Member of the FPMT

You may wonder what to do, what prayers to make, when there are disasters such as tornados, hurricanes, heavy rain, storms, floods, earthquakes, or fires, as well as disasters that destroy crops, destroy entire towns and cities within an hour, cause billions of dollars of damage, and where hundreds and thousands of people die or become homeless, have no food or clean water, and so forth. Here are some suggestions on what to do, so that you can help your country and save many people’s lives. These suggestions are to prevent the destruction of houses, villages, and cities that is caused by the elements—fire, water, wind, and earth.

Even though these kinds of problems are big, if one person with a sincere heart takes refuge one-pointedly, without any doubts, in even one buddha such as Chenrezig, Padmasambhava, or Medicine Buddha, and recites their mantras (such as the name mantra), it can change the situation completely. It can avert natural disasters and prevent war. Whatever problems there are can be made less, and even completely stopped, if someone takes strong refuge and prays to even just one buddha. The weather can change in that very hour by the power of one person making prayers. There is no question that if the person who makes the prayers has realizations, such as the realization of bodhicitta, which is actually the best realization, then every single prayer has incredible power.

There are stories of many bodhisattvas and great saints in the past who were able to prevent floods, change the direction of rivers, stop them altogether, and walk across them to the other side. There is one story of Lama Kälsang Jamyang Mönlam, who had bodhicitta realizations. When Tashi Lhunpo monastery was in danger of being flooded, he wrote on a stone, “If it is true that I have bodhicitta, then the water should turn back.” After writing this on the stone, the river actually turned backward. There are many stories about the power of bodhicitta, showing how it can control and affect the elements.

There are also examples in Christianity. There is one story about the great St. Francis of Assisi. One time he was living and meditating in a cave with his disciples. His disciples asked him to stop the water that flowed inside the cave, which was disturbing their meditation. St. Francis went to the place where the water was flowing down the mountain and said, “Sister, my disciples can’t meditate.” Then the water stopped flowing from that time until the present day. It would be considered very inauspicious if the water started to flow again. The water stopped flowing due to the power of St. Francis’s bodhicitta.

St. Francis is exactly like the Kadampa geshes, even in his external appearance, even though he was from another tradition. His mind was totally pure; there was no stain of the eight worldly concerns, and he was a totally renounced, pure, spiritual person. Like the Kadampa geshes, St. Francis also asked his disciples to criticize him. He preferred to be criticized rather than praised. You can even feel his gentleness from his statues and from his face, which is a sign of having bodhicitta and a totally tame, subdued mind. He seems so peaceful and humble, and is wonderful to look at, very inspirational. All the birds loved him and always stayed around him and perched on his body. This is also a sign that he was a great holy being, a saint with bodhicitta.

In the Bodhisattvacaryavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life) by the great Indian bodhisattva Shantideva, who was a scholar and highly attained bodhisattva, it says:

If the inner enemy, delusion, is subdued
It is like having destroyed all the external enemies.

If, for example, you have leather under your feet, then it is as if the whole earth, all the thorns and bushes, are covered by leather, because wherever you walk no thorns can harm you. In the same way, once your enemy, the delusions, are extinguished, even though there might be many enemies outside, they too are stopped and destroyed—not only in this life, but forever, in all future lives.

One time in Italy there was a wolf in the forest that harmed many people, and no one could enter the forest. St. Francis of Assisi said he wanted to go and talk to the wolf. The people begged him not to go, but when St. Francis met the wolf, the wolf licked his feet, like a dog meeting his master. St. Francis asked the wolf not to harm the people, and said that in return he would beg food for the wolf, and give it to him. After that, the wolf stopped harming others. Because St. Francis’s mind was subdued and he had no ego, no self-cherishing thought, even vicious animals could not harm him.

