Lecture 9
MOTIVATION: UNIVERSAL RESPONSIBILITY
As I mentioned, each of us has universal responsibility. Each of us is responsible to free all sentient beings from all the sufferings and causes and to lead them to happiness, especially to lead them to ultimate happiness, the everlasting happiness, especially full enlightenment, the peerless happiness.
So now, remember this again. Feel the responsibility and then with this attitude listen to the teachings, to the discourse. With this attitude do the meditation, do the course. Whatever activities you do in each twenty-four hours, do it as much as possible out of this attitude. That means all the activities you do with the body, speech and mind are dedicated for sentient beings, are done for the benefit of sentient beings. That means that you live your life for other sentient beings; you live your life in order to obtain happiness for all sentient beings.
With that attitude the action of listening, of explaining, becomes Dharma. It becomes spiritual, it becomes Dharma, which means the unmistaken cause of happiness. It becomes a virtuous action, a wholesome action that only results in happiness. It is definite that the result is only happiness, now and in the future. So, that’s the motivation.
DIRECT AND INFERENTIAL VALID COGNITION
There are three categories in regards to the way to realize things. If there’s smoke coming from a chimney of a house, in this way we realize that there’s a fire in the house. This is the easy one. Then, the more difficult one is to understand about a person who lives in that house, how old that person is. That is more difficult. Then, more difficult than that is to understand the mind of the person living in that house, what she or he is thinking. To realize that is more difficult, much more difficult than the two previous ones. So there are different categories, the three levels, the way to realize the existence.
Our wealth, our apartment, the food, clothing, car, and so forth, these things we discover, we realize, with direct valid cognition. We can see these things, we can realize these things, with our own direct valid cognition. We discover, we realize, that we have wealth.
Now the second thing is that this wealth is in the nature of impermanence. This wealth, these surrounding people—family, friends and so forth—are in the nature of impermanence. To realize that they are in the nature of impermanence, we have to realize this by depending on logic, by using the inferential valid mind, the inferential valid cognition. We have to depend on logic, we have to realize with this mind how these things are in the nature of impermanence, how they are changing within every second. With the inferential valid cognition we realize how these things such as our wealth are in the nature of impermanence. These things cannot be realized with direct valid cognition, without depending on logic.
EMPTINESS: THE NYI OF TONG PA NYI
This wealth that we have, as we talked about today and other days, its nature is also empty, only empty, only emptiness. Its nature is only emptiness. The Tibetan term for that is tong pa nyi. Tong pa is “empty,” nyi is “only,” so it cuts off something. Adding the word nyi after tong pa makes it particular, it cuts off something, it cuts off something. Only emptiness, it cuts off something. It cuts off some other empty that we might make a mistake with, that we might get a wrong understanding from, some other emptiness. It cuts off some other emptiness that we might get mixed up with, that we might think that way. So, to avoid a wrong understanding of emptiness the Tibetan adds nyi to the word, tong pa. It’s not just tong pa, “empty” but nyi, “only.” That makes it particular, that makes it specific. It’s not talking about ordinary empty, but a particular emptiness. By adding nyi to tong pa, which is empty, that makes it specific.
When we become poor, when we become homeless, when we lose everything, at that time there’s an absence of the wealth. Put it this way, when there’s no money in the purse, the purse is empty. The purse is empty of money. No matter how much we want to buy a cappuccino, no matter how much we want to buy chocolate or ice-creams, the purse is empty of money. So with tong pa nyi, nyi cuts off ordinary emptiness. By putting the word nyi, “only,” it cuts off the ordinary emptiness, which is, for example, the absence of the money.
Here, we’re not talking about that kind of absence of phenomena itself, we’re not talking about that kind of emptiness. We’re talking about how, while the money is in the purse, it’s still empty. While the million dollars is in the bank, it’s empty. While we have wealth it’s empty. Here we’re talking about that particular emptiness, that which is the reality of the money or the wealth. It’s the emptiness that becomes the reason for the money to exist. Here the emptiness helps the money to exist. So it’s different from the usual empty, the empty that people talk about, which is the absence of phenomena that exists. Here, because of this particular emptiness, because of only emptiness, the money exists in the bank or in the purse.
