being in the next life is by stopping the craving, grasping, and becoming of an animal from arising at the end of this life. By stopping this, by interrupting the conditions, not letting the conditions gather, we are born human. But that doesn’t mean that we have broken the chain to not experience that animal rebirth. It does not mean this. And as long as we have not done this, as long as we still are born as human beings, we still have to try to collect stronger accumulations of merits, to receive the path that breaks the chain, destroys ignorance, and stops karma and its actions and ability, destroying all the seeds. If we don’t continue in the future life, as long as we don’t continue to try and create merits and receive the path, it is definite that we will experience the results of the animal rebirth, which we could stop momentarily by preventing the conditions. So it is not easy; even if we can be born as a human in the next life this does not mean that we escaped from the twelve links of the animal.

Anyway, what should be done to not be reborn in the three lower realms? It is necessary to receive the path. Once one reaches the second path, then the third level, the path of application, only at that time one destroys the ignorance with the realization of the absolute true nature; as the being approaches the higher and higher path, so more ignorance is destroyed. So ignorance is ceased.

So in this way we can understand how much we are uncontrolled, how much we are caught by samsara. It is like a man tightly rolled by flat iron, billions of times, not having any freedom to move, so tight; not only tight, but the hot red iron, tight, the body tight, and also on the red-hot iron. Feeling tight and hot is the nature of samsara.

(Page 99-100)

External and internal nature of samsara. If the cause of samsaric suffering is an external thing, then there’s no need for subduing the mind, no need to practice Dharma to clean the mind. Dharma is to clean the mind, because the cause of suffering is internal. If it were not, then Dharma, the inner method, would not be needed—if the principal cause of suffering were matter, then the best thing to destroy it would be the atomic bomb, that would be the best Dharma. If the creator of all living beings were God then there is no reason—it is better to not create all whole living beings than create—the total thing is, it would have been better not to create anything than to create all the suffering living beings.

Shantideva quotation.

We can say it is sure, there is a logical reason, there is a relationship, that all happiness and perfection is created by the Enlightened Being. Without their guidance, their help, there is no way even to receive temporal happiness—even the happiness of water when one is thirsty is received by the kindness of the enlightened beings, the omniscient mind. That is called God. There is a reason, there is a relationship. But we cannot say that suffering is created by God, there is no reason. It is logical, there is a connection. While the holy mind knows past, present, and future, knows that living beings would suffer, why he should create the living beings? Anyway, has to be checked up.

6 p.m.

So, in regards to the twelve links, the twelve links finish in either two lives or in the third life. It can be eons between the karmic formation and the craving and grasping, becoming, and the seven results, like this. So, it is very useful to deeply think, to check up deeper and wider in your mind when you meditate on the twelve links, the twelve links that you started in the past lives and this life many times. Try to realize how you are not free, how you are tired of incredible numbers of different samsaric rebirths, the twelve links of different samsaric bodies.

So the first part of the meditation—six different divisions meditating on the six realms, the eight divisions of sufferings, then six divisions of sufferings, three divisions of sufferings; then also meditation on samsaric suffering with the twelve links. Going through the twelve links itself is suffering, going without choice. This way one can discover more and more clearly that whatever body is taken in samsara, whatever happy life it has, it is all in the nature of suffering. Wherever happy life it has, it is all in the nature of suffering. Wherever rebirth is taken, sura or asura, being born in the narak and then reborn as human or sura or asura, it is only like being born, same thing; like trying to escape from one red-hot burning iron house to another. It doesn’t make any difference—the place from where the person escapes is the suffering place, and the place to which he escapes is the suffering place; he always finds problems, has to feel all of samsara, the whole samsaric realm and bodies. We should have this strong feeling—as we hate the red-hot burning iron ground, not wanting to be there even for a second, we must have this kind of strong feeling towards samsara, not wanting to exist there a minute on the red-hot burning iron ground, unable to stand even a day, an hour. Besides not having interest, we should not be attached to samsaric pleasures, those greater enjoyments. Until there is such a strong feeling of being unable to stand it, the meditation on samsara has to be done. When there is strong energetic fear like that, the reason there is fear, the person not wanting to be on red-hot iron ground, is because the person recognizes the suffering place and that he is experiencing problems clearly, therefore, he has great fear of the red-hot ground. Through meditation the person sees samsaric suffering more and more clearly and clearly—the person may not believe at first, but through continual meditation one can see clearly—it is the nature of the mind, and as meditation continues it sees clearer and better.

