Kadampa Teachings (Audio and Unedited Transcripts)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India; 26 December 2003 - 02 January 2004 (Archive #1470)

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave these teachings at Root Institute, Bodhgaya, in December 2003. There were seven days of teachings; days 1 through 4 are included here. You can listen to the remaining days here.

During these four days Rinpoche covered various lamrim topics and gave an oral transmission of Atisha's Jewel Garland and began to give commentary on it. 

Day Three: Eight Freedoms

So, we visualize Avalokiteshvara, Compassionate Eyed Looking One, that is all the gurus, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, embodiment of everything. Then, as a means to actualize the path, steps of the path to enlightenment, so with the seven limb practice, mandala offering, we purify the obstacles, the defilements, negative karma, and collect the necessary condition, the merits, and make the merits inexhaustible, the merits to be increased, inexhaustible, by practicing, meditation practice of rejoyfulness and dedicating the merits to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings.

[Seven limb prayer, with long pause for rejoicing; short mandala]

By having offered this mandala to Compassionate Eyed Looking One, please grant blessings that myself and all sentient beings’ minds to become Dharma and Dharma to become the path and to not occur any obstacles to the path.

This request contains the whole lam-rim, the first one means to actualize the graduated path of the lower capable being in general, “mind become Dharma.” “Dharma become the path” that contains requesting to actualize the graduated path of the middle capable being in general. And “to not occur any obstacles to the path” then that contains the graduated path of the higher capable being, from the great compassion, the root of bodhicitta, the root of enlightenment, to be able to actualize, complete the six paramitas, the bodhisattva’s deeds, as well as the five paths, ten bhumis. Not only that, then within that, graduate path of the higher capable being also includes tantra, secret mantra, Vajrayana.

So here requesting to actualize all those paths and particular request to actualize the two bodhicittas, conventional bodhicitta and absolute bodhicitta within the heart of oneself and in the heart of all the sentient beings. [pause]

Requesting to be able to generate these two bodhicittas quickly. Immediately.

From now on, whatever action I do with body, speech and mind, whatever life I experience, comfort, discomfort and healthy, unhealthy, in other words, whether I’m sick or not sick, whether my life become poor or rich, receiving criticism or praise, bad reputation or good reputation, living or dying, even I get reborn in the hell realm, experience the most unbearable suffering, so whatever action I do, whatever life I experience from now on, most important thing, the objective of my life is not just to be healthy or not just to have long life, it’s not just to be wealthy, not just to have comfort, that’s not the main objective of life, not the main purpose of life, just that is not the main purpose of life. The main purpose of life is whatever happens to be most beneficial for sentient beings equaling the limitless sky. That’s the main objective of life, that’s the main goal of the life, the main purpose of living.

Even one has cancer, to be beneficial for other sentient beings. Even one doesn’t have cancer, to be beneficial for all sentient beings. Even we’re dying to be beneficial, to be most beneficial, that death experience to make it most beneficial to the sentient beings equaling the limitless sky. Even one is alive, to make it most beneficial to all the sentient beings. Even one encounter problems, even one experiences problems, facing difficulties in the life, to make it most beneficial, useful to obtain happiness, to cause happiness to numberless, to the sentient beings who are equaling the limitless sky. Even one doesn’t have problems, make it most beneficial, that life most beneficial to all the sentient beings. Even one has AIDS, to make it most beneficial, that experience, to cause happiness, to obtain happiness to the sentient beings who are equaling the limitless sky. That even one has relationship problems, even one is experiencing that, but main objective of life is to make that experience most beneficial to sentient beings equaling the limitless sky. Each and every single sentient being to cause happiness, one’s own relationship problem, experience, make it, utilize that to achieve happiness for the numberless sentient beings, each and every single sentient being.

So, then, so request to grant blessings to be able to practice like this. So this way, whatever happens, nothing becomes obstacle to practice Dharma, so there’s no obstacle, whatever happens to your life, there’s no obstacle in your life to practice Dharma.

