Chapter 15. Tuesday, November 6: Final Medicine Buddha Session

Dangers of wrong views

The brother-in-law of one of the people doing this retreat is having some mental problems, and there is a danger he will commit suicide. So, make strong request to the Dharma protectors to protect him from outer and inner obstacles, from outer and inner interferences. The inner obstacles are his delusions and the negative actions motivated by those hallucinated minds, those impure thoughts. That is the main cause of his mental instability. That is what hallucinates the mind. It is dangerous to believe that your own wrong thoughts are true. I’m not talking about all thoughts, but believing wrong thoughts are right is extremely dangerous. That’s why there are a lot of wars happening in the world. We’re talking about danger to one person’s life, but what’s happening in the world nowadays is another example of believing wrong views are correct and of not recognizing that which is wrong as wrong.

Even one influential person’s inability to recognize their wrong thoughts as wrong and their total belief that they’re right can bring huge harm to the world; it can cause economic problems all over the world. It’s basically due to lack of wisdom, Dharma wisdom. It’s caused by ignorance, especially the root ignorance, not knowing the very nature, or ultimate truth, of the I, of the self. (The two truths of the I are the ultimate truth and the conventional truth.) It comes from not having discovered this ultimate truth. From this root ignorance, other types of ignorance and other negative emotional thoughts then arise. Many other wrong views are produced, which then lead to many millions of people with these wrong beliefs being willing to sacrifice their lives to make war, seeing it as a path to heaven. They believe that making war, with the killing of so many human beings, besides other sentient beings, and the destroying of the world, is a path to heaven. This is the danger of even one person’s ignorance, of even one person not understanding that their wrong thoughts are wrong. That one influential person can lead millions and millions of people to believe in a similar way. Then, on top of the war and killing, many thousands of people all over the world lose their jobs at airline companies, banks and businesses. That’s how one person’s wrong view can destroy the world.

It happened in the past that many millions of people, including children and babies, were killed and tortured, with some being burned in fires and others tossed up into the air to land on spears. Unimaginable things have also happened in the past. All these negative effects, all this suffering, basically came from the wrong views of one influential person. It happened because they believed their wrong views were correct. It happened because of one person’s ignorance, because of one person not knowing the ultimate nature, emptiness.

On a small scale, when someone is suicidal, they believe to be true many things that are not true. There are inner obstacles, the person’s own wrong concepts, and also outer obstacles, which means non-human beings such as spirits, who can influence the person to think that way. When your negative karma has ripened, such beings can also influence you, making you believe that whatever thoughts and visions you are having are correct. They can also cause a person to have hallucinations and to believe that they are true. In a similar way, when a person’s negative karma has ripened, other people will also abuse them and treat them badly. Those other people are not the main cause of the problem. The main cause is the abused person’s past negative thoughts and negative actions, which have ripened. Because of that, other people become the conditions for them to receive harm. That abused person has a connection with those people, because he or she has harmed them in that same way in the past, though not necessarily during a human life. That is why this person is now receiving this abuse or harm and why these particular people are involved in giving the abuse or harm.

A person you have never seen before in your life and who has never seen you before could suddenly appear in the street and get angry with you or shoot you. It might not necessarily be someone you have met in this life and have harmed in some way. It might be someone you have never met in this life, but when you meet you suddenly have a negative effect on each other. (It can also be a positive effect.)

There has to be an explanation as to why this person you’ve never met before is suddenly shooting you. There’s an explanation for why everything happens; everything has a cause and conditions. The reason for everything that happens is karma. The karma is created before you experience the result. Karma is the reason, and the reason exists before you experience the result. Otherwise, it wouldn’t happen at all. All these things happen because they are all dependent on causes and conditions; they are not independent. They don’t exist from their own side; they’re not independent. They are dependent arisings, dependent on causes and conditions. Any problem that happens is dependent on a cause that was created before you experience that problem. That is the reason it happens.

I mentioned spirits and other beings, who, on the basis of negative karma, can make a person hallucinate. In what is called schizophrenia or paranoia (I don’t know the exact definitions of these terms), there is also the involvement of other beings. These beings make you believe things, they influence you, based on the cause, your past delusions, or wrong concepts, and the negative actions done out of them.

As I was saying, in a similar way, a person also receives harm from other people, based on that person’s karma. They gave similar harm to those people, not necessarily in this life but in a previous life, and in whatever form they had then taken. That’s why this specific person engages in harming that person. In the past, that person definitely did something wrong in relation to that other person. That’s the main cause.

If a person’s karma is not very heavy, they can purify their negative karma. Pujas or meditation practices can also be done to deal with those beings who are influencing that person’s thoughts or controlling their mind so that they think and believe all kinds of things. It is an exact practice, an exact method, that precisely connects to the situation and those who are giving harm. If the correct practice is done by the right qualified person, it works, and the person is then healed, even of those kinds of mental problems. This is quite common.

When a person’s karma is very heavy, however, it’s difficult. Not everybody can be healed. Ultimately, of course, everybody can become enlightened. Ultimately, everybody can be totally freed from all their suffering and the causes of the suffering, delusion and karma, and can become fully enlightened. They can achieve this peerless happiness, with cessation of even the subtle faults of the mind, the subtle negative imprints left by delusion. Of course, everybody can eventually become enlightened, because their intrinsic nature is pure. (That’s how it’s usually expressed in English, but I don’t know exactly what intrinsic means.)

The nature of mind

The nature of our mind is not independent; it is a dependent arising, existing in dependence upon causes and conditions. Therefore, the nature of our mind is empty of independence. And what is mind? Mind is that which is empty of form, of substantial phenomena, and to which any phenomenon can appear clearly. There’s a third characteristic, but I don’t remember it at the moment. Any phenomenon can appear clearly to the mind, just as objects can be clearly reflected in a mirror that isn’t covered with dust. The mind is also able to perceive objects. I think that’s the third characteristic, but I’m not a hundred percent sure.

Of the two phenomena, body and mind, the mind is the phenomenon that is empty of form, or substantial phenomena, that any object can appear clearly to, and that is able to perceive objects. The phenomenon which has those characteristics and which performs that function is the base. If this base exists, without choice it receives the label “mind.”

When someone comes into this room, when they see something that people use to lift things up or put things on top of, no matter what its shape or design or the material it’s made from, simply by seeing that base, that person’s mind labels “table.” For a person who enters this room, when they simply see that phenomenon that is used to lift things up or put things on, without choice they label it “table.” Once the base is there, it receives the label “table.” Once the base that performs this function of lifting things up or that is used by people to put things on is there, it receives the label “table.” When the mind sees that base, it merely imputes “table.” There is no choice. Once that base is there, it receives the label “table.”

Now it is similar here with the mind, this phenomenon that is empty of form, to which any object can appear clearly and which perceives objects. When that base exists, without choice it receives the label “mind.” Thought merely imputes “mind.” So, what is mind? We can now see that the base of the mind and the label “mind” are two different things. They are not two separate phenomena, but they are two different phenomena. We can now see what mind is. It’s nothing except what is merely imputed by thought. That’s all that mind is. On seeing this base—this phenomenon that is empty of form, clear in nature, with objects appearing to it, and which is able to perceive objects—thought then makes up the label “mind,” or merely imputes “mind.” That’s all that it is.

The other day I was going to present various techniques for meditating on how all phenomena are empty. This is one of them.

So, the base of the mind and the mind are two different phenomena. We can now differentiate the mind from the base of the mind, that which receives the label “mind.” They are two different phenomena. That point is extremely important, because we then come to know how the mind is a dependent arising according to the view of the Prasangika Madhyamaka school.

The views of the four schools

There are four schools of Buddhist philosophy: Vaibhashika; Sautrantika; Cittamatra, or Mind Only; and Madhyamaka. The Madhyamaka school has two divisions: Svatantrika and Prasangika.

Here, when we are able to differentiate the base from the label, we come close to the Prasangika school’s view of subtle dependent arising. It is then easy to get some idea of how the mind is a mere imputation, merely imputed by mind, or thought. This differentiation is essential. Understanding the difference between the base and the label is like clearing away clouds to see a clear, beautiful sky.

