Teachings Before Chöd Initiation (Audio and Unedited Transcripts)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Maitripa College, Portland, Oregon 2009 (Archive #1787)

These extracts are from a series of teachings prior to a chöd initiation given by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Maitripa College, Portland, Oregon, in June 2009.

Listen to the audio files and read along with the unedited transcripts.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche after the first US course in California, 1975. Photo: Carol Royce-Wilder.
This Precious Human Rebirth

Yangsi Rinpoche requested the chöd initiation and commentary, and the Chenrezig great initiation, so not, not that, not because I’m qualified, not that at all. So did the retreat, and that’s what needs to be done, so just that, something, something not empty, something not empty.

You can hear what I’m…? At all. [The group says no.] Oh, now looks better. The actual talk you don’t hear, but just the unnecessary one you hear. 

So I think, so, Lama Yeshe, whose holy name is extremely rare to express, kinder than all the numberless past, present, future buddhas, as Lama often mentioned that benefit of meeting each other, the benefit, the benefit of not being dead, not being dead is to meet again, benefit not being dead is to meet again. So therefore, we meet again here, so, again gather here.

When Lama meets a friend, when Lama Yeshe he meets friends, this, an expression, his holy mind is very happy, and expression to, what he expresses to his friends, that, the benefit not being dead is to meet again, to meet again, to meet again and to inspire each other, to inspire each other to practice Dharma.

If one’s life has been lazy, or one has, I mean, even one is not learned but, I mean, say, however, one has some understanding of Dharma, one does have, then, you already have a lot of understanding to practice, to achieve the essence of this life, to make this life fruitful, meaningful, beneficial.

Of course, the most important or the, most important or the real meaning of life, real purpose of life, of course, to benefit others, other sentient beings, who are numberless. Everybody, not only human beings, but even every single, even the animals, insects, even the tiniest ones, insects, ants, even smaller than that, that you can see only through machine, only through microscope. So, anyway, to benefit everybody, your life, say, to benefit, to benefit to all the sentient beings.

Then, of course, there’s numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, all that, then numberless suras, asuras, however, all the, all those who comes in three realms: desire realm sentient beings, and then form realm sentient beings, formless realm sentient beings, so all that, who are totally under the control of karma and delusions, who are totally under the control of karma and delusions, that themselves have no freedom, that themselves have no freedom at all, so, totally overwhelmed, under the control of karma and delusions, so that, so like this, suffering, so of course, to benefit them, and even to do what’s most beneficial for them, so, of course that’s best. But at least, but at least, even that, at least even that is not happening, but at least benefit yourself, the life, at least, to not let your life to become harmful, not let your life to become harmful to oneself, instead of that, then become beneficial, so, at least that.

So, however, so, to inspire, courage, to take the essence, happiness of, so, however, need to achieve full enlightenment, to achieve full enlightenment, to be able to liberate, oneself to be able to liberate numberless, the numberless hell beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and cause, karma and delusion, and to be able to liberate numberless hungry ghosts from oceans of samsaric suffering and cause, karma and delusion, and to liberate, oneself to liberate, to be able to liberate numberless animals from the oceans of samsaric suffering and causes, and then for oneself to be able to liberate numberless human beings from oceans of samsaric suffering and the cause, the karma and delusion, and oneself to be able to liberate numberless suras, numberless asuras, all those, from the oceans of samsaric sufferings, and karma and delusion, and to be able to liberate numberless intermediate state beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and cause, the karma and delusion, that, and to bring everyone, numberless hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, suras, everyone, from each realm, the numberless beings, you see, bring in full enlightenment, so this, this is most amazing, what you can do with your life.

Not only listening to teaching, not only listening to the teaching, reflecting, meditation practice, doing sadhana, you see, meditating on lam-rim, or stages of the path to enlightenment, or doing sadhanas, not only that, even sleeping you can use, even sleeping you can use, cause to achieve, you can use as a cause to achieve enlightenment, to be able to do perfect work towards sentient beings. Even eating food, even drinking can use to achieve full enlightenment for sentient beings, to be able to do perfect work towards sentient beings. Even working, doing jobs, every hour, every minute doing job, you can use to achieve full enlightenment, to achieve the perfect qualities of cessation and perfect qualities of realizations, full enlightenment, to be able to do perfect work towards sentient beings.

