Kopan Course No. 14 (1981)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, By Lama Thubten Yeshe
Kathmandu, Nepal November 1981 (Archive #119)

The following is a transcript of teachings given by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche at the Fourteenth Kopan Meditation Course in November 1981. The teachings include a commentary on Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara [A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life] and a short talk and "Question and Answer" session with Lama Thubten Yeshe.

You may download the entire contents of these teachings in a pdf file. You can also listen to the recordings of lectures 1-5 here.

Section Six: Lectures 23-27

◄ Previous Section  : Kopan Course 14 Index Page  : Next Section ►

Lecture 23: December 2nd am

By visualizing the parents, father and mother, the friend, enemy and all the rest of the sentient beings around, as I explained before, please do the visualization pacifying the hindrances, generating the profound graduated path and the extensive path at the same time.

Starting from Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, make the first repetition of the requesting prayer, pacifying the hindrances of the profound graduated path. Then the second time, the second request, a replica of the lineage lamas, starting from Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, then Maitreya Buddha, Asanga, like this. Then similar with the next ones, making requests, and then a replica of Shakyamuni Buddha, Manjushri, Nagarjuna and Shantideva absorb into one’s heart and also in the hearts of all sentient beings, becoming oneness. Think that they are oneness, they have received all the qualities and realizations that each of them have in their holy minds.

When you pray to pacify hindrances and to generate the extensive and profound graduated path to enlightenment, it also includes sicknesses. It refers to not only the ultimate obscurations, but even temporary problems. You make requests to pacify all that, your own and others’. Then make requests to generate the realizations.

Those who would like to can just read in English.

[Prayers]

Also at that time, what can be done is the Manjushri visualization, or visualize the number of gurus with whom you have Dharma contact, from whom you have received even three or four syllables, even the oral transmission of the six syllables OM MANI PADME HUM, or the oral transmission of even four syllables, even those who taught you the alphabet with Dharma reasons, with Dharma purpose, without missing one visualize these gurus around, down below—around Lama Losang Thubwang Dorje Chang or Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, who is visualized in the center. Around Lama Losang Thubwang Dorje Chang, if you have visualized the guru in the aspect of Lama Tsongkhapa, at the heart is Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and at his heart is Vajradhara or Manjushri. Here, at the beginning when you make the request you can do it that way, instead of Vajradhara, Manjushri.

Around Guru Shakyamuni Buddha are one’s own gurus from whom one has received commentaries, initiations, oral transmissions and things like that. Then when you say this requesting prayer, the same thing—the second time a replica of each of them absorbs into your heart as well as all sentient beings, becoming oneness. This is the same visualization for all the requests—the first one, the second one, seven requests to the lineage gurus—the same visualization can be done. Purify what is mentioned here in the prayer, purify the wrong views, and then a replica of the gurus enters into one’s own heart and become oneness.

These gurus moved by loving compassion
Make the Dharma clear by teaching it with skillful and effective means.
They are the best bridge for all those of good fortune....

Actually in Tibetan it is door, door for the fortunate ones to cross, to approach the liberation, release from samsara, and reach omniscient mind.

They are the best bridge for all those of good fortunate to cross to liberation,
And the eyes for seeing all the vast scriptural texts.
From all you gurus I request inspiration.

It says, “I request inspiration.” This is okay, but the request is to pacify all these hindrances and then to generate the entire graduated profound path and extensive path to omniscient mind. The request is for one’s own body, speech and mind to become oneness with the guru’s vajra holy body, holy speech and holy mind, to be able to accomplish the works for other sentient beings.

May I never develop for even a moment wrong views
towards the deeds of my glorious gurus.
With faith and respect gained from seeing their goodness,
May the gurus’ inspiration flow into my mind.

This inspiration is probably a limited idea of the request, “May the gurus blessings enter into my mind.” What blessing actually means is this: the qualities of the guru, the qualities of the holy body, holy speech and holy mind enter into one’s body, speech and mind. That is the blessing. In that way you are able to do work for other sentient beings. So I think inspiration is limited; it gives a limited idea of what enters into the mind.

Why mind? Because by changing the mind from the unsubdued mind, from anger, from vicious thoughts, evil thoughts, unpeaceful and painful thoughts such as attachment, you can also change the body and speech. By developing the good quality of the mind, the good qualities and actions of the body and speech also develop. So the development of the good qualities of your body and speech are dependent, they actually depend on your mind very much. However much the good quality of your mind degenerates, however much it becomes less, also the actions of body and speech get worse and worse.

So it is dependent on the mind—the creator is the mind. That’s why the request is so much to do with the mind—for the blessing, the empowerment to enter the mind. To clean the mind is so important. One has to clean the mind with the blessing of the guru.

When one meditates on the eight freedoms and ten richnesses, reading the scriptures, hearing teachings, one feels that this precious human body is more and more precious. Before you didn’t feel it was precious but now you feel it’s precious, so valuable. Then you can’t even stand spending just one hour, passing one hour just sitting and talking about unnecessary things—you feel great loss of life, of this precious human body. Even one hour wasted you feel is a great loss. Because you realize, you see how precious it is—the body that is qualified with eight freedoms and ten richnesses. That is a sign of having received the blessing of the guru, when you have such wisdom, such Dharma wisdom. You feel it is precious.

And then as well, discovering it is highly meaningful and then feeling that it is so rare, that one cannot find it again and again. It is not like it is fixed. You have the thought that it’s so rare to have this, so difficult to find it again.

Then, you see your own life and have the vision that this life is not long, but very short. You have the feeling in the depth of your heart, the uncertainty that you might die this month, even this week—even today. You do not have the vision of a long life but the vision that this life is very short.

You have such a thought, that this life is very short. When one has uncertainty about when death will happen from the depth of the heart, not just saying it from the mouth, repeating what the teachings say, not the creative thought but from the depth of the heart. Every morning when we get up, in all the actions we do, talking, eating or walking, whatever we do, we believe that I will live long. Spontaneously, without effort this thought arises. So then, without effort there is the thought that life is very short and uncertain, that death can happen any time.

Then at the same time, because of that, we do not cling. Whatever happens, happy or suffering, if you are happy or having difficulties, not having a good place to stay, not having desirable food to eat, even if you are badly treated, whatever happens in this life doesn’t matter so much, is not that important. If one is happy, if one is suffering, it doesn’t matter so much, this life is so short. Besides being so short, there is this uncertainty when the death will occur—this month, this week, even today. Then, future lives are more important. What is called future lives, the lives coming after this life are more important, much more important. The happiness of the lives coming after this are much more important and we see that, in the depths of the heart, and take more care of that and less care for this life.

It’s okay, whatever happens, it doesn’t make much difference for the mind—even if somebody praises us so much, even if we receive a bad reputation, that’s okay, it doesn’t matter so much. Even if you receive a good reputation that’s okay, it doesn’t matter so much. Even if one receives a million dollars, even if one doesn’t receive it, it’s okay; it doesn’t make much difference for the mind. Whether you receive the four desirable objects or whether you receive the four undesirable objects, you don’t care. It doesn’t cause big excitement, it doesn’t give big upsetness, it doesn’t cause great depression. The four desirable things and the four undesirable things are equalized for your mind. You don’t care whatever you receive.

In the depths of the heart, when it comes to this life, things are not so important. The next lives are very important, so when you think of self, it is not that important but when you think of others, they are so important, so precious. This is uncreated thought spontaneously arising from the depths of the heart.

These are the signs. Such changes of the mind are the blessings of the guru, the blessings of the guru-Buddha. Then there are outer changes that even other people can see—the changes in the actions of your body, the changes in the actions of your speech. They are different, better than before. Those are the signs of having received blessings. Like this one can receive the blessing from the beginning of the path up to enlightenment.

“Seeing the guru’s actions in pure view.”

Because this is written here, I will just mention it. This is just how to practice, how one should practice. From one’s own side, in one’s own view one finds no mistake in the actions of the guru, seeing him with the pure view, using the advice that is explained in the teachings about how to follow the guru. If the disciple practices like this, it is beneficial for the disciple himself, it doesn’t matter whatever it is from the side of the guru. Whatever it is, it benefits the disciple—from the side of the disciple, he stops the wrong views, which are the obstacles to quickly generate realizations of the graduated path to enlightenment. By looking at the guru with pure view, in goodness, in pure action, by the arising of wrong view, heresy towards one’s guru is stopped. This benefits the disciple himself; how much he is able to practice, that much quicker he is able to generate realization of the graduated path to enlightenment.

But it doesn’t mean that whatever the guru does oneself should do, it doesn’t mean that in practice. I think one should look at it in goodness, in good actions, but it doesn’t mean that whatever the guru does is what one should practice. It doesn’t mean that, “Oh, my guru does this, I should do that.”

I think if one does this without checking one’s own capability of mind, saying this, “Then if my guru does not keep precepts, he does this and that, so why not me, I am the disciple, so why not me? My guru is disrobed so why not me? Why can’t I?” For example, like that. “My guru drinks wine so why not me? My guru smokes cigarettes, so why not me?” that kind of thing. “My guru is a married lama, so I should do that also, I don’t need to practice, I don’t need to keep precepts, I don’t need to live in ordination,” things like that. Those things you have to check—whether you can do whatever the guru does. If you are able to do what the guru does, then when the guru eats poison, you should be able to eat poison. You see, when the guru experiences the poison as nectar, when you eat poison, when you eat kaka you should also be able to experience it as nectar. You should check the capability of your mind, the level of realization should be the same. Then in that case you can imitate whatever the guru does.

If from the side of the guru, he has reached a high level of tantra, the graduated path of completion, the second stage of the tantric path, on such high levels then he has those powers, and then the guru uses drinking wine and the secret wisdom female being in order to become enlightened in this life, to complete the rest of the path of tantra, to create the conditions to quickly generate the rest of the path to omniscient mind.

Then for oneself, the disciple, to imitate what the guru does, whether one can or not, to answer that question one should examine one’s level of mind, capability of mind. If it is the same as the guru, then of course, it is better to have those things than not to have them. When one is at those levels, it is better to have them. If one has those, then one achieves omniscient mind quicker when one is at that level. Instead of becoming a distraction, it becomes only benefit to achieve omniscient mind, only a benefit for others. Like this, particularly as one is living in celibacy, then like that.

The actions that the guru does, which look from the outside to be contradictory to Buddha’s teachings, certain actions that look like mistakes, non-virtue, whether you can do them or not depends on the capability and level of your mind. Checking that, you can give the answer to yourself. However, if it benefits you to reach omniscient mind quicker, instead of only disturbing, and is only for the benefit of others, then one can do them, even if it looks like non-virtue. Those actions such as the three actions of body—killing, stealing and sexual misconduct—and the four of speech—harshly speaking, [divisive speech,] gossiping, telling lies, all those four—can be transformed, can become virtuous or non-virtuous. So generally it is like this. This is the way to check.

If the advice that the guru gives is according to what Buddha says in the teachings, if it is not contradictory to what the Buddha says, if it is similar to what the Buddha says in the teachings, then one can practice that advice. If it is contradictory to Buddha’s sutra and tantra teachings, then just leave it without criticizing. One doesn’t need to also criticize—saying this and that, how he is foolish, how he is ignorant, not knowing the teachings. Within negative karma, the karma of criticizing the guru and the karma created in the relationship with the guru is the heaviest. So one doesn’t need to criticize or have wrong views toward the guru, but leave it in an indifferent state. If the advice is contradictory to Buddha’s teachings, leave it in an indifferent state. Then skillfully, respectfully explain that you have no capability to do that at all, skillfully managing, try to get permission without disturbing the holy mind.

The advice that is similar to what Buddha said in the teachings, one should practice. Which is most important, the Buddha’s teaching or the guru’s advice? Buddha’s teaching is more important. If one wants to check for oneself to practice which is more important, then normally one should regard Buddha’s teaching as more important. Follow the advice of what is right to do and what is not right to do, and then leave anything else in indifferent state.

This is just to mention. Anyway it might help you in the future if you keep it in mind.

Please generate the motivation of bodhicitta, thinking, “At any rate I must achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all kind mother sentient beings, therefore I am going to listen to the commentary of the Bodhicaryavatara.”

In the Great Commentary on the Lam-rim, Lama Tsongkhapa discusses what happens when one’s mind becomes unhappy, angry and paranoid. Lama Tsongkhapa did not particularly say paranoid; I am just making it up.

