[tape change]

So maybe there’s one or two questions? If there’s no questions then just, then continue.

Yeah, go on.

Student: Are you saying that there’s not a little atom of the real self, but there is the relative self, the relatively existing self? The continuum, the mental continuum.

Rinpoche: Yes, there’s the mental continuum.

Student: Pardon?

Rinpoche: Yes, there is a mental continuum, yes. There is mental continuum, yes.

Student: That’s always existed and always will exist?

Rinpoche: That’s always existed, the last part, sorry, not clear….

Student: That has always existed and always will exist?

Rinpoche: Yes, that’s right. Yeah. [pause] Maybe, not, yeah, right. You mentioned before, this before, the first question you mentioned something? The very first one?

Student: The relative self that exists, yes?

Rinpoche: Yes, self exists, yes.

Student: But ultimately it doesn’t exist?

Rinpoche: Yes. Yeah, ultimately, yes. Ultimately or absolutely it doesn’t exist, yes. That’s right, yeah. Conventionally it exists, yes, you can say that, yes. In the mere name it exists, yes. But not it exists absolutely. Yeah.

So I thought, anyway I thought to mention this, since brought up this mental continuum, there’s always mental continuum, so I thought to mention this. It may not be, maybe yes, maybe not the question, but I think just to clarify in case there’s somebody would have this experience.

So when you, strong guru devotion by meditating on the guru devotion, the lamrim subject, by thinking of the quotations what Vajradhara said, what Buddha said, those and reasonings, you develop strong guru devotion looking at it buddha from your side, seeing buddha. By looking then seeing buddha. So at the same time then doing intensive practice of purification, the prostrations by reciting the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names, which is extremely powerful, by reciting each name that, once, each one is to purify different negative karmas and it purifies not just one day negative karma, not just one negative karma get purified but, not just get purified one negative karma that is created, purify today’s negative karma, this life negative karma, how many created, those ten nonvirtuous actions, so forth, so not only ten nonvirtues but many other negative karmas which are not counted in that, and then past life negative karma, so not just thousands of lifetimes negative karma but many thousands of eons of negative karma get purified when you recite Thirty-five Buddhas’ names, even each name just once, just one time. It is like atomic bomb for purifying the heavy negative karmas. Purify the defilements. So such easiest way to purify the negative karma, the defilements.

Then, also very powerful purification practice, Vajrasattva. And there are many other practices of very powerful purification. The generating compassion, strong compassion to even one animal or to even one person, even that strong compassion, so very powerful purification, purifying many eons of negative karma, heavy negative karma, and the defilements. I think I mentioned, already mentioned at the first night I think mentioned the Asanga life story. By generating compassion then, only then, he didn’t see Maitreya Buddha during twelve years, during retreat didn’t see but only after he sacrificed his life for a sentient being, when he saw a wounded dog then he generated strong compassion, sacrificed, then he’s able to see Maitreya Buddha. So it means unimaginable defilements, negative karma, is purified. So, even one sentient being, to generate strong compassion to a person or even an animal, even one, so able to achieve enlightenment quickly.

Then, meditating on bodhicitta, unbelievable powerful. Doing the practice of giving, practice of taking other sentient beings’ suffering, all the sufferings and then cause, delusion and karma, the negative imprint, cause of delusions, and all the undesirable conditions, situations, you take on yourself, the ego, the self-cherishing thought and destroy. Which becomes obstacle to actualize bodhicitta, cherishing all the sentient beings, cherishing one sentient being, cherishing numberless sentient beings, so by cherishing then you achieve all your happiness So with that thought then you do so much benefit to others, offer service, so all those are good karma, you collect the extensive merits, unimaginable merits, so then your wishes of this life, but not only that, long-run, all the happiness of coming future lives you’re able to achieve that, then liberation from whole entire oceans of samsaric sufferings and cause. Then you achieve the peerless happiness, enlightenment. And not only that then you are able to cause, bring all the happiness to other sentient beings, temporary happiness, ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara, enlightenment.

So with the thought of cherishing others then you bring so much happiness, happiness of this life, so much to others, so because that’s your main focus, to obtain happiness for others, seeking happiness of others. With the thought of cherishing others, your attitude is seeking happiness, only the thought of seeking happiness for others. Seeking happiness only for others. So, naturally you bring so much happiness to others in daily life, including the family members or whoever’s, all those who are around you, neighbors, animals, people, whoever’s, any being who’s around you, so bring so much happiness. Same in the office, wherever you go, East, West, wherever, in the city or countryside, wherever you go, so so much happiness to others. However, then able to cause others all the coming future lives happiness and liberation from the whole entire suffering and causes and great liberation, full enlightenment, to all sentient beings.

