FRIDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER

(Discourse is preceded by a Chenrezig purification meditation.)

This meditation, practicing awareness of dependent arising, is very, very good. It is extremely beneficial.

This morning we did a short meditation particularly related to the action of walking, a walking meditation. Whatever you are doing, whether you are sitting or standing or eating or whatever, think “The only reason I say that I am doing this is because the aggregates are doing this action.” We are “sitting”, for example, because the aggregates are doing the action of sitting.

At the same time as you are asking these questions and giving answers watch the I. Watch the self. Be continuously looking at the I.

By doing this we become more aware of the I that we believe in as truly existent, the emotional I. Normally we don’t see that this I is empty of being truly existent. We do not understand this. It does not appear to us in any other way than as truly existent I. so, when we say “I am walking” this I that is walking appears to be truly existent.

When we apply the reasoning, “I am only doing this because the aggregates are doing this action,” even if the I does not become completely empty, it becomes sort of invisible, thinner.

Applying this reasoning helps to make our strong feeling of an I flimsy. This helps when you watch the mind again. And when you look at the I again without checking you see it differently from before, as more real, existing from its own side.

Then you do the same thing again: question and answer and checking on the I so that it becomes more invisible. Then afterwards, when the mind is distracted, you look at the I again and recognize more and more how it exists as truly existent. This appearance of true existence that we are normally not aware of and that we believe in all the time, becomes more visible.

We can relate this meditation technique to whatever work we are doing, using it to recognize the refuting object, the I that is illusion. By doing that, you realize the absolute nature of the I.

This wisdom realizing the absolute truth is the one which eradicates true suffering, the true cause of suffering, disturbing thoughts, karma, the two obscurations. So, meditation on dependent arising is very helpful even if we don’t realize shunyata. Being aware, practicing mindfulness of the I as dependent arising stops anger, attachment, jealousy and ill-will from rising. It stops these negative thoughts and stops negative karma, so in the long run it offers great peace for all future lives.

Even if you think that you have serious problems, by meditating in this way your problem that was so serious and made you believe “I am the only one in this world having problems” becomes no problem. It is not a problem any more, you see it as nonsense and yourself as childish. It may be something that makes you cry or makes you laugh but you recognize the wrong conception.

It is like being married to an illusory husband. When somebody takes the illusory husband away you are so confused, much anger and jealousy come. You arrange many things that will harm the person towards whom you feel jealous and angry; you go to court and all these arrangements. Then, after some time, you discover that this was just an illusion, just illusion. It does not exist at all, even in name (laughing); you see that all your effort was just complete nonsense, wasted. The I is exactly similar to this—the illusory husband is an example of the I that you normally cling to.

So, it is very good to repeat this meditation. If you are capable and aware, then practice the meditation of dependent arising when you are eating and talking. The more activities you do, the more you meditate. For a person who is not distracted, the more activity there is, the more he has the opportunity to improve his realization because he is meditating at the same time.

If you cannot do this, then keep silence when you are eating and meditate on the I as dependent arising. And do the same thing when you are walking, cleaning, etc.

This practice is especially good when somebody starts to criticize you or treat you badly. At that time, if you can do the meditation on the I as merely labeled on the aggregates, then it helps very much to stop the mind from being disturbed by other people’s words. Your mind is not hurt. Depending on the level of your mind and how strongly you can think of the I as merely labeled, the hurt is much less than at other times when you believe in the I as truly existent.

There is a particular practice called “slaying the ego”—chöd. Its purpose is to easily recognize the refuting object, the truly existent I, so that one can realize emptiness.

To practice slaying the ego, chöd, it is best to go outside to some terrifying place and invoke the spirits. You purposely create the conditions that will make you terrified and bring fear, making the emotional I arise. But for this, you have to go to a place that is terrifying and where you can easily feel fear.

That is one way of slaying the ego, but actually when you are staying at a center or with your family, whenever you are with your enemy—the main point is to be with your enemy, somebody who bothers you, who criticizes you—when you are in front of the enemy, that is the best place for chöd. Then you don’t need to blow the thigh bone to invoke, the enemy comes to you without your needing to ask and whenever you see them the emotional I suddenly comes up very strongly. They tell you your mistakes: you are not doing this or that, you are doing this wrong or you are doing that wrong, like this. Then there is much fun happening in your mind, much movie, much scenery.

When you see the person who criticizes you, who dislikes you, suddenly the emotional I comes up strongly. At that time you should look at the I appearing as truly existent and think “He is harming me, the ‘truly existent’ me.”

If you go out to practice chöd, it is explained that you should create the conditions for fear to arise easily.

Here at the center when you are associating with other people, there are those who criticize you and complain. If you watch the I, if you plan to recognize the refuting object as in chöd and use the logic such as dependent arising to see the truly existent I as empty, then the same achievement comes— you realize shunyata. Here at the center there are many times when fear comes and many times when you are so happy. If you go to another place it is not certain that fear will arise, it may not work.

I think the enemy is unbelievably kind, so good. He offers the best service for slaying the ego. If somebody wants to realize shunyata, then the enemy helps to make the emotional I rise, the I that is illusion. The enemy is completely against the selfish attitude, completely against it. He is so incredibly precious that you cannot finish explaining— he helps to cut off the selfish attitude.

I think actually the enemy is the best friend. He gives enlightenment swiftly.

(Short break)

When we do meditation on shunyata and we do the four-fold analysis using different reasons to see the object of ignorance, the truly existent I, as empty, after we have used logic, if there is still something left, if somewhere inside there is an I left: the observer, the examiner, the seeker; if the I is left way inside and appears to be truly existent, then that is not meditating on shunyata. Even if you are not seeing any substantial thing, you are not meditating on shunyata. It is like looking at space, like looking through the window into space.

In that kind of meditation you are still clinging to the I as truly existent. You are meditating on the I as an illusion but still thinking that it is true. After you have used the logic, when you place the mind on emptiness it should appear as though the I does not exist; the seeker, the self does not exist.

That is why one great yogi, Changya Dorje, advised, “You don’t need to seek the I. What you have to seek is yourself.” He is saying that you don’t need to seek the I as an object—you the subject seeking I the object. That is what this great yogi is saying. You don’t need to seek the I as an outside object, what you have to seek is the seeker— that means the refuting object, the I, the truly existent I. You are seeking that in order to realize it as empty.

Normally, as I mentioned yesterday, the I that is merely labeled on these aggregates appears as though it were not merely labeled from its own side and you cling to that appearance. It is similar with the aggregates, they appear to us as though truly existent and because of this so do all the five sense objects. The formless and the touchable objects, everything appears to be truly existent and we cling to that.

So you see, according to how things appear and we believe in them, all our life is illusory! Our whole life—happy or suffering—is all a complete hallucination. You remember, yesterday, that I gave many examples of how things are merely labeled, how things exist by merely labeling. In reality, that is how things exist, how everything exists.

With this ignorance holding the I as truly existent as one meets with different objects different delusions arise. When one meets desirable objects attachment rises, with undesirable objects anger rises, and with indifferent objects ignorance rises.

With regards karma, there is no way that an action performed with anger and ignorance of true existence can be virtuous. It cannot be a virtuous compounding action, only a non-virtuous compounding action. But the karma of actions performed with attachment and ignorance of true existence can be virtuous and non-virtuous.

This can be related to the evolution of samsara where so many problems come from. In our case, at the time of death, before this life, the virtuous positive result manifested, so we were born as human. The compounding virtuous action comes from practicing moral conduct. This can be done out of ignorance or attachment. Then the virtuous compounding action leaves a seed on the consciousness.

There are many details about karma. I am not going to talk about these details.

Amongst the virtuous actions, there are different kinds of virtue: there are virtuous deluded and non-deluded actions. Then there are immovable actions which are virtuous. Immovable karma causes birth in the state of the four stable concentrations. With regards movable karma, there is virtuous and non-virtuous.

One example of movable karma is a person who has created much negative karma in this life and that karma is very strong at the time of death. By the power of the lama who has high attainments, tantric realizations, and also, of course, by the power of his karma, even if he is in the process of being born in the realm of the suffering transmigrators the consciousness can be transferred while he’s in the intermediate state. He may have the body of an intermediate state being that would lead to an animal or preta rebirth but still the consciousness can be transferred to the upper realms or maybe also to a pure realm. There are also other examples.

So in the past life one did virtuous moral actions, such as practicing moral conduct, things like that, making prayers to receive this human body, and that left seeds, the potential, on the consciousness. Then whatever the rebirth was just before this, whether it was a human being or a suffering transmigratory being, at the time of death the seeds ripened.