As I mentioned yesterday in terms of the three types of sufferings, from the contaminated aggregates of attachment the three types of feeling come—pleasant feeling, suffering feeling and indifferent feeling. Each time a different feeling arises—when there’s a pleasant feeling, attachment arises, then when there is a suffering feeling, anger or aversion arises, when there is an indifferent feeling, ignorance arises—Lama Tsongkhapa gives advice about what to do, what remedies one should practice when one experience different feelings, and the different unsubdued minds arise.

When attachment arises, on the base, which is only suffering, we label pleasure. That type of feeling, which is only suffering, is labeled pleasure. So think that the nature of that is suffering; analyze its nature and try to see the nature of that feeling.

When ignorance arises, there is an indifferent feeling. Think the nature of the object is impermanent; analyze it, be aware of it. This stops the wrong conception that clings to it as permanent, thinking that as it appears as permanent, it is permanent. Then also think of its nature, which is empty of independence and so is dependent. Think how it is empty of independence, how it is dependent. This stops the wrong conception clinging to the wrong view, clinging to the appearance that it is independent, truly existent. It stops those wrong conceptions, the mind that is ignorant of the nature of that object.

When attachment arises, looking at the object and the feeling as being in the nature of suffering cuts off the clinging; it stops the clinging and cuts off the confused mind.

When there is anger, paranoia or depression—when there is a suffering feeling coming from these aggregates, when one has problems, too much dislike in the mind, paranoia, great depression—Lama Tsongkhapa’s advice is to think that these aggregates are the pot of sufferings, the container of sufferings. What Lama Tsongkhapa is saying is to think that these contaminated aggregates of attachment are the container of suffering. Since one has taken these it is in our nature to experience suffering and various problems. It is its nature. He didn’t say it exactly word by word like this in the teaching but this is what Lama Tsongkhapa means. So thinking of this stops paranoia, aggression and depression.

As the Kadampa geshe Potowa says, “There is existence of death, so that is why it happens.” Death exists, so that is why it happens. Not experiencing something that doesn’t exist, one experiences something that does exist, so what is the point of having great fear, what’s the point of having great shock? Death exists, so one experiences it.

What Kadampa Geshe Potowa is saying is that of course if you experience something that doesn’t exist, it is a great shock. Without having this samsara, without these contaminated aggregates of attachment, if you get sick, of course, it’s a great surprise, a great shock. Without having this, if one experiences rebirth and death caused by unsubdued mind and karma, it’s a great shock. Without having taken this samsara, the contaminated aggregates of attachment, rebirth and death under the control of unsubdued mind and karma do not exist. They are impossible to experience. So, while one doesn’t have the contaminated aggregates of attachment, this samsara, if one experiences such things as death and rebirth under the control of unsubdued mind and karma, then it’s a great shock.

Same thing, disease exists, so one experiences it. There is nothing to be surprised about or to get shocked over. Because one has created the cause of that disease, there is nothing to get shocked about when experiencing the result.

Thinking like this, meditate on patience by voluntarily taking on suffering. Thinking like this makes the mind happy, it stops the unhappy mind. Actually, the practice of patience in the Bodhicaryavatara is the best psychology. The best study of psychology is studying the Bodhicaryavatara—the Wisdom chapter about shunyata, about emptiness-only, how things are dependent, how everything is empty, and the chapter on patience. Those chapters are the best study of psychology. They benefit this life, benefit future lives, benefit the development of omniscient mind and benefit all sentient beings. The benefits are definite. One doesn’t need to have doubt—however many years I study, will it benefit or not? There is no need to doubt. Even one day of study, even one day reading this book is a great advantage. It’s not like this: thirty, forty years you spend in the university or college or something. With the thought to benefit others, this is good, trying what you can, the method that you find in that country, but you see, after forty or fifty years studying, putting much effort and time, I don’t know how much the person can treat his mind when he has a problem. I don’t know how much the method works. I think it’s good to know those different things, studying, having different education—it’s good but I think it’s not enough. From the effect, from the result, when we think of that, I think it is difficult to be satisfied with that alone. First of all…

<end of tape>

…patience—you have to know the cause, you have to have some idea of the cause. If you can do something with the cause, if you can remove the cause, if you can check the cause a little bit, then there is some result. Without knowing the cause at all, there is nothing. Imagine a person has some problem, for example somebody puts poison in the water-tank and the poisonous water goes all over the city in the pipes, in the taps. When you search for where it comes from, you find the tank. Then you clean that and you put another medicine inside to stop the poison, whatever it is.

Also like the poisonous tree—in order to destroy the branches of a poisonous tree that harms a lot of people, you have to find the root. Once you’ve recognized the root you can do something, there is always a method. If you do not find the root, if you do not recognize it, it grows again and again.

If some change isn’t made to the water tank where the poison is put, however much the people in the city take medicine, the water can still give poison. However, as much as the person knows the cause of the problems, then I think there’s more freedom for treatment, more benefits, also, depending on how much one’s methods fit the cause, how much it can change the cause, dependent on that, the problems can be pacified.

I think I will stop here.

[Dedication prayers]


Lecture 24: December 3rd am

[Praise to Manjushri]

Please listen to the teaching generating at least the effortful motivation of bodhicitta, thinking, ‘At any rate I must achieve omniscient mind, especially for kind mother sentient beings. Therefore, I’m going to listen to the commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara.’

The listening subject is the Bodhicaryavatara, the subject of patience; how to stop anger when somebody harms oneself and how to meditate on patience, taking the suffering voluntarily. What I said before when explaining these two verses on the contaminated aggregates is how this is not beyond the nature of suffering. It does not mean that one shouldn’t have treatment when one gets sick; that it’s the nature of samsara so one shouldn’t do anything; it’s the nature of samsara, so one shouldn’t eat food, one shouldn’t drink anything or one shouldn’t seek treatment because it’s the nature of samsara.

Some practitioners whose minds are well-trained in thought training or whose minds have very high realizations, those special, particular beings purposely take the aspect of sickness. Then also there are those who have no need treatment for themselves but take treatment for the sake of others to be able to accumulate merit. In that way some sentient beings accumulate so much merit by taking on the aspect of sickness.

Practitioners whose minds are well-trained in thought training, like a child riding on a horse is the other example. I mean, it can be a child, but a person who is well-trained in riding on a horse, no matter how violent the horse is, even though his mind is distracted, he is not thinking of the horse but is thinking of something else. His mind is distracted by very sweet sounds, music or something, and he is not paying attention to the horse. But however violent the horse is, however the horse goes, his position, he has no fear in his mind and whatever needs to be done according to how the horse goes, he knows what to do and it happens automatically, without paying much attention. There’s no danger of falling down. A person whose mind is not well-trained in thought training is like a child riding on a violent horse.

It depends on the practitioner himself whether he wants to continuously experience it without treatment or, even though the body has pain, the mind is not depressed, the mind is extremely happy. I remember my friend, the monk whose story I spoke of before—one day, two years ago I think, two or three years ago this ascetic monk had much pain in the knees, I think for a whole month. He had to walk with a stick. But he told me that his mind was extremely happy having the pain. Even though his body had pain, the mind was extremely happy.

There was another monk who might have been his disciple, one monk from tantric college, who wanted to do the retreat of taking the essence, which means that even if he did not find the means of living all the time, he could live on pills. Sometimes if he doesn’t find food, he is able to continue the retreat. So this one monk from tantric college asked the ascetic monk to guide his retreat. He was in a place called Dalhousie, not Dharamsala, where the monk was doing this retreat of taking the essence.

This ascetic monk, Gen Jampa Wangdu, went to request His Holiness the Dalai Lama to give him permission to go to Dalhousie, I think for just one day, some hours by bus from Dharamsala to Dalhousie. His Holiness told this ascetic monk when he was leaving, “On the way you check your views, how things appear, you check on the way.” His Holiness gave this advice.

So he went to see this monk in Dalhousie and on the way back at this place called Pathankot, which is on the way to Dharamsala, at nighttime at Pathankot—I don’t know what happened, I don’t remember the conditions. I think it was nighttime, and the Indian people who were sleeping outside were fighting each other. They were quarreling so much that they woke up all the people who live upstairs, in the restaurants, in the houses. The people who lived outside screamed so much, fighting so much and all the people who lived upstairs woke up and got angry and they began to fight. Then they were all fighting, the upstairs people and the downstairs people. I think something happened with this monk, I don’t remember. Somehow it became a huge thing and all the people became very angry because they could not sleep. They threw water from the windows on the Indians who were sleeping on the beds outside. The upstairs people threw water from the windows and they were all quarreling with each other. The upstairs people were complaining, ‘Why don’t you keep quiet? We can’t sleep.’ Then I don’t know what happened.

Then I think the police came and somehow put this monk in prison. They asked him, ‘Where were you born, what are you doing?’ But the police couldn’t do anything with him; he sat in the prison for hours and hours, I think he was sitting there all day, his head wrapped up with his zen. I think he was doing meditation, but the people didn’t know what he was doing. He was caught in prison at nighttime, and then in the daytime in the evening the police didn’t know what to do with him., I think the problem was not so serious, so they asked him to go. He said, ‘I don’t want to go.’ I think he was able to speak a little bit of Hindi so he asked the police, “Babu,” can I can stay here. Anyway the police insisted that he go.

At nighttime when those Indians were quarreling, the Tibetan man who lived in the restaurant upstairs didn’t know that this ascetic monk had come. He didn’t know the whole thing, the whole evolution. So the next day the monk came to the restaurant and they heard his story, how he lived his life, and they respected him very much. He went to the train station—I think the police put him in the train station?—I don’t know. Then he met many young army men. They didn’t know him, and he didn’t know them, but somehow they liked him very much. The army asked him where he wanted to go, and he said Dharamsala so one army man came with him especially to bring him to Dharamsala. Somehow it was very funny how things happened on the way from Dalhousie to Dharamsala—it became some kind of big dream.

Then afterwards he went to see His Holiness and His Holiness asked, “What did you see?” The monk explained the whole thing. Then His Holiness asked him, “What do you think about it?” Because already from the very beginning His Holiness told him, “You check your view on the way.” It’s just a very funny thing, nothing serious, so many people quarreling such-and-such and he then had to be in prison—kind of something happened out of nothing, sort of. So His Holiness asked him, “What do you think, what do you think yourself?” Then he explained to His Holiness, “All these situations made me understand that I think I have finished training my mind in thought-training. I have confidence in it. This is what I discovered.” That was what he answered His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Also one day we were taking teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the palace and there were many other ascetic monks, many geshes and the Tantric College monks. There was much rain, and in the pee-pee break this ascetic monk fell down on the cement steps that go to the office. It was very wet, so he fell and had a wound here [on the head], with blood.

He used to come quite often to see us, to have parties. When he came it used to be the best party. During that teaching His Holiness blew with his holy breath on his wound. Then that night when he came to see us, he told us that he fell down and even though a lot of blood came his experience was of incredible bliss, no pain at all, incredible bliss. I think His Holiness sent a car for him, to bring him to the medical center. He is one of the oldest meditators, with incredible experience, highly fortunate, also very rare in the world, with the experience of the graduated path to enlightenment, on his way to complete the path. So whenever there is need for treatment or something needs to be done, he is always well taken care of by His Holiness’ office, and wherever he needs to go by car he is always served by the office of His Holiness.

The reason why this ascetic had much pain in his knee, even though he had no mental pain, was because when he was living in Sera Monastery he lived as kind of a hippie monk life, being very naughty. One day with no reason at all the thought to beat an old monk came, in the debating place, in the courtyard, outside. The ground there is laid by pieces of sand and chopped stones—so it is a little bit warm where the monks sit on the debating ground. He saw one old monk there and he had the thought to beat this old monk, and he found a stick somewhere around there and beat the old monks’ two knees with the stick so many times. The old monk couldn’t do much to him as he was quite an old one.

He explained to me that during his sickness, during his pain in the knees, during those months, he could remember nothing else then that time when he was in the monastery, that he had beaten this old monk with the stick on the knees. That thought came so strongly in his mind. Because he is a great practitioner with realization of the lam-rim, bodhicitta and the right view, even the small karmas that are left there to experience get purified by the power of his realizations and practice, instead of being experienced in the future lives for a long time. Even the small karmas are experienced in this life, without need for experiencing them in the lower realms for a long time. The karma of beating the monk was finished by having this pain for that short duration.

I think many holy beings, such as the Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen, take that aspect so that some sentient beings get the opportunity to accumulate merit by making offerings of treatment. There are also transformations of buddhas in the form of beggars and in the form of patients, making different methods for sentient beings to accumulate merit.