THE EMPTINESS OF LETTERS AND NUMBERS
Who created the English letters? Do you know? Who created the English letters? Who first started it? Was the idea started by a group of people or just one person? Maybe it was started by a monkey? No, I’m joking. Since human beings came from monkeys, then monkeys maybe made A, B, C, D. Who made up the A, B, C, D? From England, or from where? [Students respond.] Yeah? From Rome, from Italy? From Rome. You mean the Roman Empire? He made A, B, C, D? Yeah? Before the Roman Empire there’s no A, B, C, D? Oh, no. There was? [Students respond.]
Probably there was something before. I’m not sure whether the Roman Empire did this or not. It must have come together with the A, B, C, D when it happened.
So, this line means “one.” [Rinpoche draws a line in the air with his finger.] You draw like this, and then label it “one.” Then you put a round circle next to it and you label it “ten.” Then you put another circle, “hundred” and anther circle, “thousand.” So my question is these labels must have started at the same time as A, B, C, D happened, eh? No? What? So when did it happen?
[Students respond.]
You mean this particular number? This particular number?
[A student responds, mostly inaudible, but something about how the zero came from India.]
Nothing came from Tibet? No, I’m joking. What? Anyway, so you mean the ideas came from different countries and were put together? Is that what you’re saying? But there must have been a time when somebody put the label, saying this means “ten.” There was a time when the label “ten” was put. There was a beginning of the time for the label “ten.” There was a beginning of that time.
Since this creation has a beginning, since the label has a beginning, there was a time the label started, there was a time the label “ten” was first given to these figures, then the label “one hundred” to these figures and “thousand” to these. So, there was a time the label “thousand” was given, depending on this figure. First there were these drawings, then somebody decided to label them “ten,” “hundred” and “thousand.” So there was a time where these particular figures didn’t exist. There was a time this particular drawing didn’t exist on this earth. And there was a time, after they were created, after these drawings happened, that the labels came, “one,” “zero,” “hundred,” “thousand.” The label, the name was put by the mind depending on these drawings.
Just from this example, you can see that one, zero, ten, are labels put depending on these drawings, these lines. So this one, zero, ten, hundred, thousand, these came from the mind. Came from the mind. As I mentioned this morning, whatever you are, Zopa or whatever—I’ve forgotten what names that I used this morning, anyway—whatever name you have your parents gave you. It’s your parents’ idea. They decided the label and imputed that label depending on the base, the aggregates, your own association of body and mind. As I mentioned this morning, that also came from the mind. These things came from the mind. One, ten, hundred, thousand, these existences came from the mind. That’s clear, that’s clear. They were created by the mind; they came from the mind, labeled by the mind, because of the reason of these particular drawings.
THE EMPTINESS OF MONEY
So this money in the purse, that which is labeled $1, $10, $100, $1,000, it came from the mind. The mind has merely imputed this, because of the reason, that this piece of paper has these particular designs—these numbers, these lines, these circles—and is officially recognized.
Because of the reason that this piece of paper has these particular designs—these drawings, these numbers, these lines, these circles, meaning one, ten, hundred, thousand—this money is merely imputed by the mind and it’s believed. It’s believed that this is what it is. This is what is $1, what is $10, what is $100, $1,000. This is the reality. To repeat again, because these pieces of paper have particular designs—lines and circles and so forth—because of the reason of that base, the mind merely imputes $1, $10, $100, $1,000 and believes in that.
Now you can see the difference between the piece of paper that is the base and the money, the $1, $10, $100, $1,000. Now you can see they’re different, they are not separate but they’re different. The piece of paper that has all these designs and the label that you put on it “money,” and such and such, they’re not separate but they’re different.
Now you can see what really it is. What really $1 is, what really the $10, $100, $1,000 are. It is simply, it is just that which is merely imputed by the mind, because of the reason that this piece of paper has these designs that have been decided by the government. With this analysis you can see $1 is empty, $1 is completely empty, it doesn’t exist at all from its own side. $10 is completely empty. $10 is nothing, it is nothing, except what is merely imputed by the mind. Therefore, it is empty; it doesn’t exist at all from its own side. The $100, $1,000, all these do not exist at all from their own side. That is the reality. By meditating, by analyzing this, this is what comes to be realized.