So, you see, whatever, eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, doing job, whatever activity, other than the traditional practices, preliminary practices or the sadhanas, or however, meditating on the tantric practice, or the foundation, the lam-rim, other than that. So what you can do, what you can do with your life, just amazing, it’s really amazing. Every single thing, every single thing in your life, that you can utilize or transform in the path to enlightenment, and to be able to do perfect work towards sentient beings, that. Towards each and every single sentient beings, so like that. Not only the sentient beings who are living in this universe, in this world, in this universe, this one universe, not just that. There are numberless universe even, hts, as Buddha explained, as scientifically explained, numberless universes, so, so all those sentient beings, so that’s really, so that, you know, so it’s really amazing, that we have met Buddhadharma, not just only to achieve the cessation of the suffering of samsara, you see, and the cause, karma and delusion, not just that, to achieve that blissful state of peace for oneself, to achieve that for oneself, not just only that.

As Buddha explained, you can achieve that by attaining the true path, all that, the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, that which cease all the disturbing thought obscurations, those, so not just that, so, by having met, I think, first of all, first of all, even without talking about, even without talking have met, we have met the Buddhadharma, we have Mahayana teaching, Paramitayana teaching, and then especially tantra, Mahayana, the Secret Mantra Vajrayana, without talking that, just we have, in this life, we have just met Buddhadharma, in this life we have met Buddhadharma, even just the Lesser Vehicle teachings, wow, what you can do, what you can do is, you can end the samsara.

By practicing what the Buddha has explained, by practicing what the Buddha has explained, realizing true suffering, true cause of suffering, all the different types of suffering, all the different types of sufferings, true suffering, true cause of suffering, hts, the true suffering is suffering of pain, and all the samsaric, all the temporary, temporary samsaric pleasure, which is only the suffering of change, which is only suffering of change, then the basis from where those two sufferings rises, the [Tibetan,] the pervasive compounding suffering, so, by realizing this, and then the true cause of suffering, the karma and delusion, and the cause, the cause of delusion, the negative imprint, so, by understanding that, discovering that, by realizing those, and then, true path, by actualizing that and developing that, then, able to cease the oceans of suffering of samsara, the oceans of suffering of human beings, oceans of sufferings of the suras, asuras, hell beings, oceans of sufferings of hell beings, oceans of sufferings of animals, oceans of sufferings of hungry ghosts, all the oceans of sufferings of the intermediate state beings, so, can achieve all that by totally ceasing the cause, karma and delusion, so that.

So, say, even just that, even, without thinking of the benefits, having met the Mahayana Buddhism, the Paramitayana, and the Mahayana, the Secret Mantra Vajrayana, without thinking of their benefits, having met those teachings, just this, the Lesser Vehicle teaching, that you can achieve the blissful state of peace for oneself, the total cessation of the suffering and causes, that you can be, that you can end the, that you can end the samsara, that you can end, which continuation has no beginning, which continuation has no beginning, because the cause, karma and delusion, did not have beginning, continuation of that did not have beginning, so, like that. So the, so the continuity of the rebirth, continuity of the samsaric rebirth has no beginning, has no beginning. So, something we have been suffering, being under the control of karma and delusion, without beginning, without beginning. That you, but you can cease, by having met Buddhadharma, you can cease this, can you imagine.

That, if we think of suffering as explained in the teachings, in the lam-rim teachings, in the sutra teachings, each realm suffering is most unimaginable. So the oceans of each realm suffering, that you can cease completely in this life all that, by attaining the path, so that’s, so that is really, so that is really amazing, just that, what you can do with your life, just that is a great surprise, that’s most unimaginable astonishing, most unimaginable astonishing, [scratchy tape] just that, without thinking benefits of Mahayana path and the Mahayana Paramitayana, and the tantra, without that, just all these realizations what you can achieve, the Thirty-seven Aids to Enlightenment, I’m not sure, those, so many of those, Eight Noble Paths, however, all those, the different realizations, even that, you see, wow, what quality, unbelievable quality what you’re able to achieve. Even just by achieving the Path of Merit, and the Preparatory Path, even the beginning of the ordinary path, without achieving the arya path, the exalted path, Right Seeing Path, Path of Meditation, even the Path of Merit, the Preparatory Path, even by actualizing the Path of Merit, there’s unbelievable qualities it has: those five types of clairvoyance, so forth, many, there are many qualities, even within that, there’s so many realizations you achieve. Can imagine? So most amazing.

