December 11, 2017
Things Exist in Mere Name
KAR MA RAB RIB MAR ME DANG
A star, a defective view, a butter lamp flame,
GYU MA ZIL PA CHHU BUR DANG
An illusion, a dew drop, a water bubble,
MI LAM LOG DANG TRIN TA BUR
A dream, lightning, a cloud:
DÜ JÄ CHHÖ NAM DI TAR TA
See all causative phenomena like this.
In this verse of the Vajra Cutter Sutra that the Buddha taught, the first word is kar ma (the Tibetan word for “star”). Then rab rib, which I translate as “defective view.” The text explains it is like while you are eating food you have a vision of your hair dropping into the food, that your hair is falling. That is the example of illusory vision given in the text.
As I introduced before when I talked about a star, in reality I, action, object, hell and enlightenment, samsara and nirvana, happiness and problems in everyday life, the whole thing—it does not say everything is nonexistent, that nothing exists. If it said that, you would be falling into nihilism. You would be falling into one of the two extremes. The other is eternalism, where you believe things exist by themselves, from their own side, real. This is what you talk about every day, how everything is real: a real I, real action, a real object. It is all the same.
All these examples do not say things do not exist. It is not saying that. If you believe that, you are falling in nihilism, not the middle way, the way that is neither nihilism nor eternalism. So, the meaning of “real” is the same as how you think in your everyday life, what you talk of as “real.” Then you believe this. The way these things appear to you, you believe in this way. Then you fall into eternalism. So, it should be the middle way. How it appears and how you believe—the middle way.
Yes, all these things exist. Things exist; they exist in mere name. It is most subtle. It is the subtlest way of existing. The way the I exists, the way everything exists is the subtlest way—in mere name. They exist because they exist in mere name, merely labeled by the mind, by the valid mind relating to the valid base, not just anything but a valid base. Therefore, they do not exist from their own side. I, action, object, all phenomena exist in mere name, merely labeled by the valid mind relating to a valid base.
The Emptiness of Money
Say, you cut up a newspaper into a lot into small pieces and then you call them dollars or what is the European money called? [Student: Euro.] You call them euros or US dollars. If it were only up to the label, even without relating to the valid mind, if it were up to whatever the mind labels, you should be able to go shopping with all those bits of newspapers cut into pieces. But if you tried to go shopping or if you went to a bank, they would think you were crazy. Cutting up some paper and going to a department store or wherever and saying it was a thousand dollars—they would think you have to go to a mental institute.
It must be merely labeled by the valid mind, not just on anything, but on a valid base. That is why you need a valid base, that money made by the government that is used publicly, that is accepted by the government, that has those characteristics. It should be like that, a valid base. Then, on that valid base, your mind merely imputes “dollar.” It exists in mere name, merely labeled by the valid mind relating to the valid base with all the characteristics—officially accepted by the government and so forth. That dollar exists in mere name. If you think about it well, it exists. It exists in mere name.
To understand clearly you have to meditate precisely. What money is, what that dollar is, is unbelievably subtle, most unbelievably subtle. It exists, yes, but it exists in mere name. This is the same as how the I exists. Therefore, that dollar does not exist from its own side. You have to clearly know that. It does not exist from its own side at all! The dollar exists from the emptiness, do you understand?
This emptiness doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist even the name. We are not talking about that. I already told you that at the beginning. That dollar that exists is not a real dollar existing from its own side. That’s the way it appears and the way you believe, but it’s not that. It’s not real because it doesn’t exist from its own side, by nature, it is not truly existent. The dollar exists but at the same time it is totally empty from its own side. You have to clearly know that.
The dollar is not empty of dollar, the dollar is empty of real dollar, you understand? Sorry, I’m tearing your ears down. Inside the ear there is, what is it called? [Student: Wax.] Not wax. [Student: Eardrum.] It is tearing the ear, tearing the drum, buzzing.
[Tea offering and break to drink tea]
Emptiness and Dependent Arising
Dollar, I, action, object—every phenomenon exists because it is empty of itself. It is empty of the real I, it is empty of the real action, it is empty of the real object. From that it comes into existence. It exists while it is empty of existing from its own side, by itself, empty of the real one. So, while it exists it is empty; while it is empty it exists.
Emptiness and existing, that which is subtle dependent arising, existing in mere name, merely labeled by the mind, those two are unified. That is the correct view, the right view, the Prasangika view. Only the wisdom that understands that—the unification of emptiness and dependent arising, how they don’t exist separately, how they are unified—only that wisdom can eliminate the root of all the oceans of your samsara, that wisdom realizing the Madhyamaka Prasangika view of emptiness.