The actual $1 or $10 or $100 or $1,000 from its own side that is there on this piece of paper, from above this piece of paper, that is a total hallucination. Because if it exists you should be able to find it when you look for it. Where is that real $1? Or the real $10 or $100 or $1,000 existing from their own side. If you search for it you should be able to find it there, on that piece of paper. You should be able to find it, but if you try to point to where it exists, you can’t find it. If you point it out, there’s nowhere you can find that, not on any part of that piece of paper, not even the whole group of the piece of paper, you cannot find that one. You cannot find that real $1, $10, $100, $1,000 existing from their own side, you cannot find them anywhere. There you cannot find them at all, not on any part, not even on the whole group, you cannot find.
The real one, existing from its own side, the $1 from its own side, the $10 from its own side, the $1,000 from its own side, that one cannot be found anywhere. That one cannot be found anywhere. It exists neither on that piece of paper nor in your purse, nowhere, neither inside the purse nor outside, nowhere it exists.
While there are these pieces of paper that have the officially agreed design, with numbers like this, one circle, two circles or three circles, while they are in your purse, there is money in your purse, but there’s no money, but there’s no money on the piece of paper! There is money in your purse but there’s no money on the piece of paper. There is money in the house but there’s no money on the piece of paper, on that particular thing. You cannot find money there. But you can find money in the house, you can find money in the purse, while there are those officially agreed pieces of paper.
So, what is the money? It’s empty; it’s merely imputed by the mind. The money is empty, empty of existing from its own side. Because it’s empty of existing from its own side, it’s empty of independent existence. It’s empty of existing without depending on causes and conditions, without depending on the basis, the piece of paper, without depending on the mind labeling it, without depending on any of these things.
Does it mean it’s completely nonexistent? Is it completely empty even in name? Not existing even in name? Is it nonexistent? It is not. The money’s not nonexistent. It is empty of independence, existing without depending on the base and existing without depending on the cause and conditions, that which is independent, which means existing without depending on cause and conditions, the base and the mind which labels.
Because the money is a dependent arising, it exists because of the valid base, these officially agreed pieces of paper that exist in the purse with all the necessary designs. And how that happened is because the mind merely imputed, merely labeled it. That is how it exists. This is the way the money exists, being merely imputed by the mind because there is this piece of paper that has all the designs that have been officially decided.
So you can see now that the money that exists is a dependent arising; it’s not independent. Independent money doesn’t exist. That is completely nonexistent. That’s complete empty. The money is emptiness only, this emptiness, only emptiness, which doesn’t mean the absence of money but being empty of inherently existent money, independent money, this particular emptiness. Because of that, the money is able to exist, it is able to function.
What I was going to say, the point is this. So you see, the money is empty. Money is empty. You can see the reason it is empty by looking at dependent arising, how it’s dependent arising, which is the explanation of how it exists. From there, you come to understand what money really is. Through analysis, you come to see it’s something completely different to what we normally think it is. It doesn’t appear to us in that way without analysis, for those of us who don’t meditate on emptiness, who haven’t realized emptiness. When we analyze, it’s something else completely than what we normally believe.
Realizing that money is empty from its own side is the ultimate nature of money. So this depends on logical reasoning, that it’s a dependent arising. The emptiness of phenomena such as money, the ultimate truth or emptiness of money or wealth, this has to be realized, discovered, by the inferential valid mind, by depending on reasons.
These things are much more difficult than our senses realizing a sense object, such as our hearing realizing a sound. You are realizing my sound. I’m constantly making noises. [Rinpoche snorts.] That one. Or the eye sense seeing, realizing, a flower, these things that can be realized with direct valid cognition.
Now the third type of phenomena, that is most difficult to realize. Actually, that is the main point. That is the main point of the subject tonight, the third one. That is the main point of the subject to discuss when you fall asleep. I’m joking, anyway. Hopefully, it may not happen after that.