You see, when there is the full understanding of samsaric suffering and full renunciation of samsara, clearly seeing samsaric suffering, there is no place for the evil thought of the eight worldly dharmasto arise, there is no mind to be attached to the samsaric pleasure. It is like this. So, check up—we think we already know the suffering. If we know when the evil thought of the eight worldly dharmasis coming—when there’s attachment, missing pleasure, finding difficulty in obtaining pleasure, having attachment to pleasure, the inability to practice Dharma, the inability to meditate, when there’s a tiny problem, being unable stand it—this means there is no full renunciation of samsara. That means there is not the full understanding of samsaric suffering. So don’t think that, “I know samsara”—that is following your negative mind, following your guide. If you know samsaric suffering, if there’s no change—totally like this—if there is no change in your actions, no change in your mind, you do not have full renunciation of samsara, you do not fully see samsaric suffering—that is the lack of fear of samsaric suffering. The definition of when there is renunciation of samsara is like this, as Guru Tsongkhapa said: “The whole time, day and night, if there is the intuitive mind desiring, wishing, or seeking liberation, whenever there is intuitive desire seeking or wishing for liberation all the day and night, at that time there is the achievement of the renounced mind of samsara.” For example, just as in the case of the being who is on hot-red, burning iron ground—always there is the mind, the desire the escape away, always seeking the release of that.

Totally, another way of saying is, however the pleasant life is in samsara, seeing it just as nature of suffering, just as the nature of fire. However great the samsaric pleasure, all the samsaric realms, even those that are seen as a pleasure realm, a happy realm, are seen exactly as a fireplace, a big fireplace—seen just like that and not wanting to enjoy them, not having interest, not having attachment to it—at that time there is the renunciation of samsara, at that time the person fully sees samsaric suffering.

So to be able to achieve enlightenment, bodhicitta is necessary. But bodhicitta has to be achieved through great compassion, Mahayana great compassion. The achievement of great compassion depends on the understanding of other sentient beings’ suffering. How quickly one achieves the great Mahayana compassion, the understanding of the other sentient beings’ suffering, depends on fully discovering one’s own samsaric suffering. The deeper one’s own samsaric suffering is discovered, that much stronger one can feel others’ samsaric suffering. To receive intuitive bodhicitta, it is necessary to have the achievement of the renounced mind of samsara. So the understanding of samsaric suffering depends on the understanding the understanding of the graduated path of the lower being.

Therefore, before the Mahayana seven techniques to generate bodhicitta, the graduated path of the lower being and the graduated path of the middle being is explained first, set up first.

Just a brief story about the great yogi Atisha—how he led his life renouncing samsara, how he looked at samsara even from the child time, how he discovered that bodhicitta is the most important thing, the essential practice.

He was born in the Eastern part of India, called Bengal, in a big city of 100,000 people. He was born to a king in a place called “The Golden Banner”—there were thirteen gilded roofs and 25,000 golden banners on top of the palace; he had very rich possessions and enjoyments. Gyal.pal means father—”King, magnificent of virtue.” He was born with many signs. His mother’s name means “Magnificent, high.”

Eighteen months after he was born, he was invited by his parents to the temple Vimakalapuri. In the road, all the people from the city came to see the prince, and when he saw them Atisha asked, “Who are those people?” The parents said “These are your population,” and so he looked with compassion to those people, and although was only eighteen months old, with his compassion he prayed, “May all these people have perfect fathers and mothers who have materialistic powers and fortunes, and may all live by the holy Dharma.” He made this prayer with great compassion, and all the people were surprised and astonished, hearing this beautiful prayer made with his sweet speech. Then when they arrived at the temple his parents made prayers like this—”For all the people not to get sick, to have enjoyments, and not to be reborn in the lower realms and always be born in the upper realms.” Atisha made prayers like this, “I received a perfect human rebirth and see the Three Jewels, witness the Three Jewels, not having any imperfect organs, and seeing the Three Jewels, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha and having faith permanently, keeping the Three Jewels on the center of my head, with faith, permanently. So therefore, from today, please be my object of the refuge.” This prayer was made asking them to be the object of the refuge and asking them for grant guidance. He also prayed, “May I never be bound by the worldly life, the worldly existence, the family life, and may I be in the Sangha, and make offerings without pride and look at sentient beings with compassion.” Even though he was so small he made prayers—the first one is refuge and second one is bodhicitta.

