Healing Course continued (Audio and Unedited Transcripts)

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Melbourne, Australia 1991 (Archive #874)

The second part of a series of teachings given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Tara Institute in Melbourne, Australia in August 1991. This series formed the basis for the book Ultimate Healing, published by Wisdom Publications.

The first part of the series can be accessed here.

The Power of Holy Objects

The purpose of my life, that is to free everyone from all the sufferings and obscurations, and to bring them in happiness, particularly the ultimate happiness, even from that, the peerless happiness, the full enlightenment. So, to be able to do this service, to be able to do this perfect service for all living beings, that depends on, to do that I need to develop the positive mind, and that is the wisdom against, opposite to ignorance, what is right, what is wrong, not knowing the whole entire, what is the real happiness, what is the liberation, the whole entire happiness, then not knowing what is the main problem, the whole entire sufferings and causes of happiness and the unmistaken causes of the problems, so wisdom opposite to this ignorance, then, ignorance not knowing the means to eliminate suffering, to obtain happiness.

So wisdom opposite to this ignorance and wisdom opposite to the ignorance, so wisdom which eliminates all those other ignorance and then wisdom which eliminates the very root of the ignorance, the main ignorance, the original ignorance, the wisdom which eliminates the original ignorance, not knowing the ultimate nature of the I, aggregates, the mind, body, so forth, that which is the creator or the root of the whole entire, all the rest of the causes and whole entire problems.

So, need to develop this wisdom which eliminates that ignorance, the ignorance that which doesn't know the ultimate nature and which is the creator of the whole entire suffering, so need to develop this wisdom, which gives liberation. Only then by achieving this wisdom knowing the ultimate nature of the I and so forth, aggregates, so forth, only then, by developing this, only then, one is able to, as it eliminates completely the ignorance, the root of the whole entire problems, so that's how, only then one is able to make oneself completely liberated from all these causes and problems forever.

Then, the method, compassion, loving kindness, so forth, the altruism, cherishing other sentient beings, so forth, all those others, the determination to be free from the cause of the problems and all the whole entire problems and then, patience, pure action, the morality, and the perseverance, concentration, so forth, these methods, one need to develop the positive mind, the method, that which are the methods, then to be able to do this in order to benefit for other living beings, we need to have long life and healthy, so forth. So, therefore, in order to do this extensive benefit for all living beings who are equaling the infinite sky, then I'm going to do the healing course, listening, studying and meditation, so forth. [long pause]

So, originally I didn't plan like this to, more meditation, my idea was more meditation during this course, to do more meditation and little bit of talk, short talk , only short talk , and more as many as possible are meditation. That was the idea. But the talk, the psychological thing, the transformation of the mind, it's very, on the other hand that is extremely important than the recitation of mantra and visualization. Even though the mantras have power to heal, the visualization related with the holy object, not just the light itself but related with the powerful holy object, pure object, holy object, all these together, or even without the holy object, just even the, so far, the advices that I gave to people who are recovered is related with the mantra and meditation practices and that is involved also the positive motivation, altruism. But it seems even there have been people just by visualizing white light, just even with that, I don't know exactly, but just even simply visualizing white light, then generating faith being healed, even that cured the cancer. But of course, especially when it's related, not just the light itself but with the mantra, that in the first place it has incredible power, then second, the holy object that which one visualize or from where one visualize light coming, that has incredible power.

So with all these additionals there is much power to affect. These holy objects, visualizing deity, the fully enlightened beings, or the stupas, these holy objects, even by looking at it, the reason why I thought to look at holy object then light coming, the reason, during that time maybe good not to close down eyes, then just look at it, then light coming, because with the holy object, even by looking at it, it has power to purify, just looking at it itself becomes great purification.

It is said in the sutra teachings, said by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, himself said that, even one look at the drawings of enlightened beings that is done on the wall, even one look at those, the figures, out of anger, while one is angry, that causes those living beings gradually to meet millions of fully enlightened beings, ten millions of fully enlightened beings. So, just by looking, even the attitude is anger, but because the figure is a figure of the holy being, it mainly came from the power of the holy mind. What one sees is symbolic of that holy being, but it's symbolic of that holy being who has the completely pure holy mind, that is completely separated away from gross obscurations, even the subtle obscurations, completely pure, and it's bound with the infinite compassion for us, all the living beings. That, nothing else, the object of compassion is only us living beings, nothing, where it looks at is us, all living beings, only others, thought only to benefit and to benefit us, all the living beings. So it is that, and this wisdom of this omniscient mind bound by that infinite compassion. So due to that power, power of that, the holy mind.