The conclusion of what I am saying is this. For us, ordinary persons, especially those whose minds are not well trained in thought-training, when we experience problems such as sickness, then without having treatment it is like if one is experiencing much hunger and one doesn’t eat food—one cannot practice. Similar, without having treatment we become worse and worse and we cannot do the practice, we cannot continue with the practice. So whatever we can do, whatever conditions there are to help, medicine and so forth, we should do, otherwise we cannot continue with the practice. But at the same time while we are experiencing the problem, while we are experiencing the pain, we should practice patience. While we are experiencing it we should apply the thought training, we should do the practice of thought training.

In that way, even during the time one is experiencing the pain, the mind is happy. It stops the unhappy mind, the aggression, the depression—these kinds of things. When the mind is happy there is always the will to practice Dharma, one is continuously practicing. Without talking about the problems or pain one is experiencing becoming highly meaningful, becoming the path to the omniscient mind, purifying the obscurations—besides that, while one is experiencing these things, if one practices patience, if one applies the advice of the thought training, in the meantime the mind is very happy. So to make the mind happy is the most important thing.

The next two verses show how to make suffering beneficial for oneself; reflecting the benefits of meditating on suffering.

Without suffering there is no renunciation;
Therefore, mind, you should stand firm.

It is worthwhile to think how samsara, the contaminated aggregates of attachment, is in the nature of suffering. Without thinking about the sufferings of samsara, there is no way to generate the thought of renouncing samsara, leaving samsara behind. Without generating the thought of renouncing samsara in the mind, one cannot even enter the path of liberation from the bondage of the unsubdued mind and karma. Without entering the path there is no way one can achieve liberation. Without practicing the path, the remedy that ends the obscurations of the unsubdued mind, there is no way to achieve liberation.

So even to achieve liberation, if one seeks liberation for oneself, one should generate the thought of renouncing samsara, the door of the path to liberation. To do that one must reflect on the shortcomings of samsara, how samsara is in the nature of suffering. Like the person who took drugs, who has taken datura—in the beginning he didn’t know what is going to happen, he had such a hard time, almost caused him life danger, vomiting, pains, much fear. Then because of that shock he doesn’t want to even touch drugs; he has complete aversion, he doesn’t want even to look at them, feels disgusted even to see the datura. Or when you eat food in a restaurant and it makes you really sick for seven days. Afterwards, because of the awareness of that, remembering that, you don’t even want to stay in that place, besides not eating food there.

We look at samsara whose nature is suffering and, not realizing this, not being aware of this, we project it as a beautiful park. We look at it as happiness, as pleasant. We hallucinate like this. In that way we never get aversion, as long as we don’t see the samsara that is in the nature of suffering as suffering, we don’t get the thought of renouncing it, wanting to be free from that. The thought doesn’t come so continuously we get caught in samsara, and continuously experience problems, on and on.

Like a child who doesn’t know the ground is covered with fiery red-hot coals, who thinks it is covered with flowers, who doesn’t know that it will burn the body and cause life-danger. Instead of wanting to be away from that, that child has the thought to be inside it, to live there, to go there. So to save the child from the life-danger of jumping in the fire, to protect it from that, it should know that it burns the body, and then the child has fear of being in it, and the thought to be free from that, to be liberated from that.

If one doesn’t realize how samsara is in the nature of suffering, that it is suffering, then the thought to be liberated from it never comes. So therefore it is important to meditate, to study the teachings of the four noble truths, the true cause of suffering, true suffering—not just what you heard during the course but very extensively studying the scriptures, not just a few outlines that you heard during the course, not being satisfied with that, not only that, but what the Omniscient One explained—the true cause of suffering and the true suffering, the evolution of samsara and how samsara is in the nature of suffering. One should do listening, reflecting and meditation practice.

Even to achieve omniscient mind for the sake of other sentient beings, one should generate bodhicitta. Without the thought of renouncing samsara, one cannot generate bodhicitta. In order to generate effortless bodhicitta within one’s mind, one should have the root of bodhicitta, great compassion, feeling that it is unbearable that other sentient beings experience suffering in samsara. One should have great compassion like a spear has gone into one’s own heart, feeling it is so unbearable to see others in samsara, experiencing suffering. When you think of others, how others are experiencing the suffering of samsara, you should feel it is so unbearable. One should practice great compassion, like the mother whose only most beloved child fell in the fire, such great compassion, wishing right this minute, this second, that the child to be free from that, with incredible strong compassion that the child be free from that suffering. You cannot relax without doing something for that child. While the child is suffering in the fire, you cannot relax, play music, drink or take much time eating food without doing something. You cannot relax even a minute, even one second. Like that, great compassion, unbearable. Feel that with the samsara of others, such unbearable compassion.

With one’s own samsara one should feel it is unbearable, like a spear into the heart. One should not find any attraction to be in samsara, not wanting to be in samsara even for a second. Day and night, continuously the thought to escape from this, to be liberated from this, should be present. You should have the strong, effortless wish to be liberated from your own samsara. You should have this, such a strong effortless thought of renouncing samsara.

How quickly you generate bodhicitta in your mind is dependent on how much you feel your own samsara is unbearable. That depends on reflecting much and extensively, again and again, not just one or two times but continuously for years and years—thinking, meditating how one’s own samsara is in the nature of suffering.

So we are talking here how thinking of the suffering, meditating on the suffering is beneficial for your own liberation and also for the liberation of others. Without the thought of renouncing samsara even liberation cannot be achieved, leave aside the omniscient mind, so therefore take the suffering voluntarily. It is worthwhile to practice patience with the suffering of samsara. If one doesn’t practice patience with the suffering of samsara then whatever practice one does, one cannot continuously practice. If one cares too much about problems, “Oh I have this problem, that problem,” one cannot do the meditation practice. The less patience you have, the more and more problems you find and care about, and also they become greater. As your mind cares more they become greater and greater, they become bigger for your mind.

If some ascetics and the people of Kanapa
Endure the pain of cuts and burns for no reason
Then for the sake of liberation, why have I no courage?

I think what it is saying might mean this—when Mahadeva lived an ascetic life, taking hardships, such as not having sexual intercourse with the wife, Deva Uma, when he was in concentration, the Mahadevi caused him to develop attachment. The contact degenerated Mahadeva’s bearing the hardships. Probably it might be a similar example when the husband is doing his meditation session and the wife is screaming. Or when the wife is in the meditation session and the husband can’t stand it and screams at her, “You’re not talking to me…”

<end of tape>

So the Hindu followers, those who have faith in Mahadevi, in order to please her, in the autumn time, around the ninth day fast for either one or three days. They don’t eat food and they also burn and cut their own bodies. In order to please her, Mahadevi, the Hindu followers do this. They kind of torture themselves, put their own body on fire or cut their own limbs—things like that.

In South India, in the place called Karnataka, near the area of Mysore, in order to compete with each other the people who live there—maybe for the same reason, to please Mahadevi—have a competition of cutting the body, two different countries or maybe two individuals compete for who can cut more of their own body.

For those sufferings, without any meaning, there is no worth at all. If those people are able to bear those incredible sufferings, those hardships, which don’t have any meaning, which don’t have any good result, then why not us? Why can’t we bear suffering in order to liberate all sentient beings from suffering? If those people, without any meaning, with no slight benefit for the person himself, or for others, nothing, are able to bear great incredible suffering pain, why not us? Why can’t we bear to experience suffering, why can’t we bear what they experience in order to liberate all the sentient beings from suffering?

You see, if we bear the hardships that these people bear in order to practice Dharma, for the happiness of future lives, it has that much meaning. It is not the greatest meaning but it has that much meaning if we bear that much hardship to practice Dharma to obtain the happiness of future lives. If it has that much meaning, benefiting many future lives, this is more worthwhile than their bearing those great hardships and sufferings.

Bearing that much great hardship, burning the body, cutting the limbs, all these things, fasting, no food for many days, to practice Dharma for oneself to achieve liberation, ever-release from samsara—this has greater meaning and is much more worthwhile than the previous one. Then, bearing that much great hardship—this happens in many other countries, not only India—and suffering to practice Dharma, to achieve omniscient mind for the sake of other sentient beings, to liberate all sentient beings from all suffering, not from some part of the suffering, but from each and every suffering, that is much more worthwhile than experiencing that much hardship to achieve liberation for oneself. To practice the holy Dharma, if we even could bear that much hardship as these people bear for nothing, even if we could bear that much to achieve omniscient mind, to follow the path to omniscient mind, to liberate sentient beings from all suffering, according to the advantage and result that one achieves, the benefits that all sentient beings receive, the great advantages that all sentient beings receive, if we experience that much hardship, it is small. Even if we are able to bear what they bear, it is still nothing if we think about the result we will achieve, the extensive benefits that each sentient being receives, temporally and ultimately.

So now, the suffering that we bear is little bit of cold in the morning but still we have lots of clothes, we don’t have a bare body. The purpose of taking ordination, the prayers, is purely for the sake of others. You can understand this even when you think of the prayer. Then there is a little bit of pain when you sit for two hours, maybe a little bit of pain in the knees, in the back, then maybe a little bit of a runny nose, a little bit of a cold, which is nothing. Then maybe there is a little bit of diarrhea, a little bit of discomfort in the stomach and maybe there’s a little bit hunger in the evening time during ordination days. We are not experiencing that much hardship that these other people are bearing for nothing, not the slightest benefit for themselves or others. The conclusion is this: these people are able to bear this for a result of nothingness. Leaving aside the ever-release from samsara for oneself, for us to achieve omniscient mind, to liberate each sentient being, to free them from all the causes of suffering and the result, true suffering, is the greatest purpose, the greatest meaning—but even for this we are unable to bear it. We are not bearing hardships as they bear them and we cannot bear even a small discomfort for Dharma practice.

We think that those people are that much more foolish but, at the same time, the words that we say, what we practice, the meditation that we do, the ordination that we take—even though it has the greatest purpose to achieve omniscient mind for the sake of others, and is incredibly worthwhile, in fact we should bear greater hardships, greater suffering than those people bear and experience. In regards to the purpose, thinking of the purpose, the hardships we should experience should be greater than what they experience—but in fact we cannot bear even the smallest discomfort, a little bit of tiredness of the body, even to be sitting two hours for the sake of others. That shows how much limitation there is in the mind, how the thought to benefit others is limited, how strong the selfish attitude is, concerned for self-comfort and happiness. One can see clearly from that.

However, before coming to the course one should think well whether one should come or not. Once one has accepted to come, once one has entered then, the meditation, the studies, whatever it is, do it as best as one can, as pure as one can, make it as beneficial as one can. At least try to understand, even if you do not agree with the practice. There is great worth, there is a great meaning in trying to understand, trying to have at least an intellectual understanding. There is a great meaning in even just attempting that. Then if you feel there is need, that it is correct, beneficial and worthwhile for your life, you take it and then you practice. First of all understanding is very important—without understanding how can you check whether it is pure or not? How can you check anything without understanding? Also, if one doesn’t do this, what else you can do in the world, what is the best you can do in the world in your life? Without doing this, developing the mind with this practice, what is there in the world that is more important, more beneficial, what is there left in the world that you can do, what else can you do? Without doing this, what else can you do in the world that benefits all sentient beings? What else brings ultimate benefit and happiness for yourself and ultimate benefit and happiness for other sentient beings? What else you can do better than this? What is there? You check.

There is nothing else. If one has some money then go traveling, go to see the primitive countries, different countries that you have not seen before. Until the money is finished, until you run out of money, then again you get some money; spend some months at the beach, like that. Then come back to work, or hang around in the world. You try this religion, try this ashram, you stay a few years then you get fed up, then you join another group, you meet somebody who tells you how nice it is, then you join that group, then you stay some years, then again you see a lot of faults, again you get fed up with that guru, whatever it is, finding a lot of mistakes, this and that, and then again you get fed up. Then again you hang around, go to another country, join another group, and then one day the life has finished and nothing has been done. The life is completely empty; you didn’t get anything worthwhile done for yourself, for the sake of others.

I think I stop here. It’s important to check like this, to look at the world. Think about what you are doing here, the purpose, the subject. Then you look at the rest of the world, and you try to understand.

[Dedication prayers]


Lecture 25: December 3rd pm

Again please generate at least the effortful motivation of bodhicitta, thinking, “At any rate I must achieve omniscient mind in order to lead all sentient beings, who have been my mother and so kind, to the state of omniscient mind; therefore I’m going to listen to the commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara.”