Many talk about my emptiness. Like my religion, my emptiness is the best! Actually, the best view of emptiness is the Prasangika view. The wisdom seeing emptiness is the meaning of subtle dependent arising. Dependent arising and subtle dependent arising are unified with emptiness. Existence and emptiness unified. It has to be that. Only that can eliminate ignorance, the root of samsara, holding the I as truly existent, as real.
As I mentioned yesterday, it is not just truly existent from the object’s side, you have to go finer, to recognize the Prasangika subtle object of refutation, which is that even though it is labeled, it is not merely labeled because there is something existing from its own side. That is the subtle hallucination. That has to be realized. You have to first of all recognize that is the gag cha, the object to be refuted. Then, once it is recognized, it takes a minute to see it is empty. You see it as empty, as it is empty.
In Buddhism, shunyata is not something that is there that you make to be empty, not like that! While your I exists, you believe it is not there. As I mentioned before, that is a kind of nihilism. It is not that. It is something you haven’t discovered from beginningless rebirths, due to that ignorance of the hallucination, the decoration, appearing to you, the real I, and then believing in that.
That belief, timug dendzin marigpa, the ignorance that holds the I as truly existent, is the root of samsara. According to Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen, also holding the aggregates as real as they appear and believing them to be real is also the root of samsara. There are two. The I appears as real and you believe in that, not just merely labeled by the mind but, by going finer, something slightly more than that exists, more than merely labeled by the mind.
From beginningless rebirths up to now you haven’t discovered that it is totally nonexistent in reality, so then you suffer. That is why you suffer. The suffering of pain and the suffering of change—all the samsaric pleasures—those two sufferings come from pervasive compounding suffering, the aggregates pervaded by delusion and karma. They are pervaded by and under the control of delusion and karma. Therefore, all the aggregates are totally pervaded by suffering. That is the nature of suffering.
Because of this contaminated seed of delusion and karma, by meeting the conditions, suffering and delusion arise again from that seed. This is the foundation of the two other sufferings, the suffering of pain and the suffering of change, all the samsaric pleasures. Therefore, for Buddhists, the main suffering to have aversion to, to renounce, to be free from, is pervasive compounding suffering. By generating renunciation to that, by realizing how that is the nature of suffering, you actualize the path, you are able to be free from that suffering. When you are totally free from that suffering, you are totally free forever from the suffering of pain and the suffering of change. Then you have the blissful state of peace for yourself, forever! For Buddhists, recognizing and realizing that this is the nature of suffering is the main thing and then you generate renunciation from this. Then, freedom from the other sufferings comes by the way. That is the main meditation for renunciation.
There is a quotation by Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen, but I don’t remember it by heart today. Maybe I’ll mention it another time.
The Hallucination We Believe In
Things exist—I, action, object, samsara, nirvana, hell and enlightenment, samsara and nirvana, happiness and problems, all that exists. They exist in mere name, merely imputed by the mind. Therefore, everything is empty; nothing exists from its own side. Because things are empty they exist, but for the hallucinated mind, like mine, for ordinary people’s minds, emptiness is kind of like it doesn’t exist, for our hallucinated minds it doesn’t exist.
That is the reality, but what is not there appears real from there. The decoration or appearance, the truly existent thing, existing from its own side—the real I, action, object, real hell and enlightenment, real samsara and nirvana, real happiness and problems, real relationships, real husband, real wife, real children, real wealth, real this, all that—everything that is not there in reality appears real from that. And then you believe a hundred percent without doubt that it is real. Things that are not there appear as being there and you believe they are there, totally the opposite of reality. You have to know that. Your life is like this. That is discovering the truth, the most important truth in your life.
Coming here to Kopan, crossing the ocean with so much expense, you have to know that, otherwise you cheat yourself. You have been cheating yourself from beginningless rebirths. You still don’t realize emptiness, so you will cheat yourself forever, and then suffer in samsara without end. Not only without beginning but without end. Then what? To your hallucinated mind, the way things appear and the way you believe is all a hallucination.
That is what is called “defective view.” The text describes it like a vision of hair dropping in the food. Like a vision. Here, the whole thing is like defective view: how paintings appear to you, how the tea you drink appears to you, how the I appears to you. All these things will be a little bit clearer later. Defective view is rab rib in Tibetan.
Kar ma, which means “star,” refers to emptiness. The star is there in the daytime but the sun is so bright that it is obscured. Everything exists because it is empty but then it doesn’t appear. You don’t see it, like you don’t see a star in daytime. What appears to you is all rab rib, defective view.