So what I’m saying here, how fortunate we are, how unbelievable, most unbelievable fortunate we are, most amazing how fortunate, what can be done in your life. What unimaginable, what amazing, what an amazing benefit, what you can do, to your life. So, something, even this which is most extremely rare that didn’t happen for many eons, so many eons, a billion, zillion, trillion eons, billion, zillion, trillion, so many eons that didn’t happened, such this great opportunity, and happened this life. So this is something really, something that we have to really recognize, really recognize and appreciate, really recognize and rejoice, what unbelievable fortune we have, so it’s most amazing.

And then, so here, so here, same, here Maitripa University, here, so, same here, that, as you all know that, so Yangsi Rinpoche had been, studied for so many years, starting from Kopan and then to Sera Monastery, so, under most qualified teachers, under the most qualified teachers, the top in the monastery, so, who had depth and extensive, the understanding of Buddhadharma, who gained in the, from Tibet for so many years with the study, with many thousands, with so many thousand, thousand, thousand, thousands of monks, and with the learned monks, so like that.

So, here, so then, so most amazing to be able to establish this, the university here, so anyway, so, then so many people this most amazing opportunity to study, so that’s, Buddhadharma, the philosophy, the extensive teachings, extensive teachings, the base, two truths, and the path, method and wisdom, and what is to be achieved, the goal—dharmakaya, rupakaya—so all the qualities of Buddha, however, so it’s most amazing.

And also, then whichever, from whichever center you came from or been studying, all those teachers have great qualification, great qualifications, they themselves living in the practice, three higher trainings, living, so, themselves living in the practice, and the whole their life, whole their life they do the extensive study in the monastery, with so many learned monks, under very qualified, under the guidance of very qualified teachers, like that. So it’s the most, so it’s really most amazing, having this unbelievable opportunity to learn Buddhadharma from qualified teachers, without mistake, able to have correct understanding, then from that, correct practice, then from that comes correct realizations.

So as I often mention this, that, the, say, horses, or even the animal that’s living with people, around people, horses and dogs and cats, horses and dogs and cats, chickens, and what else? Chickens and, hens or chickens or, then pigs, and then, anyway, I have seen, there are some people who keep snakes, there are some people who keep snakes, you know, snakes as puppies, not puppies, snakes as pets, keeping snake as a pets. So in Australia, I’ve seen in T.V. there’s a couple who kept snakes as pets, keeping on their body, or, but then, after some time the snake bit, has bitten, I think the man or wife, might be the man, I think, maybe, so there happened a story. So some has also snakes.

However, if you explain them without a break even, without break even hour, minute, second, for billion, zillion eons you explain them: cause of happiness is virtue, cause of happiness is virtue, action which results happiness, motivated by non-ignorance, non-anger, non-attachment. So if you explain them for zillion, trillion eons, to them, without break even a hour, minute, even, without, a second, you see, day and night continuously explain them, there’s no way they can understand that, no way they can understand that. Even you explain them for a billion, zillion eons, all the time, no way they can understand.

But you, us, you, us, somebody explain this, doesn’t take even one minute, to understand it doesn’t take even a minute, to understand this, somebody explain this, to you: what is the cause of happiness, what is the cause of happiness? It’s the action which result happiness, motivated by non-ignorance, non-anger, non-attachment. It doesn’t take even one minute, so one has understood, and that is because we have this, we have received this precious human body, that is because we have received this human body which enable to understand the words and meanings. [snaps fingers] Somebody correctly explain you, and it doesn’t take even a minute, in a few seconds you understood [snaps fingers].

So, now that tells how this human body is so precious, unbelievable, most unbelievable precious, how this is so precious, this human body, that tells, gives an idea, gives the value of having a human body. You see, if you have human body even one more day, if you have a human body even one more day, if you have human body even one more day, can you imagine, the benefit what you can do, what you can learn, can you imagine? It’s most amazing. Even you have a human body, say, if you’re able to have human body, or able to live, say, even one more day more, if you’re able to live the life, what you can do, how much you can learn, benefit, to you and others, it’s most amazing, it’s far out, it’s really far out. It’s most far out, most far out.

So even you’re able to live one more hour, even you’re able to live one more hour, wow, what you can do, there’s so much what you can do. It’s really amazing, even you’re able to live one hour, there’s so much what you can do. So an idea, I mean, just to give an idea, what I mentioned just before, how it’s so easy to understand Dharma, by having this human body, so that tells, how this human body is so most unbelievably precious, how precious it is, like that.