So much karma has been collected, it is uncountable. There can be so many virtuous and so many non-virtuous karmas. So at the time of death, if there is so much karma to be experienced, so many potentials of karma, then how is the rebirth decided?

It is like this: when you plant a seed in the garden, which one will grow first? It is quite similar to a garden. Whichever seed has more minerals, more perfect conditions, that will grow first. Amongst all these karmas there are many virtuous ones and many non-virtuous ones. Whichever is stronger, heavier, that will ripen first and bring the rebirth.

If all these karmas are equally heavy, which will be experienced first? Whichever is closest to fruition, that will be experienced first. If those karmas are all the same, being equally close to fruition, which karma will be experienced first? The one which is more habitual, that will bring the result first.

If those karmas that are habitual are equal, which will bring the result first? Then, it is like planting seeds for flowers, whichever is planted first will sprout first. Of all these karmas, whichever was created first, that will be experienced first. (First does not only mean in this life.) Amongst these karmas, whichever was accumulated first will bring the result first.

So whatever rebirth we may have had just before this life, at the time of death it was the virtuous karma to be born as a human being that was strongest and ready to be experienced.

The potential of the virtuous karma is experienced because of the two disturbing thoughts, craving and grasping. An example of the difference between craving and grasping is when you go shopping. First you have the intention to buy something, the desire to buy it, then if you are able to afford it and you like it you put your hand in your pocket and make the determination to get it. The stronger desire to get it is the grasping. It is these two, wishing and desiring the human rebirth, that ripen the potential for human karma.

When the karma is ready to be experienced, like a child that is ready to come out of the pregnant mother, one is reborn into the intermediate state of the human being. When the time for staying in the intermediate state is finished you find a place to be reborn and the consciousness transfers to the fertilized egg.

There are seven results to be completed: Rebirth—the consciousness taking place on the fertilized egg is one result. Then, name and form. Name means the formless aggregates: the aggregates of feeling, the compounding aggregates and recognition, but not consciousness. They are formless, so they are called name. Form is the physical part which can be seen by the eye. Then the six sense bases are actualized. After that there is contact. As a result of contact, feeling is actualized.

Rebirth occurs when the consciousness takes place on the fertilized egg. Rebirth is not when the baby comes out.
All these have been experienced. Rebirth has already been experienced, old age is being experienced at present. So, of these seven results, the only one left for us to experience is death.

The conclusion is that as you can see now, we have created this human condition. The fact that we suffer from hunger and thirst, hot and cold, that we have to worry, that we keep the body so busy, that we have to study for many years to take care of our bodies and that we have to be busy day and night, all these problems come from having taken this samsaric rebirth and this was created by oneself.

You remember now that over the last three or four days I have been talking about the ignorance of true existence and the truly existent I? We talked and meditated on this. You see, the reason why we have created this samsara, this suffering realm, is because we have been following this ignorance of true existence, clinging to the I that is empty of true existence as though it were truly existent. That is the whole mistake.

So now you can see how harmful it is, this ignorance that clings to the I as truly existent. This is our greatest mistake, it is the very root of our problems.

Now you can see how incredibly important it is to work day and night this year, this month, this week, even today, within this hour, within this second to cut off this ignorance, to realize the object of ignorance as empty.

All the other things that we normally worry about and think of as important are nothing, they are lost in comparison.

Please meditate on shunyata.

(Dedication)

SATURDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER

Yesterday, when I was talking about karma, I left one out. There is virtuous, non-virtuous and also indifferent karma. There is indifferent karma because there is the indifferent mind. Indifferent feeling is also possible. There are suffering, happy and indifferent feelings. Indifferent feeling can be the result of indifferent karma.

Yesterday, I explained the twelve links of dependent arising, the twelve branches of these present samsaric aggregates, so you got some idea of how these samsaric aggregates, this suffering realm, came from the ignorance—not understanding the absolute nature of the I, the hallucinated I. Ignorance clings to the I as truly existent and from this comes the evolution of the twelve links: craving and grasping, then compounded action and becoming—when the potential that is left on the consciousness is ripened by craving and grasping at the time of death. I explained yesterday how the seven results (two karmas, two actions, and three delusions) are actualized from this. So these aggregates, this samsara, are caused by the disturbing thoughts and karma.

This is one way to understand how these aggregates are under the control of the disturbing thoughts and karma, not free. They are under the control of the disturbing thoughts and karma, and the result is suffering. The aggregates are impure and their origin is also impure. Not only are they caused by the disturbing thoughts and karma, but they are also contaminated with the seed of disturbing thoughts.

Because the aggregates are contaminated with the seed of disturbing thoughts, even if we don’t have anger now, at this moment, still if I were to say something suddenly that might hurt the self-cherishing attitude, anger could come. Even if there is no anger now, if somebody were to come along after the session and say something in front of you that was not nice, anger could suddenly arise.

Similarly, even though now, at this moment, there is no attachment rising, suddenly, when you meet the object, attachment rises. It is the same thing when you meet the indifferent object, ignorance rises. This shows again how the aggregates are under the control of the disturbing thoughts and karma.

I don’t know how Western scientists explain why, when you meet different objects, different disturbing thoughts arise. Do they say that it has something to do with the different atoms in the body? That the father has anger and attachment and all these things so it comes from him? And the mother has anger and attachment and all these things, so you get them from your mother? You get your body from your father and mother along with the atoms of anger and attachment?

Does anybody here know how they explain why when you meet an object these different disturbing thoughts arise? How do they explain that? Since there is no reincarnation, the only thing you have to blame it on is the parents!

George : Some come from the environment, some are genetic. Some people say it is mainly genetic, some say it is mainly environmental, so then they say it is both.

Rinpoche: They won’t accept that a being exists apart from its genetic structure? Then what if the parents don’t have that type of gene?

Neil: Some cells may come from grandparents’ grandparents. Even if it is from thousands of generations back, there is still a chance for it to come out.

Rinpoche: I see—somebody started it!

George: Or it may come about because some chromosomes or genes have changed due to heat, cosmic rays or mutation. I think they say that most factors come from the environment, how we grew up and the experiences of this life on the one hand, and on the other hand, from the genetic structure that we inherited.

Neil: I think genetic malfunctioning is also another explanation for some diseases. There is a certain lack of this or that in the chromosomes, certain factors missing and this causes certain mental diseases and problems.

Rinpoche: In this case, it looks like the best solution is death! (laughing) Do the scientists give any explanation of how to live life without being confused by attachment, anger and ignorance?

Sylvie: A few years ago there was a program on television. It reported the case of a woman who had incredible anger. She used to go around smashing shop windows, etc. So the doctors decided to do lobotomy, to operate on the spot in the brain where anger arises. They observed her for a long time to find the spot and then they operated on it. After the operation she no longer did such angry actions, but the program finished by saying that although she could not manifest these physical actions of anger, she was still getting incredible emotional feelings. She could not be violent, but something was still coming back to her.

Rinpoche: That is like trying to stop the physical appearance. There was no change in the person’s mind, so still there is a problem, some force comes that is not happiness, that is not peacefulness.

It seems that even though they talk about genetics and many other things, there is something contained in this genetic structure that is continually there, even if many people do not experience it in between.

George: They have explanations that when the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm unite they react in some way to give slightly different combinations, so the child has a different body and a different brain.

Rinpoche: So what? You are not talking about anger and those things. Is there a particular gene that causes them?

George: I don’t know if they are actually saying that.

Neil: I said that it can be carried on from the grandparents even if in between generations it did not show.

George: They say that if someone has much anger it may be because the brain has a certain shape or the blood-vessels are a certain way or there is some malformation. Those things may be the seeds, the potential, for anger from very far back. It may be that anger changes the brain and then the person has the potential, the personality, to get angry. I think that is one explanation, but there are others. To Western people it sounds quite plausible that some seed for the physical change is in the chromosomes and can be a contributive factor to how our mind works.

Rinpoche: Then isn’t it possible to have a physical reaction without always becoming anger, without anger rising?

George: They would say yes.

Rinpoche: Sometimes there is anger, sometimes there is no anger, and still those physical changes are happening?

George: It is also due to environmental things. What you see, what you have learned, and also the way that you eat—chemicals, LSD, and aspirin all have an effect on the nervous system.

Connie: They also say that the experience of being born is so traumatic, especially in hospitals, that because of this traumatic experience many negative energies are generated in the person that later result in much anger and other mental problems.

Rinpoche: So everyone has anger? Everyone has the seed of anger? Do they say that everyone has the seed of anger?

George: I think they would not use that term, but they would say that everyone could get angry.

Rinpoche: (laughing) Can get angry...!

George: Probably people think it is healthy, a natural response.