We don’t need to talk only about Indian examples, burning their bodies, cutting their limbs, fasting so many days to please Mahadevi, or those people in Karnataka in South India who compete with each other, cutting off their limbs. Also they beat themselves so much as purification. I think also they walk with one leg even though they have two legs. There are many things like this. I thought to mention some other examples but I think maybe I will do that a little bit later.

So, to end this morning’s subject, in order to liberate all sentient beings from all the sufferings, even greater hardships than those people bear, we can bear much more hardship. Because our purpose is to practice Dharma in order to liberate all sentient beings from suffering. This is the greatest purpose. So how much hardship one meets and has to experience is greatly worthwhile. It’s not for the self; it’s for the sentient beings.

Then the next verse shows that if the mind gets trained, nothing becomes difficult. The more the mind gets trained, the easier and easier things become. The remedy, the practice of patience, becomes easier and easier. The question arises, “I can bear small sufferings but how can I bear great sufferings, such as cutting off my head and limbs, how can I practice patience those? I can practice patience with small sufferings but how can I practice those great sufferings, cutting off the head and limbs?”

The answer is that it’s a matter of training. As the mind gets trained, it will be easier and easier to practice patience even if you meet great sufferings.

There is nothing whatsoever
That is not made easier through acquaintance.

If the mind gets trained, even one is suffering one can bear any great suffering. Even if somebody cuts the body in pieces, one can bear it because of the way the mind thinks of the object, the way the mind holds the object. That is all up to the root, how much the mind is trained.

A person who normally practices thought training, patience, always watches his own mind day and night, all the time, like a movie, who always pays attention to what is happening in his mind, each time what thought is coming. Whether a non-virtuous thought arises or whether a virtuous thought arises. He always watches his mind, like a spy who is always watching the person about whom the government has doubts. The spy spies on that person, day and night, all the time. The object of concentration is that person. What he does, where he goes—all the time the spy watches the person that he suspects could harm the country.

Similarly, like this, the Dharma practitioner always watches his mind, spies on his mind and always practices awareness and remembrance with his mind. When there is the danger of anger arising, he practices the remedy of patience, thought training. For example, the person who has generated the realization of impermanence and death, the person who has generated the thought of renouncing samsara or the person who has stronger thought to cherish others than himself, whose mind has strong thought of loving kindness and great compassion toward others. In previous times, a few years back, for this person it was so difficult to control the mind, to control the anger—it was kind of impossible. When the anger starts to arise nothing works, only the anger works. Even though you try to think of something, it is difficult, very difficult. Even if somebody gives advice to practice patience, it is very difficult to obey. If somebody tries to give advice, you think, “Oh, I am a hundred percent right. I think that he is bad, he is evil and I am a hundred percent right. He shouldn’t do that to me, he has no right to do that to me.”

Even if somebody tries to give teachings, then this person one-pointedly thinks, “What the teachings say might be right but this enemy is absolutely bad, he is absolutely bad, he is something that is not included in the teachings. Those enemies that are explained in the teachings are light enemies, but this enemy who gives harm, who criticizes me, is absolutely wrong. I am a hundred percent right, he is absolutely wrong. There is no way to prove that he is right and there is no way to look at him as positive. If I would look at him as a kind virtuous teacher, this would be completely wrong. This is not the enemy with whom I should practice. This is some other enemy.”

A few years back, even in one day, anger arises six or seven times. It arises in one day so easily, so many times. Now, it is very difficult for anger to arise and there is such a big difference from a few years back, the nature of mind has become so different. The present nature of the mind is so different, now it becomes so difficult for anger to arise. Even if somebody gives you terrible harm, somebody puts you in prison and what you hear for days and days is only scolding, and you are badly treated, beaten, not given food and drink, and given terrible harms, it doesn’t disturb the mind. The mind is full of happiness, rejoicefulness, having the opportunity to experience suffering for the sake of others and remembering from the depth of the heart the kindness of the other person. Whatever harm is given, whatever harm one receives from others, nothing disturbs the mind, nothing makes the mind unhappy. Before, a few years ago, even such small things easily caused you to be angry or made the mind so unhappy.

So definitely there is the possibility that one can make the mind change. As I often say, it is up to the practice. Definitely, no matter how much the mind is terrible, negative, so evil, so violent, definitely one can make it change, except if from ones’ own side one doesn’t practice, doesn’t try. Otherwise there is definitely the possibility to change the mind.

The whole thing is up to the root, the way the mind gets more trained. The way the mind thinks, the way the mind recognizes the enemy, the way the mind interprets, the way the mind views or thinks of this person, the enemy. It only thinks how bad he is because he gave such-and-such harm to me, disturbed my happiness, my relatives and my friends. It uses that as a reason that he is bad. It remembers the way he gave harm and uses that as a tool to label and prove that he is bad, that he is evil. The mind thinks that way; that he gave harm and disturbance to oneself and by that reason he is bad, and more anger arises. The more the mind views and projects in that way, “He is the enemy who gives me harm,” the more the mind thinks in that way, the anger arises stronger and stronger.

Then the opposite; instead of using “he is giving me harm” to prove that he is bad, use, “Oh, he is disturbing me, criticizing me and abusing me,” as a reason to identify how kind he is, how he is a virtuous teacher obliging me to put the teachings on patience that I heard from the guru into practice. He is the practical virtuous teacher who obliges me to put things into practice. He is giving me the opportunity, asking me, persuading me, not from the mouth but persuading me to put it into action, to put it into practice with him, to train the mind in patience with him. He is helping; he is giving me the opportunity. Use that—his action, the disturbance—instead of proof that he is bad, he is evil, to prove how kind he is. Use it to prove how kind he is and how he is the practical virtuous teacher who wants me to put the teachings on patience straight into practice.

So actually what he is doing is not harming. Actually what he is doing to me, all this criticism, whatever he is doing with body, speech and mind, everything he is doing is benefiting me, benefiting my mind, the development of my mind, the practice of the good heart. Actually everything that he does benefits me. The more and more you think in this way—in the beginning it’s just words, but if you think of the kindness, the benefits, the incredible benefits you receive from the enemy, the person who dislikes you—the more you really feel, “He is the one and only practical teacher, the only person with whom I can bring my mind in good shape.”

Tame the untamed mind, like the crazy elephant.

The untamed mind, like the untamed tiger, which is tamed by special people who have experience in taming the violent, vicious tiger; like that, my mind is like the vicious, violent tiger, like the crazy elephant that scares everyone and makes everybody run away. It causes disharmonies, upsetting sentient beings, upsetting even holy beings and virtuous teachers by harming other sentient beings, the object of their compassion, for whom the buddhas work day and night. One-pointedly they work and then this untamed mind harms them.

“Because I harm others, even the holy beings get upset, as they one-pointedly live their life only for the sake of others, and day and night work for other sentient beings. This untamed, unsubdued mind makes them upset. The one who is called enemy, who dislikes me, who badly treats me, are the only ones who can tame this vicious, untamed mind. The ones to tame and subdue this mind are only these sentient beings who dislike me.”

The more and more you think of the kindness and great benefit you receive from the enemy, the more and more you feel his kindness from the heart. At the same time you don’t see the person as an object of dislike but in beauty. More and more you feel kindness from the heart, and more and more you see the person in the aspect of beauty. The other way, the more and more you think in a negative way, “He is harming me,” and use that harm to prove that he is bad, the thought of dislike arises stronger from the heart, at the same time you see the person as an object of dislike, more and more in ugliness.

Also, when you feel the kindness of the person more and more from the heart, when you see the person more and more in the aspect of beauty, you want to offer something for his kindness. The thought of loving kindness arises very strongly, “What can I do for him? He has been so kind to me, so beneficial for my mind, what I can do for him?” Automatically the thought of loving kindness arises, the thought to help, “What I can do for him?”

The peace that you have received in the mind, the benefits that you receive from the enemy, by his harming you, the opportunity of the practice to subdue your mind is so much. What you have received from the enemy is priceless. The mental peace, the tranquility, the opportunity to practice thought training, patience—this is what you get from him by depending on his kindness, and it is priceless. Even if you give the enemy one mountain of diamonds as a present for thanks, still it is nothing; it doesn’t cover the kindness of the enemy. Because the benefits that you have received are so great, the mental peace is so great. The opportunity to practice has incredible benefits and is so great, even if you give him that much, a mountain of dollars, equal in number to grains of dust, even if you give him that many dollars, it is nothing.

If somebody gives piles of dollars the size of mountains, great mountains of dollars, piled up, “Oh, this is for you,” piled up on the ground the size of a mountain, or many rolls of dollars dropped from an airplane, “Oh, this is for you.” You see, even if you get that many dollars, the mental peace that you get from the enemy, by his complaining, by his criticizing, by his badly treating you, the tranquility and mental peace that you get from practicing patience, thought training—this you don’t experience. This peace of mind is so beneficial, deep inside the heart, so beneficial, way inside and has very deep benefits. This peace you don’t get, you don’t experience—even if somebody gives you mountains of dollars heaped up in front of you, you don’t get this. With this you have no opportunity to practice patience—except if you get angry with a mountain of dollars!

Anyway the benefits you get in the mind from the enemy are priceless. It’s priceless; you can’t really put a price on it. So, the enemy is incredibly kind. Somebody puts mountains of dollars, billions of dollars in your hand, saying, “This is for you, you can do whatever you want.” But the person who practices thought training, patience, has a much happier mind if somebody criticizes him or slanders him to the teacher or the employer, or if somebody creates a bad relationship. Actually for the practitioner of patience, of thought training, the mind is much happier than if somebody gives you mountains of dollars.

You see, the whole thing is dependent on mind training. The way the mind thinks, the way you think is the very root. With one way of thinking of the person, interpreting and looking at what he does, your mind becomes unhappy and dislikes. The other way your mind is happy, so happy to have him around, so happy to see him again; you want to see him again, and see him as very attractive, in the aspect of beauty. I don’t mean physical beauty but the beauty of remembering his kindness.

One evening here at Boudha I went to make some light offerings at the stupa. Somebody’s mother had died so I went to make some light offerings there. There was one man who had kind of long thick hair, like a dog’s. I don’t think a Western dog. When you don’t keep the dog’s hair clean it becomes, I don’t know what you call it—matted. You know, it becomes kind of thick when it’s not kept clean, sort of like tantric practitioners, what the Tibetans call ngakpa, a practitioner of tantra. Normally they have that kind of outside-looking form. So there were some people there in the line, I don’t think they knew me, I think they thought maybe I came from India. So there were some laypeople taking the hand-blessing, what the Tibetans call hand empowerment.

I think this person asked where I was from so I said I came from Kopan. I think he didn’t like it. After he heard I came from Kopan the other laypeople took the hand-blessing but this person was scared. At that time he asked something that I don’t remember, but somehow he was scared that my hand would come on his head, both of his hands were kind of like this, like the armies when you have lost the war, they surrender. He was very scared, because he was in the line, that my hand would come over his head. Suddenly there was some kind of discomfort in the mind but after that I discovered that he is my best remedy to subdue and destroy my pride. Myself, I am friend of pride; myself I don’t destroy pride, I am only a friend of pride, I develop more pride. So I am supposed to destroy the pride but I am a friend of pride. This man showed me pride, and helped me to destroy my pride. Actually I should destroy my pride but I don’t. But he does destroy my pride. I remember so much his kindness. Otherwise, myself, I don’t do anything to destroy the unsubdued mind of pride. I don’t do anything—I keep it, I take care of it. I help it, I care for it. He becomes the remedy, helping to destroy my pride. So I felt his kindness very much. Even when I came back in my room I remembered it.

Also one time in Dharamsala there was one very learned geshe who wrote many books. One day I went to see him. I thought he might be happy so I bowed down and put my mouth in the Tibetan custom [Rinpoche shows], because he is an elder monk. Then he was expressing like this [Rinpoche makes gesture] keeping his nose in space, what do you call that, has it got some name, not only the nose in the air but mouth down like this? It hasn’t got a name yet?

Anyway, then suddenly, immediately I thought, “Oh, I wasted my respect!” Immediately, “Oh, I wasted my respect!” Suddenly there was discomfort but then after one, two, three steps I thought in the same way: Myself, I never destroy pride or anger, the unsubdued minds. Myself, I am supposed to be against delusion to destroy it but I am only its friend. He helped me to destroy the unsubdued mind, being the remedy. When I think of that, his kindness, then there is no discomfort, no unhappiness in the mind. There is only much calmness and peace. So I really felt his kindness from the heart. Even when I reached my room, again and again I thought about his kindness. So I thought, next time I see him I will bow more down and if he does more of this, it will be more effective for my mind. I get more profit. I get more profit—whatever he gets I don’t know. I thought to do that next time I saw him but unfortunately I left for Nepal. So I didn’t get much chance. I didn’t see him after that.