Even a minute, even within a minute, second, can you imagine, with bodhicitta, if you can generate bodhicitta, if you meditate on bodhicitta, no question if you have actual realization, no question, but even without realization, you just meditate on that, generating that thought, can you imagine, it purifies many eons of negative karma, so even within a minute, you see, meditating on bodhicitta, and that, bring, so, even, even you don’t have actual realization of bodhicitta, but you put palms together, put palms together at your heart, and think, “May I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit for all the sentient beings, may I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit for all the sentient beings.” Just simply by that, in the Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment, as Lama Atisha mentioned, quoted to another, I don’t remember, another quotation, the Buddha’s teaching, one sutra, so, that, say, it is said that, so you collect far more greater merit, you collect far more greater merit just simply, “May I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit for all the transmigratory beings,” by put your hands together at the heart, you create far more greater merit than, than having made offerings to, than having made offering to the buddhas, having made offering to the buddhas. What is the offering, that is the, I don’t recollect, I don’t recollect very clearly, the world, world equaling the number of the sand grains of the Ganga River, or, that part got, my memory got mixed up, the world, world filled with the gold and silver, so forth, seven types of jewels, then made offering to buddhas, so, how many worlds? Equaling the number of the sand grains of the River Ganga, or the great thousand of three thousand galaxies; great thousand of three thousand galaxies. So the great thousand, three thousand galaxies, or the Ganga River. So, you see, [speaks in Tibetan to Yangsi Rinpoche].

So, anyway, so even it is a world filled with the seven types of jewels, how many worlds? Equaling the number of the sand grains of the Pacific Ocean, sand grains of the River Ganga, okay. So, that might be the Indian River Ganga, but in the, when it mentions River Ganga, you see, when it talks about the benefits of bodhicitta, then that is Pacific Ocean, not the Indian River Ganga, it’s the Pacific Ocean, it’s Atlantic Ocean or Pacific Ocean. So it’s most amazing, far more greater.

So, even if it’s Indian River Ganga, the sand grains of Indian River Ganga, can you imagine. So one handful, you take sand, you take sand, one handful of sand, how many sand grains it has. Now, world filled with seven types of jewels, equaling the number of the sand grains of your hand, of your hand, sand grains, your hand filled with sand grains, okay, so, world, filled with the seven types of jewels, equaling number of the, worlds, how many worlds? Equaling the number of the sand grains you have in your palm, filled in your palm, in your hand.

So, if you think, now if you think, this is most amazing, equaling the, world filled with the seven types of jewels equaling the number of the sand grains, sand grains that filled in your hand, just that, just that is amazing, just ?in this, make small, make small sand, make small quantity, just one handful, and then compare the number of sand grains, world filled with jewels, you make offering buddha. How many worlds? Equaling the number of the sands grain filled up, filled in your hand, this is amazing. If you think carefully like that, from small quantity can, ?that’s amazing, wow! Just amazing.

So then now you can understand, otherwise, from very beginning, just mention big, just, maybe I’m not sure, get lost or, maybe doesn’t feel much, or, so if you talk, if you compare to very small, like that, then can understand, you get idea.

So now here, so even it is Indian River Ganga, sand grains, sand grains there, I mean just numberless, even if it’s Indian River Ganga, okay, not Pacific Ocean, wow, amazing, amazing, unimaginable.

So, so what it’s saying there, say, you offer, you make that many offering to buddhas, world filled with seven types of jewels, okay, world, how many? Equaling the number of the sand grains of the River Ganga. Even in that case, say, three, great thousand, three thousand galaxies, even if it’s Indian River Ganga, however, ?some, just most amazing, amazing, amazing.

For example, your house, if sand, sand filled your room, or sand filled your house, so then world, you see, filled with jewels, equaling the number of the sand grain that filled your house, can you imagine that? So now we make bigger from the hand, handful of sand, so that’s just really amazing.

So anyway, what I was saying is, so now here, you collect far more greater, simply when you generate a motivation of bodhicitta, “May I achieve enlightenment in order to, say, for the benefit of all the sentient beings,” by putting palms at your heart. Then you collect far more greater merit, say, than the world filled with the seven types of jewels, equaling the number, how many worlds? Equaling the number of the sand grains of the River Ganga, in case if it’s that. So have to check. In the Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment you can check there. Lama Atisha quoted one sutra teaching. So if it’s great thousand of three thousand galaxies, that’s most amazing, so like that.

