Healing Course continued (Audio and Unedited Transcripts)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Melbourne, Australia 1991 (Archive #874)

The second part of a series of teachings given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Tara Institute in Melbourne, Australia in August 1991. This series formed the basis for the book Ultimate Healing, published by Wisdom Publications.

The first part of the series can be accessed here.

Results of the Ten Non-Virtuous Actions, Continued

…also the positive action living in the morality such as to not kill, one time, even one morality to not kill, even for one day, twenty-four hours, making vow to not kill, even living one day in the morality to not kill, this action, karma is expandable, these four results, four happiness you can enjoy, the long life and so forth you can enjoy hundreds, five hundreds of lifetimes or thousands, according to Nagarjuna, according to this great pandit, the great master who achieved enlightenment, so according to Nagarjuna's teaching, then if we cheat one sentient being then one thousand lifetimes then one get cheated by other sentient beings, one experience the problem for that much length of time, from one action.

So like this, now we should look at in the positive way, that twenty-four hours, even one day living in the vow to not kill, this result happiness, the complete action has four results, the happiness, so from this one karma, one good karma, even that is done for one day, in the life even for just one day, but one can enjoy this result for thousands of lifetimes. So, however, become unbelievably important, so again, this changing the mind in the positive, in the virtuous thought and changing the action in the virtue, living in these moralities, abandoning these negative karmas, as many as possible, so whatever one can or as many as possible become so essential, it becomes important answer, this becomes the essential solution for health, long life of this life and all the future lives. Even while we are in samsara, until we become free, even the duration until we become free from this samsara, from this circling aggregates, until we become free from this, to obtain happiness in all the future lives, become very important. So that has to come from the morality, abandoning from these negative karmas.

So then, telling lie which is done out of self-cherishing thought, one of those poisonous minds, which become non-virtue, then again this complete action has four suffering results. Ripened aspect result in the lower realms, then even one is born as human being, then possessed result, then, that [pause] one get born in the place where there is a lot of cheating, that, one is unable to develop, unable to have success. So if one is farmer, then unable to develop the farm, a lot of unsuccess, failure, then, if one is working for a restaurant, if one's means of living, you see, one is receiving means of living by having, running a restaurant or something, then, not working, not succeeding [pause]. That, even one opened restaurant, no people, even the other restaurants around receiving a lot of people, but one restaurant people don't come or even they come, but very little. So however, as we see sometimes like this, so however, so these experiences or if one is running hotel or even one is bus driver, taxi driver, so some people find, some drivers they find very easy, they find passengers very easy, everywhere they go, but some it's very difficult to find passengers. So same thing, if it's a monastery or meditation center, all these different things, shop, for example, if one has a shop opened then, so some people every day they get a lot of people buying things, some people get, even it is well done, well arranged, but somehow don't receive buyers. Or even they receive but very, very small number, so all this unsuccess is the result of the past negative karma, telling lie. Then, the possessed result.

Then, [long pause] experiencing the result similar to the cause. [long pause] So those are the possessed result of the telling lie. So the place where one abide is where there's a lot of fear, where there's a lot of danger.

Then, experiencing the result similar to the cause, then, others cheating, telling lie [pause] - I think I left out the, experiencing the result similar to the cause of stealing. So, losing, when we lose things, other people they confiscate, other people steal our things, confiscate our things, even there's no other people stealing but we lose things, so those are the result of the past, not necessarily past life, past negative karma, the stealing. So some people experience all the time that things get stolen, so many times have experience that things get stolen by others, losing things, so strong karma from past lives, the past negative karma of stealing.

So now, here telling lies, then, so other people cheating, telling lies, so in our life when we experience these things, when we meet people not telling the truth, telling lies, then that is the result of, we have to recognize, we have to remember, recognize it's the result of my past negative karma telling lies to others.

Then, creating the result similar to the cause, then doing the telling lie again.

Then, the slandering action done out of self-cherishing thought, then, one of the poisonous minds, then it becomes, which becomes non-virtue by that way. Then, by completing these actions it has four suffering results. Ripened aspect result in the lower realms. Then, possessed result to do with the place, place where one lives, born, not plain, not equal, a lot of mountains, very high and very low, always one has to go up very steep or down, nothing nice, beautiful, always like this, hills like this one has to go up and down, kind of, which makes life very difficult, like that and then where there's a lot of fear, danger in the life.

Then, experiencing the result similar to the cause of slandering, non-virtuous action slandering, then, that is, other people causing disunity among the relationships or in the family, between oneself and other people, then other people slandering, causing disunity, between student and teacher, parents, or the wife, husband, between parents, children, so, experiencing these problems. Then, creating the result similar to the cause is doing the action of slandering again in that life. By completing that action then again which one has to experience again four suffering results from that. So which makes to go on and on like this.