One great Tibetan master, who was a top scholar and ex-abbot of Sera Je (one of the largest monastic universities around Lhasa, where there were many thousands of monks studying), had a cat. From the moment the cat came to live with the abbot, it stopped catching and eating mice. Even when the cat saw mice running around the room, it just stayed very quiet near the abbot. This was due to the abbot’s blessing, due to his tamed mind, his bodhicitta blessing, and his good heart. The abbot’s bodhicitta transformed even the cat’s mind so that it did not harm others.

By having bodhicitta realizations, your prayers become incredibly powerful. Similarly, if someone has realizations of emptiness, their prayers also become extremely powerful. Also, if a spiritual person who has a very pure heart, unstained by the eight worldly concerns, makes prayers, their prayers will have a lot of power. If a person who is living a pure life, in pure morality (lay or ordained, but especially ordained), prays, their prayers have a lot of power.

When someone with any of these realizations prays, then the devas, nagas, and all the other beings, including the eight groups of worldly beings (who are very connected with the weather and the elements and who cause the elements to be destructive), will listen more closely and obey these practitioners. Even if the practitioner does not have the other realizations mentioned, but at least lives in morality, then these beings will obey this person, and the harm and destruction from the elements can be stopped.

Some years ago there was a tornado in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and it was coming toward Deer Park where my guru Geshe Sopa lives. Geshe Sopa is one of the great, rare, outstanding scholars, who is very learned, very pure in morality, and has a good heart. He is also the guru of Lama Yeshe. Geshe Sopa was teaching in the university in Madison for about 20 years, but now he is retired. On the day of the tornado, Geshe Sopa had been teaching at the university, and he thought that Deer Park would definitely be seriously damaged. When Geshe-la was returning to Deer Park, he wondered what might have happened to the monks and geshes there. On the road the police were stopping all the cars and not letting them go in the direction of Deer Park. Geshe-la explained to the police that he was returning to his home in Deer Park. Then the police found out that Deer Park was a Tibetan monastery. They said that a very strange thing had happened—the tornado had been moving toward Deer Park, but then it went around Deer Park and didn’t damage the center at all. Although the tornado damaged many of the houses in the area, Deer Park itself was not touched. This was due to the monks living in the center, due to the power of their practice and pure morality.

Also, a few years ago there was a very bad earthquake in Taipei, Taiwan. Many people died and a lot of houses and buildings collapsed. One simple family, who had very good hearts, who were always helping people and were extremely devoted to Buddhism, lived in a shaky, old house. The house looked as if it would easily collapse. However, after the earthquake hit, there was absolutely no damage to their house. They also had many offering bowls in the upstairs room, filled with water, that they offered to the guru, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. They thought that the water would surely have spilled from the bowls, but when they looked, the bowls were still full, not broken, and not a single drop of water had spilled. The bowls were still completely full of water. This was because the family made many prayers and chanted Compassionate Buddha mantra every day, and they were extremely devoted, very good, pure-hearted people. So, the Dharma had protected them and their house.

Some years ago in Florida it was reported in the news that a hurricane was going to hit Florida. One long-time student rang me to ask me to make prayers. I did some Mickey Mouse prayers, and then I gave him a job (even though he had asked me to do it). I gave him the job of reciting the Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha’s mantra. He made strong prayers by taking refuge in the Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha. The hurricane didn’t hit Florida but went around. He was so astonished that he rang me, and said, “It worked!”

There are many methods, but here are some suggestions for you to get an idea of what to do when these problems arise. This is not only to protect yourself and your property, but also if there are problems in other places, other countries, you can definitely help by doing these practices, or whatever you can, with a sincere heart, full of faith. This will help save the lives of so many people, as well as many animals and properties. Even if we are not in danger, we have the responsibility to protect other sentient beings. When we get sick, we take medicine or go to the hospital. In the same way, these are just methods to help. Here, it is a question of staying alive or dying.

Practices to Perform for Natural Disasters* (tornados, hurricanes, heavy rain, storms, floods, earthquakes, fires, etc.)