When you squeeze your eyes closed a bit, you see a lot of hairs kind of round, going like this, but they are not there. So, it is the same, day and night, your whole life. Maybe now, or a little bit later I’ll mention it. It is all a hallucination. It’s not true, the whole life, from birth to death. How things appear and how you believe is a hallucination, defective view. This verse is so important! The teaching, the meditation is unbelievably, unbelievably important. It shows the truth of your life and the falsity of your life.
[Rinpoche chants the verse very slowly in Tibetan]
KAR MA RAB RIB MAR ME DANG
A star, a defective view, a butter lamp flame,
GYU MA ZIL PA CHHU BUR DANG
An illusion, a dew drop, a water bubble,
MI LAM LOG DANG TRIN TA BUR
A dream, lightning, a cloud:
DÜ JÄ CHHÖ NAM DI TAR TA
See all causative phenomena like this.
Tonglen
“The purpose of my life is not just working for this life.” When you think only of this life you are no different from insects, the fleas, the mosquitoes, banana slugs and, what is it called? Two bodies, two things, then you break it? [Student: Shell.] Shell, shell animals. There is no difference between their life and yours.
With that motivation even listening to the Dharma—listening, reflecting, meditating—is no different from animals, from insects. There is nothing special in such a life. In the world you might learn this science or that science, you might have so many piles of degrees in your room or office, East and West, this and that, but your attitude is no difference from the insects; your life is no different from the insects.
The purpose of life is not to be reborn back in the lower realms. You came from there, so the purpose of life is to not be born back where you came from, but it is not just to receive a higher rebirth either. It is not that. It is not even to achieve freedom from samsara forever, to achieve nirvana, it is not just for that.
The purpose of your life is to not only to not fall into lower nirvana but also to achieve great nirvana, buddhahood, to achieve that for every single sentient being. There are numberless sentient beings, so this is for every single sentient being, besides human beings, not leaving out even one tiny insect. The purpose of life is to achieve enlightenment, buddhahood, the total cessation of obscurations and completion of realizations, sang gye in Tibetan.
When you translate it from Sanskrit it is very scientific. It is not something inexplicable, not something you have to believe in which has no basis in science; it’s not like that. Everything the Buddha taught—the Lesser Vehicle teachings, the Mahayana sutra teachings and Mahayana tantra teachings—the whole thing is logical.
“At this time I have received not just a human rebirth, but this perfect human rebirth. This is the one time I received this when I can achieve buddhahood, the total cessation of obscurations and completion of realizations, for the benefit of every sentient being, to free them from oceans of samsaric sufferings and bring them to buddhahood. Therefore, I need to achieve omniscience; therefore I need to actualize the path, to purify the defilements and create the necessary conditions. Therefore, I will listen to the teachings.”
The Wish to Take Others’ Suffering
Today, I should explain this before talking about emptiness. Yesterday, the last advice I mentioned was about tonglen practice. I mentioned Nagarjuna’s words,
Whatever suffering sentient beings have may it ripen on me.
Whatever happiness I have may it ripen on sentient beings.
You should recite that not only in your room, but also especially when you go out, when you are traveling in India and Nepal. For example, you always see people and animals suffering in general. When you look you can see so many experiencing the suffering of pain—unbelievable, unbelievable—and the suffering of change and pervasive compounding suffering, as I mentioned yesterday. You see all kinds. In tonglen practice there are different words you recite while walking or going by car, whatever, when you are carrying your bag or ruckso? [Student: Rucksack.] Rucksack, carrying the bag. Wherever you are walking, you should think of the suffering of sentient beings all the time. Then you do this practice with different prayers. In the Guru Puja [LC 95] it says,
DE NA JE TSÜN LA MA THUG JE CHÄN
And thus, perfect, pure, compassionate Guru,
MA GYUR DRO WÄI DIG DRIB DUG NGÄL KÜN
I seek your blessings that all negative karmas, obscurations, and sufferings of mother transmigratory beings
MA LÜ DA TA DAG LA MIN PA DANG
May without exception ripen upon me right now,
DAG GI DE GE ZHÄN LA TANG WA YI
And that by giving my happiness and virtue to others
DRO KÜN DE DANG DÄN PAR JIN GYI LOB
All transmigratory beings may experience happiness.