Then, harshly speaking, the action that is done out of self- cherishing thought and one of the delusions, which made it non-virtue. That complete action has again four suffering results. Ripened aspect result in the lower realms, then possessed result to do with the place. Then even when one is born as human being, place where one live, place full of thorn bushes, kind of very ugly place, lot of, many burnt trees, burnt pieces of logs, burnt trees or full of thorn bushes, a lot of rocks, kind of very uncomfortable place. There's no beauty, no green, very rough places. Then, there's no water, no waterfalls, no water stream, no water pond, not having those beauties. Then, places where does a lot of heavy negative actions. Then, where there's again a lot of danger for the life.

Then, experiencing the result similar to the cause is then even when one is born as human being then receiving, other people harshly speaking to you. So in our life, times when we experience, when are in such a place, when we experience such things, so we have to recognize that this is a production of my past negative karma, harshly speaking to others, hurting, whether the word, when you speak, the words can be nice, very sweet words, but the main point is if it is hurting, what it is doing is hurting, you say very nice but actually hurting to the other person, so that is the main thing. So past negative action of saying words that which hurt other person.

So then next one is gossiping. Gossiping that is done out of self-cherishing thought, then, one of the delusions, that which made it non-virtue. So, the complete action of this has four suffering results. Ripened aspect result in the lower realms. Then, experiencing the result similar to the cause, then when you talk to other people, your speech has no power. [pause] Doesn't have power, one doesn't have couragement and word doesn't have power. When the word doesn't have power, then other people don't listen to you, they don't do what you say. So if one is asking for help from other people, if the words doesn't have power, then even one ask, express one's own life situation, so forth, and ask for help, people don't listen, they don't help. So, things like that.

And, so, then, creating the result similar to the cause, so doing the action again, the gossiping.

The possessed result of gossiping to do with the place, so when one is born as human being, the place where one live, even one, the trees doesn't have fruit, they don't give fruit, even one plant it, they don't produce fruit and then, they don't grow in time. Even the fruit, those things which appear okay from outside, but inside unripened or full of worms inside. Then, even those things, even the crops grew but they don't last a long time. And then the place a lot of danger for the life, where there's a lot of fear, having undesirable conditions.

Then, now, the three negative karmas, negative actions of the mind. The covetousness, the complete action of this, the suffering result lower realms, and then possessed result to do with the place. Even one is born as human being, the place where one live, then, the crops, if there's, crops, foods, things becoming more and more scarcity, they get degenerated, become less and less, more and more poor quality and they become less and less, more and more scarcity, year by year, month by month, even day by day, they become more and more scarcity, do not increase. The enjoyments in that place. Then, so these things happen a lot in many of the places where there's involved a lot of covetousness or a lot of stealing, where there's so much involved these things, so these things happen. Then food become, either eaten by animals or famine happened, so didn't grow well and then, even grew but very small number. So however, the economic, the price of food went very high, very expensive, goes higher and higher, things like that.

Then, the ill will, the negative karma the ill will. Then that complete action, the ripened aspect result the lower realms, then the possessed result even in the place where one, when one is born as human being, the place where one live, then, where there's a lot of contagious disease, where there's a lot of harms and contagious, epidemic disease, where there's a lot of fighting, wars, others attacking, then, where there's a lot of spirits giving harm, or a lot of insects, poisonous snakes or mosquitoes, scorpions, so where there's a lot of harmful insects, different that bites, there's a lot of harmful insects outside and inside the house and so forth. So all those, so in our life we experience those time to time, where there's a lot of harmful insects outside and inside the house, so many, which makes life so uncomfortable, so that time we have to recognize that this is the result of one's own past negative actions, the ill will, result of the ill will.

Then experiencing the result similar to the cause, the other people having ill will towards oneself, then, one do not look, one do not seek beneficial things, one doesn't do beneficial things, one look for and one does harmful things, not beneficial things, to oneself, to others.

Then, I left out that one, the covetousness, experiencing the result of the covetousness, then when one is born as human being, not having satisfaction. Very discontent.

Then, heresy. The complete action of heresy, ripened aspect result the lower realms. Then, when one is born as human being, possessed result is even in the place is used to be where there's oil coming out or gold, jewels coming out from that place, but now, it doesn't come any more, it doesn't produce any more. Then, the dirty place, then having the suffering, as a pleasure, not because it helps to develop the path, not in that way, here it's talking different, that, by delusion, then looking at the suffering as pleasure, then, unclean things as clean, so forth, then, one doesn't have, when one has problems, one doesn't find people to help, one doesn't find guide, so those are the possessed result of the place, the possessed result of the heresy to do with the place.