IDAM GURU RATNA....

The request.

sang gye chö dang.... (3x)]

So without going through the outlines, so just to continue from yesterday’s talk. [pause] How to lead the disciple of the actual teaching, the lam-rim, in the path to enlightenment. There’s this session time and break time. The session time has preparation, actual body, completion. The actual body, the devoting, how to devote correctly to the virtuous friend.

Then, by devoting to the virtuous friend, how to train the mind in the path to enlightenment. So that has, the second one has two, that, persuading to take the essence on this body endowed with the freedoms and richness. Then, how to take the essence on this body, persuading to take the essence on this body endowed with the freedoms and richness. Then, recognizing the freedoms and richness and that this is highly meaningful and this is difficult to find again. [pause]

Having freedom to practice Dharma not being in hell, not being born in hell realm now. Then, freedom to practice Dharma not being in the preta realm and freedom to practice Dharma that not being in animal realm. Then, freedom to practice Dharma not being barbarian, no understanding of Dharma at all, no faith at all, no understanding, no faith, nothing. So if one’s now barbarian, like that, then no freedom to practice Dharma. [pause] So one, you visualize, one think of oneself, let’s ?say, if one is barbarian now, how it is? How it is? How that life is? Not just going through, over the words, I’m not barbarian, this, this, this, but just really feel it, if one’s barbarian now how it is, life. No understanding at all one slightest Dharma, no faith at all, so how it is? Then, the attitude, ignorance, anger, attachment, attitude of life, you live the life only with, so basically with the attachment, clinging to this life. There’s no slightest light, wisdom light, in your mind, nothing, totally dark, completely dark, total hallucination, completely dark.

Not even wisdom light, knowing what is the cause of happiness, that which is virtue, and definition of virtue, action which result happiness, motivated by non-ignorance, non-anger, non-attachment. Even just that, no idea at all. No matter how much one desire twenty-four hours for happiness, but you are totally ignorant, no idea of the cause of happiness, no knowledge at all. Totally ignorant, completely ignorant. And no matter how much you don’t want to suffer, but totally ignorant in the cause of the suffering, that which is nonvirtue. No idea at all what is nonvirtue, the cause of the suffering. ?Meaning of nonvirtue and what is nonvirtue, no idea at all. So, totally dark. No freedom, because no wisdom, no wisdom understanding Dharma, even just this, even just this very beginning understanding Dharma, what is Dharma, what is not Dharma, what is the cause of happiness, what is the cause for suffering, it is same, it is same, what is Dharma, what is not Dharma, even this very beginning, very fundamental, very beginning, no idea. Even one tiny wisdom like this, even one tiny wisdom light like this, doesn’t have, so completely ignorant.

So therefore, you desire for happiness but in your action, your belief, creating the cause of happiness is totally something else, totally different, opposite, totally opposite of virtue, the real cause of happiness, what you are engaging in twenty-four hours. Totally something else, it’s only cause of suffering, but you believe it’s a cause of happiness you are creating, I am creating, and even proud of it. When you have success, when you succeed in negative karma you are proud of that, succeed, thinking cause of happiness, but actually what succeed is negative karma, succeed creating negative karma, so much negative karma, in reality. That person believe, I have created so many cause of happiness, like that, which result happiness, but which result only suffering, total hallucination. So, doesn’t give any freedom at all to practice Dharma, it doesn’t open the heart.