However you see, what I am saying is, Geshe Rabten Rinpoche, one of my gurus—you heard his life story one night I think. Geshes and other monks criticize him and say bad things about him, not in front of him, and when they come to see him in his house, he asks one of his disciples called Geshe Pemba, whom nobody can remember that he got angry in his life, no other monks who lived with him can remember that he got angry anytime, he is a real ascetic monk. So when Geshe Rinpoche was in Dharamsala, when he came from Switzerland, this ascetic monk, his disciple Geshe Pemba, makes the tea and the food and cleans Geshe-la’s house.

This monk Geshe Pemba—outside it looks like he doesn’t know Dharma; he does not look like an educated monk. He did much study in the monastery but outside you don’t see him as an educated monk, he doesn’t appear like that. Every day he just recites OM MANI PADME HUM. He has Geshe Rabten Rinpoche’s prayer wheel, a small one, and he keeps it at his pillow and turns it, reciting the Chenrezig mantra. It was given to him and he uses that, and most of the time he recites that mantra. When he gets bugs and lice on his body he takes them and puts them in another place. He takes them from his shirt and puts them in the underskirt. He just shifts their place, like people shift from one place to another place. He doesn’t put them outside; he can’t bear to put them outside in a cold place. When they’re biting he just moves them to another place.

In Tibet there was one great lama, one Nyingmapa yogi, who took other people’s lice and bugs, completely. I think his name is Rinchen Nyingpa, I don’t remember the name exactly. Those are real practitioners of exchanging oneself with others, making charity of the body, becoming a means of living for the bugs and lice.

Anyway, Geshe-la’s servant is a great practitioner, a bodhisattva.

So you see when Geshe Rinpoche receives people who talk about him and criticize him behind his back, Geshe Rinpoche asks Geshe Pemba to make momos and delicious tea for them. He gives them good talks, pleasing talks and good food, and then they go away. That is what Geshe Rabten Rinpoche does. Instead of showing a bad face when the person comes, a black face and not speaking, keeping silence.

Also one time at Swayambunath, the head lama of one monastery whose holy name was Serkong Dorje Chang, the embodiment of Marpa—when you see him you wouldn’t find any differences with the previous great yogis, Tilopa, Naropa and Marpa. You wouldn’t find any differences; it is so easy to have faith that he is those deities you see in the tangkas, those aspects of Buddha. There is no doubt—just by seeing him, you can feel it, you get firm faith.

However, that great yogi, in his past life he was a married lama, a Gelugpa married lama who accomplished very high tantric realizations. The one who passed away one or two years ago, his past life’s son, was called Serkong Tsenshab. When he was in Tibet he assisted His Holiness, not exactly as a teacher, but helping His Holiness when he was in the aspect of youth. At that time there were very learned monks who were chosen from Sera, Ganden and Drepung, those famous monasteries, to help His Holiness to debate, to discuss Dharma, to help His Holiness debate. Besides his two tutors, there were very learned monks chosen from each college. So the son of the previous life of Serkong Dorje Chang, the one who was the assistant for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s debating, is called Tsenshab. After, he came to India and became His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teacher. His Holiness took many teachings from him.

This great yogi, Serkong Dorje Chang, passed away at Swayambuhnath. Their monastery had a big cooking pot and one day it was stolen by somebody, by some Tibetans I think. I think it was stolen by some poor people who live down below Swayambhunath. The manager of the monastery found out and asked Rinpoche to make observations. Rinpoche told them to invite this thief to the monastery and then to offer lunch and to offer scarves, and that they should say thanks for stealing the pot. I am not sure whether they did it or not, if the monks listened to Rinpoche’s advice or not, but that was the advice given by Rinpoche.

The reason I am telling these stories is not to pretend that I am a Dharma practitioner or any particular thing. This is not what I express. What I am saying is that when you think like this, when you think of the kindness, there is benefit. What I’m saying is that. I think sometimes it is like this. If you try to change the mind by practicing patience, controlling anger, which is so difficult in the beginning, definitely it gets easier. Definitely the mind can be changed.

<end of tape>

Then remembering the kindness becomes not just imitating the texts, not just imitating what the scriptures say. When you think of the kindness of the enemy, the one who dislikes you, this kindness is felt from the depth of your bones, from the depth of your heart, and actually so much more than the kindness of the mother, whose reason is only that she gave food, gave this and gave that, gave food and clothing, gave body, like this. The kindness of the enemy is so deep.

I think I will stop here, I will read some verses.

If the mind gets trained in patience, one is able to bear even the greatest sufferings. If it’s put in the form of a question, how does it happen? The way the mind is unable to bear even a small suffering, even a small discomfort, is up to the way the mind thinks of it, which way the mind makes use of that, thinks of that. So the way of thinking in which your mind is more trained is the very root. If the mind is trained and acquainted, there is no phenomenon of mind, existence of mind, that doesn’t become easier. Did I say that the wrong way? If the mind is trained, acquainted, then there is no phenomenon of mind that doesn’t become easier. Because of that reason, meditating on patience, voluntarily taking on even the small harm, such as cold and heat, others insulting or criticizing you, “You are crazy,” saying “You’re so bad.” Then in the future you can bear even great harms, such as the fires of the naraks. So Shantideva is saying, telling us and you should understand this.

For example, bearing the small harms for the sake of others, such as cold in the morning during ordination time; then during teachings, during meditation sessions, pain in the body, exhaustion, and tiredness; then being bored during listening to the teaching because he is repeating so many times. Or taking much time to translate, being unable to stand waiting for such a long time.

Anyway, usually when lamas give teachings to Tibetans they repeat things many times. It is a method to repeat three times in one day. Actually four times. First of all the elaborate explanations, then shorter than that, then shorter than that and the fourth repetition is the next morning. This is because among the audience or the disciples there are many learned geshes, actually there is nothing new they can learn but still they come to hear the teachings. In regards to the words there is nothing left that they don’t know, nothing left in the scriptures that they don’t know. They have studied it many times, they can explain it very well but still they come to listen to the teachings when the guru is there to explain, to give commentary, even though they have received them many times before, even though they have listened many times. So the aim is not to hear new words. That is not the aim. The aim is to subdue the mind, from where many problems come. To subdue the mind is the main aim of those Dharma practitioners, geshes and learned lamas. That is because they know how to listen to Dharma, even though there’s nothing left in the scriptures that they don’t know; even though they spend their whole life debating, going over each word, analyzing the meaning of each word, spending so much time on each word. Their main aim is to subdue the mind, so each time they hear teachings over and over, they remember what they forgot before, and also each time when they hear them, there is a different effect on the mind.

Of course, when one doesn’t know how to listen to the teachings, it is very easy for them to become boring. This is the case when the aim is not to subdue the mind, when the aim is to hear something new, when the thought is not of oneself as the patient, Dharma as the medicine and the teacher as a skilled doctor. There is complete advice about how to listen to the teaching. It comes at the beginning of the lam-rim teaching before the actual subject. There’s a whole outline about how to make the teachings effective and useful for your mind, and not to let listening to the teachings become the development of unsubdued mind.

However, without talking much, among the disciples there are different levels. There are disciples with very high intelligence, enough for the first explanation, and then there are middle intelligence and lower intelligence disciples. There is the elaborate explanation, then shorter, then shortest, for those different levels of intelligence to understand. Otherwise when you give an elaborate explanation, the lower intelligent souls cannot understand, they cannot put it together, they cannot comprehend it. The method is to cover, to benefit everybody, to get something for everybody. Also after three repetitions they get a clear idea so there is another explanation the next morning in case they forget or didn’t remember some part of it, to remind them.

Then it is uncomfortable, boring. What Shantideva is saying, if we relate it to us, is that the small discomforts, the harms that we experience during the meditation course, whatever we experience in the morning, in the afternoon or in the evening, if we can meditate on patience by voluntarily taking these small harms, not for the sake of ourselves but for the sake of others, if we can bear these small harms now for the sake of others, by this mind training, in the future, like those great bodhisattvas, even if one has to be in the fire of the naraks experiencing the suffering of burning for a number of eons equaling the water drops in the Atlantic, then without any hesitation, willingly, with great happiness, like a swan entering the lake or an elephant burned by the sun entering the water, very pleasurably, with great happiness, one is able to bear those sufferings.

For example, making charity of one’s body to other sentient beings, like Buddha Shakyamuni did, making charity of his holy body to the hungry mother tiger and her children who were in danger of death at Namobuddha, that holy place. Like that, by training in patience with small harms that we experience every day for the sake of others, for practicing Dharma, for the sake of others, then even great harms in the future can be borne with great happiness for the sake of others.

The next one is proving this by examples, proving how one can gets trained.

I think if you keep warm it helps. This was my recent experience. I do not have any experience to express of lam.rim but I know how to recover from a cold.


Lecture 26 December 4th am

[Preliminary prayers]

By training the mind, this is possible. As it is explained in the sutra teachings, there is a concentration called covering happiness to all dharmas, to all existence. When the meditator, the bodhisattva, achieves this concentration, then on any object that he looks at, the bodhisattva experiences only happiness or bliss and never experiences suffering. So even toward sentient beings who harm that bodhisattva, the bodhisattva himself has recognition of happiness, he experiences a blissful feeling. This might be according to the bodhisattva bhumis.

Also, when your mind approaches a very high level of steps of the path of accomplishment of secret mantra, and also after you achieve the stage of the graduated path of generation, the mind has reached a high stage of accomplishment of secret mantra and whatever you touch or wherever you look, there is pure view and also one experiences bliss. It looks impossible for this to happen but by mind training it happens, there are ways by which the mind can reach that stage. Instead of experiencing pain one experiences bliss. Even when receiving harm, before one experienced pain and discomfort but now you experience bliss with the same conditions.

Also when a new bodhisattva makes charity of his holy body to other sentient beings, just because he has very strong will and great compassion and finds the suffering of other sentient beings unbearable, with incredible great will he is able to bear the sufferings. Even though there is incredible pain, he is able to bear it with unbearable compassion for others, unfathomable, uncontrollable. You can’t control it, this incredible compassion. But when the bodhisattva reaches the arya path, after he has achieved the right-seeing path there is no pain. When he makes charity of his body there is no pain.

All these great changes happen by mind training. So what Shantideva is saying is that we shouldn’t have a fixed mind. “How my mind is, what I do, this is it—there is no other way to lead my life differently from this, from how I look right now, from how I act now, and we can’t exist without attachment, without anger.” Like they normally say in the West, “How can you live the life without attachment?” “You need anger to destroy your enemy.” I haven’t heard exactly that, but they say, “Without unsubdued mind, attachment, how can you live life? There is no way to live life.” This is it. The present, whatever the personality and capability of the mind as it looks now, this is it. This is how the mind is; it cannot be different from this. If the unsubdued mind of attachment ceases, then the continuity of mind completely ceases. The person doesn’t say that exactly but it comes to that point. This is the idea, it comes to that point.

So what the great bodhisattva Shantideva is saying is that we shouldn’t have a fixed mind in regards to the capability of mind, with regard to life, to the nature of the mind, thinking, “This is it; there is no way that it can be better than this.”

The next verse is how one can meditate on patience with great suffering, how one can do it, by explaining the examples.

Who has not seen this to be so with trifling sufferings
Such as the bites of snakes and insects,
Feelings of hunger and thirst
And with such minor things as rashes?

The question is, how can one bear great suffering? One cannot bear it, one cannot meditate on patience, training the mind with small harms; one cannot bear even the small harms. Shantideva is saying, with harms such as snake bites, mosquito stings, fleas, lice, feeling hunger and thirst, heat and cold, disease, itching and rashes—if one’s mind gets trained in those sufferings that are without any purpose, then it becomes easier, easy to bear. If the mind is not trained with these small sufferings—you actually see how difficult it is if the mind is not trained—then even such small sufferings are very difficult to bear. Therefore, it is greatly worthwhile to train the mind, to practice patience with sufferings, even those without any special purpose. If the mind is trained with those small harms, then you find it very easy to bear. For a person who is not trained you can see how it is so difficult to bear, even such small harms are so difficult to bear.