Rinpoche: Do they accept cessation of anger? That you can make it impossible for anger, attachment, and ignorance to arise?

(No answer.)

We are under the control of the disturbing thoughts—attachment, ignorance, and anger—because there is the seed of the disturbing thoughts. Even though there is no anger now, even though there is no attachment, none of those disturbing thoughts, when we meet the disturbing objects, suddenly pride arises, suddenly the jealous mind arises, suddenly attachment rises.

When we meditate we do not have the freedom to use the mind and the body as we wish to create virtue. Even if we wish to have five minutes quiet, five minutes realization, not to have any distractions in the mind but to have single-pointed meditation, still when we do the meditation or recitation on Chenrezig or watching the mind, this does not happen. Although we wish to have five minutes without any sinking thought, scattering attachment or any hindrances like this, we cannot concentrate continuously. We are disturbed. Even if we are doing lam-rim, the analytical meditation, at first we can do maybe one minute or five minutes, but then the mind is disturbed. One is unable to continue, unable to keep the mind in virtue.

It is the same with the body. Even if we wish to sit for a long time and meditate, or to do purification practice, doing prostrations, the virtuous physical action, after half an hour or an hour, sooner or later, pain comes. One can’t stand sitting, and can’t stand doing prostrations, the virtuous physical actions.

This shows that we are under the control of the disturbing thoughts and karma. These experiences of ours show that we are under the control of the disturbing thoughts and karma. They are the signs that we have not yet been liberated from karma and disturbing thoughts, from their bondage. Therefore, in the teachings these aggregates are called the deluded aggregates—the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping.

Why are they called the deluded aggregates? Because they are contaminated with the seed of the disturbing thoughts: craving and grasping. They come from the disturbing thoughts of craving and grasping so they are called the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping.

Of the three types of suffering in samsara, these deluded aggregates of craving and grasping are the fundamental suffering, the pervasive suffering of compounded action. Normally, I think, one says ‘pervasive suffering’—just that; the pervasive suffering of the compounded action.

Since we have these aggregates, when we meet with different objects we experience the three types of feeling: the suffering, indifferent, and happy feelings.

Even if one has not studied the Dharma, does not practice meditation, and does not understand Buddhadharma, one can still understand suffering feeling. Even animals wish to be free from the suffering feeling, pain. The suffering feeling is the suffering of suffering. Even if one has not studied Buddhadharma, one is able to recognize this.

Then there is the happy feeling. Most of the happiness in samsara is in the nature of suffering. Most samsaric pleasures are in the nature of suffering. Guru Shakyamuni taught his younger brother that eating, walking, sitting and sleeping, each of these should be understood separately as being in the nature of suffering.

When the meditator is only performing the action of eating, not doing any other actions like sitting, walking or sleeping, that action makes the person suffer. They experience great pain, great discomfort. It is very rough, the opposite of smooth, not beautiful. It brings unceasing pain.

You see, when we take the first spoonful of food, there is the experience of pleasure. When we are hungry, it appears to be pleasure. That happens because the suffering of hunger starts to decrease from great to small as soon as you take some food. But another discomfort now starts from very small.

Right after you have taken some food for the very first time, the discomfort starts—the discomfort of having taken food in the stomach. Then, as you keep on eating, taking more and more food, the discomfort gradually increases from small to great. After some time you cannot stand any more eating! So, as the suffering of hunger from being great becomes small, the suffering of eating, of having food in the stomach, starts, and on that feeling we label pleasure.

On that feeling we label pleasure, so pleasure is labeled on a base that is suffering. If the base on which you label pleasure were not suffering, if that were pure happiness, ultimate happiness, then when the other heavy suffering stopped, started to decrease, another suffering would not have started from small.

If that feeling was really pure happiness, then if you kept on eating from morning until night, after twenty-four hours there would be incredible pleasure. And if the person carried on eating for one year, then imagine, you cannot figure out how much pleasure there would be!

You see, at the beginning, when we started to eat the discomfort of eating is so small that we are not aware of it. But as we carry on the action of eating the discomfort builds up, and as it builds up we become aware of it. The whole point is that we are not aware of it as discomfort, and while we are not aware of this we call it pleasure. So in fact it is like that.

Similarly, after we have been sitting down for a long time we become tired of sitting so we stand up. But when we stand up the same thing happens. The discomfort of standing starts from very small and the tiredness of sitting decreases from great to small. So that again we label pleasure.

Similarly, when we feel hot and we enter a cold place; the heavy suffering of being hot decreases, and the discomfort of being cold starts from small. Your body feels hot, you enter cold water, the discomfort of cold starts from small, and you call that pleasure.

If that were pure happiness, if it were not labeled on the base that is suffering, then if you lived in the water for one year with your naked body, it would be unbelievable, incredible bliss. However, that does not happen. That is not the reality. The reality is that there is more and more discomfort. The more we stand, the more we sit, the more we eat, the more we walk, the more we keep our body in the water, in reality, is more and more discomfort. This shows, experience proves that what we label pleasure is not pure happiness.

All samsaric pleasures are called the suffering of change. The suffering of change does not mean that happiness is something that is labeled on the base of suffering and after some time stops, so it is the suffering of change. Not only that! You see, while it is changing, while you are experiencing the pleasure, if you analyze, if you think about the base on which you are labeling the pleasure and you check up, you will see that it is decreasing. The pleasure itself is suffering. All samsaric pleasures are suffering. It is not that those pleasant feelings, the samsaric pleasures, are suffering feeling. They are not suffering feeling.

There are three feelings: suffering feeling, happy feeling, and indifferent feeling. The samsaric pleasures are not suffering feeling, but they are suffering. What do you say George? Are the samsaric pleasures suffering?

George : They are in the nature of suffering.

Rinpoche : Are they suffering or not?

George : They are in the nature of suffering.

Rinpoche : They are in the nature of suffering, but they are not suffering? Are they not suffering? When you experience the suffering of change, when you experience samsaric pleasure, are you not experiencing suffering?
If something is in the nature of fire, should it be fire or not?

George : A fire bar, an electric fire bar, is in the nature of fire, but it is not fire.

Rinpoche : Okay, electricity is not in the nature of fire, it is not the nature of burning?

George : If it was fire then there would be smoke.

Rinpoche : If the electricity is in the nature of burning, isn’t it fire? Isn’t that the definition of fire?

George : Hot and burning.

Rinpoche : Yes, hot and burning.

George : The electric bar is hot but it is not burning.

Rinpoche : It does not burn.

George : It is not burning. It burns the hand but it does not burn.

Rinpoche : It does not burn? It burns the hand then it is okay, then it burns.

George : If it burns the hand then it does not necessarily have to be burning itself.

Rinpoche : I see, then the fire is also not fire. Fire is not fire because fire does not burn fire.

George : It’s nature is burning.

Rinpoche : We go back, you said that the suffering of change has nature of suffering, and you said that the nature of suffering is not suffering.

George : It is not suffering feeling.

Rinpoche : It is not suffering feeling, but it is suffering?

George : It is not suffering feeling.

Rinpoche : It is not suffering feeling? It is not suffering?

George : It is in the nature of suffering.

Rinpoche : It is the nature of suffering?

George : It has the nature of suffering.

Rinpoche : It has the nature of suffering, but that is not suffering?

George : It is not suffering feeling.

Rinpoche : Okay, that is not suffering. Then, is that happiness? So that is happiness? Suffering? You said it is not suffering? Isn’t that samsaric suffering? The suffering of change, isn’t that samsaric suffering?

George : It is called samsaric happiness, but it is in the nature of suffering.

Rinpoche : It is not samsaric suffering, so it is in the nature of what? If it is not in the nature of suffering, it is in the nature of happiness.

George : Jeffrey Hopkins calls the relative truth ‘truth for a jerk.’ For a jerk or a samsaric person it appears to be and it is experienced as happiness. In reality it is constant suffering. It is only called happiness because one suffering is going down and is not as great as the other.

Rinpoche : So that is samsaric suffering or not? Is that samsaric suffering and samsaric happiness? Both?

George : It is not called samsaric suffering.

Rinpoche : It is not? It is not samsaric suffering?

George : It is not called samsaric suffering.

Rinpoche : It is samsaric suffering but it is not samsaric suffering? That is dependent on the labeling, on how it is labeled.

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha said this, that when one suffering stops another suffering arises, and we label that ‘pleasure’. You see, when we stop one action and start another action, at that time, even though there appears to be some pleasure, that is actually only merely labeled on the base of suffering. In fact, as one suffering stopped, another suffering began. It arises in the nature of compounding and it stops in the nature of compounding—compounding action.