Tea offering to the merit field (which includes the Three Jewels [Buddha, Dharma, Sangha], mind-seal deities, bodhisattvas, arhats, dakas, dakinis, and protectors who are beyond samsara).

Offer tea to the eight worldly ones (de gye), especially the eight groups of worldly devas, who are closely connected to the elements and who create the wind, water, earth, and fire and the destructive violence and disasters that are created by these elements.

Lion-Face Dakini practice
Recite Kshitigarbha mantra
White Umbrella prayer
Padmasambhava prayer to remove obstacles
Medicine Buddha puja and mantra
Chenrezig mantra with tong-len
Take the 24-hour eight Mahayana precepts

When reciting the prayers to the deities such as Lion-Face Dakini, etc., visualize the deity and then recite the mantra with full confidence. Rely upon the deity, thinking that the deity has power and has manifested for us, sentient beings, in different aspects for different purposes.

Medicine Buddha practice is not only for healing. In addition, it is very powerful for achieving success and for solving any problems. Medicine Buddha practice is good for someone who has died, for family problems, for someone who is sick, for attaining happiness and freedom from suffering, for finding a job, for success in business, etc.

White Umbrella deity is very powerful to protect from the danger of the elements. With strong faith and strong refuge, you can put the White Umbrella deity’s mantra or picture in your house. Then, you should visualize that rainfalls of nectar are emitted from the deity. This nectar stops fires and purifies the negative karma of all sentient beings. All are liberated.

*Note: One could mistakenly understand the term "natural disasters" to mean disasters that exist in nature without a "man made" cause. It must be understood that these events are the result of karma created by sentient beings. These disasters do not occur from their own side without a cause and while they manifest as forces in nature they are the result of the actions of body, speech, and mind of sentient beings.

For the earthquake and other disaster victims in Indonesia, I have done an observation and ask you all particularly to do these two practices so all the victims can have a good rebirth:

1. Recite The Golden Light Sutra, individually or in a group.

2. Visualization and mantra recitation of Lord Buddha Mitukpa. In Indonesia, at the present moment, there is much ignorance, anger, and greed, which can lead to disasters, conflicts, fights, and even war. This visualization and mantra is part of the antidote.

Visualise in front of you Lord Buddha Mitukpa, with a blue body holding a vajra, like in the thangka. With faith and devotion, take refuge and generate bodhicitta. Surrounding you visualize all the victims of the recent disaster and all beings. As you recite the mantra, visualize nectar coming out from his heart, entering everybody's crown, including yours, filling you with blessings and planting or nurturing seeds of bodhicitta, which will bring you freedom from suffering and ultimate happiness.

Do this in many sessions, reciting at least one mala or many more, individually or in a group.

Mantra of the Immovable Buddha, Mitukpa:

OM KAMKANI KAMKANI ROTSANI ROTSANI
TROTANI TROTANI TRASANI TRASANI
PRATIHANA PRATIHANA SARVA KARMA
PARAM PARA NIME SARVA SATTVA NÄNYTSA SOHA.

The best practice to avert war and also diseases like Ebola is Logyuma. If people gather and perform a lot of Logyuma practice, this can prevent their spread.

One time in Dharamsala, India, there was a serious disease killing many people. Every day, for many months, the people in Dharamsala gathered together and did Logyuma practice. In this way, they were able to prevent the disease from taking over.

Other practices that are good for Ebola and epidemic diseases is Vajrapani/ Hayagriva/Garuda practice, the Mantra Purifying All Negative Karma and Defilements, and the practice of “The Exalted King of the Mantra of the Great Breath.” People can also wear the latter mantra as protection.

Students can go to places where there is an epidemic and perform these practices. They can recite them and teach them to others, in order to change the karma. When the people hear the students chanting the mantras, this can also help them.