So, just simply by generating bodhicitta, you collect merits far more greater, far more greater than that, that much offering, can you imagine, to the buddha, to the buddhas, okay, to the buddhas, to not just one buddha, to buddhas, to all the buddhas, to all the buddhas.

So, even, you see, not only a minute, even two or three seconds, in just, just a few seconds, [snaps fingers] that’s what you can do. Even you’re able to live one minute more, even you’re able to live one minute to your life, wow, what you can do, and you plant seed of enlightenment, so you bring your life closer to enlightenment, so make preparation in your mind, sooner or later, to achieve enlightenment, the total cessation of the, all the mistakes of the mind, gross, subtle, and total, the qualities of realizations, so an example, just giving an idea, an example, an idea, so, same thing.

It is said that, as you know, again I don’t remember which quotation is that, even by taking refuge to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the benefits, the merits, the benefits, it is said that, if it’s materialized, [Tibetan] so, by having gone through refuge, then the merits, if it’s materialized, then even the three galaxies, three galaxies, the world, even this, would become small, just by taking refuge to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the merit, if it’s materialized, then, even the three galaxies will be so small to, three thousand galaxies, three thousand galaxies, even that much world, three thousand galaxies will be so small, won’t fit the merits in that. So like that.

However, then, and that, for example, if one meditates on emptiness even for one second, even one is able to concentrate on emptiness one second, say, most, it’s just the most amazing, collect merit, and even the, even arising doubts, emptiness, even arising doubt to that breaks the samsara in pieces, it says, even arising doubt, not only, how to say, meditating on that, even arising question, arising doubt, breaks samsara in pieces, so that’s so powerful.

It is said in the teachings that, I’ve forgotten the name of the text, so it is said, for ten eons, for ten eons you practice morality, ten eons you practice charity, morality, patience, perseverance, concentration, for ten eons, and then, then listening to teachings on emptiness, this one you collect far more greater merit, you collect, far more greater merit, than ten eons living in the, ten eons practicing paramita of the morality, say, charity, morality, patience, perseverance, concentration, like that.

So, first of all, first of all, first of all, you have to, first of all you have to have the karma to understand, you have to have the merit to accept the karma, first you have to have merit to be able to practice morality, to be able to take vows, to be able to take the morality, I mean to practice, to live in that, to collect inconceivable merits, first you have to have karma, merit to understand, you have to have merit to hear the teachings on that. First you have to have merit to hear, to read, to see the teachings on that, to hear the teachings on that, first you have to have that merit.

Second, you have to have merit to have faith, to have understanding and faith in that.

Then third, you have to have merit to be able to practice.

So it’s not easy, so it’s not easy at all. So, not easy at all.

So, even at the end, at the end, even you came to, first merit, say, having collected merit, then able to hear, able to see the teachings on that, then next, merit, able to understand, faith, then third, having merit, then to be able to practice, to be able to take those vows, so even you do that, it doesn’t mean you are able to live in pure, it doesn’t mean you’re able to complete your life in the morality, it doesn’t mean that, not necessarily. So, even one took the vow, not necessarily you’re able to live in the whole life.

So, therefore, if you analyze like this, of course, how difficult it is, how rare it is, if you analyze, you find out how rare, how difficult it is.

So now you can understand here, so ten eons you practice these five paramitas, I mean just that, I mean, just the morality, if you analyze, it’s not easy thing at all, you have all these merits, otherwise, cannot understand.

Anyway, so, so here it’s talking, ten eons practiced, ten eons of practice, the five paramitas, and then listening to the teachings on emptiness, listening to teachings on emptiness, you collect far more greater merit than practice the five paramitas for ten eons.

Now the ten eons you listen to teachings on emptiness and you reveal the teachings on emptiness to others. Revealing teachings to others, the minute when you reveal teachings to others, teachings on emptiness to others, you collect far more greater merit than you receive teachings on emptiness for ten eons, okay.

Now, for ten eons you reveal teachings on emptiness to others, one second you meditate on emptiness. Revealing teachings on emptiness to others and then one second you meditate on emptiness, able to [snaps fingers] concentrate on emptiness, this collect far more greater merit than revealing teachings on emptiness for ten eons, so like that.

So there’s so many more benefits explained in the teachings, so like that.

What I’m saying is, here, what I’m trying to say is, how this life, this human life, this human rebirth, we have taken this time, how this is most precious one, I’m talking about that, even within a minute, even in each second, even in each second, having this human rebirth in each second, so how this is most amazing, so precious, even in each second, wow, what you can do.