When you sit down after a long time of standing, the action of standing compounding the suffering stops. Now, when you are sitting down, the action of sitting compounds and builds up the suffering. When the action stops, that stops the compounded action, and when it starts, when it arises, it arises in the nature of compounded action. Compounding what? Compounding suffering. So, all these actions—eating, working, sitting—are compounding suffering.

Whatever we do is suffering. Even if we eat, it is suffering; even if we sit, it is suffering; even if we stand, it is suffering; even if we walk, it is suffering; even if we sleep, it is suffering. Whatever we do, until we are liberated from samsara, is suffering.

Awareness of this suffering of change is very good for controlling attachment. This does not mean that one should not experience pleasure. The problem is that we cling to that pleasure, that is the problem.

It is very good to be aware of how samsaric pleasures are in the nature of suffering, it is very helpful for controlling the dissatisfied mind. It is the dissatisfied mind, attachment, that ties us to samsara, causing us to be born and to die, to experience all these problems.

So, if it is suffering, it does not have to be suffering feeling because the connotation of suffering feeling and the feeling of pleasure is different.

SUNDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER

(Chenrezig purification)

"At any rate, I must achieve the state of omniscient mind in order to free all the sentient beings from all the sufferings and lead them to peerless happiness, therefore I am going to take the oral transmission of the Compassionate Buddha’s mantra.”

Reciting this mantra is one of the best methods of developing a good heart, the thought of loving kindness, compassion, bodhicitta, and renouncing oneself and cherishing others. It is one of the best methods of developing a good heart, bringing peace and calm to the mind.

No matter how much we recite this mantra, negative thoughts such as clinging to powers—like the power to have long life—or clinging to the comfort of this life do not arise. Worldly concern does not arise as it does with some other mantras. The more and more we recite this mantra, the more and more the mind becomes subdued and more in the nature of loving kindness and compassion. There is less thought of cherishing oneself and more thought of cherishing others.

It brings up the thought that if you are able to bear hardship, if you are able to suffer for others, to accomplish happiness for others, then you are more happy to suffer than not to suffer for others. Then the more you have a difficult time, the more and more happy you get because you see yourself being more useful for others. That is the advantage of this mantra.

In this way, one accumulates much merit. The loving attitude, the thought of kindness to all beings, and the thought of bodhicitta develop. Then, more merit, more fortune and more good luck are accumulated, and, because of that, wisdom is also developed. One is then able to benefitother sentient beings more and more extensively.

Even if you have recited this mantra a billion times, because of the benefits you experience, the more you recite it, the more you want to recite it.

If you are reciting this mantra, and especially if you recite it with the meditation, no matter how many problems you have, your own problems do not become so important because you are thinking about others—not just one sentient being’s problems, but so many other sentient beings’ problems! By thinking that you are reciting mantra to free them from suffering and to bring them ultimate happiness, your own personal problems disappear. It brings serenity; while you are reciting this mantra, you experience tranquillity.

First, I will recite the mantra three times. Then with the attitude of bodhicitta, think: “I am taking the oral transmission”. Since you are going to do this nyung-nä, I will also give the oral transmission of the long mantra.

As I explained over the last few days, the happiness that we wish and the suffering that we do not wish are not created by others but only by one’s own mind. They come from one’s own mind.

I often use the example advised by Phabongkha Rinpoche. Rinpoche was a great yogi who completed the experience of the whole graduated path to enlightenment, he was the root guru of His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s root gurus. Rinpoche gave an example of four people who recite the Tara prayer, to show which actions become the cause of happiness and which actions do not become the cause of happiness; which attitude makes the action become the cause of happiness and which attitude makes the action a cause for suffering.

The first person recites the Tara prayer with worldly concern. He is concerned just for this life which may only last a few months or a few years, he wants to have a long life or to have powers or something like that. He is only just concerned with the comfort of this life, clinging to this life.

The second person recites the prayer with the attitude wishing not for this life’s comfort, but for the happiness of future lives. With that attitude he recites this prayer.

The third person recites the prayer not just to have happiness in future lives, not only that, but to achieve ultimate happiness, the everlasting happiness—liberation from the bondage of karma and disturbing thoughts that bind us to these aggregates, to samsara. He wants to be liberated from the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping.

The fourth person recites the prayer with the attitude wishing to achieve the state of omniscient mind, to free all the sentient beings from suffering and to lead them to the peerless happiness.

So the fourth person’s action of saying the prayer becomes the cause for achieving peerless happiness, the omniscient mind, because the action is possessed by the most pure attitude, the thought of bodhicitta, the altruistic mind of enlightenment.

The third person’s action of saying the prayer is not possessed by the most pure attitude—the altruistic thought of enlightenment, the peerless happiness, which means the thought to benefit all sentient beings. It is not possessed by that, the action is possessed only by the thought of liberating himself from karma and disturbing thoughts that bind him to samsara. So his action of saying the prayer only becomes the cause for him to reach liberation—liberation from samsara—just that.

The second person's action of saying the prayer is not possessed by the altruistic mind of enlightenment, so it does not become the cause of enlightenment. Since it is not even possessed by the thought of renouncing samsara, it does not even become the cause of liberation. As the action is only possessed by the attitude wishing to have happiness in future lives, it becomes merely the cause for the happiness in future lives.

The first person's action of saying the prayer is not possessed by the altruistic mind of the omniscient mind, so it does not become the cause for the peerless happiness, the omniscient mind. Nor is it possessed by the thought of renouncing samsara, so it does not become the cause for achieving liberation from samsara, everlasting happiness. The action is not even possessed by the Dharma attitude, the virtuous attitude of seeking at least the happiness of future lives, so it does not become the cause for happiness in future lives. That person’s attitude does not become Dharma.

Because of their attitude, the actions of the three others become Dharma, but the first person’s action does not become Dharma. Even though the prayer that he is reciting is Dharma, his action of saying the prayer does not become Dharma. The attitude is non-virtuous, so the action becomes non-virtuous. It does not even cause the happiness of future lives.

Reciting mantra and saying prayers is like taking medicine. Normally, when you take medicine you recover from the disease. That is what is supposed to happen because mantra and those texts like the teachings on Prajñaparamita on shunyata, those profound teachings of Buddha, the tantra teachings have much power. So, even if the person’s action does not become Dharma, the power of the mantra and scriptures prevents hindrances to life, such as untimely death, and stops diseases when medicine does not help. Things like that happen due to the power of the teachings. In a similar way, when you get diarrhea you take medicine and it stops.

Fasting is similar. People think that when someone fasts for a long time—one week or something like that—that it is a great, special Dharma practice. This is the same as the example with the prayer: it is all dependent. Whether or not that fasting is spiritual practice, whether it becomes Dharma or not is dependent on the attitude.

Again, you can take the example of four people. One person fasts just to be healthy in this life, to have a long life, just for his own happiness, not even for the happiness of future lives. He does not have the skillful selfless attitude, wanting to practice Dharma to be free from samsara, from karma and disturbing thoughts. He only has the unskillful selfish attitude that doesn’t even allow the action to become virtue, leading to happiness beyond this life up to enlightenment. He only wants to have a long life and happiness for just these few months, or these few years—such a short time. This kind of fasting does not become Dharma, it does not become spiritual practice, it becomes worldly practice. When the attitude is one of worldly concern, the action becomes a worldly action, the practice of worldly dharma.

Lama Atisha, the highly realized pandit who reestablished Buddhadharma in Tibet, was asked by his closest disciple Dromtonpa who was the embodiment of Chenrezig, “What will be the result of an action done with worldly concern?” Lama Atisha answered “The result will be rebirth in the preta, narak, or animal realms.” That means ultimate actions that are not possessed by worldly concern result in happiness in the upper realms.

Whether a worldly action is spiritual, whether it is Dharma and whether it is the cause of happiness or not, is all dependent not so much on what the action looks like from the outside, but merely on the attitude. It is dependent on the kind of attitude.

From the morning when we get up until night when we go to bed, whether we are working in the kitchen, cleaning the toilet, going somewhere, sitting down, all these things, normally, whatever we are doing, if all these actions are done with the thought of bodhicitta, the altruistic mind, then all these actions become the cause for enlightenment. All actions, from the morning when we wake up until we go to bed, even sleeping, whatever we do in those twenty-four hours, no matter what it is, whether in the city or at home, if they are done with the thought of bodhicitta they all become the cause for gaining the peerless happiness, the omniscient mind, for the sake of the sentient beings.

If those actions were done with the attitude wishing to be free from samsara, then they all become the cause to achieve liberation from samsara, cessation of those disturbing thoughts and karma, the true cause of suffering and all the true sufferings.

If the actions were done with the attitude seeking the happiness of future lives, then all those activities of body, speech and mind become the cause of happiness in future lives.