HAVING FAITH IN THE BUDDHA AS A VALID SOURCE
Now, wealth. The fully enlightened Omniscient One, who is completely free from all mistakes of the mind, who has not the slightest mistake in the understanding of phenomena, who sees every single existence directly, the Omniscient One said of wealth that a person is poor, having a difficult life, because in the past he didn’t create the karma, he didn’t create the cause, making charity. He didn’t practice generosity, he didn’t practice giving to others. Then he was also miserly with his possessions, with his wealth. And for a person who has wealth, that came from the inner cause, from the charitable mind. It came from the inner cause, charity, which is defined as the thought of giving. That is the definition of charity. So wealth comes from the inner cause, which is our own mind, the thought of giving, charity.
The thought of protecting is the definition of morality. Morality is the cause of having a body of the happy migratory being, a human body or the body of a deva, a worldly god. There are different levels of devas or worldly gods, where there’s more opportunity to experience happiness, temporary happiness or ultimate happiness. This is called the body of a happy migratory being. There is more happiness, and even though there’s suffering, it is much less than the animal beings, the hell beings or the hungry ghost beings. The body of the happy migratory being—the deva or human body—comes from the inner cause, morality, that is in our own mind, the thought of protection, to protect ourselves from the cause of the suffering and problems, nonvirtuous actions, unwholesome actions.
How to realize this? How to realize this? By faith. This subject of karma shows we are experiencing the result in this life of actions we created in the past lives. The cause of the happiness we’re experiencing in this life was created in other lives. The way to realize this is by having faith in valid quotations such as this. Not just any quotation but a valid quotation, a true quotation, a quotation that is pure, that is free from three mistakes, that is pure with three analyses. If I explain “pure with three analyses” you’ll get the idea.
It’s not saying that you should have faith in any quotation. It’s not saying that. Here it’s talking about particular quotations, ones that are valid or true. True, as the word says, means you can see like that in reality, you can realize exactly that way in the evolution. Not something different. It’s not that the quotation says something but then you realize something else, not like that.
Like in science, even nowadays in Australia there is a lot of debate about when the conception starts. Oh, I made a mistake. When does the life of a being start? Some psychologists, some professionals, have a lot of disagreement. Even with doctors, the previous definitions are being changed as they discover more and more things. I think there are also maybe changes in the definition of AIDS as they discover more and more that what they thought in the past was true, was limited understanding or was wrong. This happens so many times with scientific knowledge, that things change the more they study. They discover more new phenomena, and then some of the definitions that were believed before are seen to be wrong. Suddenly there are new explanations. There is much blockage, but there is great development; it’s happening all the time. They discover more and more, their knowledge becomes deeper and deeper.
As I mentioned this morning, when the top scientists analyzed atoms, they discovered that the atom is related somehow to the mind perceiving it. It’s the way the mind perceives it, rather than something from its own side. Some of those top scientists discovered this, concluding it’s to do with the mind.
Some of the top scientists explained that cancer is related to negative thoughts. There’s one book where a person interviewed many top scientists and put it all together. The more they discover, the deeper they go, the more subtle the object, the closer to Buddhism they come; the closer to the Buddha’s teachings that it is more relating to the mind. They are coming to understand this point.
Oh, I lost my point. Disappeared. I think it’s gone to bed. It went to bed early. Before the body went to bed, I think the mind went to bed. So, anyway, it doesn’t matter.
Valid quotations, such as this quotation of the Omniscient One, this quotation is a valid quotation, and this is pure, with three analyses. In other words, pure means it is free from three mistakes. In this quotation faults, mistakes, can’t be found by direct valid cognition, so it is pure. And this quotation is pure because faults, mistakes, can’t be found by inferential valid cognition. And thirdly—it’s something to concentrate on—this quotation is pure because faults, mistakes, can’t be found by referring to another valid quotation. The other quotation has to be valid, not a quotation in which faults can be found, one that is not true. It can’t just be any quotation, not just because some philosopher has said it, not just because somebody has written it, not like that. For this quotation to be seen as faulty, to be wrong, it has to be compared to another quotation that itself has to be valid. That quotation has to be valid means.