Even there’s enlightened being, real Compassion Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, embodiment of all the buddhas’ compassion, even it is there in the same area, giving teaching all the time, but you never, even the heart is never opened. Even there’s actual buddha teaching all the time but you never open your heart. Due to ignorance, never come to learn, never come to listen. Even it’s there in the same area, same country, same area, so many great holy beings giving teachings, but due to this, such incredible darkness, ignorance, don’t open the heart, don’t come to listen to teachings, don’t learn. So have received a human body, you have a human body, but due to this ignorance, this total ignorance, human body which gives incredible opportunity, as I mentioned yesterday, that the turtle, dog, cat, even you explain them the cause of happiness is virtue and the meaning of virtue, action which results happiness and motivated by non-ignorance, non-anger, non-attachment, how many eons, billions of eons you explain them, they cannot understand. But with this human body, but by having this human body then can understand the meaning, words and meaning, can understand within a few seconds, somebody correctly explain, can understand within a few minutes. So, the person has a human body, the precious human body, but do not use to develop compassion, do not use to develop Dharma wisdom, do not use to achieve the path to happiness, happiness of future lives, liberation from samsara, full enlightenment. Which has incredible opportunity but do not use, due to such darkness of ignorance.

So therefore, due to ignorance, so the attitude in the daily life is only nonvirtue, opposite to Dharma, the attachment clinging to this life’s happiness and because of that, all the actions that is done in one day it’s all become negative karma, which results only suffering. So whole life, that’s one day, so like that, weeks, months and years, the whole life become like that. No different, so life, whether it’s a wealthy person, even it is wealthy person who has everything that you can get in this world, material enjoyment, but however, the real life no difference from the animals, no difference from snake, from the lice, from snake, from tiger, pigs, there’s nothing special, there’s no special attitude, as far as the mind, nothing special, only the attachment clinging to this life, seeking happiness of this life, which all those animals have the same thing. They are also extremely wise or skillful in regards obtaining happiness of this life. They can cheat others, they can deceive, cheat others, they can do diplomatics, the animals can go diplomatics, they can do politics, they do very much politics. The tigers they hide in the grass so silent, no noise, as if there’s nothing there, just only grass. Just only grass growing. Surrounded by the grass, so peaceful. It doesn’t exist. The tiger acts like doesn’t exist there, there’s no tiger there, only grass. Then when the other animals they’re a little bit more spread out, then you know who’s weaker, who is weaker or spread out, so when it’s the right time, so until that, they show, they do politics as if they don’t exist there, only grass growing. So anyway, so it’s the right time, then they run, just grab, then finished, that other animal. Then, even it’s very large, like zebras, cows, the zebras, even they are very big, the zebras doesn’t have anything to harm back, there’s nothing there, the hands have no claws, nothing. Anyway, so like this, animals they have a lot of politics to get what they want, so a lot of skills, a lot of politics to get their happiness this life, so to be able to attack the enemy, all this.

However, [pause] it must be in Africa, I think. This insect, I think, there’s an ant inside the hole, then this insect, I don’t remember what kind of insect, so he tries to throw, the insect tries to throw sand grains, like this on the ants who goes inside the hole. So put the dust, the sand grains then the sand goes down in the hole and the ants, so this is the way how this insect can eat the ants. There’s something I’ve seen like that on the TV, not actual, but on the TV.

There’s, I saw on the TV, there was a tree broken, next to the river, I think, so branches of the tree, the tree there, branches of tree like that. So there’s one insect, so branches of tree like this and there’s a river or lake, I’m not sure, so tree there. So there’s one insect crawling on that branch of tree. So this fish living in the water, somehow he saw this insect, it’s quite high from the water, it’s I think from here up to here, I think, something like that. I mean quite high, but the fish could see the insect over the branch of the tree. So the fish shoot the water from the, fish under the water, shoot the water to this insect which is on the branch of the tree, shoot from way down there, then when you shoot quite a bit of water, the insect can’t stay on this branch, it falls down. Then when it falls down then the fish just exact able to catch it and able to get inside the mouth. It’s incredible. It’s just unimaginable. To get their food the skill, how much skill they have, so this is what they want to eat so you shoot the water from the mouth, from the fish’s mouth shoot the water, from here, a few times, then it can’t stay so falls down, then it’s able to get the insect in the mouth. It doesn’t miss.