If a person doesn’t get a good night’s sleep because of fleas biting, then the next day he moves. He is completely shocked by that house and the next day he wants to move from that place to another house. For other people, even if the place is full of mosquitoes or fleas, for them it is normal, it is their everyday life. They live their whole life with mosquitoes and fleas, that’s the way they live their life, it’s nothing, these problems for them are normal. And for some people, even though it hasn’t been their daily life, somehow because of their way of thinking, it doesn’t become a problem for their mind. That is also why they don’t find it a disturbing, terrible place. Due to mind training, due to the way of thinking, the people who live in such a place are not really bothered. But the other person, the tourist who comes from the West, doesn’t have the experience of living in such a place. That is because he is not trained, not acquainted with these small harms.

Similarly, some people come from the West to Katmandu. They plan to stay a few months in Katmandu, something like that. So they came today, saw a little bit of Katmandu, and they couldn’t stand how dirty it is, how they couldn’t get what they wanted, how they couldn’t find things that they can get in the West, then the next day they go back to the West. They try to get back as quickly as possible. While for some people, Katmandu is such a pleasant place, they are so happy. This is a kind of mind training, the way the mind thinks of it.

Also in the West there are these people who ride on motorcycles. There is a line of buses and they jump from where a bus starts over the top to the other end of the bus. I am sure the person cannot put a signature each time that his body will be all right, that nothing will damage his body. He might not have complete confidence in the mind if somebody asks him to put a signature. There might not be complete confidence that the body will not be damaged. Even though there is danger for the life, if he checks up with a straight mind the person cannot say, “I won’t be damaged, I won’t be dead.” But even though there is no complete certainty or confidence in the mind, still the person is able to do something that is very dangerous for the life, to bear the hardships, to bear the danger. The way the person is able to bear that is also because of the way the mind thinks of it.

Also, car racing, those fast cars: many times your legs get broken and you have to go to the hospital, stay a few weeks, get fixed, then again you do car racing and again something gets broken, just a little bit better than complete death. Always something is wrong, something broken, again you spend a few weeks in the hospital, then you come back, again car racing. Even though you had many troubles, still you are able to bear the hardships, even though you have to bear many problems. This is all mind training, the way the mind thinks of it.

But we cannot bear it if a tiny mosquito comes, the blood it takes is nothing, not even a spoonful; what it gets is such a tiny drop. The hungry, pitiful mosquito who is completely empty, the stomach is completely transparent, and what it takes from you is such a tiny drop but because of this tiny drop we cannot bear it, it becomes a huge problem for the mind. Even a flea, even though it doesn’t bite, it just jumps around, “Oh there is a flea,” great fear comes into the mind. We are unable to make charity, unable to bear it. But to do those things, such as bearing the danger of losing life, car racing, always breaking limbs, always many expenses, or such things as climbing very dangerous mountains, very high cliffs, where there are many dangers of avalanches—those one is able to bear. Such great dangers to life one is able to bear, but such a tiny thing one is unable to bear. Even if it is to make charity to others, one is unable to bear it; the fleas—immediately when you see it, you spray. You kill it, either with the hand or with a special thing, a material made to kill that.

Even if you see a fly in the house, in your bedroom or in the dining room while you are eating food, a fly, which doesn’t bite, just flying around, it becomes a huge disturbance for your mind. Even if the insect doesn’t really harm the body, seeing it in the house becomes a huge discomfort. However, on the other hand, a great danger for life one can bear. All these are just the way the mind thinks about it; this is due to mind training.

Regarding the people that I mentioned the other day, the Yugoslavians—I heard from one of the gentlemen here that these people made plans last year to climb the mountain, not the usual way that normal expeditions take but the most dangerous way. They made a new project, a new plan to climb the most dangerous way without oxygen. So some of these people came back from the mountain with their limbs frostbitten; two or three of the people who were able to come back had their limbs destroyed; they lost everything, they had no money, they had great trouble at Pokhara.

So check, all the hardships that they bear, all this, just check—what is the benefit for this life, really? For peace of mind, what is there really? Even just for themselves, without thinking of others. They came back, so what? Even if they were able to come back from the mountain alive, so what—what did it do for their peace of mind? Nothing. They do not even have the nice body they had before. It is completely ruined but what is the benefit for the future life? Nothing. There is nothing to point out. And what does it benefit, to free others from suffering? It is completely empty, completely empty. All these hardships are for nothing, empty, all this; all these hundreds of thousands of dollars that they spent for everything. Coming from the West—how much time, how much energy they spent making arrangements for it, all these things. Whatever they spent, a million dollars or whatever they spent for that, doesn’t bring much result. Empty. Nothingness.

Coming from the West, spending that much money and one doesn’t even receive any teachings in the East. One has not even received the six-syllable mantra, the oral transmission of OM MANI PADME HUM, even just this. Even hearing one hour of teaching on bodhicitta—there is no comparison if you think of the advantages of an hour’s teaching on bodhicitta, on shunyata, the real method to eliminate the very root of suffering, the ignorance of true existence. Just one hour, it doesn’t matter even if you don’t understand. If the teaching that you hear is correct, pure, then even just one hour, even just the six-syllable mantra OM MANI PADME HUM, which contains all the sutra and tantra teachings, the immeasurable qualities of Buddha’s path, the essence of all Dharma—even just hearing the oral transmission of the six-syllable mantra, leave aside the other teachings, how much you spend to come here from the West is nothing, if you think deeply from the heart.

It depends on understanding the advantages. I mean, if a person doesn’t have the understanding of the advantages, then he cannot see, he cannot check, he cannot compare the advantages that he gets, the arrangement that is done in the mind for this life, for many future lives, the preparation that is made in the mind to achieve sublime happiness, omniscient mind, in the future. However much material one spends for that, it is nothing. Even just to hear the oral transmission of one mantra. Even one stanza of the infallible teachings, even if you don’t understand, as long as it’s pure and correct, that’s the most important thing. First you hear and plant the seed. Then gradually you understand. Even if you don’t understand it now, hearing it becomes the cause to understand it in the future, clearer, deeper. Then to realize the meaning that it contains.

There is also a story with Nagarjuna and Lopon Ingyen, one of the great pandits. I think most people know this story, those who have attended the previous courses. However, it is important to remember, it helps the mind. When Lopon Ingyen was reciting the Abhidharmakosha by heart in the cave, there was a pigeon living right above the cave, and each time the great pandit was reciting the Abhidharmakosha, this scripture, the pigeon could hear it. He couldn’t understand it but he could hear it. He couldn’t understand the meaning but he could hear the words.

So what happened was that after some time that pigeon died and then the great pandit Lopon Ingyen checked out where he was reborn, with his clairvoyance. He found out that he was reborn in that area, in one of the villages. So he went to see this family, to see the baby and he told the parents, “This is going to be my disciple.” Then he explained the baby’s past life and asked the parents to give the baby to him. Then the child became a monk and became an expert in the teaching that he had heard when he was a pigeon. He wrote three or four commentaries on that text, what he had heard before, when he was a pigeon. His holy name was Lopon Loden, a great pandit.

I heard also a story that when Lopon Loden was a small child—I think I heard the story from His Holiness Zong Rinpoche—there was a small Tara statue and even as a small child he offered candles. You know, he offered to the statue of Tara by thinking of her as a real being. He offered it to the statue as a real Tara and it didn’t stay there, it fell down. Then somehow because of his incredible faith, he cried, so the second time when he put it up, the statue stretched out its arm and he was able to put it in its hand.

There are many stories like this about how important it is, even if you don’t understand the meaning of the teachings clearly now, how important it is at least to plant an impression on the mind. To make an arrangement in the mind so that in the future, in this life or in the next lives you will have clear understanding. And not only that, the main thing is to realize what it talks about, the path that is revealed, to realize that.

It is not easy work that we are doing here, not simple work. The job that we are doing is very difficult. It is the most difficult work, the most beneficial and the most practical. By studying Dharma, how much you can understand Dharma in this life, how extensively and deeply; how quickly you can generate the realizations by doing meditation; all these things depend on how much impression was left, prepared from past lives. It is so dependent on how much preparation was done in the past, in the mind. So like that, in the future lives for it to be easier, to not find difficulties in generating realizations, we should work hard in this life.

A person who already did much practice in past lives, who did much meditation, lam-rim, who heard many teachings, in this life just by seeing, just by hearing, without much explanation, that person can easily understand, can easily feel great compassion and great love, exchanging self for others. One easily recognizes the refuted object, what one should realize as empty. Just by thinking about it one time, just by doing one meditation one time, with the four-point analysis or, even if you don’t do the four-point analysis, just by thinking of two or three words, you see so clearly. You experience it right away, immediately. You recognize immediately what it is that doesn’t exist, the refuted object, the “I” that doesn’t exist. Immediately you see that the object of ignorance, the truly existent “I,” does not exist, it is empty. So without depending on much hardship, without needing to spend years meditating on lam-rim, in a month, even in a week, it is so easy for some people who have already prepared, who did much preparation in the past lives, leaving impressions on the mind, who accumulated much merit and practiced much purification.

There was one monk, he was married but he lived a family life before. Then after some time he lived in the army, for many years he did army training. Then after some time, something happened, some conditions made him have aversion to the worldly life, aversion arose due to some conditions, which I don’t know. Then he went to Dharamsala to take teachings from, I think, one of the tutors to His Holiness Dalai Lama, and also from one very learned great meditator, very learned geshes, a teacher of Lama Yeshe, also our teacher. First he took lam.rim teachings from this learned geshe and then he lived in the mountains, where the other ascetic monks lived in retreat. He didn’t do much study in the monastery on extensive philosophical subjects, he took lam-rim teachings and then whenever His Holiness gave teachings he would come to hear. And, somehow, so easily he was able to generate the three principal paths, within a few years. He is not a young person, quite an old person, maybe forty, around that age, I think. Anyway, within the ten years that he lived in Dharamsala in the mountains, he generated the three principal paths and then reached a very high level of tantra, the graduated path of the completion stage, the second one. Then he was able to utilize his chakras, nadis, winds—those things—the seeds, so quickly. So quickly he was able to experience the path.

So, so much depends on how much preparation was done in the past, how much merit was accumulated. If you don’t have much merit accumulated, if you don’t have the cause of merit, then no matter how much you study, even if you understand the teachings, it is difficult to generate realizations. Even though you do have understanding from studying—without merit, without much cause, it is difficult, it takes a long time, one has to bear much hardship and there are many hindrances.

One American monk came from the West to do shamatha retreat, tranquil abiding. He planned to achieve this; I think it looks like he planned to achieve it within six months. He had studied debating subjects, the Prajnaparamita, how they normally study. He did some basic studies, he read the scriptures, he received teachings on shamatha and I think he planned to achieve this in six months. He went to the mountains where the ascetic monks were living in retreat. He found one house that belonged to an ascetic monk. So this friend Jampa Wangdu, whose story I told yesterday, gave him advice. This monk had much respect for Jampa Wangdu, who is a well experienced meditator. He said, “If you are going to do this retreat on tranquil abiding, if you have wind disease then you cannot do it.” He said that he didn’t have wind disease. And then Jampa Wangdu said, “You should be very careful if you do this to not get angry. Sometimes the Indians’ sheep come around to eat grass and it’s very easy to get angry.”

So anyway, after a few months I think one day these goats came, the shepherds came around this hermitage. Then, maybe he didn’t remember what the meditator had advised him and, I think, he threw stones. There must have been stones around the house and he threw those stones. I think he was quite angry, unable to control it.

The meditator, Jampa Wangdu, heard this when he was coming down to his house and met an Indian man on the road. In the Indian villages they respect him very, very much, they like him very much. They always say, “The one who lives in the cave, under the rock; the monk who lives under the rock.” I think he was the only one there in previous times so the Indians know about him. They know and really like him. Not like in the West where some people would think he was crazy; if he lives in a cave under a rock there must be something wrong with the person, “He needs to see a psychiatrist. Maybe he needs to go to an institution.” The Indians see things very differently. They have great respect for him because they know that to give up desire is a very difficult thing, the most difficult job. So they respect him very much; this is something they can’t do so they have much faith. They understand. Anyway, the villagers, when they see him they bow down and touch his feet, like that.

That Indian man told Gen. Jampa Wangdu, “There is one American monk up there and one day he threw a big stone at the animals. What is he doing? How does he practice Dharma?” This meditator told him, “Don’t worry, I will tell him.” I heard from this meditator himself. Somehow, due to past karma, due to wind disease the meditation didn’t work, much wind disease happened so he couldn’t continue; much pain, much wind disease—he couldn’t even move his limbs and he had much pain.

I think he had one guru who lived in a small monastery in Sri Lanka, in the forest. He was eighty or ninety years old, a very old monk. He was very learned, still studying. He lived with him as his guide, guru. The American monk didn’t work much, due to much pain he couldn’t manage it, so finally he thought to go to a swami, an Indian swami and the teacher agreed and went with him to help.

