(Tibetan chanting)
Anybody questions that there is no reincarnation? That it doesn't exist, or maybe you believe that you don't exist. Anyway is there anybody? Yes go on, only one? Two, two handed people, I'm joking, go.
Person in Audience: I don't believe in rebirth, I believe in reincarnation.
R : You don't believe in rebirth but you believe in reincarnation? What?
P in A : Yes
R : Oh, I see.
P in A : I believe in the law of karma, but I don't believe in rebirth.
R: That sounds very sweet, very cute. But anyway most congratulations that you believe in law of karma, most congratulation, that is most important. So you differentiate rebirth and reincarnation. Reincarnation you believe right?
P in A: I differentiate between rebirth and karma. Rebirth in conventional sense, dying, being buried and being reborn.
R : Dying and reborn. Rebirth means dying and reborn, is that right? I didn't hear with the extra noise.
P in A : He doesn’t believe you die, you are buried and can be reborn again.
R : Oh I see, yes, I agree with you, yes that is true. You die, buried in the ground and again reincarnated. That is correct, yes that is right. I think a lot of people, I don't have question with that. Anybody have question with that?
P in A : So what is reincarnated?
R : Your nose. The rest stays in the ground in the coffin, just nose. I’m joking.
R: What is the definition of death? That is the point.
P in A: There is no such thing.
R : There is no death?
P in A: There is no definition of death.
R : There is no definition of death? Because?
P in A: What is life?
R : Death has no definition, oh I see.
P in A : You had better carry on because you know exactly what I am going to say.
R : Oh no. Okay. Doesn't mean exactly I know what you think but I will try.
To discuss definition of death is very important. When that is not clear then there will be unclear information about rebirth. If the death is clear then birth will be clear, same if birth clear, death clear, if birth not clear death is not clear. I think that is a very important question. Definition of death in the west, not in the east, but in the west very big question. So many times it happened I heard that people were put in coffin think, believe dead but so many times it happened when taken to graveyard making noise, person trying to get out that happened many times because unable, the Doctors unable to see clearly, unable to judge whether the person dead or not, unable to judge, so many times make mistakes.
I think also I have heard in Calcutta, West Bengal I heard people brought person, brought coffin there, then make noise where people, where many people gathered at the funeral; it was not burned but was in a coffin, but the person not dead, recovered whatever the sicknesses or harm, whatever he was going through that become for the time being, I guess probably heart not functioning, stopped for sometime.
Stopped the functioning of the heart doesn't mean person is dead. One of our students, Dr Adrian Feldman from Australia, nowadays he is one of the elder monk he is teaching now in Mongolia working for the Mongolia Centre that was established last year. He is teaching there now in Mongolia in a monastery, young Mongolians. Normally it is believed when heart stops functioning, I guess, maybe, I am sure there must be certain amount of time, maybe not immediately, there is heart attack and then gets treatment so there might be certain amount of time - so he said that usually death is defined by that. But then he saw person whose heart was unfunctionable but then later, I don't know after how many hours, after some time, person again woke up, so he used that reason. Normally it was definition but that reason didn't cover because he saw, actually saw that person. Must have been quite some time, quite long time ago, he said he actually saw.
I am not sure about coma, person in a coma whether the heart is functioning or not, huh? Is functioning?
Meditators… Lama Yeshe, who has achieved a very high level of realisation, highest tantra, based on the graduate completion stages, gross and subtle, completion stages, gradual completion stage, the isolation of body, isolation of speech and mind, clear light, illusory body, those two. Who has achieved the isolation of the mind, the clear light as well as the illusory body, these very high levels of tantra, who actually received, by having this realisation, actually received the label yogi, the real meaning of the label yogi, by having this realisation.
Of course there is the realisation of the three principle paths before that, it is not just tantra. On the basis of guru devotion realisation there is a total renunciation, detachment to samsara, by seeing this whole entire samsara as only nature of suffering like being in the centre of the fire, finding not slightest attraction not even for one second, human beings, samsara, devas, those worldly gods, whose wealth is billion times much more than the most developed human country, than the wealthiest people in the world. Even just the one ornament, many billions of dollars cannot compare, much more valuable than billion dollars. However, so not finding attraction even for one second, seeing total nature of suffering - this is besides the lower realm.
The formless realm where there is no suffering of pain, suffering of changes, only pervasive compounded suffering - even the form, formless realms, totally like being in the centre of a fire, even form, formless like being in the centre of the fire, only nature of suffering, you have total renounced detachment. So then on the basis of that you have unbelievable, unbearable great compassion towards other sentient beings. Because now, here you have discovered your samsara, so much in total nature of suffering, so unbearable, then when you look at others, numberless other sentient beings, they are the same, samsara, you feel so unbearable, like for example, particularly like the people who have AIDS.
Somehow I don't know why, but people who have, it seems more among people who have AIDS… I didn't see that much among people who have cancer, but a person who has AIDS has a lot of concern to other people who have AIDS. People who have AIDS they have a lot of concern to other people, others who have AIDS; this is what I have seen. I have met so many people, because the person he or he has AIDS, then there is a lot of attention, compassion to other people who have AIDS and want to help, want to go into that society, want to offer service, want to help, there is a lot of concern to other people who have AIDS. Somehow I don't know why. I didn't see much among people who have cancer, they may have but I didn't see that much, so that I am not sure. Whether the group who have AIDS because they are abandoned by society, because of that - some people say that, I am not sure. So however like that, because you know how you feel when you have AIDS, it is so clear, so easy to feel how others they feel, so easy to know that, so then you get much compassion to others, other people who have AIDS.