So, all those actions become Dharma, from the time that we get up to the last one, sleeping. They all become the cause of happiness.

If a person does all those actions without being possessed by the thought of benefiting other sentient beings, the person does not create good karma or fortune. As they are done only with the non-virtuous attitude they become non-virtue and cause only suffering.

Whether the person is leading a spiritual life or not does not depend on how they look from outside—whether he is keeping silence, or saying many prayers, or always living in a cave, not seeing people. Those actions do not define practicing Dharma or leading a spiritual life, leading a pure life. The definition comes from the attitude.

Our mind has the potential: our mind is not oneness with anger, not oneness with attachment—those disturbing minds—not oneness with ignorance. In the same way that a white cloth is not oneness with dirt, so can be washed and separated away from the dirt, from the individual’s side, like washing cloth, if one tries to practice Dharma, if one ties to develop the pure mind and to protect the mind from the disturbing thoughts which bring unhappiness and problems in everyday life, definitely it gets developed. If you leave the cloth unwashed then it stays dirty, if you try to wash it, then it becomes clean. This is similar.

People think good luck is something independent, that success is independent, and that fortune is independent. Actually, if it were independent you would not experience it. Because it is dependent we experience it.

Thinking that it is independent—not dependent on cause, condition and creator, the doer—is like thinking that nothing depends on others. If luck and fortune did not depend on others at all, then how could we experience them? No way. That luck would be like a penniless person who does not have one lira having a million dollars. Do you understand?

The flower is dependent on the stem and the sprout, the sprout is dependent on the seed, the seed is dependent on other things, on minerals and conditions. It grows by depending on others, it exists by depending on others. The house exists by depending on others—the causes and conditions, the people who built it. It is all dependent on others. By depending on others it exists.

Then, as we recited many times before, it exists by depending on the base, the thought which labels, and the label. It depends on other things so it is dependent, it is not independent. If it were independent, not depending on others at all, then our experience of good luck would be like a penniless person who does not have one lira having a million dollars. Is that possible? No!

No, so that is not possible, so independent luck or fortune are impossible to experience. If they were independent, it would be impossible for us to experience them.

Our success, our luck and our good fortune are dependent on our attitude, on our mind. How much good luck, how much fortune, how much success and how much happiness we have is dependent on our everyday life attitude. However much we have had is already finished. How much we are going to have is dependent arising. It is dependent on our everyday life attitude, as I explained just now; on our attitude twenty-four hours of the day. It depends on the different types of attitude and ways of thinking. One way of thinking disturbs our happiness; one way of thinking becomes the cause of happiness.

The whole point is to study these subjects, to know these things and always watch the mind, always correct the mind. Try to correct wrong thinking which disturbs the happiness, which brings suffering and confusion, and practice the correct way of thinking.

If luck and fortune were independent, as people normally believe, and just happen without cause, then you would have no choice, no freedom. That is a wrong conception, and only makes you more upset because you have no freedom. However, in reality, it is not like that. Luck and fortune are dependent on your attitude, on your everyday attitude. Therefore, you have much more freedom for the preparation of happiness, more freedom to create good karma and fortune. Knowing this, instead of being depressed, you can always be happy.

Continuing with yesterday’s subject—the samsaric pleasures—personally, I think it is very effective for the mind to think of samsaric pleasures as the suffering of change. That is very good for controlling the dissatisfactory mind.

Samsaric suffering is suffering but does not have to be the suffering of suffering. Samsaric pleasure is samsaric suffering because it is the suffering of change. The suffering of suffering and the suffering of pleasure are contradictory, but they are both samsaric suffering.

So, what do you think? Samsaric pleasure is contradictory to the suffering of suffering but is not contradictory to samsaric suffering? George?

George : According to that, samsaric pleasure is samsaric suffering. That is not sensible.

Rinpoche : Is it not samsaric suffering? Then what is it? Is it not suffering? Is it not samsaric suffering? Is it not the suffering of changes? You cut off the suffering and it changes.

George : You said, samsaric pleasure is samsaric suffering.

Rinpoche : Yeah, is it not? If it is not, then is it the object of renunciation? Isn’t samsaric pleasure the object of renunciation?

Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday when talking about the suffering of changes, as long as we are not liberated from samsara, whatever we do—even if we sit, even if we walk, even if we eat—it is suffering. Even if we sleep, it is suffering. It is like that. Similarly, even if we live in city it is suffering, even we are going to live in the countryside it is suffering, even if we live on a high mountain it is suffering, even if we stay at home it is suffering, even if we go to the beach it is suffering. Even if we live a business life it is suffering, even if we live a farmer’s life it is suffering. Whatever lifestyle you have; as a president it is suffering, even if you are a beggar it is suffering, even if one is of high rank it is suffering, even if one is a lower person it is suffering—it is all suffering.

It is the same thing when you are watching television: the people who are playing football are suffering, the people who are watching are suffering. I heard also that the people who make jokes on television have much worry if people do not laugh, if they do not become successful.

Wherever we look, whatever style of life we live, even we live a high society life, even we live a hippie life, it is suffering. You want to become a pilot, “Oh, I want to become a pilot, then I will be very happy”’ But then again there is the same problem, it is the same thing. Then, maybe you want to get involved with the circus—again it is the same, again it is suffering.

A water bubble comes from the water, from the lake; without the water there would not be the bubble. Similarly, without these things that I have been describing since the beginning of the course—the evolution of samsara, the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping, the pervasive suffering of compounding action—it would not be possible to experience suffering.

Sometimes ‘pervasive suffering of compounding action’ is also translated as ‘compounded pervasive suffering.’ The pervasive suffering of compounded action is a more correct way of translating the Tibetan. Compounding suffering, pervasive compounding suffering makes sense. It shows that this suffering does something, compounds something, it has meaning.

Without this pervasive suffering of compounded action, the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping, samsara, there would be no way of experiencing the suffering of suffering, the suffering of death, rebirth, all the suffering of depression, aggression and all those problems. There would not be the problem of meeting with the undesirable object, not finding the desirable object, and all the fears, worries and dissatisfaction. There would be no way of experiencing all these things. This pervasive suffering of compounded action becomes the base for the suffering of suffering.

It is the same with the suffering of change. Without this suffering of compounded action, the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping, there would be no way of experiencing the suffering of changes.

Suffering feeling is the suffering we know. The feeling of pleasure, that is the suffering of change, as I explained yesterday. The third one, the one that is left, is indifferent feeling—even that is suffering. Even if we don’t have the feeling of suffering or the feeling of pleasure, there is indifferent feeling, and even that is suffering. As long as there is the seed of disturbing thoughts, as long as we have these aggregates that are under the control of the disturbing thoughts and karma, there is contamination of the seed of disturbing thoughts.

Now you understand why suffering is pervasive: these deluded aggregates of craving and grasping become the base for the other sufferings—the suffering of suffering and the suffering of changes—that’s why it is called pervasive.

And why is it compounding action? Because it comes from ignorance, holding the I as truly existent, and the compounding action is the one that creates the seed of samsara, that leaves the seed on the consciousness. So that is compounding, the cause of samsara—the pervasive suffering of compounding action. This samsara came from that compounding action— like fire comes from a husk. This pervasive suffering of compounded action is the fundamental suffering of samsara. This is the one from which we should make all effort to be free, to liberate ourselves.

MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER

The attitude when taking the Mahayana ordination—purifying negative karmas, reviving old vows and restoring virtue—should be virtuous. It is not sufficient for the attitude just to be virtuous, there should also be the correct motivation, the Mahayana attitude.

I am going to continue with yesterday’s subject using it as a motivation. As long as one is not liberated from samsara—the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping—one has to continuously experience the sufferings of samsara: dissatisfaction, nothing being definite, and having to take these deluded aggregates of craving and grasping again and again. Since the continuity of these deluded aggregates has no beginning, you have been caught in samsara since beginningless time.

As the great bodhisattva Shantideva said in the Bodhicaryavatara: “Flesh and bone, though born together get separated. When one is born one is born alone. When one dies, one dies alone. What is the use of the disturbing friend? Even this body has to be left. It is not definite that we will always have this body, it has to be left. When one is born in the lower realms, friends do not come to share the suffering of negative karma collected for them. When one dies, one cannot share that suffering with others.”