In other words, let’s put it this way. The very point is this, anyway. Whether I talk for a long time or not, the very point is this quotation can’t be found as faulty from another valid quotation. Let’s put it this way. If the other quotation says there is no reincarnation, or wealth doesn’t come from charity and the body of a happy migratory being doesn’t come from morality, from good karma, these sorts of quotations [will not invalidate a valid quotation because they themselves are wrong.] As I mentioned before, for the Omniscient One’s quotation to be seen as mistaken using another quotation, first of all that quotation has to be valid. That means, means, it has to come from somebody who has realized that there is no reincarnation, that there are no past or future lives, or who has realized that wealth does not result from this virtuous action, charity, the result of wealth doesn’t happen. Or from this good karma, this virtuous action of morality, the body of the happy migratory being doesn’t happen. It has to come from somebody who directly sees that way. In other words, another omniscient mind, another buddha. It has to be one who has an omniscient mind, meaning a buddha. Buddha is Sanskrit meaning “enlightened” so whoever has an omniscient mind is an enlightened being. For this quotation to receive harm—that’s the correct word?—the quotation that disproves it can only come from another enlightened being, from another omniscient one. But, this quotation doesn’t receive harm, there’s no harm at all from another omniscient one.
That is the main point of subject I meant to discuss.
The question is, is there anybody who has realized there’s no reincarnation? That is the question. So then maybe we’ll stop for now.
Is there anybody who has realized, not just who believes, not just who believes because somebody said so. Is there anybody who has realized that there’s no reincarnation, that there are no past or future lives? That’s my main question. That’s the main point. Is there? Have you heard of anybody?
[Inaudible comment from a student.]
My question implies that’s there’s nobody who has realized that there is no reincarnation but there are people who have realized that there is reincarnation. So, nobody has realized that there’s no reincarnation. Is it right? There’s nobody who has realized that there’s no reincarnation.
Maybe we’ll stop here. Then maybe continue a little bit some time.
I’m sorry, I’ll just begin again, but this doesn’t need to continue. The point is this. We ourselves don’t have clairvoyance, we ourselves don’t have the knowledge, don’t have this capacity of mind to foresee the past and future, the past and future to do with this life, with ourselves and with others’ past and future lives. We ourselves don’t have the clairvoyance to see these things: past and future, karma, action, the particular causes of the particular problems and happiness. We are creating causes right now but we’re unable to see the exact result that will happen, exactly, clearly. We are unable to see the result of this nonvirtuous action, unable to know exactly what kind of problems it will bring in the future. Or now, if we are experiencing happiness or problems now, we are unable to see exactly what kind of virtuous or nonvirtuous causes were created in the past, at which place, at what time, all these specific things, with everything precise. Because we don’t have clairvoyance, the capacity of mind to see such things, because we don’t have an omniscient mind, to fully see all existence, then, then how can we realize that these things—karma, reincarnation, good results from morality and so forth—don’t exist?
What’s left is by having faith in not just any quotations, but these valid quotations that are pure, that don’t receive harm from these three things—from a direct valid cognition, from an inferential valid cognition and from other valid quotations. Another omniscient one cannot harm this quotation, cannot say this is a mistake. So, this quotation is pure with these three analyses. It has to be such, like this. If it receives harm from any of these then it’s not right. Then it’s not worth having faith in. That’s the point I didn’t clarify before. That’s the point I’m trying to make. Since we ourselves don’t have those mental capacities, that clairvoyance, the omniscient mind, how can we realize these things?
Even for a person who doesn’t meditate, even for a non-religious person, life is full of faith. It has so much to do with faith, with believing somebody. Faith, living life with faith, believing what somebody says. Life is filled with that. So this is not the first time. This is not the first time. Even a non-religious person, who never accepts anything spiritual, like the Communist Chinese, who never accept any religion, but life is full of faith, full of belief in what somebody says. We grow up with that. So, it’s wrong to think this is the first time in our life we have been called on to have faith. That is completely wrong. This is a new phenomenon that we didn’t know about before, a new phenomenon that existed but we weren’t aware of. It’s new to our mind, not in general existence, but new to our mind, we haven’t realized it before.