This swami, when they went to Bombay to see him, told the monk, “I know your problem.” So with his hands, both palms, he went like this without touching his body from the head down to the feet. And he felt something releasing. It helped a bit and every day they would meditate together—the monk, the teacher and the swami. Then I think the swami gave them chapati, every day they had chapati. Then this American monk thought, “How good it would be if we could have some rice,” and that same day the swami gave rice. Then there was one type of vegetable he used to think of so much, and one day the swami gave him that vegetable. That day the swami told him, “You won’t get here everything you think of!” I don’t know how much he recovered but now he has come back to Dharamsala and makes mandala offerings, mostly the preliminary practices and meditating on lam.rim, rather than doing just shamatha, one-pointed meditation. Now he is very happy.

You see, a person has to be really very fortunate to accomplish the path, to generate realizations of the path. So according to that, there is less hindrance, without taking much time.

Generally, first of all, without hearing the teachings you won’t even understand the benefits of the teachings. You won’t understand how much value they have. So you also won’t understand how important it is to leave the impressions on the mind.

In the West, even if somebody has the thought to seek a spiritual path, a new method of living, it is difficult for even just the thought to arise, to allow oneself the opportunity to meet the infallible path to achieve liberation and omniscient mind by opening one’s mind, or to at least to create the infallible causes for happiness, without mistake, in future lives. To open the mind is very difficult, so rare and difficult. Many people are so closed-minded and have such a limited view, seeing only their own life and nothing else.

And then, even if they find some book on the teaching of Buddha, they can’t find a guru, a guide to explain it. And even if the thought is there to seek a guru, they wait so many years, thinking and planning. Then even if one comes to the East, thinking that this is the place to seek, as one travels around and meets somebody, even if one meets the guru, who can show the infallible cause of happiness—they all talk about something but to find the infallible teachings that really bring happiness by practicing, and stop suffering, the method that brings the result one desires, happiness. At least to find the guru who can correctly introduce this, the guru who emphasizes the importance of working for the happiness of future lives over this life. This life is short, a few years, a few months—the future lives are long. Not one, two or three lives—it’s long, it’s a long way. It is important to work for the happiness of future lives, and to meet a guru like this is fortunate. To that extent, it is fortunate, so that the disciple does something worthwhile, some preparation for future lives. Otherwise life is empty. Otherwise the only preparation that is done is non-virtuous actions, whose result is experiencing suffering in the future lives; or becoming hallucinated with wrong conceptions that one didn’t have before, extra ones. Besides wrong conceptions of true existence, there are wrong conceptions of permanence—completely hallucinating, finishing life in that fantasy.

However, I think with these learned geshes, even to hear one stanza of the infallible teaching, by practicing that, one can get what one desires, the goal one seeks: liberation, omniscient mind, which has been the experience of an uncountable number of buddhas, great yogis, pandits, recent meditators and present meditators—it is their experience and the experience of others. It is not a teaching that depends only on faith, which is nobody’s experience. If you ask, “Who has achieved this by doing the practice, how many are there? Are there many followers who have achieved this?” If you ask this, there is nothing to point out, only emphasizing, “If you do this, it will happen,” nothing else; there is nothing to talk about, to prove. No stories, no previous practitioners, no present ones, nothing to talk about. It is not like that.

However, you are highly fortunate, I think. In the future, when you understand more Dharma, then you will understand better. You will see. At that time, you will be able to see how fortunate you are now. During that time you’ll understand. The more you understand the teachings, the more you meditate, the more you experience the path, the more you will see that in the future. Like that.

Also, like this, if you sponsor to kill somebody because you will get a lot of money, then you will get killed afterwards. And there is much worry; I’m not sure how much pain but much worry, like the person who is used as a bullet from the artillery, who with a parachute, I think, has to jump over a lake or something, very far. I’ve seen it on television. I’m not sure how much pain he had; that person couldn’t reach over the lake, he was supposed to reach over the lake. So you see, in the world so many people bear incredible hardships, danger to life, for nothing.

As I mentioned yesterday, just like that is foolish; it is also foolish if, for a great aim, a great purpose, such as to accomplish the path to omniscient mind for the sake of others, one cannot bear great hardships. That is also kind of foolish. As the other one is foolish, this is also kind of foolish: something great, worthwhile, not to be able to bear hardships for that. However, the conclusion is that mind training is greatly worthwhile. If the mind can be trained it is vastly worthwhile to practice patience with suffering, both small suffering and also great suffering.

[Dedication prayers]


Lecture 27: December 4th pm

[Preliminary prayers]

Please generate the motivation of bodhicitta, thinking, “At any rate I must achieve omniscient mind in order to lead all sentient beings, who have been my mother and kind, to the state of omniscient mind. Therefore, I am going to listen to the commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara.”

This morning, the stanza that I was talking about was, if the mind is trained with small harms, even though they don’t have any purpose, one finds it easy to bear; but if the mind is not trained even though it is a small harm, one finds it very difficult to bear. You can see this actually, it’s obvious—you can see it even with your own experience. That is what it is saying. Therefore, it is greatly worthwhile to train the mind in patience with suffering.

The next verse shows the objects with which one practices, the objects of patience that one bears.

I should not be impatient
With heat and cold, wind and rain,
Sickness, bondage and beatings;
For if I am, the harm they cause will increase.

What Shantideva is saying is that one should not have a small mind, small patience, a mind that can’t bear anything, which gets disturbed so easily, an easily irritated mind. A person who has that kind of mind finds so many discomforts, so many harms. We see this sometimes with old people, how they find so many wrong things—wrong place, the house where one is staying, “There is no this, no that, no garden, no good water, noisy, this and that; then the food this and that, the jam is missing, the peanut butter is missing ....” Even smaller than that, so many problems to count, which for others are no problem at all, none of this is a problem. One person staying at this place finds twenty or thirty problems in a place in which somebody else can’t find any problem—a very narrow mind, too concerned with the self. This happens when the mind is too concerned with the happiness of self and there is too strong self-cherishing thought, then also this comes, finding so many harms so easily with the people, these kinds of problems. Also it is easy for paranoia to happen to that kind of person. There is too much self-cherishing mind; too much concern for the happiness of the self.

With an irritated mind, one would have small patience when one meets conditions like hot and cold, wind, rain, disease, being tied with a rope, beaten with a stick. Shantideva is saying if one doesn’t have much patience with such small harms, if one has very small patience with very small harms, if you are too much concerned with the happiness of the self, never practicing patience with suffering, then the small harm increases and patience becomes smaller.

Even though the harm itself does not increase, the condition itself does not increase, if you think over and over, “Oh, how this is uncomfortable, how this is bad,” if you think over and over like this, if you meditate like this, reciting the mantra, “Oh, how uncomfortable this is, how this bed is so uncomfortable,” if you think this over and over and over, if you think only that for a long time, “Oh, how terrible, how terrible,” visualizing those comfortable beds, thinking of those very comfortable, soft, huge beds—then this solid, hard one becomes harder. Somehow, even though it doesn’t become harder, the mind that cannot bear the suffering, thinking how bad it is over and over again, kind of becomes worse and worse. So if you continue like this, the patience becomes smaller and smaller. But if you bear it when it is small with patience, then the harm stops increasing. Also, when it increases, you are able to bear the greater harm.

Especially for a person who practices Dharma, this is very important—bearing it, practicing patience with suffering is so important. Because, for instance, if you are going to do retreat and expect to do retreat without the slightest problem or difficulty, then in the house this and that needs to be fixed, the roof needs to be fixed, the floor needs to be fixed, not only that but so many things, “I need this and that.” If one is going to wait until everything is so perfect, until your mind is satisfied, without the slightest problem, without the slightest discomfort, if one has very small patience when there is discomfort, then today one cannot start retreat because of doing this and that, and tomorrow can’t start because “I need this and that,” then the day after tomorrow again, this and that. Then in one week, it doesn’t get done and in one month it doesn’t get done—the retreat doesn’t get done.

This is just an example, showing that one has to make a limit for the desire, to arrange enough to protect the body from great harms yet enough to continue the practice. If I am too much concerned with comfort, having very small patience with hardships and even with small harms, those things themselves become a distraction. They become a distraction to the session, even to the daily practice of sitting meditation, and even active practice, physical active practice, any practice, you don’t get done. Even when you do, you just do it very short, you don’t get much done. So, as much as one clings to the happiness of this life, the smaller patience one has and that much it becomes itself a hindrance to practice the holy Dharma.

Then also very easily with the people to become…

<end of tape>

…when they talk about you, or when they talk to you if there is something from the side of the word, something you don’t like or, if you are interpreting in the wrong way, it harms you, you interpret it negatively, “Oh, she might be thinking bad, the way she says this, she might be thinking bad of me,” something like that, interpreting in a negative way. This becomes very easy to happen because one is too much concerned with the happiness of the self. It is very easy to get disturbed and also one becomes disharmonious with others so easily.

I was going to mention it this morning but I forgot, about being bound by a rope. In the West there is one play, I think you must have seen it; it must be familiar to your eyes. I don’t know what it is called, that play. Three or four people tie a gentleman’s body completely with a rope, from the legs up to… I didn’t see the neck tied. So the legs, then both hands behind, completely tied up. Then they put the rope up by the side, they put the man upside down, hanging like this and then one person pulls the ropes and the man goes up. Then the man is up there and they put kerosene or something. The man is hanging there and then there is the rope, I think it’s on the beams, then just right above the man they put kerosene or something. Maybe that part I have forgotten, how they light it up.

They put kerosene or something, I think, some stuff and then they light it, they make the fire while the man is hanging in space upside down and the flame comes down and before the flame reaches his body, he is supposed to be released from the bondage. I think if the person is not skillful with the rope, then he will know! Anyway they put fire here and the flame is coming down like this, like death, coming closer and closer. The flame comes down like this and this person is hanging there, his hands are completely tied up, he is upside down and there is nobody who can do anything. And there are thousands of people watching, I don’t know, not just one thousand—I think there must be at least sixty, seventy thousand, so many people around, watching.

The people who tied him with ropes all over go away. Then the man is hanging in space and this flame is coming down closer, closer, while the man is turning back and forth, not with the hands, because the hands are tied. I don’t know how he does it. He goes back and forth like this. So the flame is coming down, the fire sparks. There is some stuff, they put it there so that it catches fire, I think, and it falls down. Like when you burn the husk or when you burn dried grass and things fall down. It falls down on his face—really it must be quite painful.

While he is trying to escape from that, the fire falling down, so many thousands and thousands of people are watching him and then, I think, somehow he didn’t get it done well. I think he just was able to escape. When the fire was just about to catch him, then he was just able, just enough in time for his body not to be burnt, but somehow I think he wasn’t skillful and somehow he fell down, I think he knocked on the floor with his knees. Then I think two other people did quite well, the flame was coming down and they were able to escape, not as bad as the other person, somehow they were able to release from that rope.

I think after that the person showed how he did it, his arms going like this. I think he must be showing how he achieves nirvana. Anyway, one person was quite hurt I think. Then afterwards they all came, all those people who did the play. I don’t know for what, when the play is finished—but all the people who did the play, whose bodies were bound by the rope, came out, and there were some other people also, maybe for the people to say thank you or something. So again they thanked those two who did quite well, and then again this man came with the bad knees, the unsuccessful one, to receive thanks.

It looked quite dangerous. If sometimes by karma it didn’t work, I thought what torture it was, while I was sitting at the television. I didn’t see it in actual fact but saw on television, and I thought what torture for the person, what fear for the person himself, even though he might get a little bit of money. I don’t know how much is covered for expenses but one has to go through fear and tragedy. I guess this is his way of managing, his way of living life. That’s the way he earns his means of living, by putting himself in fear and tragedy.

Because that is his way of earning his living, even though it’s quite a fearful and dangerous thing, somehow the mind is able to bear it, the mind is able to bear the hardships. It takes quite a long time, when the fire is coming down, he can’t wait. He was just going like this, not taking it with his hands but just turning it around. However, that kind of patience, those kinds of things, to get whatever he gets from that, $100, whatever he gets, he’s bearing the hardships to earn that much. Even if he got a million dollars—I don’t think he gets a million dollars—but even if he got a million dollars, by his play becoming successful, there’s no advantage. Between the few seconds of generating the motivation of bodhicitta or making one prostration to the holy object of Buddha, and the million dollars that person gets by experiencing great fear, there’s no comparison. Even if he gets a million dollars, he might get some comfort from that for this life. Maybe he doesn’t get to use that, maybe he doesn’t even get to enjoy that, bearing the hardships, then nothing.