Je tsün la ma—I translate je tsün as “perfect.” Je tsün means perfect; that is dharmakaya. Geshe Rabten Rinpoche was one of my teachers who gave teachings in Dharamsala on the explanation of the mahamudra composed by Panchen Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen. Geshe-la explained that when je tsün means dharmakaya, it is talking about the qualities of the guru. Then the next word is guru, je tsün la ma thug je chän. This is how we realize, from our side, je tsün la ma thug je chän, “the kind one,” the kind one or having compassion. Ma gyur dro wäi dig drib dug ngäl kün / ma lü da ta dag la min pa dang, “All the negative karma and obscurations of the mother transmigrating beings,” all their sufferings and obscurations. Ma lü means every single obscured and suffering sentient being, with not even one left out, all their negative karma and obscurations. Da ta means “right now.” Dag la min pa, “ripen on me right now.” That is one practice of taking others’ suffering. Dag gi de ge zhän la tang wa yi, “my happiness,” dag gi de. De is happiness, ge is virtue. Every single virtue of the past, present and future, de is the result of the virtue of the present and future up to enlightenment. Everything—ultimate happiness, nirvana, and great nirvana, enlightenment—everything is the result of virtue, so you give all that. Dag gi de ge zhän la tang wa yi, “by giving my happiness and virtue to others,” to the numberless sentient beings. Others are not just somebody you like or who loves you, but every single one of the numberless sentient beings, everyone. Dro kün de dang dän par jin gyi lob, “May all,” dro kün. “Please bless all the transmigratory beings to have happiness.”
It means up to enlightenment, not only just temporary happiness, just a few minutes, a few seconds or a few minutes of happiness, it is not talking about that—but up to enlightenment. There are two types of ultimate happiness; one is nirvana, the blissful state of peace, forever, then there is great nirvana, enlightenment, the total cessation of obscurations and completion of realizations. It means you give all the happiness, you make charity to every single sentient being, for them to have all the happiness.
All this is very good to go over. Like reciting OM MANI PADME HUM, while you are walking then recite it. It is very good. When you go around, you see all kinds of suffering, like defective bodies. Because you think, “I am so well,” you put down those who are suffering like that. You don’t think about them; you try to forget.
I told you the story of the yogi who didn’t pay attention to the lady who asked him to carry her to the other side of the river. He didn’t help at all, but his disciple, a monk, came and got incredible compassion when she asked him, so he took her on his back side and went in the water. He only got halfway across, then his karmic obscurations were purified by carrying her. Sorry, some of you were not here yesterday so I must explain again.
What His Holiness often says, if there are two people and we are one, because they are two, their happiness, their wishes are more important than ours. We are just one, so they are more important. Then a hundred people, a thousand people, a million people, [they are all much more important]. In a country when they vote for a president, the one most people vote for wins. Now here, other sentient beings are numberless. There are numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asura beings and numberless intermediate state beings. Just like you, they all want happiness and do not want suffering. That is why it is so important to work for them to eliminate their suffering, to free them from suffering and to cause them to achieve all happiness up to enlightenment. That is so important! I got exhausted from that!
That is why it is important to live your life not just for yourself but for the numberless sentient beings, to free them from the oceans of suffering and bring them to enlightenment, buddhahood.
Cherishing All Beings More than Ourselves
I was repeating last night’s story for those who were not here.
So now, one person and you, one insect and you, who is more precious? I mentioned to you, that is a very, very important meditation. If you generate compassion for and cherish one sentient being, one insect, one person, there is enlightenment, buddhahood, for you. If you don’t cherish that one sentient being, let’s say your enemy, if you don’t cherish them, there is no enlightenment for you, there is no buddhahood for you. I told you that yesterday. It’s a hundred percent clear. To understand that, I told you that story.
There are many stories. Getsul Tsimbulwa, the disciple of the great yogi Ngagpa Chöpawa, came to the same place his guru had been, where there was big water. When this lady full of leprosy, with pus and blood coming out, unbelievably pitiful, asked him to take her to the other side of the river, unbelievable, unbelievable compassion arose in the monk. Then, without thinking that he was a monk and this was a lady, without thinking he might catch the contagious disease if he touched her, he immediately picked her up and carried her on his back. She was actually an enlightened being, a deity, Dorje Phagmo, the same as Vajrayogini, but he could not see it. He only saw a very ordinary, filthy dirty woman. But right there in the middle of the river, his karmic obscurations finished, purified by generating unbelievable compassion, even to that one being. Then, he could see she was an enlightened being. Without his impure appearance, no longer hallucinated, he could see Dorje Phagmo. Then she, the female enlightened deity, Dorje Phagmo, led the monk, without needing to die, to the Vajrayogini pure land, Dagpa Khachö. There, you definitely become enlightened, not like Amitabha’s pure land. If you are born in Amitabha’s pure land you definitely won’t get reborn in the lower realms, but there is no opportunity to practice tantra there, so bodhisattvas pray to be born here in the southern continent where tantric teachings exist, are experienced and taught. That is one reason why it is so fortunate to be born here, where the tantric teachings exist. And, in Dagpa Khachö, Getsul Tsimbulwa could get enlightenment. He probably achieved it before his guru did, due to compassion.