So therefore, so doing this meditation, so yeah, so the enemy, so which doesn’t allow to achieve all the happiness for you and to cause all the happiness up to enlightenment to all sentient beings is by your ego, self-cherishing thought. So then take all the suffering of others and cause of the sufferings, everything, all the undesirable situations, take it on you and then destroy the ego, self-cherishing thought. And you give, by generating loving kindness towards all sentient beings then you give your three-time merits, all the three-time merits, all the past, present, future merits and all the result happiness, your body, possessions, and all the result happiness, all the temporary happiness and all the ultimate happiness, liberation from the whole entire suffering of samsara and great liberation, full enlightenment, so it’s, yeah, so give everything to, every single peace and happiness comes from your merit, so the merit and all the result happiness up to enlightenment, everything, you give to each and every single sentient being.

So however, those bodhicitta practice, then in daily life, not only in meditation but daily life doing as much as possible like that, actually doing that, whatever one can, even it’s very little, taking others’ difficulties on oneself and give your, let the others have happiness, comfort, so whatever you can do that. Not only visualization but you actually in the daily life do as much as possible. So taking others’ problems on oneself and let others to, give your happiness to others or let others to have the happiness.

So anyway, and meditating on emptiness, and those, anyway, bodhicitta, those unbelievable means to collect extensive merits, good luck or, so limitless skies of merits. Whenever you generate bodhicitta, thought of benefiting for sentient beings, thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, so with bodhicitta motivation, thought to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, the thought of benefiting to numberless sentient beings then you chant OM MANI PADME HUNG, one mala of OM MANI PADME HUNG, with each mantra you recite you collect limitless skies of good karma, or merits, limitless skies of merits you collect with each one. Same then whatever practices you do, that’s an example. Then, so, with the motivation of bodhicitta, with the thought of benefiting to all sentient beings, without discrimination, without leaving out even one, so with that thought to free them from all the sufferings, to bring them in the full enlightenment, the peerless happiness, so thinking for that purpose to achieve enlightenment, oneself to achieve enlightenment and for that purpose then need to collect merit, to purify the defilements, negative karma, and however, for that purpose then going to offer service to others, I’m going to, today I’m going to offer service to others. Then, with that motivation then when you go from room, when you go from the house to do job, when you leave from the, when you go for job then generate this motivation, then you go, [pause while Rinpoche drinks] so in the heart thinking, in your heart, before thinking of oneself, in your heart from whom you’re going to work for is you yourself, one person, one living being and that is yourself, your own happiness. But now here, numberless other living beings, to benefit them, to free them from all the sufferings, to bring to enlightenment, and oneself to achieve enlightenment. So therefore, I’m going to do this service for others, so numberless sentient beings keeping in, now here in your heart numberless sentient beings. Then the, to be able to benefit for them, then have to achieve enlightenment, then I’m going to do service to others.

So, with this thought, from your house, you go for job, go to do work, in the heart for others. Even though you’re making money, even though you’re receiving salary by doing work but your attitude is always to benefit all sentient beings. So with that heart you go for job, then every step you are making with that attitude, you collect limitless skies of numberless merits, because what purpose of working is for sentient beings. And then with this walking, numberless merits you collect because numberless, because whom you want to benefit, to receive enlightenment, to do service, is the numberless sentient beings. So, numberless merits.

So when you arrive there also, when you begin the work also, I mean if you have realization of bodhicitta, then you don’t need any effort, it’s natural, that’s your natural thought, spontaneously rising, so you don’t need effort, that’s what your heart is, so you don’t, like now our heart, most of us, heart is, most of our heart is me, our heart is me, our heart when you do activities in daily life, me, there’s nothing else but this one living being and that is only yourself, me. Everything for this. So then because that’s self-cherishing thought then didn’t become cause to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings; the self-cherishing thought hindered, doesn’t allow the activities what you do daily life, even meditation, even reciting prayer or studying Dharma, so it didn’t become cause to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings.

Then due to self-cherishing thought then the attachment rises, seeking, attached to future life samsara, then all your activities do not become cause to achieve liberation even for oneself. Then due to the self-cherishing thought, the attachment clinging to this life, so that become the attitude of all the activities everyday life then all the activities, even meditating, doing prayer and doing many hours of job, many hard works, exhaustions, the worry and exhaustion, all this, so eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, whatever, then all this did not become, because the motivation is nonvirtue so, only the attachment clinging to this life, so the nonvirtue, the pure nonvirtue, then this, all the activities become nonvirtue, negative karma. That means the result is only suffering and there’s no happiness as a result.