Anyway just like that here, you feel incredible compassion, unbearable compassion, when you look at others how they are also in samsara, can't stand, so on basis of that one achieves realisation of bodhichitta, to free them from all the sufferings and bring them to enlightenment and therefore oneself to achieve enlightenment.
So anyway, so guru devotion, three principle paths realisation, the right view, realisation of emptiness, then realisation of the highest tantra gross and subtle generation stage. Then there is completion stage, isolation of body, isolation of speech, isolation of mind, the illusory body.
Lama used to say when you concentrate… when Lama took aspect… generally, externally what was appearing, that is having heart that became very weak. It was found out in the hospital in Nepal the Doctors checked and had been about five years before, or quite a number of years ago. However then during, came from Dharamsala, I think Lama's side didn't want to come but I kind of requested, so came to give teaching the course.
So normally I talked so much on sufferings, this time I didn't get to talk, I talked but not the way in early courses all these sufferings, didn't talk that way this time; also maybe the previous times, not so much as in early times. Early time the Kopan Monastery was very primitive so when you go this place there was an old house, very nice house, very old house built British style house, British architect, however design is British style, very nice. It was the Nepalese King, not this present one previous one has built this house for his guru astrologer and also top of the hill there was supposed to be a house, I think maybe the king came for enjoyment, sort of like a tea house but big earthquake happened and the house collapsed. So that is why you find many bricks on that ground, hill, some karma happened and huge earthquake in Nepal, might be at that time Solu Khumbu near Mount Everest, Tengboche Monastery, there was a monastery, whole collapsed; might be the same time.
However so the first course and second course was done in this old house, then third course and fourth course was done… at that time already the Monastery had happened, the small Monastery. Anyway, in the hall, the third and fourth courses were done there, then fifth and sixth, and seventh I think, were done… behind the Monastery, between the hill and the monastery there is a ground so a tent was put there, tent or iron sheet, maybe the wall was bamboo or grass, there is a lot of hay, grass around people, nighttimes people sleep on that, you put grass as a base, people sleep on that. So Roger, attendant, I think that time he slept on the grass those times. So in the course place, where we did meditation, people use grass, put sleeping bag on that grass. Then there are many fleas, lice, not lice, but fleas came.
Anyway so we did course fifth, sixth and seventh there, so its very primitive those times. People who did course then go under big tree to eat food, at the same time smell of toilets, ka ka, smell of toilets come from down below there, it was, anyway very primitive you see, so people eat under the trees.
So in the teaching about detachment, in the discourse, in the talk, then people go there under tree they eat food with all the smells from toilet coming, it was like that. Not for just one year it was like that for I don't know quite some time probably I think. (R confer with Ven. Karin.) Anyway, when did you start to come Nepal? Behind the monastery or on the way to… already here? Behind the monastery oh I see at that time. Was that time toilet smell when people eating and drinking? Lot of smell from down there. So it was like that and before that even some of the rooms didn't have proper door, even the guest rooms didn't have proper door like that. So anyway, then… I don't know why I am talking this. I lost the evolution of my talk.
Anyway, then after that moved here, put the sheet here, then this side of the hill covered with this sheet, very cheap cloth round, on the hill, sheet then bamboo all around ah?
Person in audience: We were talking about Lama Yeshe.
R: Oh, ah yes that is right thank you very much, I owe you a lot. So yeah that's right, but why I am explaining Kopan?
Person in Audience: Because you used to teach a lot more about suffering.
R: Thank you that's right, your right, thank you very much again. So I think many years we did this where there is no rooms so that was up to the eighth course we did many times up to which course (confer) up to the eighth course, seven was there behind the temple, then here did I think quite a number huh? What? Yes that's right seven, seven was done behind the temple, yeah.
I think until this was built, this was actualized, we did course so many years there, between this, where we passed through, there. Now it become ten star like the hotels five star, now ten star, now, comparing those many years now it become ten star, maybe even fifteen star course, the whole condition, just become unimaginable at the moment compared to all those past, so many years ago, many hardships, people have to do courses with many hardships, now unbelievable luxury, clean and all that, huge differences, unrecognisable, now become unrecognisable Kopan like that.
Anyway, so the reason why I was talking so much on the suffering, if the people don't realise the suffering they won't be, they wouldn't know how important it is to practise dharma, to meditate, people wouldn't take it seriously, it would be just kind of like a hobby or some trip or something but not a serious thing, serious practise, seriously looking for liberation. So anyway my interest was suffering, not that I want to suffer. So anyway each time, Lama, when people's mind goes down, like sunset, down, become dark, when peoples mind become dark, each time Lama comes and lift up, makes sunshine in their mind. Then again I talk about suffering it goes down. Then again Lama come, sunshine, so this is how we did course. In the past I talk only the bad parts.
When the course was done behind the temple that time, even that time, I gave the talk and guided the meditation, even the whole day, guide the meditation, do the discourse and also guide the meditation, used to do that. Did that on many of those previous courses then I think become very lazy, after that become very lazy. Lot of hardships very primitive but I think it was very fortunate time, I think people had to bear a lot of hardships of course it had deep effect, very meaningful.