So, I’m saying that if you don’t generate compassion for even one being, even if, especially if it is your enemy, there is no buddhahood for you! I want to mention this. I don’t remember the name of the text, but the Compassion Buddha emphasizing the bodhisattva way of life, said,
Don’t follow many dharmas, follow one Dharma—that is compassion. If you follow compassion, then everything will come, all the dharmas, all the realizations, everything will come.
If you follow compassion, then all the dharmas will come because if you follow compassion, by reason of that compassion, you then need to develop your wisdom, and then all other realizations come. They come mainly persuaded by compassion for the numberless sentient beings. All the realizations come like rainfall.
Also, in Gom Rim, Graduated Meditation, Kamalashila mentioned this great compassion. This is one of the normal texts His Holiness often teaches, about how to meditate, how to practice. He said,
In all conduct, no matter what you do, at all times train the mind in compassion.
That means even if you are walking, standing, going, eating sleeping, whatever you are doing, all the time you must train your mind in great compassion for all sentient beings. That means all sentient beings, not only your boyfriend or girlfriend, your father or mother, not only somebody who loves you. It means every sentient being, even mosquitoes, insects, snakes, whatever.
As I said, even when you are talking to somebody, it is good to bring up compassion. You have to talk about compassion, even in a normal conversation. It makes it so worthwhile for you and for others.
That is what brings you to enlightenment quickly. What makes you achieve enlightenment is generating compassion to sentient beings, even one sentient being, even one insect. There are many stories I know about that, but many I don’t know. You have to keep it in your mind, keep it in the brain, keep it in the heart! It is so important to benefit numberless sentient beings.
OK, I’ll stop here. Some have to have dinner. Some have to get enlightened.
Just one more thing. I’ll mention this, then I’m done. Panchen Shakya Shri mentioned,
KYI NA DE WA TSHOG SU NGO
When I am happy, I dedicate my happiness to collect merits:
PHÄN DE NAM KHA GANG WA SHOG
“May space be filled with benefit and happiness.”
DUG NA KÜN GYI DUG NGÄL LANG
When I am suffering, I take the suffering of all upon myself:
DUG NGÄL GYA TSHO KEMPAR SHOG
“May the oceans of suffering dry up.”
That is an important practice, as I mentioned yesterday. Also, while you are walking about you see so much suffering, so it is very, very good to keep on reciting this. It says de wa tshog su, when you are happy you dedicate your happiness to others to collect merit. For example, when you are eating. This is not only me telling you, I’m also telling myself to practice.
When you are in a five-star hotel or a ten-star hotel, a fifteen-star hotel, because there is so much comfort around, you dedicate all the comfort to all sentient beings: to all the numberless hell beings, the numberless hungry ghosts, the numberless animals, the numberless human beings, suras and asuras. You might be eating delicious food that costs a thousand dollars. (Sometimes, one dollar food is more delicious than a thousand dollar food! I’m joking.) Dedicate the delicious food for the pleasure of the numberless hell beings, the numberless hungry ghosts, the numberless animals and so forth. Dedicate it to all sentient beings like that. Kyi na de wa tshog su, “when you are happy, dedicate your happiness to sentient beings to collect merit.” Phän de nam kha gang wa shog, “May the whole sky be filled with happiness and benefits.” It means you can pray for every sentient being, that every suffering sentient being has happiness and benefits filling the whole sky.
Then, when you are suffering, when you are worried, when there are many problems, you take all the sentient beings’ suffering, dug na kün gyi dug ngäl lang / dug ngäl gya tsho kem par shog, saying, “May the oceans of suffering be dried up.” That means every sentient being’s suffering. When you suffer, you take every sentient being’s suffering on yourself. As I mentioned before, doing that destroys your ego, from where all the suffering comes. May every sentient being’s oceans of suffering be dried up! That verse is so good to recite when you are walking, not only in your room.
I will stop there. I should mention tonglen practice, just some idea. It is the most important practice for bodhicitta.
So, those who have to have dinner, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll speak a little bit before you fall asleep, before you go to bed. What?
Ven. Ailsa: What time, Rinpoche?
Rinpoche: No time. Maybe. OK.
[Dedications]
Thank you very much.