Then after three years he became very wise, an expert in astrology and in poetry, and in many other kinds of knowledge. When he was over eleven, his parents picked out many women who were worthy to be the wife of the son of the king for Atisha. They made dances, singing, so many things—they tried to make him attached to that life as the parents wanted him to take the place of the king, to lead that life; so they tried to make many arrangements. But however much they tried, it only became the cause of the renounced mind of samsara, only made him more upset with samsara, it became a teaching.

Also he was instructed by one emanation, a woman called Usangmo, an emanation of the female aspect of Buddha, Tara. So she instructed him—”You, brave one, don’t sink, don’t drown in the samsaric quagmire, the quagmire of attachment, just as the elephant gets drowned in the quagmire.” It’s difficult for the elephant to get up because it’s so big. And Atisha was a prince, not an ordinary person. “If an ordinary animal gets stuck in the mud it is not that much of a problem, and if an ordinary person gets drowned, it doesn’t bring much harm to sentient beings, to the teaching. But if you (Atisha) get drowned in the quagmire of attachment, it hinders the sentient beings’ happiness and perfection, the teachings.” Anyway, she gave much instruction. So also, he answered this, being extremely pleased.

Soon he left and joined the army, with 130 people riding on horses, going for war. This was skillful of him, because for him it was difficult to escape from his family. In this way he left and went around the rocky mountain. Actually, he was seeking his guru. At the rocky mountain he met a yogi called Jetari. That yogi gave him refuge and the teachings on bodhicitta. Also, he instructed him to go to a place called Nalanda to see a guru called Changchub Sangpo, who he had a relationship with from a previous life. He met this guru and received the blessings of body, speech, and mind from this guru, made prostrations, and was given many teachings on bodhicitta. Then he sent to see another guru, and also received teachings on bodhicitta from him. Also he saw yet another guru, and that guru sent him to back to king’s palace, to check up on the sufferings and the shortcomings of worldly life.

The family was extremely pleased when he returned, asked where he had been, and they had all these conversations. Atisha said that he had sought refuge and had been to the mountain, and had discovered samsaric suffering. With many people he was always talking and explaining about samsaric suffering. His parents told him, “If you are upset with samsara, take the king’s place and you can give charity to the poor people and build many monasteries and bring many sangha.” And Atisha said that when he looked at samsara he had not a tiny atom of attachment to the king’s life— “The golden palace is like a prison; there’s no difference between the devil woman and the princess; no difference between food, sweet things, or meat of the dog.” Also, he didn’t see the difference between beautiful, expensive clothes and ornaments, and wearing ugly, dirty clothes. Therefore, he said, he wanted to go in the forest to meditate. He asked the parents to give him a few things, such as milk and honey, these things. And he said that he wanted to see the guru—he said this by singing.

His parents gave him what he wanted and he left to see this guru with thousands of horses into the jungle. This guru gave him teachings on bodhicitta and initiations. This guru also sent him to another guru in a monastery, who was a guru from his previous life. When he went to see that guru, the guru was giving tantric teachings, and with his psychic powers he saw Atisha coming and thought to frighten him. All of a sudden, he dropped a thunder ball on top of Atisha—as it fell it went off to another place where there were stupas of the heretical beings, the pagans. The entourage of this guru asked the guru, “Who is that person coming?” And the guru mentioned—”This is the one who was born as a prince in the eastern country, who always takes the body of a pandit; he has been a pandit 552 times in different lives.” The guru said, “He is not attached to the princely life, and he desires to lead an ascetic, austere life.” So all of the entourage got up and made prostrations to Atisha. When Atisha saw his guru, he said, “How much I desire to achieve Nirvana by giving up the worldly life, but as I was born in the princely life there is the danger of getting caught.” He went to see many gurus, but was still not released from that life, so he asked that guru to definitely release from this bondage by giving him teachings on bodhicitta and initiations. So only for him, for thirteen days, the guru gave these teachings with great joy—all initiations for one tantric deity, and offered him his mystical name.

Again, this guru sent him back to his palace with very eight fearful looking saints, male and female, naked. The guru instructed those eight saints, yogis, to change the father’s mind and take him to the other guru.