From understanding this we then get some idea of the subtle differences between the views of the Svatantrika school and the Prasangika school. This understanding is essential, because it makes it easy to understand how the beliefs of the Svatantrika school are wrong. According to the Svatantrika school, on the base of the mind, this phenomenon that is empty of form, clear and able to perceive objects, you can find the mind, and because you can find the mind on that base, the mind exists from its own side, or by its nature. The Tibetan term is rang zhin kyi drub pa. Because there is mind on that base, the mind exists by its nature. The Svatantrika school accepts that the mind is empty of true existence but says that the mind exists by its nature. Why? Because they believe you can find the mind on the base.

While the Svatantrika do accept that the mind is imputed by thought, they don’t accept that the mind is merely imputed by thought. Why doesn’t this school of philosophy accept that the mind is merely imputed by thought? Because they believe that the mind exists by nature. For anything to exist, they believe there should be something that exists from its own side. They believe that the mind is findable on the base of the mind and that the table is findable on the base of the table.

According to the Svatantrika school, for everything that exists there should be something existing from its own side, or existing by nature. Otherwise, how is it possible for a phenomenon to exist? They accept that everything is labeled by the mind and exists by its nature, or from its own side. They don’t accept true existence, but their interpretation of true existence is different from the explanation of the Prasangika school.

In the view of the Prasangika school, everything that exists is merely imputed by the mind. First you have the mere appearance of the base. For example, you are watching the street through a window, and you suddenly see a cat running along. There is the mere appearance of the base, the cat. I’m sure the visualization of the face of a cat is very clear to everybody’s mind. I think there’s no problem at all with that. With the mere appearance of the base, the particular shape and pattern of that running body, because the mind sees that shape and pattern, right away it merely imputes “cat” and its function, “running.”

Have you all got a clear visualization of a pig, with its short legs and short tail hanging down and its face with the flat, round nose and small eyes? When the mind sees the mere appearance of this base, this particular design of the body, nose and eyes, because it sees the mere appearance of this base, it makes up the label “pig” and believes in that label, and it then labels whatever action the pig is doing, such as “running” or “eating garbage.”

When you then see a person, she is standing upright and dressed. One of the differences is that she’s dressed. When the mind sees the mere appearance of that particular shape of body, it merely imputes the label “person” and believes in that and then, in dependence upon the function performed by that body, labels “running” or “walking” or “driving.”

Here we can see that these phenomena are all mere imputations, merely imputed by the mind, by the thought. This includes the mind; the mind is also merely imputed by thought. Here we used those external examples, but it’s exactly the same with the mind. The mind is merely imputed by thought. Why did that thought merely impute “mind?” Because it saw this base, the phenomenon that is empty of form, clear and able to perceive objects.

In the Prasangika view, as in these examples, all phenomena—happiness, problems, virtue, nonvirtue, true suffering and true cause of suffering, true path and true cessation of suffering, samsara, nirvana, hell, enlightenment—are merely imputed by the mind to the mere appearance of the base. Everything is like that.

For example, you can think about what the aggregates do. When the mind sees that the base, the body, is doing the action of sitting, it makes up the label “I” then labels its function “sitting.” (I think that the word up in makes up is helpful, as it helps you to understand how the I is merely imputed by the mind, by the thought. The up is my own expression—I don’t think other teachers use that term.) Everything is just made up by the mind. “I’m sitting” is simply made up by the mind.

If the mind sees the base, the mind.... So that I don’t confuse you, I think I’ll use the word thought instead of mind. I think I saw one translation of rigpa as awareness. Is that right? How is rigpa usually translated?

Ven. René: Pristine awareness.

Rinpoche: What does pristine mean?

Ven. René: Pure, clear.

Rinpoche: I think you have to add more Tibetan words to rigpa to get the translation pristine awareness. I think it probably means that after you have cleared away the gross superstitions, you see the pristine awareness, like you see the clear sky when clouds disappear. It might be an expression for when the mind is very calm and tranquil after all the superstitious thoughts have been cleared away. I think I saw one translation of rigpa as awareness, without the pristine.

Anyway, what I was talking about just before?

Ven. René: The thought that is labeling. Rinpoche was perhaps looking for another word instead of thought?

Rinpoche: Oh, yes. Anyway, it doesn’t matter....

The thought sees the base, the mind, meditating. If the mind is concentrating on the Buddha or a deity or reflecting on the lamrim path, the thought that sees the base, the mind, performing that function merely imputes “I” and then merely imputes “meditating” to that action.

When the mind then analyzes the base itself, the general aggregates, the way it exists is by being merely imputed in dependence upon the base, the collection of the five aggregates. The way the general aggregates, which are the base to be labeled “I,” exist is by being merely imputed by the mind in relation to the collection of the five aggregates. Therefore, when it comes down to the point of analyzing the aggregates themselves, we again see that even they are merely imputed by the mind in relation to the collection of the five aggregates. Again here we can see the differentiation between the label, “aggregates,” and the base, the collection of the five phenomena. We see that there are two different phenomena there. We discover that they are not one, and we also realize that the aggregates are not the I. Through analysis, we also discover that.

According to the Prasangika school, the I cannot be found. According to the Svatantrika school, the I can be found on the base, the aggregates. They accept that the I should be findable and that it exists by its nature, or from its own side. In the view of the Prasangika school, however, the I cannot be found on the aggregates at all. If that’s the case, if you can’t find the I on the aggregates, is the I then nonexistent? In the view of the Prasangika school, the I is not nonexistent. It exists, but it exists in mere name. That’s the main point: it exists in mere name, merely imputed by the mind. The Tibetan term is ming tsam kyi drub pa: ming means name and tsam means merely, so merely imputed by the mind. In the term tok pai par tak tsam, tok pa means superstitious thought and par means from the side of the mind.

It’s very important to translate every single word in philosophical terms. I think it’s important that every single word is translated in translating anything, but especially for the study of philosophy, because each word has great meaning. If it’s a general translation and words are left out, you lose the rich taste.

We normally see something appearing from the side of the object, and we believe it exists from there. Here tok pai par means superstitious thought from the side of the mind. Whereas tsur means toward the mind, par means from the mind toward the object. Then tak tsam means merely imputed: tak pa means labeled and tsam means merely, or only. This is the way that things exist. This is the reality, but it is the total opposite to the way things appear to us in our daily life and to what we believe. The way things appear to us and what we believe have nothing to do with the reality. It never appears to us that the way things appear comes from the side of our mind, tok pai par. We never see that things come from our mind. Never. Things exist only from the side of the object. We don’t see anything as existing from the side of our mind. We don’t see that things are imputed; then, on top of that, to make it more subtle, we don’t see that they’re merely imputed. Of course, if we don’t even see that something is imputed, how could we see that it’s merely imputed, the subtle reality of the way things exist? There is no way we could see that.

In the view of the Prasangika school, or in reality, everything exists by being merely imputed by the mind. The word merely cuts off what the Svatantrika school believes to be correct: that even though the I is labeled by mind, it is findable on the aggregates. According to the Svatantrika school, if the I is merely imputed by the mind, merely imputed means the I hasn’t even the slightest existence from its own side, so there is nothing there. So, the merely in the I exists being merely imputed by the mind cuts off what the Svatantrika school believes: that the I is findable on the aggregates and that it exists by its nature, or from its own side. According to the Svatantrika school, the I is labeled by mind but not merely labeled by mind, because there should be something existing from the side of the I.

Now, to go back to the Prasangika school’s view, the way that everything exists is being merely imputed by the mind. Therefore, anything that appears to our mind as not merely labeled by mind is a wrong view according to the Prasangika school. The Prasangika view cuts the wrong view of the Vatsiputriyas, a particular division of the Vaibhashika school, who hold that the I and other phenomena are permanent, independent, exist without depending on causes and conditions and exist alone without depending on parts. It also cuts the wrong view held by the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika schools, that the I is self-sufficient. Besides that, it cuts the wrong view that I and other phenomena exist from their own side without depending on the imprint, or substance, left on the seventh consciousness being manifested. When the imprint left on the seventh consciousness is manifested, one part manifests as the knowing phenomenon, the mind, and the other part as the object. The example is used of putting a piece of glass on a red or blue cloth; the glass reflects the color of the cloth. That is how things exist according to the beliefs of the Cittamatra school.