Nothing is definite, neither surroundings nor friends. Even if two people seem inseparable in the beginning, sooner or later they become enemies, distant. Even if in the beginning you feel inseparable and cannot stand, cannot bear to be parted from that friend, the longer you continuously stay with that person, the more you come to dislike him. Although initially you were so afraid of losing him, and didn’t want to be apart even for one second, when you actually stay together, sooner or later, gradually you find all the faults, all the bad habits, all the garbage of that person, your friend. The appearance changes, the friend becomes more and more disgusting. Sooner or later you are completely repulsed to see him. He makes you vomit; he is an object of complete aversion. You can find no beauty left. He is completely ugly. In the end, it is the complete opposite of how you saw things in the beginning.

It is a shortcoming of samsara that nothing is definite. Even within one day, even within one hour the friend can change and become an enemy. Also, possessions are not definite; it is not definite that you will always possess something, that it will always last.

As Guru Shakyamuni explained in the sutra teachings: The end of meeting is separation; the end of having a high position is to fall down; the end of collecting is to finish collecting; after you become alive, the end is death.

Once there was a group of various individuals. One person’s main interest was to meet friends. Another’s was to collect as many material possessions as possible. Another’s main interest was to get a high position. One man’s main interest was to live a long life by doing certain practices—either by taking pills or taking the essence. They had different interests.

Gradually, the one who liked so much to collect material possessions was completely separated from all his possessions. He became poor, his wealth was exhausted. The one who liked so much to meet friends was completely separated from them in the end. The one who liked very much to have a high position fell down lower. The one who’s main interest was to have a long life, he was dead. All this happened gradually in a place called Nye-yü. These different changes gradually happened. That is what Guru Shakyamuni Buddha said.

There is no advantage in clinging to the body, no advantage in clinging to surroundings and possessions. Our greatest disease is dissatisfaction.

Lama Tsongkhapa explained in the Great Commentary on the Lamrim, “The purpose of enjoying happiness is to get satisfaction, but the more we follow desire, seeking samsaric pleasure, instead of receiving satisfaction one experiences suffering in samsara much longer. That is the result.”

The purpose of following desire, experiencing the sense pleasures, is to get satisfaction. But what actually happens is that the more we follow desire, the more we seek sense pleasure, the more it increases the craving. The pleasure that you get and the suffering that you get are incomparable.

There is no comparison between the pleasure that you experience by following desire and the suffering. The suffering is so much greater—various sufferings for such an incredible length of time. The pleasure is just extremely short, it does not last—a few seconds or a few minutes, so short. The pleasure is experienced in order to get satisfaction, but what happens is that the craving increases. Then, for such incredible lengths of time, one experiences the various sufferings of samsara.

It is said in the sutra teachings that having desire and continuously following desire in everyday life one gathers many cravings, if one does not become satisfied, what greater disease is there? There is no greater disease than this.

Buddha also said in the teachings that having been born in the hells we have drunk the liquid of molten iron again and again. We have drunk so much, much more than the ocean, the Atlantic. Having been born as a pig, as a dog, we have eaten so many dirty things: if they were collected together the pile would be much greater than Mt Meru, much greater than this earth. The number of tears that we have cried when separating from friends would not even fit in the place of the Atlantic ocean if they were collected, they are so much. If the number of heads that we have had cut off by quarrelling were piled up, the pile would be much higher than Brahma’s world, much greater than the whole earth. And, having been born as worms— in the toilet, in the septic tank, in the garbage, in the kaka—and eating these dirty things—rotting fruit, garbage, kaka—if all these things that we have eaten as worms were piled up, they would rise much higher than this earth.

It is just that we cannot see all our past lives. We don’t remember them. If we were able to remember all our past lives, all our suffering, we could not stand not being liberated from samsara even for a second. It is like that. We would be unable to eat food, unable to sleep, without being free. We could not stand being in samsara even for one second.

Buddha said in the sutra teachings—I will just translate it loosely—“Remember the beginningless bodies. Having taken one body which has been left, then another body and which was left…remember the beginninglessness of previous bodies. The continuity of samsara did not have a beginning. Remember the beginninglessness of previous bodies wasted by your great desire. Today, in order to seek enlightenment, practice good actions and renounce bad actions.”

What Buddha is saying is that you have taken so many bodies, an uncountable number of bodies over beginningless lifetimes. Even Buddha, even the enlightened mind cannot count how many bodies we have taken. All these have been wasted by following the great desire.

So, by knowing this, by being aware of this, today, to achieve enlightenment for the sake of other sentient beings, renounce the bad, negative actions and practice good actions. Whatever power of mind there is and whatever perseverance use all of that to destroy desire. Renunciation is the practice of goodness, renouncing the badness. In this way, we destroy the desire. Practicing virtue and renouncing non-virtuous things destroys desire.

Remember all the beginningless bodies that we have possessed; wasted by following the great desire. Even though so many buddhas descended, none of these bodies pleased the buddhas, none of these bodies heard teachings directly from any of these buddhas.

However, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, by taking the Mahayana ordination, entered the path, became enlightened, enlightened numberless sentient beings, and even now enlightens numberless sentient beings. Even now, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is guiding us, gradually leading us from happiness to happiness by revealing the teachings, letting us practice virtue—the cause of happiness.

Think: “I have the same potential as Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. Being concerned with only my own happiness, having a selfish attitude, is no higher than that of a mule.

“There is not one sentient being who has not been my mother and as kind as this present life mother [or father or whoever you see as kind in this life, whoever took care of your life]. In this same way, all the sentient beings have been kind.

“Without depending on the kindness of sentient beings we cannot begin to practice Dharma, we cannot continue practicing and we cannot accomplish. All the happiness and perfections are accomplished by depending on the kindness of sentient beings. Even enlightenment, the peerless happiness, is reached by depending on the kindness of the sentient beings.

“What the sentient beings wish is happiness, what they do not wish is suffering. Achieving omniscient mind is the only method to free all the sentient beings from all the sufferings and to lead them to the peerless happiness. Therefore, I must achieve the state of omniscient mind.

“Achieving enlightenment depends on generating the path. The cause of generating the path is moral conduct—practicing moral conduct and thereby accumulating merit. Therefore, to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all the sentient beings I am going to take this Mahayana ordination.”

Generate the attitude of bodhicitta.

TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER

Having aversion only for the suffering of suffering is not the perfect thought of renouncing samsara. Having aversion for the suffering of change by realizing how samsaric pleasures are in the nature of suffering is still not the perfect thought of renouncing samsara.

Even the Hindus, who do not have Buddhadharma as refuge, bored with the outside pleasures, the sense pleasures, look at their shortcomings and seek the inner pleasure that is derived from concentration, shamatha, the tranquil abiding meditation.

Through this tranquil abiding meditation they approach the first stage of stable concentration; from there they seek the inner pleasure of the second stage, and so on to the fourth. At the fourth stage they even get bored with the inner pleasure derived from concentration and seek inner equanimity. They approach the four categories of the formless realm: the infinite sky, nothingness, infinite consciousness, the top of samsara.

When they reach these stages, the visible disturbing thoughts—anger and the dissatisfied mind—do not arise, so they believe they have reached liberation. They believe that they have ceased the disturbing thoughts and karma. But when it is about time to transfer the consciousness from that realm, when the karma to be in that formless realm is finished, they see that they have to be born back in the lower realm again and heresy arises that there is no true cessation of suffering, that it is a lie, not true. Heresy arises and that causes them to be born in the naraks.

The conclusion is that even though they have aversion to the suffering of change, they still don’t have aversion to the pervasive suffering of compounding action caused by the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping, and also they have not realized shunyata, the direct remedy that cuts off the seed of the disturbing thoughts, so they have not received liberation.

The thought to renounce samsara is the thought to renounce all the deluded aggregates caused by craving and grasping: the realm of desire, the realm of form, the formless realm, the stages of stabilized concentration and the four categories that I just mentioned, from infinite sky to the top of samsara. One sees all these realms caused by the deluded aggregates of craving and grasping like being in a burning house, in the center of fire, extremely unbearable. To be in samsara for even one hour, even one minute is extremely unbearable. Then the wish to achieve liberation arises day and night without effort. If one has this, one has realized the thought of renouncing samsara.

When, by using this method and developing the wisdom realizing voidness, the seed of disturbing thoughts (ignorance holding things as truly existent) has been ceased, even if one has achieved nirvana (separation from the true cause of suffering and the complete removal of even the seed of the ignorance of true existence), still one has not finished the works of self. There is the obscuration to fully knowing—the subtle obscuration (she drib)—so the work is still not complete. One has not achieved the omniscient mind because the cause, the bodhicitta realization, has not been achieved; so the work for others is not finished.

One has not removed the subtle obscuration that disturbs the fully knowing mind: the cause of the four unknowings, such as unknowing the subtle karmas—small karma that has been accumulated an incredible long time ago, for example, the causes of the different colors of a peacock or butterfly. There are subtle karmas such as these, the inconceivable secret actions of the buddhas. Even the arhats who have achieved nirvana cannot see these inconceivable secret actions of the buddhas.