The entire Kangyur, the collection of all the Buddha's teachings, should be recited to prevent further earthquakes. It would be very beneficial to have the Sangha of all four Tibetan traditions recite the Kangyur once, to lessen the effects of earthquakes in the future. However, it has to be recited as close to perfect as possible. It would be best if this recitation of the Kangyur could be sponsored by the wealthy businesspeople of Taiwan, perhaps even with government help. This is not because it is very expensive, but to give these people the opportunity to create merit. If this is difficult, we can find other sponsors. Also, Samayavajra practice needs to be performed to purify degenerated samaya vows.

For protection from harm from earthquakes, write the following mantra horizontally on a long strip of paper. Then consecrate it with black agar incense and gywong (you can obtain this from a Tibetan doctor). This mantra should not be shown to other people. Put it on the walls of your house for protection. People can also wear it.

Write the following:

OM AH BHARA CHAKRA SHRI TAY MUNAY YAY AH PAH NA YA.
Protect this place from all the dangers of earthquakes RA KYA RA KYA

If a person is going to wear it, write the whole mantra, and then also write: “Protect the bearer of this mantra from all the dangers of earthquakes RA KYA RA KYA.” These instructions come from Gampopa Dagpo Lhaje.

If there are lamas nearby, the mantras can be blessed by them. If not, just think that all the wisdom of many buddhas absorbs into this mantra and is stabilized forever. Wear this protection and also place it around your house with strong faith. If performed with strong faith, these methods can help. However, that doesn’t mean that they purify the karma to experience earthquakes or fires. You have to perform separate practices to purify that. But these practices can provide the conditions for you not to experience earthquakes and the dangers of fire. The most important technique to help you to avoid experiencing earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, or floods is to purify the cause, which exists in your mental continuum, which is your own mind. This is to abstain from committing negative actions and to live in pure morality.

Therefore, these mantras can help. Mountains of gold and diamonds or millions of dollars can’t stop these dangers, but these methods can help.

For protection from fire, put a little poisonous blood on a square piece of paper. Then, write this mantra with ink mixed with crystal powder:

TADYATHA OM TARE TUTTARE TURE EH KHA TZAA DI SHANKHARA SHANKHARA AGNI BAHA YA SHANKHARA TSARA TSARA TSIRI TSIRI BUHURU BUHURU BHARA MARA TAM BAHAYA BHARA MARA TAM BAHAYA JALA NAM JANA LAM SVAHA

Put this mantra into a white tsatsa. Then, hide the tsatsa in the southeast corner of your home or property, since this is the direction of the fire deity. Put it in a place where it won’t be damaged, together with auspicious water-based substances such as crystal or coarse sea salt. It is said that this will protect the place from fire, even the fire that will end the world. This is a terma – the hidden treasure of Guru Tseten Gyältsän.

General Practices
All the Dharma centers in Taiwan should perform the following practices to prevent future problems from earthquakes. It is important for the students to do these practices. Every day, the geshes should recite Nam tsa nan gya and Tra shi tseg pa. Also, please take the eight Mahayana precepts as often as possible, and pray that there are no more natural disasters in your area or anywhere else.

Recite Lama Tsongkhapa’s Migtsema mantra as much as possible, while making strong prayers.

Recite the Padmasambhava prayer (The Practice of Guru Padmasambhava That Saves from Earth Danger), which is included below. It is very powerful. Recite it at least three times in the morning and evening, but more if possible.

Read the Diamond Cutter Sutra and the Heart Sutra to purify negative karma.

Recite prayers to Tara, especially the Praises to the Twenty-one Taras.

Recite the Lion-Face Dakini prayer.

Keep reciting these prayers for three to five months.

Also, reciting Om Mani Padme Hung with tong-len practice for one hour each day can prevent dangers connected with the earth element. You can also read the Kshitigarbha Sutra.

Prayer to Guru Rinpoche to Clear Away Obstacles on the Path
I request Urgyen Pädma Chung Na (Urgyen rising from the lotus).
Please bless the wishes to succeed naturally.