At this time Atisha took on another aspect, and took the form of the deity. When they all arrived at the king’s palace they recognized him, but also got scared. For three months they all acted like they were mad, crazy. So all the people completely decided that he really gave up. His father asked, “When you are born I saw many special signs and thought you would live life and I was happy. So what is your mind, that you want to live in the jungle?” Atisha said, “If I live life, we may be together for a short time but in all future lives we won’t recognize each other, who is father or who is son.” He said he wanted to achieve enlightenment and asked permission. The mother said to give him permission. So Atisha left at dawn with all those yogis and yoginis, into the jungle to see the guru. Then the guru showed the teachings on the absolute nature and subtle karma.

Anyway, his life was very rich. The family that he left behind numbered 100,000, and they had twenty-five lakes for bathing, and 720 beautiful parks. They also had many other things, they were very rich. However, Atisha went to practice Dharma and gave all of these up like dust, like spitting on the ground. Same thing, Guru Shakyamuni was also like this, very rich, and gave it all up.

After seven years Atisha had received many teaching on tantra. He thought, “As far as the tantric teachings are concerned, I am the only expert one.” But the other tantric deities showed him many tantric teachings in his dreams that he hadn’t known before, and that caused him to lost his pride. Then he thought to complete the highest tantric teaching, Mahamudra, by living his life in a tantric way. At this time he thought of his guru, and his guru came through the walls without any resistance with his psychic powers and asked, “What are you doing, giving up sentient beings? You should become a monk and benefit sentient beings by teaching.” And his deity also came and persuaded him to become a monk. Anyway, he spent a great deal of time and received many teachings from many gurus. He was keeping the precepts purely, even a tiny thing, taking care as his heart.

So he had all these teachings, sutra and tantra teachings, and he practiced. He was thinking, “What is the quickest path to receive enlightenment?” Then one of his gurus, due to his power, appeared in his presence and said that seeing many wrathful deities, many mandalas, and having many general realizations cannot help much, but, “You should train in great love and great compassion. Avalokiteshvara is the Compassionate Buddha, therefore, you should keep him always in your mind, to rely on or to pray to for help in order to receive these realizations. You should make a promise to work for sentient beings until samsara ends.”

Also, at one time he went to Bodhgaya, going around the stupa. On the wall there are paintings, and he saw that the figures there were putting questions and giving answers to one another. Atisha thought, “What is the quickest path to enlightenment?,” and another answered, “Bodhicitta.” Also, in the southern direction of the stupa, in the sky, there were two men, larger than human size, one asking questions, the other answering—one asking, “I need to receive enlightenment quickly, but how should I practice?” and the other saying “You should train in bodhicitta.” As he heard these things, he stopped going around the stupa. Then he came to Nagarjuna’s place and there were two ladies asking questions and giving answers as above. This happened several times, and also statues called out to him: “If you want to receive enlightenment quickly, practice great compassion and great love and develop bodhicitta.”

This is just to have some idea—it is useful to remember these examples of how his life was before—it is very useful; it is very useful; it is very useful.

This is also the reason why every time, each time, we always try to talk a little about bodhicitta before the teachings, hoping that anything that we are practicing will help us in the achievement of bodhicitta. So, every day before the meditations, there is always talk of bodhicitta.

Maybe some people get bored. In order to realize the jewel, recognize the real jewel—for the dogs, they may prefer kaka to diamonds; they don’t understand anything about the value of diamonds, they prefer kaka. So in order not to be like this, we, since we are trying to practice Dharma, we need not to be silly, but to recognize the real jewel. And for the whole practice and meditation to become the cause for achieving bodhicitta, the benefits of bodhicitta are repeated. Bodhicitta is something that can be practiced by laypeople, by monks; it is not something thing that depends on outward looks, shape, clothes, straight person, or hippie—whatever it is. Since everyone desires the height, the ultimate peace, enlightenment, it is necessary.

Actually, when I repeat the impulse or motivation, what I don’t go through in the subjects that follow have been covered in the impulse. There are not so many details as have been written here. Even though the explanation wasn’t gone through, you can read and practice and meditate on the seven techniques (Pages 109-146).

The way meditating is the way we do the other meditations—checking, trying to keep the outline, and trying to understand the total meaning of the outlines. Also, as much as you can remember the outlines and think correctly, it is that much more effective for the mind. The way of meditating is by putting yourself in the situations and checking.

Even if you worry about not finishing these subjects, I am happy that I could spend more time on those basic meditations. The whole taste of the higher meditations depends on having the taste of the basic meditation; and the understanding of the basic meditations gives the understanding of the higher meditations. It depends on the understanding of the basic meditation, and that is why there is commentary like this.

So I think that’s all, thank you.