Enlightenment only comes when one has completed the works of self and the works of others and the principle cause of that is bodhicitta.

In order to generate the realization of bodhicitta, one should first generate the realization of equanimity by training the mind in the seven points of cause and effect. If you do not fertilize a field well before planting, if you just throw the seeds all over without preparing it, then they cannot grow.

In order to generate bodhicitta, which comes from the thought of loving kindness and compassion, one should see all sentient beings in beauty, in warm nature. One should have the thought of equanimity, cutting off anger and attachment.

How to cut off the thought of anger? There are two ways, one ultimate and one relative. On the aggregates of one who gives a small harm, you label enemy and then anger rises. Instead, think: “Even wild animals get angry, if I get angry then I myself am no different from those wild animals—snakes, tigers and very vicious animals. These animals even attack others just because they have been given some small harm. They recognize others as the enemy, undesirable, then they attack. So, if I get angry, I am no different from those vicious animals. So poor, so terrible, I am no better than those vicious animals, therefore I should no get angry at all.”

Think: “The reason I get attached is because somebody has given some small benefit, some help, so on those aggregates I label friend and then attachment rises. I am no different from animals like pigs. A pig also gets attached to the person who gives it food because of that help and clings to that person.”

Also think of those you are attached to as cannibals, betraying cannibals. In the beginning they are smiling, but in the end they eat you. In the beginning they are nice, but if you trust that, you get eaten. His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, root guru of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the lineage gurus have used this example of a cannibal, who is in the nature of betrayal—not to be trusted. Thinking in this way, you cut off attachment. There is no point in attachment rising at all.

His Holiness Zong Rinpoche also gave some advice; you should accomplish the thought of equanimity by using this example in relation to all sentient beings: One person gave you a slap on the cheek yesterday but today he gives you $100. Another person gave you $100 yesterday, but today gives you a slap.

Normally anger arises towards the one who gives you a slap today, and you label as friend the one who gives you money. The reason you label enemy is because the person gives you harm. But the person who gives you harm today also gave you help yesterday, so he must also be a friend. If you think that he is your enemy because he gave you a slap, then the other person is also your enemy because he gave you a slap yesterday. You see, there is no reason to cling and no reason to get angry, because both have helped you.

In the same way, all sentient beings have given you benefit. Not only that, all sentient beings have been your own mother.

The continuity of consciousness has no beginning; you have not always been born to this present life’s mother. At other times, we have been born through other sentient beings’ bodies, different bodies, whether it was an animal’s body or a human body. So all sentient beings have been our mother, there is not one single sentient being who has not been our mother. Just as this present life’s mother has been kind—giving us a body, protecting our life from danger, giving education, leading us in the path of the world, and bearing much hardships for our sake. In the same way each sentient being has been kind, numberless times.

Think: “What the sentient beings do not want is suffering, so in order to repay their kindness I must achieve the omniscient mind. Therefore, I am going to take the Mahayana ordination and keep it until sunrise.”

WEDNESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER

Generally, what we want is happiness, and what we do not want is suffering. But the times of happiness are very short, and the times of problems are so much longer. What we want happens very rarely; what we don’t want happens so much.

We care so much about suffering: if there is one louse or one flea jumping in a hotel room, you scream and you move to another hotel. I don’t know the exact term for this, but the Tibetan term is se-re, which means that a person cares incredibly about small discomforts. You argue and make a big show in front of all the people in the hotel, or you insult others and get very angry—even if you have a nice face, it becomes completely terrible. If you give something to someone and they do not say ‘thank you’ (maybe you give them a cup of tea or chocolate or something), it becomes so unbearable for your mind—such a big suffering. Maybe you even criticize that person for weeks or months just because of that. You hold them as your enemy because they did not thank you, just because they did not say the words ‘thank you’—two words.

If you care so much about discomfort and suffering, then small things become huge, unbearable. Everything that you hear, see and feel appears to you as the enemy. Even if you stay at home there is no happiness because everything appears as the enemy, everything. Even if you go outside and are not even with other people, the wind becomes an adversary, even the birds become an enemy.

In the same way, if you are not that concerned about small discomforts and sufferings, you can also develop the mind that way. If you stop being so concerned then gradually the mind also develops. Even one huge problem happens in life it becomes so little, like cotton, so light, so easy. Even the huge ones become small. You are happy. It is not so important.

That is why thought training—transforming the sufferings into happiness—is so important, Dharma practice is extremely important. So far one has been under the control of the mind, and the mind has been under the control of the disturbing thoughts. That is why we are experiencing the sufferings of samsara. Now, if we want happiness, if we want to cease the suffering of samsara, we should gain control over the mind, then instead of the mind being under the control of the disturbing thoughts, the disturbing thoughts will be under the control of the mind.

The way to have control over the mind so that the mind has control over the delusions is through Dharma practice. There is no other way. And one reason for doing so now is that this time we have achieved a perfect human rebirth and met the virtuous friend who gives teachings on the path. Therefore one should practice Dharma while one has the opportunity. The perfect human rebirth is difficult to find again, so one should practice now. Death will definitely happen, though the time of death is indefinite. After death the consciousness does not cease, it takes another rebirth in the suffering realms through the force of karma, either in the lower realm or in the realm of the happy transmigratory beings. Therefore we must practice Dharma right now.

When death comes, at that most critical time, the only thing that can benefit is Dharma, only the holy Dharma. Nothing benefits except the holy Dharma. Now, while we have suffering we cannot practice Dharma. When we have problems we cannot practice Dharma. When we are happy, because we cling to that happiness and comfort, again we cannot practice Dharma. We never have the time to practice Dharma. We should not let this happen— unable to practice Dharma when we are suffering and unable to practice Dharma when there is happiness.

“Foolish people seek happiness from outside, learned people seek happiness from the mind.” Uninformed people, the unskillful and foolish ones seek happiness from outside. “Whatever happens in life, we should be happy; the mind should be happy. One should not let happiness or suffering disturb our practice of Dharma.”

The bodhisattva Togme Zangpo, who wrote the Thirty-seven Practices of the Bodhisattvas, who was himself a great practitioner of transforming suffering into happiness, gave this advice.

If the illusory body, the aggregates, of oneself or others are sick, then it is best for them to be sick, be happy that they are sick. Why is it good to be sick? Why be happy to be sick? Because negative karma that one has accumulated in the past gets finished off. Since you have collected this karma you have to experience it some time, it is impossible for others to experience it, so now you are finishing it off. Instead of being sick in the lower realms and suffering in the lower realms for many aeons, you finish off all that negative karma just by having some sickness in this body.

You see, the first Dharma practices, the ngön-dro, includes various Dharma practices to purify the two obscurations: making mandala offerings and prostrations, doing guru-yoga practice, reciting Vajrasattva mantra, meditating on shunyata, and meditating on bodhicitta. These are all intended to exhaust the negative karma, to purify the karma. These practices purify the two obscurations, but the experiencing the disease also finishes off that negative karma, so one should feel happy even if one feels sick and experiences the suffering of sickness. The Dharma practices and the sickness both purify negative karma so it comes to the same thing.

If you are not sick, then it is best not to be sick. Be happy not being sick, because if your body and mind are comfortable and happy, you are able to practice Dharma. If you body and mind are comfortable then your virtue increases and you have the opportunity to practice Dharma. The way to make the human body meaningful, beneficial, is to transform the actions of body, speech and mind into virtue. Therefore, if your body and mind are comfortable your virtue increases because they are what you need to make your life meaningful.

If you don’t have possessions and wealth, it is best not to have any, be happy not having any. Because if you do not have any possessions you do not have to worry about them or to protect them from thieves. There is no rush, no need to continuously keep your life busy because of this wealth. If you have much wealth it makes your life very busy, you have to take care of it, to increase it, to make sure you don’t lose it. Also, there is so much fighting, there are so many quarrels that come from possessions. Disharmony comes from having possessions.

You can see many examples of disharmony and fighting in this country, even within families. You can see different groups of people fighting because of their clinging to possessions. I think it also happens many times in Italy that rich people have much danger in their lives. They get telephone calls: “If you don’t leave such and such an amount of money at this place at this time—a big amount of money—then I will kill you!” They get many phone calls, so they are scared to go outside.