Then I think on the same tree, on the same branch of the tree, there was I think similar insect, this very pitiful insect has enemy down there, fish, eats that, but also there’s another insect, I think there was, a lizard, I think might be lizard, so the insect was there, then the lizard was somewhere else, lizard is quite close, but lizard maybe difficult to catch this, so what did the lizard do? I think this insect sent some kind of glue, sent some glue, spread glue on this insect, from somewhere there, spread out this glue. And then this animal could not do anything, covered by this glue, then he eats. Can’t imagine. So therefore, all these skills to get their food, all the politics, these skills.

So however, [pause] and the spiders they put the webs, they put their web-sites, the spiders they put web-site that, but they put exact place, they put that not place where there’s no meaning, not like that. But the place where they can, the place where the flies come, where’s there’s lights, where normally flies, where there’s the lights and some corners or some holes where usually, with the lights, that, yeah, where normally flies would come. So the small spider exactly puts his web-site that right place, in the right place. It didn’t put wrong place, the right place. Where those tiny flies flying around or the what do you call? This moth. Moth? Moths. It’s amazing, it’s really.... So in America, Aptos house, where I live, so there’s, we put this light offering, like the pipe, round the house to make light offering and on the deck where the walls are, the wall, deck, so the light offering ?two of the walls. So the flies they come round there because _______ light, so the deck, the wood was like that, so they spiders they put, often they put their web-site there, different, between all those spaces. So, the side of the house, the roof like this, this side there’s many Christmas lights, small lights put around, decorated, to make offering, but this here, this corner, light is a little bit out, but there’s inside a space, goes inside, so like that, so many spiders they put their web-site all that. So anyway, so that light offering was stopped because they’re making so much of this to catch the flies, the butterfly, or what’s it called? Moths.

So if it’s on the wall, like that, then it’s better, because they can’t put much, they can’t put their web-site there. When it’s the lights on the wall, straight, there’s no holes between them or anything, then they can’t do much that way, there’s not really space to put there, spread out their web-site. So they catch by putting their web-site, then they catch many flies, so then they create also much negative karma. So, cleaned a few times, I cleaned a few times, sometimes not sure, but, so that they don’t create negative karma killing all these insects. But also maybe disturbing them because it’s their food, to get. So sometimes not sure, maybe helping them to not create negative karma but maybe creating negative karma by taking off their, then this is their method to get the food. So this tiny, this small spider, but knows exactly, puts his or her, I don’t know, web-site, the exact place, right place where there’s flies fly round. However, they’re expert to earn means of living, to achieve the happiness of this life, those tiny insects are expert, like that.

So however, going back, so you see, without understanding Dharma, no understanding, no faith, nothing, so how, so attitude is already nonvirtue, so twenty-four hours, action is only nonvirtue, the whole life like this, only creating the cause of the lower realms, whole life, the precious human body the person has totally used only to create the cause of lower realms, twenty-four hours and the whole life. So, no idea at all Dharma or the cause of happiness and cause of suffering, no slightest wisdom, Dharma wisdom.

So now here, you put yourself in this person’s situation, life, like this. Can you bear it? Can you bear it? How do you feel that? No opportunity to collect merit, good karma, cause of happiness. So hardly anything, even in one year, even a whole life, almost impossible. So, when I was in, not now but before, some years ago, quite some time ago, in the airplane, I see all these people putting luggage, putting bags in the airplane, all these people, so now, there’s no idea of reincarnation, no idea of karma, where you’re going, where you’re going, no idea at all. Life after this, no idea at all. And no idea at all this life what’s happening. No understanding of, that person his or her own life, no idea. Motivation is only attachment, clinging to this life, only nonvirtue, and that’s it. So, next, life after this, the day when this life ends [snaps fingers], the day when death comes, the day when appearance of this life stopped, the day, hour, minute, second, when this appearance of this, vivid appearance of this, having house, families and this and that, having all this appearance of this life, the day, hour, minute, when it stops [snaps fingers], appearance of next life appears, so that depends on karma, what kind of appearance of next life appears, happens, comes, that’s totally up to karma. So the karma mostly, no Dharma understanding at all, completely no Dharma understanding at all, no understanding of karma, nothing, no faith, so all the negative karma, so this life, due to past good karma, there’s some, receive human body and some enjoyment, some material enjoyment, just for a short time, and this can be stopped any time, this can be stopped.