Precious guru, embodiment of all buddhas of the three times;
Great bliss, lord of all accomplishments;
Wrathful power, who dispels all hindrances and subdues demons:
Pray bestow your blessings.

Du sum sang gyä guru rin po chhe
Ngo drub kun dag de wa chhen pöi zhab
Bar chhä kün sel dü dül drag po tsäl
Sol wa deb so jin gyi lab tu söl

Please remove all outer, inner, and secret obstacles and
Grant your blessings to accomplish my wishes spontaneously.

Chhyi nang sang wäi bar chhä zhi wa dang
Sam pa lhün gyi drub par jin gyi lob

Then recite the following:

When, due to obstacles of the elements earth, water, fire, and wind, this borrowed illusory body meets the time to perish, by requesting without the two-pointed mind of doubt to Urgyen (Padmasambhava) and the goddesses of the four elements, there is no doubt that the four elements will be naturally pacified.

I request Urgyen Pädma Chung Na (Urgyen rising from the lotus).

Please bless our wishes to succeed naturally.

OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM (Recite many times.)

While the bush fires are still burning, the Australian Dharma centers should perform a total of 11 Medicine Buddha pujas. If these pujas are done with strong prayers to Medicine Buddha, to stop the winds and to bring rain, this can definitely help the situation, especially if the geshes at the centers also attend the pujas. In my observations, Medicine Buddha puja came out as very beneficial.

Earthquakes
After major earthquakes shook Taiwan in 1999, Rinpoche offered the following advice over the course of several weeks to students there, for dealing with floods, etc.

As far as what scientists say about earthquakes, they never mention the mind, the doer who experiences things. They explain what happens purely in terms of external evolution. Even if this is correct, it is only a short-term explanation. It doesn’t really explain why the external evolution had to happen in the first place.

Similarly, why is a baby with disabilities born to a particular family? It’s the same question. Why did that baby have to be born to that family? Even if it is explained by genetics, why couldn’t that child have been born to a different family that didn’t have that genetic problem? There are no answers to these questions if we don’t mention the mind.

From the simplest teachings of Buddhism, you can understand where hurricanes and earthquakes come from. They come as a result of the ten non-virtuous actions. The cause of the karma to experience these things can be committing one of the ten non-virtues, or it can come from committing several of the ten non-virtues. It could be the negative karmic result of stealing. It could be the result of ill-will toward others, or it could be the result of heresy, saying that reincarnation doesn’t exist or that Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha don’t exist as objects of refuge. Part of the negative karmic result of heresy could be not having shelter or guidance after an earthquake. It could be the karmic result of killing or of any of the other ten non-virtues. It could be the result of one or several of them.

It is due to karma that one experiences the earthquake or hurricane. The mind that has this experience comes as a result of the self-cherishing thought, from either attachment or anger. But attachment and anger are closely related. The real root is ignorance, the unknowing mind, the mind that does not know the ultimate nature of mind, the “I,” or the aggregates.

So, remember, there is the cause—karma—and then there are conditions. The earthquake is not coming from outside. It is coming from your mind. We should also remember that even if outer precautions are taken, if there is a cause for harm, then there will be that result. For example, buildings that were built with all the precautions against earthquakes have been destroyed during earthquakes, and buildings constructed without any earthquake precautions have been left undamaged. If there is a cause for the building to be destroyed it will happen. If not, it will not.

This is according to the view of all four schools of Buddhist philosophy. They all accept what Shakyamuni Buddha said: “You are your own guide, and also your own enemy.”

That is reality. Every day, whether you have problems or happiness, is due to what you do with your mind, which way you make your mind think. If you make your mind think positively, you have peace. If you make your mind think negatively, you have problems.