Besides that, the Prasangika view also cuts the wrong view of the Svatantrika school, that the I is labeled by mind but should have something from its own side; in other words, that the I exists by nature, or from its own side. The Svatantrika school accepts that the I is labeled by mind, but they say that there should be something that exists from the side of the I. Otherwise, how is it possible for the I to exist? They can’t accept that the I is merely imputed by the mind; they’re not satisfied with that. The Svatantrika school thinks that there should be something slightly more than that in the way the I exists. They think the I is not just merely imputed by mind; they think there should be something slightly more than that, some very subtle existence from its own side.

So, all those are examples of the object to be refuted according to the different schools. But I’ll maybe mention more on them later....

The Svatantrika school isn’t satisfied that the way the I exists is by being merely imputed by mind. They think it’s impossible that things exist being merely imputed by mind, and that there should be something slightly more than that, which means something from its own side. They call that something slightly more “existing by nature” or “existing from its own side.” Things are not merely imputed by mind—there’s something more than that. Apprehending that tiny extra thing, that tiny hallucination, becomes the obstacle to realizing that the I and all other phenomena exist being merely imputed by mind. This means that it becomes the obstacle to realizing the Prasangika school’s view of subtle dependent arising, of how the I and other phenomena exist being merely imputed by the mind. Why does it become the obstacle to realizing the Prasangika school’s view of the extremely subtle dependent arising? Why is apprehending that the I should exist as more than what is merely imputed by the mind such an obstacle? What the Svatantrika school believes is correct becomes a huge obstacle because it is actually a wrong view and the object to be refuted according to the Prasangika school. You have to realize that what appears to you and what you believe—that the I and other phenomena are not merely imputed by mind but have some existence that is slightly more than that—is totally empty. You have to realize that even that subtle hallucination is totally empty, totally nonexistent. The way things appear to you and the way you believe them to exist are completely nonexistent there. You have to meditate intensively, again and again, on only this unmistaken view of emptiness, the Prasangika school’s view of emptiness. As a result of training your mind in this unmistaken emptiness, you will gain the realization that the I and other phenomena exist in mere name, merely imputed by the mind.

So, merely cuts what the Svatantrika school thinks is correct: that things are not just merely imputed by mind but have something slightly more than that. It cuts that subtle hallucination, which is left after you have gone through all the wrong views of the object to be refuted according to the other lower schools. The merely cuts that subtle hallucination, which is what the Svatantrika school thinks is correct. There is nothing in the slightest more than what is merely imputed by the mind. That’s why the Prasangika school’s view of the object to be refuted is so subtle; that’s why their view of emptiness is so subtle.

I mentioned before the Prasangika school’s connotation of true existence, or den par drub pa in Tibetan. True existence is defined as something slightly more than what is merely imputed by the mind. The Svatantrika school’s connotation of true existence is very gross, because they believe that existence from its own side is correct. The two schools used the same term, true existence, but the meaning is different. If you don’t understand these differences, you could get confused when you hear or study teachings, because both schools use the term true existence. While you are studying or reading the Svatantrika school’s view of dependent arising or emptiness, if, because you have heard the lamrim explanation of true existence, which talks from the point of view of the Prasangika school, you bring that idea of true existence, which means existing from its own side, into your study of the Svatantrika school’s view, I think you’ll get very confused. When you hear that the Svatantrika school accepts existence from its own side but then says that things don’t truly exist, you’ll get confused. The Svatantrika school has its own definition of true existence, which is the I or any other phenomenon existing particularly by its nature without depending on appearing to a valid, non-defective mind and that valid mind labeling it.

It’s good to use the terms correctly, exactly according to how it’s said in Tibetan. If you use the term inherently existent, it then becomes confusing for people who are studying. You must translate the terms exactly, because they describe different levels of thoughts, or views. Translations need to be very precise, because otherwise the people who are studying won’t gain a clear understanding. Of course, it also depends on the presentation.

For example, if you use inherently existent for everything, I think within that you can have many different layers of inherent existence: gross, subtle and very subtle. And I think it’s the same with true existence. I think that inherent existence generally means existing from the object’s side.

Another term is natural existence, or existing by nature. As I mentioned in relation to the Svatantrika school’s view, they don’t believe that things are truly existent but they do believe things exist by their own nature, or from their own side. The Tibetan term rang zhin kyi drub pa means existing from its own side, or existing by nature. If you don’t translate this term exactly according to the Tibetan, but instead translate it as inherent existence, what do you do when you then translate the term, den par ma drub pa, which means non-truly existent? Do you use the term inherent existence again there? I’m not saying that everyone does that, but I just want to emphasize that if a translator doesn’t stick with the philosophical terms, it can be confusing, especially here in the Svatantrika school and in the previous schools. I think it might be easier with the Prasangika school, because they don’t accept existing by nature or existing from its own side or true existence. Since all of them are objects to be refuted, they are all totally nonexistent. But it’s not like that according to the Svatantrika school’s view. If words are used in exact accordance with the Tibetan terms, you can see the difference.

How did I come to this point? Do you remember?

That’s right. We were talking about making strong prayers to the protectors for a student’s brother-in-law, who has problems. Then, of course, there are so many other sentient beings who have similar problems.

I didn’t mean to talk on emptiness tonight; I planned to talk on it some other day. I think karma must have pushed, or maybe it was just asking to pray to the protectors....

[The group chants the protector prayers together.]

Dedications

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, may bodhicitta be generated within my own mind and in the minds of all other sentient beings without even a second’s delay. May that which has been generated be increased.

“Jang chhub sem chhog rin po chhe....

“Gang ri ra wäi khor wä zhing kham dir....

“I also dedicate the merits for all other virtuous friends to have stable lives and for all their holy wishes to succeed.

“Päl dän la mäi ku tshe tän pa dang....

“I give all my past merits, all of the merits collected today and all the resultant happiness up to enlightenment, and everything else, including my own body in the form of a wish-granting jewel and all my possessions, to all sentient beings. I make charity of all this to every hell being, every hungry ghost, every animal, every human being, every asura being, every sura being and every intermediate state being. All their environments become pure lands of buddha, where there’s no suffering and there are the most perfect, pure enjoyments. (You can think of whichever pure land you wish to be born in.) All the sentient beings receive everything they need, everything they want. Every human being receives billions and billions of dollars, and all the rest receive whatever they need, whatever they want. If they need to meet gurus and the teachings and achieve realizations, they receive the conditions for that to happen. They receive everything they need and want, and all these enjoyments then cause them to actualize the paths of method and wisdom and thus cease all their defilements. They all then become the deity.” (You can think of whichever pure realm you wish and the deity of that pure land. They all become enlightened in the essence of that deity. Or you can think of Medicine Buddha’s pure land and that everyone becomes Medicine Buddha.)

“I have collected so many times limitless skies of merit by giving my body, all my merits and all the resultant happiness, as well as by making charity of my belongings. Due to this merit, may whatever suffering sentient beings have ripen on me; may whatever happiness and merits I have ripen on all sentient beings.

“Due to all the merits of the three times collected by me and by others, may I be able to offer limitless skies of benefit to all sentient beings and the teaching of Buddha, like Lama Tsongkhapa and Medicine Buddha, by having the same qualities within me as Lama Tsongkhapa and Medicine Buddha have. From now on, in all my future lives, in every second may I be able to benefit like that.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, whatever actions I do—eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, working, meditating—and whatever kind of life I experience—happy or unhappy, healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor, gain or loss, good reputation or bad reputation, praise or criticism, and even if I am reborn in a hell realm—from now on, may all my actions and experiences of life become most beneficial for all sentient beings. And what is that? That which causes all sentient beings to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible by myself being enlightened.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, may those people who have died who rely upon me, whose names have been given to me and for whom I promised to pray and all the numberless hell beings, hungry ghosts and animal beings who are now experiencing unimaginable suffering immediately be liberated from those sufferings and suffering realms and reincarnate in a pure land of buddha where they can become enlightened or receive a perfect human rebirth and achieve enlightenment quickly by meeting a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru and Mahayana teachings.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, may my hearing a sentient being is sick cause that sentient being to immediately recover.”