So, how many hours sleep, how many hours wash, eating, drinking or however, how much we do in daily life, all become negative karma. So the root mistake is because this, following the self-cherishing thought, not having thought benefiting others, the attitude of life, the root mistake is that. So then due to self-cherishing thought those other nonvirtuous thoughts, the attachment clinging to this life, so then everything become, even doing prayers or doing meditation, even those things do not become Dharma. It appeared Dharma, it appeared as spiritual but it did not become spiritual, did not become Dharma. So it appeared spiritual life but it’s not become spiritual in reality, did not become Dharma. So there’s danger whole life, if one does not examine, doesn’t check the, if one doesn’t practice mindfulness every day and doesn’t examine your motivation, your attitude, then there’s a danger appeared to be spiritual life, whole life, but nothing become Dharma, spiritual, and then this means not become virtue, cause of happiness. So that means then, nonvirtue, and the result only suffering.

So anyway, [pause] so this, [pause] so also during the work, time to time one should examine the motivation, whether the motivation is for others, for other sentient beings or for oneself, why you are working, doing job. So then again set up, again transform the mind into good heart, benefiting others or cherishing others, bodhicitta motivation. So check time to time, so then that way one doesn’t waste one’s own life. So you collect, with the thought of benefiting others, cherishing others, then everything whatever you do is for others, numberless sentient beings, so everything whatever you do it becomes, how many hours of work you do it becomes cause of enlightenment, the highest success. That means everything whatever you do become, many hours job or whatever, cause of happiness of all sentient beings.

And also, the people for whom, like a company or department store or supermarket or factory, whatever, there’s an organization there, so they need help, they need the employees, they need the, for their success, for their happiness they need help, they need other people to work for them, so here also from your work, those people get, from your service, the organization people, those people they have success, their happiness or, they receive the things what they are looking for, what they desire for, comfort, happiness, whatever. So there is actual thing that you do offer, something now that you, the needs, happiness or the needs, how many people there is in the organization or the, boss or the organization, so they get what they need, whatever it is for their happiness.

And also all the customers, the factory or something making chairs or making bed or making whatever material you’re making, producing, then all those customers, all those people, so they get what they want, the things what they like that they get. So they get comfort, all the people that come to buy they get comfort, happiness, so in the mind also can think not only the organization, not only the boss or the organization but also you can think of all the people who come to buy things, so you’re producing things, so giving comfort, happiness, their needs. And then that’s the immediate, that’s right away.

And the other immediate is, of course, with this motivation, pure heart, you collect limitless skies, limitless skies of merit or numberless merits all the time. That’s one thing. Then from these merits then you achieve all your wishes, whatever, benefiting others or achieving realization, success in this life and in future lives, all the happiness, so you’re always creating inconceivable cause of success, happiness. You are in the best business, that by your mind becoming Dharma, bodhicitta, so best business, so most merit. So without merit nothing you can do. How much education you have, the university, there are many people who have a degree but can’t find a job. There are many people with degree, studied economics, how to do business, but when they come, when you actually make business it doesn’t work. Things doesn’t work, even though you studied well but so that’s, if you don’t have, you have to have merit. If you don’t have merit, nothing, how much intellectual understanding you have, things doesn’t, you don’t get success.

So normally I tell, in your life, in the life, there are externally how to do, which you receive education from school, college, university, how to do professionally, you learn from that. But that’s not sufficient. You need to know how to do the professionally inwardly, from your mind how to do professionally, inner professional you need to do that. So inner professional, like that, your mind has to become Dharma, pure, your mind has to become Dharma, virtue. So the attitude of doing all these external profession, that study from university or college or school, those, if that is devoid of Dharma, if there’s no Dharma, if it’s not Dharma then, so that means, if it didn’t become Dharma then that means attachment, the attitude of the attachment clinging to one’s own this life, the power, reputation, comforts of this life, just the happiness of just this life. Nothing else, just the comfort of this life, just to be healthy and long life and power and reputation. Then, as I mentioned just before, then the attitude of living life, doing the job, the professional job, so the attitude did not become professional one, the attitude then become nonvirtue, just only the desire clinging to this life, which nature is not peaceful, which nature is disturbing to one’s own mental continuum, so obscuring one’s own mind and disturbing one’s own mental continuum, so it is nonvirtue.