So, please think more, reflect more on this point. Especially the last point, about how without this omniscient mind, clairvoyance, it can be realized. This is the point to think more about, to analyze more.
Hello? No, I’m not going to ask anything. No, I’ll just give my idea, not ask another question.
Just to mention what I was going to say. If you assert that there’s only one life without past or future lives, that it’s true that there’s no reincarnation, but that doesn’t mean somebody has to realize it, then the question I was going to ask is this. What is your definition of “existing”, of “not having reincarnation?” If you said there doesn’t have to be somebody to realize it, it exists but it doesn’t need somebody to realize it, there’s only one life, no past or future lives, then the question I was going to put, which is way back in my mind is, what is your definition of existing if that is true? That was my question. That is just to meditate on, okay.
That’s all. Yeah, that’s all.
So, thank you very much. Goodnight.
Lecture 10
EMPTINESS: REAL APPEARANCE AS A HALLUCINATION
A star, a visual aberration, the flame of a lamp,
An illusion, a drop of dew or a bubble,
A dream, a flash of lightning, a cloud—
See causative phenomena as such.
Look at all the causative phenomena, including yourself, your own life, your own body, your possessions, the surrounding people—friends, enemies, strangers—and see that by being under the control of cause and conditions they are changing within every second, that they do not last even within the second, that they are decaying within every second. Please concentrate on this.
[Meditate]
Because of this, these causative phenomena can be stopped any time.
[Meditate]
We cannot trust that these things will be the same every day, that these things will last, that we will always have these things, that these things will exist all the time like today, like this minute.
[Meditate]
So, there is no basis for anger, ignorance, the dissatisfied mind, attachment, to arise. Not just that, all existence—these causative phenomena and un-causative phenomena, permanent phenomena—all existence, while existing, they are empty from their own side. While appearing as real, they are empty. All things, including the I, action, object, all these things, while they are existing, they are empty from their own side.
[Meditate]
Because what they are is nothing other than what is merely imputed by the mind. Therefore, they do not have inherent existence. That which appears to exist from its own side, or to exist inherently, that is a hallucination. That is totally a hallucination. What appears as a real one from its own side is totally a hallucination. It’s a projection of ignorance, it’s a decoration, it’s a projection that is put there, that appears, that is projected by ignorance, the concept of true existence, the hallucinated mind, which is the king of the wrong concepts. Due to the imprint that’s left by ignorance, things that are merely labeled appear to be unlabeled, independent, existing from their own side. This appearance comes from the hallucinated mind. Therefore, all the existence is like a dream, like an illusion.
Concentrate on this just a little bit. Now concentrate on the reality, what they are, what all these things mean. Concentrate on the reality, without being caught in the hallucination, without being caught on the surface. The surface or the hallucination, the projection. Without being caught in this, you should concentrate, you should look at the reality.
This is how things are, this is how things are—the I, action, object, all these things. It’s never the way they normally appear to us. It’s never normally the way we apprehend them. When we analyze they’re completely contradictory.
So again, there’s no basis for this wrong concept to arise. There’s no reason to have these hallucinations. There’s no reason to have all these various hallucinations by following these various wrong concepts, the concept of true existence, the concept of permanence and so forth. With these wrong concepts, with apprehending and believing that these hallucinations are true, that they exist in reality, that only ties us to problems. It only keeps us in the problems. These wrong concepts are the cause, they are the foundation for the sufferings of the body and mind, for all of life’s problems. These wrong concepts never [allow us to] transcend our life, to transcend our mind. They don’t allow us to free ourselves from true suffering and the true cause of suffering.
Only right understanding, the realizations how these things are in the nature of impermanence and empty of true existence, these wisdoms, the awareness in these things—only this eliminates the cause of the suffering and the whole entire suffering.
Now we will recite the Essence of Wisdom, the Heart Sutra, with the same continuation of the understanding or awareness, looking at the things according to the reality.