Ultimately, the best solution would be not to experience these problems ever. This is possible if, in our everyday life, we purify the cause of these problems, which is within us, not outside, and is our negative, disturbing, emotional thoughts (the self-centered mind). In relation to this mind, ignorance, anger, and attachment arise. Then we engage in actions that become negative, with these negative attitudes, and create the evil karma that harms others and ourselves. Any external explanation, even if it is correct, is just an explanation of the conditions for these problems. Without the inner cause—the negative karma—the outer condition for this problem couldn’t happen.

Every day, we should pray to purify our past negative karma. Every day, we should try to abstain from negative karma. This is why it is important to take vows (lay or ordination), to live in morality, and not create negative karma. By taking vows, by mentally making the decision to not do something again, it helps us not to commit the negative karma again. Even if you cannot take the vows in the presence of holy objects, the community of Sangha, or from your spiritual teacher, you can still strongly make the decision to abstain from negative karma and to live in morality.

The conclusion is: the best, ultimate solution for problems is Dharma practice, especially actualizing the path within your own mind and purifying the causes—karma and delusion—of every suffering (rebirth, old age, sickness, and death).

This is also the best solution for all sicknesses and health problems, such as cancer, and is the best solution in order to have a long life, to be healthy, to have wealth, power, and reputation, to have harmony, to be peaceful and happy, to receive help from others, to receive affection and love from others, to receive support, and so forth.

September 11
As the news of September 11, 2001 became known, many people began calling Rinpoche to ask what could be done to help those who had died or had been hurt in the New York and Washington disasters. Rinpoche himself had been making prayers, and when he did an observation, the mo for the future was “opposite of peace.”

For those who want to help, my suggestion is to take the eight Mahayana precepts and to recite as many Chenrezig mantras—“Om Mani Padme Hung”—as you can, with strong prayers to Chenrezig, praying for lovingkindness to be generated in the minds of everyone, especially those who have caused this harm. You can also pray for their minds to change, to stop the thought of giving harm to others, especially those in the USA, and pray to have much peace and happiness here and in the rest of the world—as much happiness as possible. You can visualize beams of nectar emitted from Chenrezig, entering everyone in the USA, especially those who have died or have been hurt, and also entering everyone in the world, purifying all the pain, sicknesses, and negative thoughts of harm. Purify all the suffering, including one of the shortcomings of samsara: war. War is just one of the vast sufferings of samsara. Then, of course, practice this while meditating on bodhicitta. Without question, that is very important.

However, these practices are also good for you to do for yourself. Without war, cancer and so on, death will still come, and can come at any time. There is the war within our own mind, the disaster with the elements in our bodies, and, of course, there is karma. Delusions and karma are the cause of death—as long as delusion and karma exist, we won’t be able to overcome death. We will always have to go through the cycle of death and rebirth. Nobody has ever lived without dying.

Of course, it is impossible to overcome death and rebirth without Dharma, which means the end of delusion and karma. This means correctly practicing the Dharma yourself. This way you become free of death and suffering forever, and achieve everlasting happiness.

Preventing war, so that you never experience it again, comes down to Dharma, realizing emptiness, and developing the wisdom that eradicates the root of samsara: ignorance. This ignorance causes all the rest of the vast amounts of suffering.

Besides these practices, there are pujas that can be performed that take many days. They are practices to protect against the dangers of earthquakes, floods, and other such obstacles, including war. These methods definitely work against these obstacles, but they need to be done for a long time, and they need to be done by pure practitioners, who have been living a pure life with spiritual attainments. This gives more weight to pacify such obstacles. Of course, when karma has already ripened, it is much more difficult to stop. There is more opportunity to change the karma that has not yet ripened.

Bluntly speaking, at this present time it is best for us to perform strong refuge practice, and purify the negative karma of doing harm to others. In general, to prevent war in this situation, it is good for us to practice strong refuge, to practice and pray for peace. With refuge, it is good to do the prayer for preventing war, composed by the great yogi and mahasiddha Tang Tong Gyalpo, which I am translating this afternoon and will send to those who sincerely want to prevent war in the future.