Please dedicate also for Andrea Antonietti, an old Italian student, who was a monk before. Andrea has been very sick for quite some time. It’s been a very delicate and very dangerous situation, but so far somehow he has survived. Now his life is in danger. Please dedicate for him to recover immediately and to have a most productive, most meaningful life, actualizing the lamrim path. Or if there is no chance of that, may he, without difficulties, immediately be reincarnated in the Vajrayogini pure land.⁵⁹

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, may my hearing a sentient being has died cause that sentient being to immediately be reincarnated in a pure land of buddha where they can become enlightened. And may the sentient beings who have been born as human beings but with no opportunity to practice Dharma meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru and Mahayana teachings and by putting them into practice, may they quickly achieve enlightenment.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, may I, the members of my family, all the people with whom I have a connection, all the students and benefactors of the FPMT organization, especially those who give their life to the organization to serve sentient beings and the teaching of the Buddha, and those who rely upon me, those for whom I have promised to pray, those whose names have been given to me and those who are offering service have long lives and be healthy, and may all our wishes succeed immediately according to the holy Dharma.

“May we be able to actualize Lama Tsongkhapa’s pure teaching, which unifies sutra and tantra, the whole graduated path to enlightenment, within all of our hearts in this very lifetime and without even a second’s delay.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, may Lama Ösel Rinpoche have a stable life and be able to return soon and without any obstacles from Spain and complete his studies. May he show the same qualities as Lama Tsongkhapa and offer skies of benefit to sentient beings and the teaching of Buddha. May he be able to come back as quickly as possible, within two weeks.

“May all the Sangha in this organization be able to complete the scriptural understanding and realizations of the path to enlightenment in this very lifetime, on the basis of practicing pure vinaya and by receiving all their needs and all protection.

“May all the meditation centers and social service projects in this organization be most beneficial, immediately pacifying the sufferings of body and mind of sentient beings and spreading the complete teaching of Lama Tsongkhapa in the minds of those sentient beings by receiving everything necessary for that.

“May all the projects that each center has, such as here the building of the temple with 100,000 Medicine Buddha statues, the 100,000 stupas and the social service projects, be accomplished immediately and be most beneficial for all sentient beings. May these projects liberate and enlighten sentient beings as quickly as possible. May all the projects in the FPMT centers, including the building of monasteries, nunneries and holy objects in different parts of the world, succeed immediately by receiving everything needed. May the building of the 500-foot Maitreya Buddha statue be completed immediately by receiving all the funding and other needs as quickly as possible. May the centers’ projects and the other projects cause bodhicitta to be generated in the minds of all sentient beings. May everybody have perfect peace and happiness, and may nobody experience war, famine, disease, torture, poverty, sickness, dangers from fire, water, air and earth, such as earthquakes and so forth, or any other undesirable thing. May the Maitreya Project and all the other projects cause all sentient beings to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

“May Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching spread and flourish forever, and may I be able to cause this to happen by myself.”

[The group recites Final Lamrim Prayer in Tibetan.]

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, which are empty from their own side, may the I, who is empty from its own side, achieve His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s, Medicine Buddha’s, enlightenment, which is also empty from its own side, and lead all the sentient beings, who are also empty from their own side, to that enlightenment, which is also empty from its own side, by myself alone, who is also empty from its own side.”

The essence of bodhisattva Samantabhadra’s King of Prayers, all the ten numberless times 100,000 prayers, are condensed into the following two stanzas.

“I dedicate all my merits to be able to follow the holy extensive deeds of Samantabhadra and Manjugosha, as they realize.

“And I dedicate all the merits in the way the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times have admired the most.

“Jam päl pa wö ji tar khyen pa dang....

“Dü sum sheg päi g yäl wa tham chä kyi....”

All those extensive bodhisattva prayers are contained in the two verses we’ve just recited. This is how you do them in an abbreviated way.

“Chhö kyi gyäl po tsong kha päi....

“Dag dang zhän gyi dü sum dang....”

[The group recites the multiplying mantras.]

This last buddha’s name not only multiplies each merit 100,000 times but also causes whatever prayers we have done to succeed.

[The group recites the final multiplying mantra.]

OK. Gut nacht.

Chapter 16. Wednesday, November 7 (Buddha’s Descent from Tushita) - Final Medicine Buddha Session

Motivation

Think, “At any rate I must achieve full enlightenment for the benefit of all my kind mother sentient beings. It’s not sufficient that just I myself be liberated from the sufferings of samsara.”

It’s uncertain whether we will have the opportunity to achieve this in our coming lives. If we leave it up to our future lives, it’s difficult to say what will happen, because it will be very difficult to find again a precious human body qualified by eight freedoms and ten richnesses, which gives us all the opportunities to do whatever Dharma practice we wish to do. We have met the Lesser Vehicle teaching, which brings cessation of the oceans of samsaric suffering and its cause, karma and delusion, and have the opportunity to practice that path. By actualizing the four noble truths we can achieve cessation of the entire suffering of samsara and its cause. Besides that, by having met Buddhadharma, we can create the unmistaken cause of happiness. Until we are completely liberated from the suffering realm, from samsara, we have the opportunity to achieve happiness, including rebirth with the body of a happy transmigratory being. This perfect human body gives us all the opportunities to create the unmistaken causes of all those types of happiness.

On top of that, this perfect human body gives us the opportunity to practice the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, teaching, which enables us to achieve full enlightenment, the state of completion of all the qualities of cessation of the faults of the mind and of all the qualities of realization. With this attainment we can then work perfectly for all the numberless sentient beings, freeing them from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bringing them to full enlightenment. The perfect human body we now have gives us the opportunity to free all the numberless other sentient beings, from whom we receive all our past, present and future happiness and realizations, including enlightenment. They are the most precious, most kind ones in our life.

We can liberate quickly and more quickly all the different types of beings—all the numberless hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, asura beings, sura beings and intermediate state beings—who are experiencing unimaginable suffering. Why? Because we can achieve full enlightenment quickly and more quickly. Why? Because with this perfect human rebirth we can practice Mahayana Secret Mantra, or Vajrayana, which has all the skillful means to enable us to quickly achieve full enlightenment. This perfect human body gives us the opportunity to do any practice we wish.

We have all these opportunities and we have met all these kinds of Dharma. Or even if we haven’t met all these different levels of teachings, we have the great opportunity to meet and to practice all these teachings. And this doesn’t last. This human body that gives us all these opportunities is so precious. Which one is more precious, all the wealth in this world or our human body? Our human body is more precious, because it gives us the opportunity to use the buddha nature that we have within us.

How the mind exists

Yesterday I was talking about the nature of the mind and trying to explain how the mind is a dependent arising, not independent. I meant to explain what buddha nature is yesterday, but it went off into something else. I was trying to introduce buddha nature by explaining how the mind is a dependent arising and how it is nothing other than what is merely imputed by the thought, or the mind. Your thought just made up the label “mind.” “Mind” is merely imputed by thought because there is a phenomenon that is empty of form, or substance, clear in nature (just as things appear clearly reflected in a mirror, phenomena appear clearly to the mind), and rigpa, or knowing. Yesterday I was trying to find a translation for the word rigpa, which can be translated as awareness or knowing. That phenomenon that is empty of form, clear and knowing is the base, and because that base exists, the mind exists, because that is what receives the label “mind.” As I mentioned yesterday, as long as this phenomenon exists, without choice the label “mind” exists.

What is the mind? Mind is nothing other than what is merely imputed by thought because this base, this phenomenon, exists. It is never the mind that has been appearing to us and that we’ve been apprehending. That one is a hallucination. When we think about the mind, that real mind appearing from there is called “the object to be refuted.”

As I mentioned yesterday, there are four schools of Buddhist philosophy, one of which is the Vaibhashika school, and one of the eighteen sub-schools within the Vaibhashika school is the Vatsiputriya. In the view of the Vatsiputriya school, the mind, while it’s impermanent, appears permanent; appears independent, without depending on causes and conditions; and appears to exist alone, without depending on parts or its continuity. This school has all these extremely gross wrong views of the mind.

As I mentioned before, the mind is merely imputed by thought. On the mind, which exists in mere name, merely imputed by thought, we put all these projections, all these gross wrong views of it as permanent, independent and existing alone.

On top of that, many of the other Vaibhashika schools, as well as the Sautrantika school, have the wrong view of the object to be refuted as the mind existing self-sufficiently, without depending on the base and the continuity of that base. While the mind is dependent on these things, the negative imprint on the mental continuum projects the mind as self-sufficient, so it then appears to be self-sufficient.