So just, this is without talking, as I mentioned before, without talking tantra, just even lam-rim, just the three principles of the path, the heart of the Buddhadharma, heart of the 84,000 teachings of Buddha. So this, can’t imagine, wow, [pause] such an unbelievable, most amazing that, you’re able to meditate on emptiness, you’re able to end the samsara, able to, this, as I mentioned before, which continuation has no beginning, but you can end. The advantage, or the benefit, what great benefit you get from, you get by meditating on emptiness each time is so you’re able to end this oceans of suffering of each realm, okay, which continuation has no beginning, this, which one experienced numberless times from beginningless rebirth, so like that.

So therefore, what I was saying, so you see, what I was trying to say before, so unbelievable, so easy, by having this precious human body, most unbelievable, so easy to understand Dharma. Then that means, also, that includes also, we should understand, means so easy to practice as well, compared to other sentient beings, compared to other sentient beings, those animals which I mentioned before, even the animals living with the human beings, so for them it’s impossible, impossible, impossible to practice, impossible to meet Dharma, impossible to understand, to learn, so impossible to practice, even they live for eons, so that.

So that means, for us who has human being, human body, so should understand, same, so easy to have realization, to achieve realizations, compared to, those animals, impossible. So easy to achieve realization. So that means so easy to achieve liberation from samsara, that means so easy to achieve full enlightenment for sentient beings, so like that. So that means, so that tells, that tells so much easy, with this human body, what you can do, to, by achieving enlightenment, to be able to do perfect work, to be able to do perfect work towards sentient beings, okay, numberless hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, suras, asuras, so much easy to be able to do perfect work towards sentient beings, to be able to achieve this goal, to bring them to enlightenment, so, so easy, that not only one can achieve, but so easy to, quicker, one can achieve that. So like that.

That, if we just think like this, so, here, just think of the people who are in the street, who are walking in the street, just, or neighbors, neighbors or the people just walking outside your house, or street, okay, this is an idea, I mention just an example. Okay, so now, no idea, no idea at all about life. First of all, no idea at all about life, no idea at all about mind, no idea at all, past and future lives, no idea at all about mind, no idea at all about karma. After this life, can you imagine, after this life, I mean, well, human being, human being having a human body, okay, maybe a very tall body, very tall and very strong, very healthy, or very strong, however, or, wealthy, I mean everything, or whatever. However, but no idea at all about life, about mind, about karma, so, after this life, can you imagine, if you pay attention, if you pay attention neighbors, or the, when you, people in the street, okay, or in the market, in the restaurant or the, anyway, I mean, in the street, so if you look at their life, if you look at their life, can you imagine? So, I mean except some people who are more compassionate, who has compassionate, those who have compassionate nature, and those who practice patience, even not Buddhist, but who practice patience, control anger, practice patience, which is a virtuous thought, you see, and who has more compassionate nature, so they, those who have these qualities of the mind, virtuous quality, practicing patience and compassion, so forth, loving-kindness, sincerely benefiting to somebody, without condition, without expectation something to receive back, so, without worldly concern, so those people then, I think, possibility to collect some merits, yes.

But, but of course, there’s no dedication, there’s no protecting the merits, they have no idea, they have no knowledge how it is so, most important to protect the merits, after you collect the merits, I mean, you protect, so, dedicating to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, so the merits is inexhaustible, it become inexhaustible, and cannot be destroyed completely, and, and then, when you dedicate the merits to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, by sealing with the emptiness, so that later, when heresy, anger, arises, cannot harm, cannot reduce the merits, cannot make the merits weaker, so that.

So, you see, so that person has no knowledge, at all, no knowledge that. So then, and then, those negative thoughts, anger, so forth, those negative thoughts arises, and destroys the merits, even though there’s some merits collected, but it get destroyed, so like that.

So if you think, after this life, after this life, that person is going to be born ant, you know, person’s going to be born those tiny insects, ant, after this big body, then you’re going to be born tiny insect, ant, or the very tiny ones, very tiny insects, when the wood, or something which has dampness or some, tiny insects, you see, damp wood, or what do you call the…? [Students: Termites.] Huh, what? The wood, that old wood or something, you see, anyway, those tiny insects.

So, you see, I mean, you see, I’m just giving idea, after this, anything, cockroaches, or can you imagine, flies, or fly, born as a fly, which you used to kill in your life, you know, when you were a human being, you used to kill, you see...

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