So when you think that, it feels uncomfortable even within your mind, when one think of that, it feel in your mind, makes you feel uncomfortable, scary or uncomfortable, even though their life is not your life, but separate person, separate mind, but when you think their attitude, which is not Dharma, of course it doesn’t mean that my attitude is pure, it doesn’t mean, I’m not saying that, so when I look at the people in the airplane like that, so it’s kind of scary, uncomfortable that when you think their next life, what, where they are going to, where they have to go it, it’s scary, kind of uncomfortable.

So, you can see now, when you meditate on this, I’m not barbarian, blah, blah, blah, not like that, but you just really meditate, how you feel it if one is barbarian now. So then you can really understand, really scary those, then you put yourself in their situation, no idea at all of Dharma, no education, no slightest education and faith, so then how that person’s life, how it is? It’s very difficult life, extremely difficult life, total hallucination, always believe I’m working for happiness but actually working for only suffering. The whole life believe I’m working for happiness, but actually working only for suffering. Problems for this life, cause of problems this life, cause of problems in the future life, the lower realm sufferings, so only working to create negative karma, cause of the lower realm sufferings, most unbearable sufferings.

So when we meditate like this, if one is barbarian now, how that life is? So unbearable, so unbearable, doesn’t want to be like that even one day, doesn’t want to be like that even for one hour, doesn’t want to be like that even for a minute, such a life. So also this helps to generate compassion to them, seeing how that life is so hallucinated, so much suffering.

So however, so now how incredible that I’m not being barbarian, having the freedom to practice Dharma. Wow! This is unbelievable! Like, now you think back, what you are. It’s incredible, it’s a miracle, it’s unbelievable how fortunate I am, able to practice Dharma. Of course, then here, it’s not just only intellectual understanding but in every day you practice as much as you can, you practice something, you are doing something, you are putting something into the practice and you collect virtue. You practice Dharma that much in the daily life, not just the ten nonvirtues and ten virtues you practice to achieve happiness of future lives, not just that, but understanding Dharma to achieve cessation of the suffering and the cause, delusion and karma. Having some understanding, even just by learning lam-rim, just only that, without studying philosophy, you have some understanding, some idea of, knowledge to achieve cessation of suffering and the cause. And not only that, by just learning even a short lam-rim, we have some idea of, some understanding how to achieve enlightenment, Dharma knowledge how to achieve peerless happiness, full enlightenment. So, it’s incredible. Not only that, then there’s tantra, understanding tantric path, some tantric path, some understanding of tantric path, how to achieve enlightenment quickly. So it’s really, how fortunate, how incredible fortunate, it’s incredible, like a dream, that with this, even that much wisdom, practice Dharma, gives freedom you to practice Dharma, to achieve enlightenment, highest, to achieve enlightenment, even that, to achieve enlightenment within one life, within a few number of years. So you are doing some practice, that much understanding, you are doing some practice, even by doing sadhanas, however, leaving imprint of the Highest Tantra path, sooner or later, to achieve enlightenment quickly.

Can’t stand that kind of life even one hour, even a minute, can’t stand, can’t bear it, to be like that, barbarian. So same, the meditation, that one freedom, then as I mentioned the other day, how that is so precious, then even within a second you can achieve the three great meanings and that is difficult to find again and that it can be stopped any time. So, after great meaning, how this is, that one can achieve the three great meanings with that, then if you waste, if you don’t practice Dharma, even one second, if you missed out, not practicing Dharma, if you waste this then it’s a greater loss than the whole sky filled with the gold, diamonds, even wish-granting jewel, much greater loss than that. And that this can be stopped any time. This can be lost, this freedom can be lost any time. So must practice Dharma right away and all the time practice Dharma.