On top of that, there is also the object to be refuted according to the Cittamatra, or Mind Only, school. As I mentioned yesterday, for this school all phenomena come from imprints left on the seventh consciousness, which is called kun zhi in Tibetan, or basis of all. Everything comes from the mind-basis-of-all. The imprint left on the seventh consciousness is manifested out in two phenomena: one is the knowing phenomenon, or knower, and the other is the object. This is what the Cittamatrins believe. In the Mind Only school, the object to be refuted is anything that exists from the object’s side without depending on the imprint left on the seventh consciousness, the mind-basis-of-all, being manifested out.

When we think of the mind, it also appears to us in that way. This wrong view is also there. This hallucination, this projection, which is the object to be refuted of the Mind Only school, is also there when we think of the mind.

The Madhyamaka school has two divisions: the Svatantrika school and the Prasangika school. In the view of the Svatantrika school, for anything to exist it has to appear to a non-defective, or valid, mind and that valid mind labels it. The opposite to that is the wrong view, the object to be refuted, according to this school, which means anything that appears to exist from its own side without depending on appearing to a valid mind and that valid mind labeling it. When we think about or talk about the mind, the wrong view, the object to be refuted, from the point of view of the Svatantrika school is also there. If we don’t analyze exactly what the ultimate nature of the mind is, that view is also there.

There is then the Prasangika school. As I mentioned last night, the object to be refuted from the point of view of the Prasangika school is what is believed by the previous school, the Svatantrika school: that while the mind is labeled by thought, it exists by nature, or from its own side. The Svatantrikas don’t accept true existence; they accept that the mind is labeled by thought, but they also believe the mind exists by nature, or from its own side. They think that there should also be something, some existence, from its own side. They are unable to accept that the way the mind exists is by being merely imputed by thought. They think that there should be something more than that, something existing from its own side, something beyond being merely labeled by thought. However, what the Svatantrikas believe to be true is totally wrong according to the Prasangika Madhyamaka school. From the Prasangika point of view anything slightly more than what is merely imputed, or labeled, by the mind is totally nonexistent, totally empty.

According to the view of the Prasangika school, the mind appearing to be not merely labeled by thought is the object to be refuted. This very subtle hallucination is the object to be refuted. The total absence of anything even slightly more than what is merely labeled by thought is the ultimate nature of the mind. Only that is the ultimate nature, the emptiness, of the mind. That is what is called the clear light nature of the mind, and that is buddha nature. The total absence of even that subtle hallucination is buddha nature.

You can now see that the mind is totally empty of all those wrong views. All those views that I went through are mistaken, down to that very subtle hallucination, that very subtle object to be refuted. The mind is totally empty of even that very subtle object to be refuted.

Now, when it comes to this point of the mind being empty of even that subtle object to be refuted, it looks as if the mind doesn’t exist. It’s not that the mind doesn’t exist, but it’s as if it doesn’t exist. Through analysis, when you negate all those wrong views, including the subtle wrong view that is the object to be refuted according to the Prasangika school, it looks as if the mind doesn’t exist. It’s not nonexistent. It exists, but it exists in mere name, merely imputed by thought. The mind is empty of inherent existence, of existence from its own side.

What I was trying to say before is that this nature of the mind, which is emptiness, is unstained by existence by nature or true existence or inherent existence. You can say that the mind is pure, because it’s unstained by existence by its nature, existence from its own side. Even though to us sentient beings in our daily life the mind appears to be inherently existent, or existent from its own side, in reality the mind doesn’t have even an atom of inherent existence. That nature of the mind, that emptiness, is buddha nature, and that buddha nature gives every sentient being the potential to be totally liberated from the oceans of samsaric suffering and its cause, karma and delusion, the continuation of which has no beginning. This gives us the potential to cease all of them and to be free from them forever. This is the potential from where all the realizations of the path to liberation and enlightenment come. They come from within.

For example, when a stick hits a gong, a sound comes from the gong. Or when you ring a bell, a sound comes from the bell when the tongue hits the side of the bell. In a similar way, when you meet a qualified virtuous friend who can reveal the whole path to liberation and to enlightenment without any mistakes and who does reveal the Dharma, all the realizations and enlightenment come from that potential, from that buddha nature.

Every sentient being has this potential within their mind. Now here, along with that, we have this precious human body, which gives us the opportunity to communicate and to understand the meaning of the teachings. Having this precious human body enables us to understand the meaning of the teachings, to learn, to practice and to actualize realizations. This precious human body gives us the opportunity to use the buddha nature that we have. We can use it to produce all the realizations and to overcome all the defilements, all the delusions. With animals and other sentient beings with lower rebirths, the body they have taken completely blocks the opportunity to use their buddha nature to achieve liberation and full enlightenment. It completely blocks their understanding the meaning of the path and their practicing it.

Therefore, this precious human body that we have is unbelievably precious. It’s more precious than all the wealth in this world. This human body that we have is more precious than not just gold, diamonds or wish-granting jewels the size of this earth, but the whole sky filled with gold, diamonds or even wish-granting jewels. The value of all of them is nothing compared to the value of our precious human body, especially since it’s qualified by eight freedoms and ten richnesses. Even if we had that much wealth, that alone couldn’t stop our rebirth in the lower realms. Milarepa had nothing, not even one dollar or one rupee, but he had a precious human body, which he used to practice Dharma, and he achieved enlightenment in that very lifetime.

You can see how precious our human body is, more precious than skies filled with wish-granting jewels. Therefore, every second that we have this perfect human body is precious. Each second is more precious than skies filled with all those jewels. Why? Because even within one second we can create the cause to achieve the happiness of future lives; we can create the cause to achieve the ultimate happiness of liberation from samsara; and we can create the cause to achieve the ultimate happiness of full enlightenment. With this perfect human body, even in each second we can create the cause for whatever happiness we wish to achieve.

Also, it doesn’t last long. Not only is death definite, but death can happen any day, any moment. Therefore, we have to immediately start to practice Dharma to achieve full enlightenment for sentient beings. That depends on actualizing the path, on actualizing method and wisdom. With method alone, without wisdom, we can’t remove the defilements. It is wisdom that really ceases the defilements. And which wisdom is it that directly destroys all the defilements, all the delusions? The wisdom that realizes emptiness.

This is not only the way to liberate yourself from all the oceans of samsaric suffering, all the delusions and even the subtle defilements, but the way to liberate other sentient beings from the sufferings of samsara and its cause, karma and delusion. The way to do this is by revealing the truth to them, which means teaching them the profound ultimate truth, emptiness. You reveal the truth of emptiness to them, and then by listening, reflecting and meditating, they actualize and develop this wisdom. This is the only way you can liberate the numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering.

As Buddha said, “The Mighty One does not wash away negative karma with water....”⁶⁰ Some religions believe that defilements or negative karmas can be washed away by water. The way Buddha guides us sentient beings to enlightenment, or liberates us from suffering and the causes of suffering, is not by washing the negative karma away with water. The Buddha doesn’t eliminate the suffering of sentient beings with his hands, like taking a thorn out of flesh; nor does Buddha transplant his realizations into the minds of sentient beings. Buddha liberates us sentient beings by revealing the truth, by revealing ultimate reality.

Teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom

Buddha revealed emptiness in various teachings on the Prajnaparamita, the Perfection of Wisdom, or the Wisdom Gone Beyond. There are the teachings in twelve volumes called One Hundred Thousand Stanzas; those in three volumes called Twenty Thousand Stanzas; and also Eight Thousand Stanzas. They become shorter and shorter, down to short ones such as the Diamond Cutter Sutra. There are various other short teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom, such as The Heart Sutra, or Essence of Wisdom. After that comes the Lesser Letter, which is the verse of Buddha’s name, la ma tön pa chom dän dä de zhin sheg pa dra chom pa yang dag par dzog päi sang gyä päl gyäl wa shakya thub pa la chhag tshäl lo⁶¹ recited at the start of the mantra TADYATHA OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNIYE SVAHA. This mantra and Buddha’s name are very precious and are part of the teaching for sentient beings on the Perfection of Wisdom, the Lesser Letter. This teaching of the Perfection of Wisdom is incredible. I’ve seen an introduction to this teaching that explains how precious it is, but maybe we’ll talk about it at another time.