If you have possessions, be happy to have possessions. If you have many dollars then be happy about it. Whatever happens in life, whether happy or suffering, whether you have wealth or you don’t have wealth, be happy— that is what is emphasized here. If you have wealth and possessions, you can increase your merit. For example, many Tibetan people in Switzerland and other countries work day and night, keeping very busy, to make money. When I was talking with His Holiness Zong Rinpoche they did not even have the time to be at the house when Rinpoche was there, they had to go out both nighttime and daytime, both times they had to go to work. They work so hard, they make money and then often they go to India and then they offer it to the monasteries or do whatever they can think of as best to accumulate merit for the happiness of future lives. They offer their money to some holy object or do whatever they think is best to accumulate merit.

So, having wealth can be worthwhile, it can be used to accumulate merit, either to accumulate merit for yourself, for your happiness, or for other sentient beings. You can make it worthwhile to have possessions. Togme Zangpo said that it was definite that this would result in temporal benefit and happiness, and future benefit and happiness. The result of all these good things is merit. So if you have wealth you can use it to accumulate merit, you do not have to feel depressed, full of worry, things like that. You can make it beneficial and use it to accumulate merit.

If death comes quickly, you should be happy to die because, as the bodhisattva Togme Zangpo said, death is not disturbed by bad conditions and will definitely lead to the infallible path. Good impressions are left on the consciousness by practicing virtue—saying prayers, practicing lam-rim, generating bodhicitta, doing the particular tantric methods practicing the transference of consciousness, the practice of purification, self-initiation, the tsog offering practice, meditating on deities and making prayers in daily life—in the past. These things all leave an impression on the mind, and with these as support, one is able to enter the infallible path.

Also, the guru yoga practice—following the guru’s advice, stopping heresy and things like that—leaves good impressions. These all act as causes for one to be able to meditate at the time of death, to transform the mind into virtue. It enables the person to do po-wa (transference of consciousness) or thought training or whatever, so one is able to turn the mind to virtue at the time of death. The person is able to recognize clear light and transfer the consciousness to the pure realms or to find a better human rebirth. Also, another good Dharma person can help at the time of death.

If you are sick, if you are overcome by great pain, by a strong disease or very strong delusions, then at the time of death, even though you know that death is happening it is difficult to practice these things, to do these meditations. If your body is in a bad condition and there are bad conditions around you, it is difficult to make the mind virtuous at the time of death.

Whether you have success at the time of death depends completely on whether you have created the right causes during your life by making preparations as I just explained: lam-rim practice, thought-training practice, and guru practice (actually guru practice is the main one). Even if you know many other meditation techniques, profound secret methods, whether you are able to use them or not depends on those other practices.

You see, when your mind is full of anger or you have sickness and somebody tries to give you advice, it does not benefit you, it just becomes the cause for more anger. Guru yoga is not just a meditation, not just saying a prayer; not just visualizing a deity and reciting mantra—although Lama Tsongkhapa did explain in the Great Commentary on Lamrim, the emphasis is on that.

One Dharma king of Tibet, Song-tsen Gampo, had two disciples who both had the karma to become enlightened in that lifetime. Some heresy arose towards the guru and they did not confess it. Afterwards they were killed by a thief with stones and robbed.

Also, heresy arose in the mind of one of the Kadampa geshe’s disciples. The Kadampa geshe felt sad that the disciple did not confess before he died. The Kadampa geshe said, “Oh, he could have confessed.” Because it makes a difference to the karma after death. It makes it lighter.

If the mind at the time of death becomes nonvirtuous, then you cannot recognize the clear light when the absorptions happen, so you enter the wrong path. If one has done something wrong then one can confess it, as the Kadampa geshes used to do.

When Lama Atisha was on his way to Tibet, whenever in general view he had broken or degenerated one of those subtle tantric vows, the subtle branches, he immediately stopped on the road and prostrated to the stupa that contained his guru’s hair or relics. He confessed these broken vows by doing prostrations.

If you live long, you should be happy to live long. If you stay alive for a long time there is no need for you to worry about it, there is no need for you to be depressed. You do not have to worry, thinking, “Oh, I am not going to die soon so my problems will not finish. If I died the problems would stop. I have this relationship problem and that problem, this and that, many things. My body is incapable of doing many things. The best thing would be to die soon, but I am unable to die!” Then, you have to take scissors or a knife to kill yourself with. I think the mother of one of my students kept scissors for cutting hair or something, but she could not stand living so she used the scissors to try and kill herself. I don’t remember whether she died or not.

Why be happy to live for a long time? Because in order to grow the crops of experience of the path, one should practice a long time before the warm fresh advice disappears; then the realizations come. Did you get it clear? In order to generate the realizations of the path, we should practice the teachings and the advice given by the guru, by Buddha, for a long time. We need an opportunity to practice so that in this life, before death comes, the realizations of the graduated path to enlightenment can be actualized. So one should be happy to have a long life.

What the bodhisattva Togme Zangpo is saying is that whatever happens, be happy, meditate on happiness, think about these things. “If I am suffering, it is good because of this, this, and this; if I am happy, or comfortable, it is good because of this, this, and this.” This is the short advice that he is giving, as I have just explained. Whether you are alone or you are living with people, whatever happens you should be happy.

One most important things is the practice of patience. Think: even the creatures living in the ocean and in the bushes, those birds who are flying and keeping so busy, what they are all trying to get is happiness. All human beings—from the time of childhood when they learn the alphabet, the abc, onwards, spend so much money, have so much worry and fear, work so hard to get wealth, material power, and position—do all this, keeping their lives so busy, to try and find happiness.

Therefore, happiness is incredibly important, unbelievably important. It is the main thing that we are seeking. But without practicing patience, without trying to control anger, there is no way to have happiness. No matter how high your position, or how much power we have; even if we become king or president—the highest person on earth—with the greatest wealth, education, and ability to speak thousands of languages; even if you accomplish all of this, power and everything, as long as you have not changed your mind and controlled your anger, you will have no happiness at all. There will be no happiness in your everyday life.

Now you can see how incredibly important patience is, more important than any of the worldly things that keep you busy day and night trying to find happiness. Patience is so incredibly important. When you practice patience, anger goes away. There is relaxation; there is peace.

Now, this happiness—where does it come from? From the enemy. Who gives this happiness? Who gives you the opportunity to have this happiness and peace in the mind, not having anger? This comes from the enemy. It is given by the enemy. The person who treats you badly gives you the opportunity to practice patience and then gradually the anger becomes less and less and less. The more one practices patience, the less and less the anger, weaker and weaker. Then, after some time there is no more anger. No matter how badly you are treated, even if someone kills you, no matter what happens, there is no anger at all. Anger doesn’t arise for even one second, in place of that only the unbearable thought of kindness arises.

So you can see how incredibly kind the enemy is. Where do your happiness and peace come from? They are given by the enemy. No matter how much money you spend on comfort, or how much time and effort you put into gaining that, you don’t get the same mental peace that you get from the enemy. So, so precious. The benefit that you get from the enemy by practicing thought training, by practicing patience, the mindpeace that you get, the merit that you accumulate is so much. The delusions and the self-cherishing thought become less, anger becomes less and you are more able to train the mind in the graduated path to enlightenment—all this with the help of the enemy.

Even if you gave the enemy a billion dollars, even if you gave him a mountain of gold, it would be nothing. It would not be enough to repay his kindness for the mindpeace that you have received. Anger becomes less and less, the paramita of patience gets completed. The enemy helps you to complete the paramita of patience. Anger becomes less and less, the paramita of patience is completed and through that you achieve the omniscient mind. So the enemy is the one who really puts enlightenment in your hand.

Even having received so many teachings on thought training again and again, or on Lamrim again and again, if we do not put these teachings into practice, not today, not next week, not this month, not next month, not this year, not next year, then sooner or later death comes and then you have never done any practice of patience.

If there is no enemy, there is no opportunity to practice patience, so if you don’t practice patience while there is the enemy, while somebody is treating you badly, then at other times there is no opportunity to practice patience. Also, one person does not stay enemy all the time, sometimes he becomes a friend and then you have no opportunity to practice patience. So you should practice while he is the enemy, while he is disturbing you.

Whatever problem comes, if you practice tong-len, thought training, and patience, then, as the bodhisattva Togme Zangpo says, your mind get trained. So always the mind is soft, always there are realizations and there is happiness. No matter who you accompany, no matter who you are staying with, there is happiness. Whether you are with other people or alone, always there is happiness. The mind is always very brave. Your practice of Dharma has no obstacles. All the bad conditions appear as good, as auspicious—they help you to continue the Dharma practice. So there is always happiness and satisfaction in the mind.

Then, no matter how degenerate the time, no matter how things degenerate—more and more problems, more and more bad conditions—it only becomes a cause to achieve enlightenment more quickly because there is more purification and more accumulation of merit.

So, since the course is finished now, I hope there is something that you can practice for peace of mind.

I think that’s all.