Then, if one is born as a long-life god in those form realms, where there’s recognition only the beginning of the birth and at the end, the death, but then between that only just like deep sleep. So no matter how many eons, billions of years or eons one is able to live life, no opportunity to practice Dharma at all. So one put in that situation, how it is, you try to feel that. Then that helps to realize that my having freedom to practice Dharma not being born as a long-life god, how this is so miraculous, how fortunate I am! So feeling incredible happiness, joy, like you win billions of dollars from the lottery or suddenly somebody give a billion dollars or you win the lottery or something, something that you can’t believe it, it’s very hard to believe, it’s like a dream. So like that, exactly like that, if something like that happens, this is what we think, we can’t believe, hard to believe, shocking, or it’s hard to believe. So, exactly like this, this is what we need to feel, after we went through each freedom. First, without the freedom what happens, how much suffering, no opportunity to practice Dharma. Then, now you have freedom, so each time when we discover each freedom should feel like this, like a person who wins a million dollars or a billion dollars in the lottery or somebody gave or found, like having found a wish-granting jewel.

Yeah, I think the people who are playing soccer, people playing football with their feet, soccer? That’s called soccer? Soccer, okay. So when that person was able to put the football in the gate, that person is unable to catch, that person came out of the gate, that the person, the person came out of the gate then this person, sent through the gate. So that person, so that pitiful person cannot catch. Anyway, then after that this person, well, he shakes his arms like that and, it appears to me like he’s angry, because doesn’t smile, the person doesn’t smile, very intense and he shakes his arms, so it appeared to me angry. He’s not angry but it’s kind of like, anyway, so we should be doing like that. After each freedom, after you discovered each freedom, each richness, only the danger is you might hit the next person. Might hit on the head or somewhere. Anyway, but actually we should feel happiness, like that, even a hundred times much more than the person who win over soccer. We should feel happiness even a hundred times more than that person, so excited. But that’s nothing, that is nothing! That is nothing, that success is nothing, it’s totally empty, totally empty. That’s excitement with attachment. That’s nothing, I mean it’s totally meaningless, it’s nothing. There’s no slightest meaning in that. There’s no slightest, motivation is attachment, not only self-cherishing thought, motivation is purely attachment, so, to defeat others, to win oneself, the group, oneself, to defeat others, so motivation is purely attachment, and so what benefit there is, why I say it has no meaning, because what benefit it does to the future? What benefits it has towards the future, all the coming future life happiness? What benefit there is? There’s nothing. What benefit there is to achieve liberation from samsara? What benefit it gives to achieve liberation from samsara, to achieve everlasting happiness, liberation from samsara? There’s nothing. What benefit it gives to achieve full enlightenment for sentient beings? Nothing. So therefore, it’s meaningless. So something which is meaningless, anyway, incredible great excitement, unbelievable, the highest thing in the life achieved. In the person’s view, the highest thing in the life achieved, success. However, if that person is that much more excited, so rejoice, so much we should, a hundred times, even a thousand times much more we should feel happiness, rejoice, each time when we discover each of these freedoms that we have, each of the richness that we have. But we don’t feel that, as I mentioned yesterday, same. Because we don’t realize the shortcomings of the suffering and what happens if one doesn’t practice, if there’s no freedom to practice Dharma, then what happens in the life, so only suffering, there’s nothing good happening. So not having recognized, not having realized that well, so therefore then, even when one think that one has freedom, doesn’t feel much, doesn’t feel excitement and joy like these people they express by playing football, doesn’t feel even half of that, even half of that one doesn’t feel that.

So, yeah, maybe stop here.

[Dedication, short mandala]