There is also the teaching, The Perfection of Wisdom in One Syllable. I think I might have mentioned this teaching before. So, it’s AH. In other words, everything is contained in this one letter, AH. AH expresses emptiness, the ultimate nature of all phenomena. AH is a negation. What does it negate? Existence by nature, or true existence. AH negates the true existence that covers everything: I, action, object; hell and enlightenment; samsara and nirvana. Like a carpet covers a floor, true existence covers all phenomena, which are all merely imputed by the mind. This hallucination of true existence, or existence by nature, covers everything. Or it might be easier to understand if we say that the inherently existent appearance, or the appearance of existence by nature, covers everything. It is projected by our own ignorance, which apprehends things as truly existent. The negative imprint left on our mental continuum by that ignorance projects this hallucination of a truly existent appearance onto every single phenomenon, which exists in mere name, merely imputed by the mind. So, AH negates all these hallucinations. AH negates the hallucination of true existence that appears to us from above the I and everything else and that our ignorance believes to be true. This then becomes the basis for all our other delusions, or negative emotional thoughts, for all our other wrong concepts, as well as karma and all the oceans of suffering of the hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras and suras. The AH negates the true existence, or existence from its own side, that appears to us and in which we believe. Since it negates all this true existence, what we then see is emptiness, the very nature of phenomena. This is what this one syllable, AH, shows in the teaching, The Perfection of Wisdom in One Syllable.

If you understand the meaning of AH, when you then say “AH,” you negate, or destroy, the object of ignorance, true existence. Everything is then empty. That is what this teaching on the one syllable AH shows, and that’s what you meditate on.

In the Nyingma tradition, visualizing AH in space is regarded as a very important meditation. It’s a very common, very essential meditation. I remember that when I was taking hundreds of initiations from His Holiness Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche, the practices of some of the deities involved this visualization. I think you visualized AH in space and then concentrated on it, or something like that. The purpose of that meditation is to prepare the mind to realize emptiness. You leave a positive imprint and sooner or later you realize emptiness and develop the wisdom that ceases the defilements, gross and subtle, and achieve enlightenment; you then liberate other sentient beings by revealing the teachings. For that reason you are now going to take the oral transmission of The Diamond Cutter Sutra.

The Diamond Cutter Sutra

I have received the oral transmission of The Diamond Cutter Sutra from Geshe Senge, the Mongolian lama who for a few years was the abbot of both Sera Je and Sera Me in Tibet. The old monks who lived in the monastery had faith in Geshe Senge, so they asked for him. During the previous years, many of the monks had been forced to kill goats, sheep and other animals and do all sorts of other things. Maybe because Geshe-la was Mongolian, his treatment was a little lighter. Geshe-la was abbot of both colleges for about five years. Normally each monastery has a separate abbot. I think that after Mao Zedong passed away, a little freedom was given to have monasteries and to have some monks studying in them, and they then appointed Geshe-la as the abbot.

I received this oral transmission at Tushita in Dharamsala the first time Geshe Senge came to Dharamsala.

If you can, it’s very good to think that the lama who is giving you a teaching or an oral transmission is all the buddhas, all the deities. Shakyamuni Buddha is the buddha who gave this teaching, but it’s good to meditate that the lama is Manjushri, Tara, Medicine Buddha and all the other buddhas and that all the buddhas are giving the oral transmission of this teaching through this lama’s body. That kind of meditation helps you to receive great blessings.

When you receive an oral transmission, it’s important to put as much effort as possible into not missing the words. I’m not saying that you have to repeat the words, but it’s important to hear them.

[Rinpoche begins the oral transmission of The Diamond Cutter Sutra.]

Here Buddha says to Subhuti, “For any boy or girl of any type of race (I’m not sure but it might mean the Great Vehicle, or Mahayana, type), who memorizes one verse of only four lines from this Diamond Cutter Sutra and explains it to others, the merit is an unimaginable number of times greater than from filling up the great thousand of three thousand galaxies with the seven precious jewels and offering them to the Buddha.” (The great thousand of three thousand galaxies means one thousand times one thousand times one thousand times, or a billion, galaxies.) Even though there is inconceivable merit in making such an offering to Buddha, the merit from memorizing one verse of The Diamond Cutter Sutra and explaining it to others is countless times more.

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission.]

It then explains the reason that memorizing and teaching even one verse of this teaching creates so much merit. It says, “In essence, the full enlightenment of all the buddhas comes from this teaching. Shakyamuni Buddha himself was born from this teaching of the Perfection of Wisdom.” It is saying how precious this teaching is and why it has so much benefit.

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission.]

“Any place where you recite one four-line verse from this text, The Diamond Cutter Sutra, becomes like a stupa. That place becomes an object of offering for asuras, suras, human beings and so forth.” The place where just one verse of four lines from this text is recited becomes a holy place, and that place becomes an object of offering for asuras, suras and human beings. It then says, “If you write out this text, if you memorize this text, if you keep this text, if you read this text, if you understand this text, if you meditate on this text, there is no doubt about how much merit you collect nor about how holy and precious that place becomes.”

Therefore, it is very good to try to get as many teachings as possible on The Diamond Cutter Sutra, Eight Thousand Verses or any other of the Perfection of Wisdom teachings. Of course, if the text is in English or your own language, you can read it, but even if it’s in Tibetan or some other language you can’t read, just having it in your house blesses your house. Your house becomes a holy object that other beings worship. Somewhere else it also says that worldly devas come three times a day to worship at that place. Even if the text is in Tibetan or another language, it’s extremely fortunate to have it in your house. Even if you can’t read the text, you can make offerings to it of lights, water and so forth and do prostrations to it. The merit from making offerings to Buddha’s Perfection of Wisdom teachings, such as The Diamond Cutter Sutra, is just mind-blowing. It’s unbelievable.

Life in Solu Khumbu

In Solu Khumbu, not the poor families but the families who are a little wealthy have the twelve volumes of Buddha’s Prajnaparamita texts. In the past the family members couldn’t read them because there were no schools and they never learned to read and write. In the past only those who wanted to live their life in Dharma learned how to read the Tibetan alphabet, so that they would be able to read and memorize texts. When they were young (it didn’t happen so much when someone was older), those who wanted to live their life in Dharma would go to a monastery and learn to read from a teacher. There was no system of schooling in the past. There was a Nepalese school, but learning Tibetan was forbidden even though this was what the Sherpas needed to learn to be able to read Dharma texts. The texts were written in Tibetan, not Nepalese, letters, because the original Sherpas came from Kham in Tibet, from somewhere near Derge, I think. Two groups were fighting, and I think the Sherpas must have been weak people because they were the ones who left. They didn’t have much courage, I think. Anyway, I’m joking. So, they left Kham and came to live in Nepal. The direction they came from was the east, or shar, in Tibetan. They came with their animals, goats and sheep, and lived on them. After some time they finished the animals, then due to their karma they found some plants to eat on the mountains. So, that’s the story of the Sherpas.

The Sherpas’ main food is potato, but I think it must have been introduced from the West. I’m not sure, but maybe it was brought from Holland. The Sherpas then planted potatoes in their fields, and potato became their main crop. They have a few other vegetables, but don’t eat them much. Sherpas have a lot of karma with potatoes. I think they make about twelve different foods with potatoes, including potato pancakes and potato noodle soup. To make potato noodle soup, you mash the potatoes, put some butter in your hand and make a long noodle. Because there’s no oil, you melt some fat, and when it becomes like soup, you just swallow it without chewing. The soup is quite tasty. Potatoes are also used to make potato alcohol, which is very, very strong. People don’t eat the small potatoes but use them to make alcohol. When I counted one time, I think I counted twelve or thirteen different foods Sherpas make from potatoes.

I stayed at home until I was around the age of five. While I was staying at home, I remember my mother quite often used to make this strong potato alcohol. She would go to collect firewood from the forest, because there was no one else to do it. My father died when I was very young; I don’t remember seeing my father. My eldest sister was the only one who could do anything to help my mother; the rest of us were only children. My sister would take the animals out on the mountain, and the rest of us would just play. There was nothing we could do to help. We would just play and eat the food that our mother made in the morning and the evening. All day long we would just play in the house or in the fields. Between me and my brother Sangye, who now lives in Kathmandu, there was another girl, who had a small tail. I think she died after I left for Tibet.

To make the alcohol, there was a large pot filled up with small potatoes, then another pot on top of that, then another pot, then another pot.... It looked a little bit like a stupa. You had to burn the fire for many hours, so a lot of firewood went into it. The vapor would come into the last pot, a small one, at the top. The drops of alcohol would be collected in this small pot. This is how you made the alcohol. It’s very, very strong alcohol. After many hours of burning the fire, you got only a small quantity of alcohol—maybe two mugs of it.