The difference—in making one prostration to Buddha, for two or three seconds just generating the motivation of bodhicitta—compared to this, getting a million or a trillion dollars is like an atom, while the advantage you get from bearing hardships, to think of it in substantial form, is like the whole earth. The benefits of the motivation of bodhicitta, if even for a few seconds it manifested materially, there would be no space, no empty space left. If the benefits of the motivation of bodhicitta materialized, if it were in form, there wouldn’t be any empty space left.

So you can see again it’s just a matter of the way the mind thinks, how this person is able to bear that much hardship.

Next one, same example, generating the power of patience: if the mind is trained, the suffering doesn’t give harm.

Some when they see their own blood
Become especially brave and steady;
But some when they see the blood of others
Faint and fall unconscious.

When some brave people see their own blood if they are wounded by guns or a sword in a war, their bravery increases. Seeing the cut, seeing the wound made by the weapon, they become braver and continue to fight, instead of being discouraged and escaping. Also, they use the cut as an ornament, as a decoration, to show the bravery, “Oh, when I was in such-and-such a war, I was beaten badly, this is my cut.” It becomes a decoration of the body, an ornament. They show it as a sign of how brave they are.

When some other people even see the blood of others, leave aside seeing their own blood, they become unconscious and faint. They are so scared. That is not because of the difference of the object. The outside object—one is weak and one is very powerful; one body is very tough, very solid and one is very kind of fragile; one has great power, one has no power. It is not because of the difference of the body, it is not because of the difference of the weapon. One, instead of getting discouraged, so scared, becomes so brave, willing to fight more. The other one, even seeing the blood of others, become unconscious, faint. That is due to the mind. This comes from the mind being either steady or timid, the way the mind thinks of it. Because of this there is a difference—the way the mind thinks of it, the way the mind is trained, how it thinks of the wound, the blood and the injury. The point is the same—it’s not up to the object but it’s up to the mind, this is the difference in how it happens. So therefore, if the mind is trained in bearing suffering, then even if there are many cuts and injuries, it causes stronger patience, it causes the person to be able to bear more. The power of patience even increases if one bears it if one is injured. Instead of hurting the mind, seeing the wound makes the mind braver. Instead of causing more fear, seeing the suffering, seeing the wound, one is braver, with less fear.

There are ways by which the mind gets trained in patience, so one should attempt to meditate on patience, taking on suffering voluntarily. The point is this: Shantideva is not emphasizing that one should bear suffering in order to create the cause, to create non-virtuous actions, for worldly work, to do worldly dharma—not holy Dharma but worldly dharma—creating the cause of the lower realms. That is the wrong patience.

Those examples that I mentioned, of how worldly people bear suffering, those very simple examples that I mentioned of how much hardship those people bear—in fact, if you check the motive of those people, if you reflect on that, then it is actually creating the cause of the lower realms. They bear all these hardships to create the cause for the lower realms. So it is a completely useless, wrong patience. Bearing hardships, practicing patience and bearing suffering in order to create the cause of happiness, the body of the happy transmigratory being, virtuous karma—those are worthwhile. Bearing those hardships and suffering, one will receive the result of happiness; one can enjoy so many results of happiness and perfection. But the other one, practicing the patience of bearing sufferings only to create the cause of happiness of this life…

<end of tape>

… works only for the happiness of this life, all the works done with the motive of clinging to the happiness of this life, with worldly concern, concerned only with the happiness of this life, of oneself and of this life. For that reason, any works that are done—to gain food, clothing, reputation—however much suffering one bears for this, it is a wrong practice, the practice of wrong patience.

This reason it is useless is because the result is rebirth, taking the ripened aspect result, the body of the suffering transmigratory being. The result is only suffering.

An example is these Nepalese villagers. They get up around two or three o’clock, while it is still very cold, and then they go up into the mountains, huge mountains, to get firewood. They should be back when the sun rises, ready to sell the wood in the city or outside other people’s houses.

In order to make the mind happy, when they get up so early in the cold, they sing, to cheat the mind. If they go quietly it is an intense suffering, so I think the reason they sing is to distract the mind—it helps a little bit to bear that hardship, I think. They go very high up in the mountains where it is so cold, wintertime, then they come back to sell the wood in the morning. Incredible, they work so hard. I don’t know how much money they get, bearing all those hardships—I don’t know if they can get that much money according to the hardship they bear.

That is the work they do in the early morning. When I hear them going up, singing, at such a cold time, when I am sitting in the room and I hear them going up, bearing so much hardship—at the end there is not so much money—just to make some money to have a few days’ food, a few days’ comfort, that’s all, nothing else. Just for this life, nothing to benefit all sentient beings, nothing like that. It helps, it encourages me when I think of them, how they work so hard for nothing, bearing so much hunger, thirst, heat and cold.

It makes me wonder: one has that much Dharma wisdom, understanding what is right and what is wrong practice, what is to be avoided, the incredible opportunity to achieve the ever-release from samsara, the omniscient mind, such an infallible teaching that one can practice. And one cannot bear any hardships for this—so lazy. Even a quarter of what they bear, we cannot bear to practice the holy Dharma, even though the path is infallible—so lazy.

When I think of them it is very helpful for my mind. It inspires me so much, how they practice completely wrong patience, all the time, all their life. Now they are suffering and in the future they will suffer. Now they are suffering, now it is difficult and in the future, they will go to the lower realms. Like this. But bearing the hardships for practicing Dharma, practicing patience with suffering to practice Dharma—now, at the moment, it is a little bit hard but the future result is great, only happiness, everlasting happiness. After having achieved the omniscient mind, the sublime happiness of omniscient mind, there is nothing to change, nothing to fall down. The result is great, leading each and every sentient being into omniscient mind. The result is incredibly great.

Then in the daytime, those villagers are so busy. In the morning before twelve o’clock they have so much hardship—they do much work, bearing many difficulties of mind and body; then also in the afternoon. Not so much in the West. I mean, there is still a little bit of hardship. Even though you have machines to work in the field, still you have to bear hardships, still there are a lot of other problems even though there are machines and many tools—but they don’t have this, so there is much burning under the sun, working in the fields, in the rain. Then, even the rice that they grow, that they get from the fields, they don’t eat so much in the family—they go to sell it. Their feet bear many hardships and cold; their feet get many cracks. They work so hard and when the families gather back at home, they are completely exhausted, and even at nighttime they work. They go up on the mountains at one or two o’clock, then they cut grass or something.

One or two of these villagers, even though on the outside they look like they have an ordinary life, actually are special beings. Even though from the outside they look like an ordinary person, it seems that there may be one or two transformations of buddhas—but mostly, for the rest, “my happiness” is the main goal in the depth of the heart. And then, not even happiness for future lives but happiness only for this life: “Oh, if I can be happy!” All the work done with the body, speech and mind is just to accomplish that. All the hardships they bear is to achieve only the happiness for their own life, this life. The motive is non-virtue, the action is non-virtue.

The human body, which is so difficult to find again, which is so easy to decay or to change, which you received one time, is finished by doing only meaningless actions, only meaningless work. The life is spent just in suffering, bearing hardships for meaningless work. Not bearing hardships for meaningful work but for meaningless work. Just on and on like this, life finishes in suffering, doing meaningless work. “Now when the work is finished, I don’t need to bear hardships, I don’t need to bear any difficulties, now I will be happy, satisfied.” Their life finishes just in suffering. The precious human life, which is extremely difficult to find again, the one that one has now, which can easily decay, which one has only for a short time, is finished just in suffering, torturing and punishing oneself, bearing hardships, creating non-virtuous actions. Then while one is doing unceasing work, the same again and again, unceasing worldly work that never gets finished, again and again—while one is doing this, death comes.

Then, even though the person was born as a human being, it’s like he lived life as if he didn’t have a human mind. He was born as a human being but lived as if he didn’t have a human mind; then he left with an empty life. Every day, the conduct of body, speech and mind is like that, so it is very difficult to go to the realm of the happy transmigratory beings. Where one goes is to the lower realms with empty hands. With empty life, with empty hands, having been unable to make the life meaningful, without having done any meaningful work, the fruits of which the person can enjoy and experience in a future life, that he can take with him and enjoy in a future life—nothing.

The point of what I’m saying is wrong practice. All the suffering they bear for the works of this life, just to obtain the happiness of this life, is wrong patience, for nothing. Knowing that, seeing how others bear hardships for nothing, knowing and seeing that, we should be encouraged, we should develop patience with suffering to practice the holy Dharma. And we should realize how we are fortunate. Then also in this way, the more we see this, the more it makes the mind happy.

The next verse is showing the conclusion, which was explained above, in short.

Therefore, I should disregard harms
Caused to me and not be affected by suffering.
Even when the wise are suffering
Their minds remain very lucid and undefiled.

The meaning is: therefore you should stabilize your mind. Then whenever you receive harm you should bear it and make yourself not be disturbed by suffering.

This is one way of saying it. Also, one can interpret it in this way: those who are skillful, those who are wise, meditating on the Mahayana path, even when they receive suffering they are able to bear it, able to practice patience. They keep their mind calm, in great tranquility. They don’t let the great tranquility be disturbed by anger. Like the water that is very calm and peaceful, if you stir it with a stick the sand comes up and it becomes very dirty and unclear. Like that, those learned ones, those who learn and meditate on the Mahayana path keep their minds in great tranquility; they don’t disturb it with anger.

So like that, Shantideva is saying, relating to us, we also should become skillful like those practitioners, like those bodhisattvas. We should be skillful, learned, and meditate on the Mahayana path, and even when we meet suffering feelings, we should be able to bear them and keep the mind in great tranquility, not disturbing it with anger.

I think I stop here.

The next verse, the next verse shows the benefits of attempting to remove the unsubdued mind.

I thought maybe tonight we could do some meditation.

Normally one first makes three prostrations, then sits down and then does the practice of mandala offering and refuge. You can visualize Manjushri and do three prostrations and then sit down and contemplate, saying the prayer, thinking of the meaning, taking refuge and generating bodhicitta. Then you make the mandala offering to Manjushri. After the short mandala offering, we make requests to purify the hindrances from guru devotion—the wrong view towards the guru—to the subtle dual view, which means the very last obstacle to achieving omniscient mind. In particular we request to purify the wrong view of the ignorance clinging to the “I” and to existence as truly existent. We request that these be purified and to generate the realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment, particularly the realization of shunyata, the wisdom realizing the meaning of selflessness of all existence, the emptiness-only of all existence. White light purifies, then think a replica of Manjushri absorbs into you and into all sentient beings, feel oneness, and think that oneself and all sentient beings have generated the realization, whatever realization Manjushri has, the wisdom of seeing the emptiness of all existence is generated, received.

Then you do breathing meditation. Breathing out and purifying, breathing in, while you are visualizing Manjushri, breathing in the wisdom light. While you are breathing in you can think the wisdom of Manjushri in the form of white light or yellow light, whatever, comes from Manjushri as you breathe in and absorbs into the heart. This you can do two or three times. Then slowly, as the knowledge light enters your mind with the breath, you can follow your mind with it at the same time. As it enters the mind as wisdom light, watch the mind. The mind watches the mind. Look at the nature. Look at the mind, without letting the mind wander. You should plan very strongly from the beginning not to follow the thoughts, if any thoughts arise. You should have strong determination. Then you cut off all the thoughts, doubts, expectations of the future, “I am going to suffer,” “I am going to be happy,” all of these thoughts, all the past things, without thinking about them. Without thinking those thoughts, ignoring them, not letting them arise, just look at the nature of the mind. Like you are looking at yourself, like that, the mind looking at the mind, watching it. Whatever appears, the nature of the mind is empty of form, empty of resistance, empty of form. It is clear, not obscured by fogginess. It is clear, calm, not obscured by mental fogginess. It is clear, like a mirror. Any object that has form can appear in that, be reflected in that. Anything can appear—the reflection of an object, clear, like reflection in a mirror. More or less like this.

Even if you don’t see completely like that, whatever comes, more or less like this, whatever comes, you do one-pointed meditation. Abide the mind, place the mind on this. And then, while you are in this state, a part of the mind, one side of the mind looks at the “I,” how the “I” appears to you.

I think I will stop here. Otherwise you won’t get time to do the meditation.

[Dedication prayers]

◄ Previous Section  : Kopan Course 14 Index Page  : Next Section ►