My very dear William,
Thank you very much for your kind letters and also the email I received. Sorry it took a long time to reply.
What we work for is other sentient beings’ happiness—to help them purify negative karma and collect merit, to stop them creating negative karma and to prevent the harm of many sentient beings, which it seems is the aim of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Therefore, as you know, bodhisattva yogis can use wrathful actions when there are no other means to stop evil beings from harming many sentient beings. They use wrathful actions, with discerning wisdom, when it is the only method left. Their actions are done with compassion, the thought to benefit sentient beings, and with no stain of self-cherishing thought.
I cannot say if President Bush is an enlightened being or not, I can’t tell. A leader who is a bodhisattva would, of course, do what is best, what is most beneficial, even if it means using force, but it would be done with a compassionate motivation and with wisdom. In this way, it does not have suffering consequences and one only collects extensive merit, also one becomes closer to enlightenment and closer to enlightening all sentient beings. But, using force doesn’t mean war, that is not the only method, in fact that is only a very mundane use of force. There are other methods through spiritual practice and meditation, Buddhist methods, deity practice, etc. to surprise attackers and protect the ones who are being harmed. There are meditations that can take others’ lives away, etc. With these methods you don’t need an army or billions of dollars, and so many less people are killed, because as you know, in war, so many civilians are killed. That is unless the enemy has clairvoyance or omniscient mind.
Perhaps you may have read the letter I sent President Bush after the September 11th tragedy. In case you haven’t, I can send it to you. I find it very strange that in the West, when there are difficulties, others attack you, etc, it seems people never use religion in these situations. It seems they go to church like a custom, but when there are problems they don’t go to church, they don’t pray or rely on the church at that time. It seems that there is no connection with God at that time. However, Buddhists, especially Mahayana Buddhists, the minute there are difficulties, use Buddhism to solve life problems, whether it is an individual person’s problem or problems in the country and world. At that time they rely on Buddha, on the teachings, particularly tantra, especially people who have realizations, bodhisattvas, and yogis, who have very high tantric realizations and who have so much power. This is what they rely on.
One time the British army came to Tibet to take it over. This was before mainland China invaded Tibet. One high lama who lived near Lhasa practiced Yamantaka (a wrathful deity) and did a very powerful practice that can kill evil doers. This is a very special powerful practice of Yamantaka called Wheel of the Yamas. The lama used this powerful method and then many of the British army got sick, had diarrhea, and had to leave.
In Tibet the main goal is to be able to practice Dharma; to live a renounced life; become ordained, go to a monastery or nunnery to study, learn Dharma, and practice; to become a qualified teacher to be able to spread the Dharma; and to liberate and enlighten sentient beings. All the emphasis in Tibet is on practicing Dharma, building holy objects, becoming ordained, studying in the monasteries, and achieving realizations. In the West all the emphasis is on attachment, particularly sex. This is the main advertisement, the main thing to achieve in the West, what people want.
In Tibet they did not even really have an army, they just had some old guns, very primitive guns. The British army had very powerful weapons, but still they had to turn back, many got sick and died, and they left. Also, when the mainland Chinese first invaded Tibet they were defeated by the Tibetans, by many monks who went to fight even though they had no experience. Only during Mao Tse-tung’s time was Tibet taken over. During that time, many people started cheating each other, both poor people and high-ranking officials. This is how Tibet got taken over: by bribery, cheating, stealing, and lies. Of course, the 13th Dalai Lama gave people so much advice, but both common people and high officials ignored it. Maybe this is why Tibet was lost. I guess it was also karma to lose Tibet. It is like a waterfall—it starts small and then gets bigger, and then it loses control, becoming so forceful, like a big wave. Because Tibet did not defeat the mainland Chinese in the beginning, they came back much stronger. When I was in Amdo in Tibet, I saw all these ditches on the roadside where the Chinese army had lain in wait. This was from the first invasion that had been defeated by the Tibetans.
The conclusion is that Tibet had the karma to be controlled by the mainland Chinese government and once the karma has already ripened then one can’t do much. But I am sure that before the karma ripened it could have been changed and purified. So, the conclusion is that when the Tibetan people’s karma was more powerful, they were able to defeat the mainland Chinese army, even though it was a much bigger army than theirs and much more powerful. They were able to keep Tibet, and the army had to turn back. In order to get Tibet back, the Tibetans need to purify negative karma. Only then can they change the mainland Chinese government’s actions. Otherwise, it is quite difficult to do this through ordinary force and war.
Sorry for chatting; if you enjoy it then it’s OK.
With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa
PS. In Buddhism, especially Mahayana Buddhism, one is able to perform wrathful activities toward others, such as taking away others’ lives. Of course, in the Theravada tradition, there is no permission to do the three negative actions of the body at all (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct) or the four negative actions of speech (lying, slander, harsh speech, and gossiping). But in Mahayana Buddhism, for bodhisattvas who have the motivation of a brave heart, compassion for others, and whose actions are only motivated by those qualities, as well as discerning wisdom, then whatever actions they engage in are of great benefit to others, even if they engage in wrathful actions. You mentioned the story of the captain of the ship carrying 500 business people. This is similar to other actions that are not permitted in the lesser vehicle teachings.
Regarding the captain of the ship, he was completely prepared to be reborn in the hell realm for his action of killing that one man who was about to kill the 500 business people. But that action of killing was done with a very brave heart and compassion and because of that it enabled him to stay in samsara 100,000 eons less than previously, and he collected merit.
Also, in the past, a bodhisattva met a girl who was going to commit suicide. To protect her from harming herself, the bodhisattva lived with her for some time. He sacrificed his life for her with a brave heart and compassion. That act meant he spent 10,000 eons less in samsara and he collected merit. There are so many wrathful actions that one can do to take away the lives of evil-doers, but it depends on your karma being more powerful than others’.
The conclusion is that Mahayana sutra and tantra is based on renunciation and bodhicitta; they are the motivation for one’s actions. The best thing is if one’s actions are also based in emptiness, then one’s actions are much more powerful. They are also more powerful if one has a very stable, firm appearance of oneself as the deity, and especially if one has realizations of the clear light and illusory body. Then, one is a real yogi, even more professional, more powerful. Then one can use one’s actions to achieve enlightenment quicker. If those yogis have alcohol it has no effect on them, because they have control over their winds, channels, and drops. Besides being no danger to them, they can use it to develop strong clear light realizations. Similarly, one can rely upon a wisdom mother if one is a male tantric practitioner and a male consort if one is a female tantric practitioner. On that basis, they are able to quickly eliminate the dualistic view and even the subtle defilements. That is why there is no risk at that time when they are engaging in what are called the three actions of the body and four actions of the speech. These actions become negative if the motivation is negative, non-virtuous. But there is no danger to the mind if one has already achieved the three principles of the path. If one has actualized the three principles of that path, then this becomes the ground, like the foundation for a house, for realizations.
Sorry, now it has become a very long chat.
With much love and prayers...