My mother was the only one in the family who could do all the work of bringing water from the river and firewood from the forest. Those of you who have been to Solu Khumbu have seen how its mountains are. She would have to get a huge load of firewood from the forest a long way away then bring it home. One time my mother went to get firewood but didn’t come back. It became late and dark. We children were sitting lined up outside the downstairs door waiting for our mother to come. There was a moon. After quite some time she came back with a huge load of firewood from the forest. I think we were scared without our mother there; we were talking about how the moon would take us away or something like that.

After she came back, my mother then made a fire and made some food. Until that we did nothing.

We had fixed places at the fireplace. I would sit on one side, my mother would sit on another side, and then the others. I remember one evening when she had come back from getting the firewood. I think she was very sick. She was lying on her side and calling her mother, “Ama! Ama!” I went to her, but I just stood there looking at her as there was nothing I could do. And because she was so sick she couldn’t make the fire or make any food. I remember that on this one occasion there was no fire in the stove.

My mother sacrificed herself for her children, bearing many hardships and working very hard. She told me that she prayed for me three times every day: in the morning, the afternoon and the evening. When I asked her what she prayed, she said, “May the lama become like the sun hitting the snow mountains and be able to have control over the three realms (the desire, form and formless realms).” She also prayed for me to have a long life as stable as a mountain or something like that.

I told her, “Your prayer doesn’t make any sense. You should pray, ‘May he complete his Dharma practice.’ That’s what you should pray.”

At that time I thought her prayer didn’t make sense, but later when I was taking these hundreds of initiations, I saw part of her prayer in the practice of a deity called Marici, whose mantra is OM MARICI MAM SVAHA. This goddess, or buddha, brings success in traveling and overcomes obstacles, such as somebody attacking you. You can also do a special practice with this deity if you have problems with court cases. Also, if you visualize this deity in the sun when it rises, then do the practice, your opponent can’t argue with you. In this deity’s practice, there is something a little bit like my mother’s prayer. I was a little surprised.

I’m not sure, but I hope my life has brought a little bit of benefit to the world and that that repays her kindness for bearing all those hardships to take care of me when I was a child and for all her prayers. I stayed at home only until I was five, then left, but she always did pujas and prayers for me.

OK, that side-talk is now finished....

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission of The Diamond Cutter Sutra.]

Benefits of the Diamond Cutter Sutra

Buddha Shakyamuni told his disciple, Subhuti, of another unimaginable benefit of The Diamond Cutter Sutra. “Every day, in the morning, a man or a woman makes charity of their body to other sentient beings. How many bodies? Bodies equal in number to the sand grains of the Atlantic Ocean. At noon they also make charity of bodies equal in number to the sand grains of the Atlantic Ocean. In the evening they also make charity of bodies equal in number to the sand grains of the Atlantic Ocean. They do this every day, and for how many eons? One hundred billion times ten million eons. And how many times one hundred billion times ten million eons? Many hundreds of thousands of times. However, if you hear The Diamond Cutter Sutra and don’t give up (which means don’t lose faith in) The Diamond Cutter Sutra, you collect numberless times greater merit than with the previous example of making charity of your body for so many eons.” The previous example is of making unbelievable charity for many eons, but the merit from that is small compared to the merit of having heard and not given up faith in The Diamond Cutter Sutra.

It then says, “There is no doubt that the merit is far more when somebody writes The Diamond Cutter Sutra, reads, memorizes, tries to learn its meaning, teaches it to others or even keeps the text in their house.” Of course, with these there’s no comparison.

Today, by listening to the oral transmission of The Diamond Cutter Sutra and generating faith in it, you collect far greater merit, as just explained here, than from making charity of your body morning, noon and night every day for many hundreds of thousands of times one hundred billion times ten million eons. This is the power of simply listening to this teaching of the Perfection of Wisdom. By understanding the importance of this subject, we realize that it’s urgent that we study this teaching and actualize its wisdom, which means realize emptiness. It’s an emergency. Without even a second’s delay, we need to actualize and develop this wisdom and cease our defilements, our delusions and negative karma; otherwise, we will experience the suffering of samsara without end. As our suffering didn’t have a beginning, it will become endless. Therefore, this teaching is unbelievably precious. Today, by generating faith in this teaching, we collect unbelievable merit.

Today is one of Buddha’s special days, the descent from Tushita, so whatever merit we collect becomes multiplied one hundred million times. Or is it one hundred thousand times? I’ve forgotten the number! I’ve said it so many times that I’ve now forgotten the number. Yes, it’s one hundred million times. So, if you do one prostration, it becomes one hundred million prostrations; if you make one light offering, it becomes one hundred million light offerings. It is the same with any practice we do today. And while listening to Buddha’s teaching on the Perfection of Wisdom, The Diamond Cutter Sutra, collects that much merit even on other days, the merit increases even more today.

As I have also mentioned in the past, Buddha’s sutra, Meeting of Father and Son, mentions the merit you collect if you practice the five paramitas of charity, morality, patience, perseverance and concentration for ten eons. Practicing charity, giving away something that you like, something that you are attached to, is not easy. Living purely in morality especially is not easy. It’s very difficult to understand the benefits of and have an interest in taking vows of morality. When, after a long time, you finally take the vows, it’s difficult to live in them purely. Besides a year, it’s difficult to live in them purely for even a month, a week or a day.

Here it’s saying that you collect far greater merit from listening to Buddha’s teachings on the Perfection of Wisdom than from practicing the five paramitas for ten eons. Since this is what you are doing today, you are collecting unbelievable merit.

Explaining teachings on emptiness to others for ten eons collects far greater merit than listening to teachings on emptiness for ten eons. Now, meditating on emptiness for even the duration of a finger snap collects far greater merit than explaining teachings on emptiness to other sentient beings for ten eons. While you are doing sessions, there are many points where you have to think of emptiness. So, especially today, the amount of merit you collect each time is inexpressible. Therefore, rejoice in this.

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission.]

It says that the place where this text is recited becomes a worthwhile object for all the worldly beings—asuras, suras and human beings—to prostrate and make offerings to and to circumambulate. It becomes like a stupa.

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission.]

If you read this text, the heavy karmas you have done in past lives that would cause you to be reborn in the lower realms for many eons are purified by manifesting in this life as a sickness, a catastrophe or some other obstacle. That problem exhausts all those heavy negative karmas that would make you reincarnate in the lower realms and experience those heavy sufferings for many eons. With their manifestation as some problem in this life, you then don’t have to experience them.

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission.]

Therefore, I think that it’s an extremely good sign when people who are doing pure Dharma practice, strong practice, have a lot of sicknesses, one after another, like rain falling, or other obstacles. It means that person is purifying so much heavy negative karma collected during beginningless past lives by having them manifest in sicknesses or other problems in this life. That person has a very good future. There might be a lot of sickness and other difficulties now but they will have a very good future, like the sun shining; they will go from happiness to happiness to enlightenment. They won’t have to reincarnate in the lower realms and experience suffering there for many eons. At the time of death, they will go to a pure land or get a perfect human rebirth and then continue to develop their mind in the path by meeting a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru. It will be easier and easier for them to actualize the path; they will have more success and, sooner or later, they will achieve enlightenment and then be able to work perfectly for all sentient beings.

Here, having problems is positive, not negative. It’s very positive; it’s a sign of success, not failure. Because of those sicknesses and difficulties, you won’t have to suffer for many eons in the lower realms or even in the human realm. You won’t have to experience all those sufferings in your future lives. You should understand that problems don’t always mean something negative.

It is said that even when you practice bodhicitta, your compassion for other sentient beings brings powerful purification, so you experience as somebody criticizing you in this life your past heavy negative karmas, which would otherwise result in heavy suffering for many lifetimes or many eons. Your heavy negative karma is purified by being criticized by somebody. That’s part of the benefit, or power, of bodhicitta. Again, if somebody criticizes you, saying how bad you are, it’s not necessarily always bad. Generally, of course, since it gives you the opportunity to practice Dharma, to practice thought transformation, it’s positive. It’s positive because you can use the experience to practice, to achieve enlightenment and to be able to enlighten all sentient beings. Even for that reason, it’s all positive. Here we’re talking about being criticized as a sign of the power of bodhicitta. You purify heavy negative karma by experiencing some hurtful words, somebody criticizing you or putting you down.