So therefore, with the external professionals, but your mind is not happy. Just a very simple thing, you cannot enjoy your life, there’s no inner peace and happiness, because the mind is in the attitude of doing the job, the profession, external profession, then did not become Dharma, the inner profession is missing. So then, because of the dissatisfied mind desire then anger, jealous mind, all those other negative emotional thoughts arises because of attachment, due to that. All these other mental sicknesses or the mental pain or, all these rises. So then, you never get satisfaction, no matter how many billions of dollars one makes, able to make, but you never get satisfaction. Your mind is never happy, never get satisfied, never happy, there’s no inner happiness, peace.

So then, so many problems rises, besides there’s no inner happiness, peace, and then so many problems rises with that, due to the desire. The attitude of life, doing all this, the job and so forth, eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, so just only the desire clinging to this life, so therefore, so many problems rises, relationship problems and then so many other problems rises, so many worry, fear. Then even the sicknesses of the body, physical problems, from the mental problems, physical problems, all the sicknesses, happens many sicknesses like that, and then one create cause of the, because the attitude is that, so no Dharma, so then these delusions, the desire, then one engage in many negative karmas, cause of sicknesses. So not only from past lives but just this life create so many cause of sickness.

Then, even externally there’s much success, good job and plenty of money, so how much wealth one able to achieve, one has, because there’s no inner profession, the healthy mind, Dharma, so then the free, mind that which is free from the painful mind of desire, clinging to this life, so healthy mind, that peaceful mind, this Dharma is not there, then so many problems rises, the negative emotional thoughts, then commit suicide. Those and then engage in even killing, stealing, all this, telling lie, then all these negative karmas also one get engaged. So continuously leads the life in suffering rather more and more inner peace and happiness, joy, satisfaction and joy and fulfillment. So that is because not having, not knowing how to do the job or how to live the life, the profession inwardly, not become Dharma.

So therefore, so that’s the first one, how to do, yeah, so without that inner profession, or this attitude of living the life with Dharma, the healthy mind free from the painful mind desire clinging to this life, so without that then only the desire clinging to this life so therefore, then, all the activities, all the external activities, then even though they’re professionally done but it’s all, so there’s danger then all the activities become negative karma, because, yeah, so yeah. So all the activities, even externally professionally done but everything become negative karma, without the Dharma, without the mind becoming Dharma, the inner profession. So that’s the first thing. So if this is there, if this inner profession is there, Dharma, that attitude of life, doing job, so forth, then there’s so much peace and happiness in the life, so much satisfaction. You have external success, at the same time you have inner success.

So then, now, next one is of course, even more pure than that, inner profession, more pure mind, then free from attachment clinging even the future samsara, the deva, human rebirth, the future samsara, samsaric happiness, mind free from those desires. So now here, then whatever, so with the previous Dharma, with the first Dharma, the first profession, the first Dharma, inner profession, Dharma, then whatever you do become the cause of happiness, okay. There’s external profession then whatever you do, cause of happiness. Now the second one, so cause of happiness of future life, okay. Not only you have day-to-day life so much peace and happiness, but whatever you do become cause of happiness of future lives. With the second inner profession, that, more pure, free from desire, the seeking the samsara, samsaric perfections, happiness of future life, then whatever you do, all the profession, jobs, whatever you do become cause to achieve liberation, cause to achieve ultimate happiness for oneself.

Then the third profession, the best, the best inner profession, attitude of life, doing professional job, attitude of the life, doing job and so forth, so that which is bodhicitta, the thought of benefiting sentient beings. Not seeking happiness for oneself but seeking happiness for others. So now that one then that’s the most healthy one, so the best profession inwardly, doing job or living the life. Then with that then whatever you do everything become cause of enlightenment, as I mentioned before, everything become cause of enlightenment, to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. And then everything become cause of happiness of all the sentient beings. As I mentioned before then with that mind then all the activities including job then become means of collecting limitless skies of merit. Same thing, with that heart, having sentient beings in the heart, your goal to free them from the suffering and to cause them happiness, so having the sentient beings in your heart then for that benefit then so even you’re writing a letter, with that attitude then same, when you recite mantras, each mantra, each OM MANI PADME HUNG you collect limitless skies of, numberless merit, same here even you’re writing a letter, with each letter then you collect numberless merits, so unimaginable merits. So whatever activity one is doing, so like that.

So why people, so many people are so unhappy, they don’t have satisfaction, don’t enjoy the life, even they have good professional job and all the, make lots of money and lots of wealth so all that is because not having the inner profession, the Dharma, the mind, the attitude become Dharma. So, this , I didn’t mean to talk this, I don’t mean to talk this way but just become side-talk, it happened.