Then experiencing the result is the same, again when one is born as a human being, then, one does cunning, that one hides one's own mistakes, one cheat others and then creating the result similar to the cause, is doing the heresy again. So like this.

So all these problems one can see very clear came from the, caused by the self-cherishing thought, all these are shortcomings of self-cherishing thought. So therefore, then as we follow the self-cherishing thought, then we feel, when we are with people who are poor, who are lower than us, one feel pride, self- cherishing thought causes to rise pride. When one meet higher people, the self-cherishing thought makes us to compete, the higher ones, then self-cherishing thought causes to rise jealous mind. Then for the same ones, when we meet equal people, then self-cherishing thought makes to do competition. So like this, self-cherishing thought never gives peace to us, so anybody whom we meet, the self-cherishing thought makes us to do this, to rise disturbing thoughts, so like this, never give peace to us, it makes us to create negative karma.

And then self-cherishing thought, it makes to take the victory on oneself and give the loss to others, which makes, the self- cherishing thought makes us actually to create the cause, self- cherishing thought is obliging us to create the cause of unsuccess. So obstacles for enlightenment, obstacles for the highest enlightenment and many thousands of lifetimes, then to have unsuccess, to lose. [pause]

So, like this, so opposite, from the positive mind, the positive actions then living in the morality, all the opposite, ten virtues, this has four, result of four happinesses, complete action of each of the virtues has four result happiness, the opposite to each one that I explained, so all this happiness came from sentient beings, received by the kindness of sentient beings, by depending on the kindness, the sentient beings existing then we receive all this happiness, yeah. [pause]

So therefore, basically all these problems came from self- cherishing thought, so then that is cherishing the I, so all the problems came from the I, so therefore the I is the one that object forever to be renounced and all the happiness comes from other sentient beings so other sentient beings are the ones, they are the object to be cherished forever, all the good things came from, by the kindness of other sentient beings, so they are object to be cherished forever. So, like this, renouncing oneself and cherishing other sentient beings.

Did you discuss about the blessings of the deities?

[tape change]

…the deity's blessing? Yeah. I see.

So, what I thought was, so maybe tomorrow night or in the evening that, to do the blessing, permission to practice the deity, so I thought, either Medicine Buddha, this one, the Healing Buddha, Medicine Buddha, either that or the Compassion Buddha that riding over the snow lion, that recently I did also in Adelaide, so this also, the cancer, arthritis, so many of these diseases related with the, it is connected with harm from naga, so anything to do with, any of these diseases to do with naga or landlord, so this Compassion Buddha Riding on the Lion, this is one powerful deity that which, to guide, to protect, to stop those harms. It's another powerful deity for these diseases and arthritis, so this is used by the lamas, this blessing of this practice is used to not get arthritis or to heal the arthritis, things like that. So maybe to do one of these deities' blessing. Anyway some visualization receiving blessing, giving mantra and these things. So maybe, so if you have time and if you want to that, then maybe to do tomorrow evening. So maybe we stop here, at this point, then before the blessing, little bit of the rest of subject, then [gap], little bit on the kindness of other sentient beings, little bit on that, the rest left over the subject, then the meditation, the taking and giving, the actual, the very heart of the thought transformation. Then after the death, about the preparation for death, in other words, kind of exercise for death or the preparation. A trial, the preparation for death, when the time of death is happening, then how should one prepare, the particular practices during that time. So basically, all what I spoke, this is all preparation for death, that, while we have to experience then how to make the death, how to utilize the death in the path to enlightenment and how to make not fearful, pleasant death, all these subjects. But then there is particular advice or practices.

So maybe we stop here anyway.

Then we meditate on the nature of the music, contemplate on the nature of the music . Okay.

To achieve all these positive actions may I achieve the peerless happiness, full enlightenment, and lead everyone to this state as quickly as possible.

Then any sentient being who hears me, who touches me, who remembers me, who talks about me, who thinks about me, may they be never reborn in the lower realms and they be free from all the disease, three times negative karmas, obscurations and achieve enlightenment soon.

Thank you so much.

I think there are some oral transmission of the different meditations that I did as I met each of you, there are different meditations that came out, so I think it didn't get to put together some of the meditations, I think one is Umbrella Deity and, so, today I just found the text, so maybe the copies maybe available maybe tomorrow, okay. Yeah, condensed, condensed into A - I'm joking!

Thank you so much, okay, thank you very much.