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission.]

This is The Diamond Cutter Sutra mantra. Hopefully it was there when Geshe Senge Rinpoche was giving the oral transmission, but I’m not sure. If you recite this, it has the benefit of having recited The Diamond Cutter Sutra ninety thousand times. I’ll read it for the positive imprint.

[Rinpoche gives the oral transmission of OM YE DHARMA HETU PRABHAVA HETUN TESHAN TATHAGATO HYAVADAT TESHAN CHAYO NIRODHA EVAM VADI MAHA SHRAMANA YE SVAHA.]

This dependent arising heart manta, or tendrel nyingpo, has unbelievable benefits, but maybe I’ll mention them another time.

[Rinpoche continues the oral transmission.]

This text is copied from a text originally beautifully written on black paper in actual gold by a Bhutanese practitioner from Mon, near the border with Tibet. In the 500-foot Maitreya Buddha statue, there will be a Diamond Cutter Sutra written in silver, which has already been done by Tsenla. I am writing the Eight Thousand Stanzas in gold. I take it around with me and write a little bit when I can, so it’s taking a long time. My first idea was to write the whole Prajnaparamita in gold by myself, but now that doesn’t seem possible. I’m now thinking to ask a number of monks in Sera Je Monastery in south India to write it. About thirty of them who want to write it have sent me a sample of their handwriting. I thought to divide the text between monks with very good handwriting in Sera, Ganden and Drepung and make offerings to them every month or year. In this way, hopefully that text will be ready when the statue is built. It’s to be put at the heart of Maitreya Buddha. There will be a very big gompa, or shrine room, in the heart, and the texts will be put on shelves there.

The one that I’m slowly doing here is on very thin paper, which Chiu-Nan Lai’s husband said it took a long time to find. It has been proved that this paper can last for one thousand years, since a Muslim manuscript written on the same paper lasted for a thousand years. Because that paper is very thin, I thought to put rainbow-colored paper between each sheet, so that when the pages are piled up you see a rainbow. It will be put on a shelf, and people will be able to come and make offerings and prostrate to and rejoice in the Prajnaparamita teaching. Even though many people will put much effort into writing and sponsoring the text, anybody who comes along to the temple and simply rejoices in all the merit of the people who wrote or sponsored it will get the same amount of merit (or even more if the level of their mind is higher) as the people who did the work. That person didn’t write all those pages or sponsor the gold, but by simply rejoicing, they will collect the same or even more merit.

Tsering, the Kopan monk who is here in the Aptos house, is also writing the Prajnaparamita text in gold. He’s one of the first Kopan monks to have studied in the tantric college tradition, learning all the traditional ways to do pujas, such as Mahakala, extensive consecrations and sand mandalas. He has also studied how to construct the Thirteen-deity Yamantaka mandala, which has been constructed at Kopan. He’s one of the monks who has not only studied all the texts for the pujas but also memorized them. He knows all the puja texts by heart. I was away from Kopan for four months, wandering around the West, and when I came back, the monks who were involved in studying had memorized all the texts for the extensive consecration, the Mahakala prayers and many other things. They did all the chanting exactly according to the tantric college. Within three months, they had learnt the whole package: how to play cymbals, how to make sand mandalas, everything.

I don’t remember whether I have mentioned this in the past. It is mentioned in the Buddha’s teaching, Condensed Precious Qualities, that you fill up worlds with stupas of the One Gone to Bliss made of the seven precious jewels and containing Buddha’s relics. How many worlds do you fill up? A thousand times ten million times the number of sand grains of the Atlantic Ocean. Even to completely fill up this one world with stupas would be unbelievable. If you build just one stupa, it directs your life toward enlightenment and purifies unbelievable negative karma. Here we are talking about filling a thousand times ten million times the number of sand grains of the Atlantic Ocean worlds with stupas, and stupas made of the seven precious jewels. All the sentient beings in all those worlds do nothing except make offerings of incense, flowers and paint to the stupas three times a day.

Here the Guide Enriched by Ten Powers says that if you write out the text of Buddha’s teaching, Prajnaparamita, and keep it and offer it respect, the merit you collect is unbelievable, far greater than that from the previous example of building stupas made of jewels to cover that many worlds and all sentient beings making offerings to the stupas three times a day for an incredible length of time. The merit of writing out The Heart Sutra or The Diamond Cutter Sutra, keeping it and offering it respect is also far greater than that previous merit, which becomes very small by comparison. It is explained that there is unbelievable merit in doing this.

Of course, if you study the subject of the Prajnaparamita, you collect powerful merit and perform powerful purification. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche explained that the best, or highest, preliminary practice is studying the Prajnaparamita teachings; the intermediate preliminary practice is reciting the Eight Thousand Stanzas one hundred times; and the lowest preliminary practice is doing the nine preliminaries (prostrations, mandala offerings and so forth)⁶² that we normally do.

Therefore, if you wish to collect merit, it’s very good to write or print the Prajnaparamita teachings. It’s extremely powerful. With more merit, it is easy to have realization and also easy to do extensive works to benefit other sentient beings, as well as to offer service to the teaching of Buddha.

I got the idea to start writing the Prajnaparamita teachings early, because we’ll need a lot of merit to be able to complete the Maitreya Buddha statue.

Dedications

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, may we here and all sentient beings realize emptiness as quickly as possible. And may those who have already realized emptiness increase their realization.

“Tong ye ta wa rin po chhe....

“Jang chhub sem chog rin po chhe....”

Dedicate the merits to quickly actualize the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness in this very lifetime and with the support of bodhicitta, cease all the defilements and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

“May I be able to cause the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness to be generated in the minds of all sentient beings as quickly as possible, ceasing all their defilements, and bring them to enlightenment.”

Dedicate in this way the merit collected by listening to and giving the oral transmission of The Diamond Cutter Sutra, Buddha’s most precious teaching.

We should have had a peepee break a long time ago. So, we’ll have a break and then do a short tsog offering.

Tasting tsog on precept days

You can’t take the actual tsog, but when the bala and madana come around, touch them with your fingers and think that you have taken the blessing. Don’t take a whole lot of the liquid; just touch it for the blessing, rather than take an actual drop. That’s according to the advice of His Holiness Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche. One time when we had taken the Eight Mahayana Precepts, Rinpoche said that we should put our finger on the bala, the meat, and think that we have taken the blessing. Also, with the madana, you don’t actually take any out. When Lama Ösel was very small, at Kopan, he used to like the madana very much. He wanted it again and again. He went again and again and watched while it was going around. Anyway, I just remembered that....

So, generate into a deity for which you have received a great initiation of Highest Yoga Tantra, then bless the tsog into nectar and offer it. Before that, you bless the inner offering in order to be able to bless the tsog offering.

Final dedications

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me and the merits of the three times collected by others, which are empty, may the I, who is empty, achieve His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s, Medicine Buddha’s, enlightenment, which is also empty, and lead all the sentient beings, who are also empty, to that enlightenment, which is also empty, by myself alone, who is also empty.” [meditate]

Go to bed in emptiness.

Lama Tsongkhapa?

[The group recites the two Lama Tsongkhapa dedication verses in Tibetan, then the multiplying mantras.]

Thank you very much, and gut nacht.

Since today is a special day, I want to offer half of the money offerings you have given, except for those dedicated for particular projects, to building one billion stupas. It has multiplied tonight! I think Bob is going to be encouraged.⁶³ The other half will go to the temple. There is more than $300, apart from the money dedicated for particular projects, so half will be for the stupas and half for the temple. I hope next year we can see all the stupas. 
 

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Notes

⁵⁹ Andrea passed away in 2002. [Return to text]

⁶⁰ The great ones do not wash away sin with water; 
They do not rid beings of suffering with their hands; 
They do not transfer realizations of suchness onto others. 
They liberate by teaching the truth of suchness.
[Return to text]

⁶¹ To the guru, founder, bhagavan, tathagata, arhat, perfectly completed buddha, glorious conqueror Shakyamuni Buddha, I prostrate.
[Return to text]

⁶² The nine preliminaries are: prostrations, mandala offerings, guru yoga, refuge, Vajrasattva meditation-recitation, Dorje Khadro fire pujas, Samayavajra practice, water bowl offerings and tsa tsas. [Return to text]

⁶³ At that time Bob Cayton was responsible for the stupa project at LMB. [Return to text]