Post-September 11
Shortly after the September 11 attack in the USA, Rinpoche sent the following letter to a businessman in Hong Kong.

My very dear Ronnie,
How are you? What a terrible thing happened in New York. According to the news, there was a terrorist attack. It seems they planned to commit this unbelievable destruction that killed so many thousands of people who were in those buildings, and also those who were in the airplanes. According to the news, there was a man on one of the planes that was hijacked who got suspicious. He was able to ring his wife on his cell phone, and told her he was going to try and stop the hijackers, with some other men on the plane. Then, suddenly the message stopped. The phone went silent, so something must have happened. He may have tried to interfere with the hijackers, which would have prevented the plane from crashing into possibly the White House or Camp David. Instead, the plane crashed to the ground in a forest.

The other solution in order not to receive harm, like this or any other kind, is to purify the past karma of having harmed others and abstain from doing it again.

The ultimate solution to prevent enemies from harming the world is to change their minds from anger into lovingkindness and compassion, and to help them eliminate their delusions completely, even the seed, which is the imprint of the delusion. Only then can they stop harming others completely. And, of course, there is no question that this helps them to have stable realizations of compassion and lovingkindness.

Even if the body is destroyed, completely disintegrated, the body is just the house for the mind, so the mind still exists. The mind continues to take different forms, so it can be harmed again and again. You harm others and they harm you back, and it goes on like this, and there is no end to the suffering. Therefore, it becomes very important, an urgent issue, to eliminate the delusion and anger, and to transform their minds into lovingkindness, compassion, and a good heart that cherishes others. This is the ultimate solution in order for ourselves and others not to have any enemies. Others don’t become an enemy to you, and you don’t become an enemy to them.

Afghanistan
Rinpoche sent the following message to the FPMT Dharma centers after the US began attacking Afghanistan in the wake of September 11.

What I wanted to mention to the centers was to make sure you don’t rejoice. It’s very heavy negative karma. When we hear the name of the Taliban, or whoever, if there is dislike or hatred toward them, then of course when you hear that they have been killed or destroyed, naturally you will rejoice or feel happy. Then when you rejoice, for example, when you hear that one thousand people were killed or hurt, you feel happy—and then you receive the same heavy karma of having killed 1,000 people. You are sitting on a meditation cushion, you hear the information, and then simply by rejoicing or just feeling happy, it’s the same heavy karma as having killed 1,000 human beings yourself, even though you are not in the war. You didn’t actually bomb or shoot them, you didn’t do anything, but you get the same heavy negative karma as that person who actually killed 1,000 people.

I thought I would mention that, as Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo explained in Liberation in the Palm of your Hand, there is great danger when you hear news and immediately feel happy and rejoice. If you have dislike or hatred toward the people involved, then this brings a very heavy outcome. If you didn’t feel hatred toward them, I don’t think you would rejoice.

People who remember the lam rim in their daily life, who remember about karma and what is said in Liberation in the Palm of your Hand and the other lam rim teachings and who practice this don’t need to be told these things. But for others, who heard the lam rim but maybe don’t remember it in daily life, it might be useful to just remind those students.

When I heard the first time about the destruction in Afghanistan, when a few places were destroyed, I was not careful. The news didn’t say “people” or “killing,” it said some places were destroyed. I was not careful with my mind and not watching it, so I felt something kind of good, then immediately I remembered what I felt. After that I was more careful. So, be careful not to rejoice when you hear the news.

Of course, if one meditates like this, your view changes. But when you don’t meditate and when your mind is not in this state, holding those sentient beings as precious, with compassion, then you see them as undesirable.

More advice by Lama Zopa on this topic:
Advice Regarding Disasters of the Elements (a pdf file on the FPMT website)
Advice for the Present World Situation following September 11th (on the FPMT website)