So, even a person who look at the holy object, even there is no pure motivation to look at it, even one look at out of anger, but because the object is very powerful, because of the power of the object, so much obscuration get purified even by looking at it. So because of all this, because so much obscurations get purified, that's what makes to see the Buddhas, the fully enlightened beings. As I mentioned one of the days that, the second day, that how Buddha's, how the omniscient mind, how our mind can become omniscient mind and when our mind become fully enlightened mind and that pervades, that covers all the existence, it sees all the existence, it directly sees everything and it covers everything. Not even the way we see, if we are looking from the mountain to the city, even though one see just roughly the city, but mind is not there, mind doesn't cover the city.

If we are looking on the floor, or we are looking on the table but our consciousness is not, doesn't cover the table, so even the consciousness, for us, the consciousness of seeing things doesn't cover the whole body, it's only one particular place. Consciousness of listening, the function of listening, able to hear, it doesn't cover the whole body, just one place. So like this, in one particular place of the body. But when we become free from all the gross, subtle obscurations, when we are completely free from this gross body, when we are beyond from this, when we are in the level that we don't have to be stuck with the gross body, when we are beyond from that, however, beyond from samsara, beyond from these aggregates. So the body has gross, subtle, extremely subtle; mind has gross, subtle, extremely subtle like this. So however, when our consciousness become fully enlightened mind or omniscient, that time, free from the gross mind, free from the gross body. So, free from all these things.

So, however, [pause] one is not stuck. There's no resistance, so the consciousness, the omniscient mind can cover, as it sees all the existence, it can cover, it pervades all the existence. So, [long pause] first of all, there's omniscient mind seeing everything, but the main thing from where the help comes, guidance comes, is from compassion. So that is the main one that, from where the help or guidance comes, to us living beings, from compassion. For example, even there's a very knowledgeable person, so, even in the world, that just by having knowledge, not necessarily that the person will help, the person will give guidance, to be able to receive help from the person, knowledge is not enough, having power is not enough, need compassion. If the person has concern for others, has compassion for others, then if you ask for help, the person will help. But even the person has, how much power or knowledge they have, that alone, if there's no compassion then it becomes the obstacle, that person may not help. So if one is in risk, some danger, even that person has knowledge how to help you, to free from that danger or that person has power by higher rank or power, material wealth, even that person has, but if the person doesn't have compassion, there's a possibility even you ask for help that person may not help.

So therefore, real help, guidance, comes from compassion for all living beings, without excluding even one, the compassion that which has been developed to every living being and completed. So therefore, mainly because of that, even the saints, even who are not yet fully enlightened, even the saints, holy beings, so even they, their attitude is cherishing only others, us the living beings, and only their body, speech and mind whom they're working for is only other living beings, us living beings.

So therefore even one ask, even one pray or one ask for help, such these holy beings, then even though their wisdom is not completed, as fully enlightened being, but they have different levels of wisdom according to their, which level of path they reached, they have different levels of wisdom, so mainly because of compassion so also these holy beings guide us.

So however, so from our side, if we have the ring, asking them to help, the understanding, the wisdom, faith that came from the wisdom understanding, devotion, and then asking for help, relying upon or asking for help, so that's like the ring and then, from our side having the ring, then they, from their side then they are able to put the hook, the guidance, able to put the hook, the help, the guidance, so this way then they are able to guide, this way then we become liberated from whole entire cause of the problems, then not only ultimate happiness but able to achieve the peerless happiness, the full enlightenment.

However, so, these fully enlightened beings, there's no such particular place where they don't exist or where they don't cover, so therefore, when our obscurations, which makes the mind impure, like the fogginess, like the clouds, that which obscures the clear sky, which interferes the sky to be clear, all the stars or the sun, which obscures, when that is gone away, then you see, then there's pleasant weather, the clear space and can see the stars at nighttime and day can see the sun, then the whole ?plan, even the earth you can see nice, good sunshine at the beach or so gardens, parks, mountains, ground, become nice, one is able to see nice, pleasant. However, so like that, cloud or fogginess that which is temporarily there, so like this, these obscurations that which obscuring the mind, so when these are purified, then as soon as the obscurations become thinner then one is able to see those other phenomena, it's not new phenomena from its own side, but it's new phenomena from our side, because of the obscurations we don't see. So it's not new as far as existing, but it's new for our mind, like the meditation subject, it is not new in regards existence, but it's new to our mind, to our knowledge or to our mind. So it's like that.

So, as the obscurations become thinner, like the fogginess, clouds become thinner, as they go away and become thinner, thinner, more sunshine and more clear space, so then able to see more and more those other phenomena. However, then these pure forms, pure phenomena, then able to see these fully enlightened beings in pure form.

However...