I prostrate to the Arya Triple Gem. Thus did I hear…
ONLY THE MIND CAN REMOVE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEMS
Just to finish what I started explaining, the meaning of the first two lines of the refuge prayer, how the first two lines, relying upon Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, is taking refuge, and last two lines is generating bodhicitta.
Maybe put it this way. Even though external materials can cure a disease, even though they can stop the pain, that doesn’t mean we will never experience it again. For example, taking medicine to stop fever, or aspirins to stop a headache or some tranquilizers to stop the immediate pain. That doesn’t mean that from now on we’ll never get a headache. Even if we recover today it doesn’t mean that once recovered we’ll never experience fever again, in this life or in future lives. From now on we’ll never experience fever, we’ll never experience headaches, we’ll never experience diarrhea, we’ll never experience colds, we’ll never cough. It doesn’t mean that. Even if there’s an external cure for cancer and AIDS, even if we can recover from them, that doesn’t mean that we will never experience cancer or AIDS from now on. Forever, we’ll never experience them. It doesn’t mean that.
Diseases are not all the problems of life. Diseases are just one tiny part of life’s problems. Illness is one problem among so many problems. There are the problems of the suffering of rebirth, the suffering of death, there are these major problems. The biggest ones are the suffering of the rebirth that comes at the beginning of this life and the suffering of death that comes at the end, and the many other problems that come in between, sicknesses, old age and so many others: fear, worries, separating from desirable objects, meeting undesirable objects and so forth. Meeting undesirable objects, living beings and nonliving things, and separating from desirable objects. After we find the desirable object, then there’s the worry and fear of being separated from it. Even after we have found the desirable object, we are still unable to find satisfaction. So there are so many other problems between these two big problems in life, the suffering of rebirth and suffering of death.
First of all, to get an idea. Why do these diseases—fever, colds, coughs, headaches, diarrhea and so forth—recur? Even though by taking medicine we recover, why do they come back again, in this life and in other, future lives? Why do they come back again? Because nothing was done to eliminate the cause, that which is within the mind. That was not abandoned. That wasn’t removed, not ceased. What is the cause of these problems that are in the mind? That is the karma, action, and the disturbing thoughts, such as the concept of true existence, ignorance, and then anger, attachment and so forth. These disturbing thoughts and action, karma, make outside phenomena become conditions for the disease. Normally, ordinary people—this is the Western nations’ culture—regard the outside things, which are only conditions, as the main cause.
However, as I mentioned last night, there are some scientists who relate to the mind. Some expert scientists relate things such as the cancer to our own negative actions, and mind. This shows that external medicine, external things, cannot remove the cause of the problems which is rooted in the mind, which is within the mind, which is the mind.
External phenomena cannot remove the cause of the problem, the inner cause of the problem, that is in the mind, that is the mind. What can remove, what can eliminate the inner cause of the problems? It’s only by the mind. It can be eliminated only by the mind. The cause of the problem is within our mind. It’s our own mind. Therefore, what can eliminate the cause of the problems is also only by our own mind. It’s only by our own mind. Not by the cause of the problem. Not by the same one, like anger. I’m not saying we can use anger to eliminate the anger. It’s not like that. Anger purifying anger, it’s not like that. Not talking that way. Attachment eliminating attachment, not talking that way. Here, it’s our own mind, but another mind, the opposite to those wrong concepts, the positive, right realization, right understanding, that can eliminate them.
So, it’s like this. The root of the samsara, the root of the whole, entire suffering, is ignorance, the concept of the truly existent I. This can be eliminated by our own mind, by the wisdom realizing emptiness, realizing the ultimate nature of the I, our own self. That which is Dharma. Our own mind that is Dharma can eliminate the root of the whole, entire suffering. The whole, the defiled circling, these aggregates, the samsara, circling from one life to another life. So this one, the root of samsara, this ignorance, the concept of the truly existent I, can be eliminated by our own mind, by that which is Dharma, the wisdom realizing the ultimate nature of our self. Another thought, another mind, which is our own mind, has to eliminate that.
It’s the same thing with attachment, the dissatisfied mind, which ties us to samsara, the defiled, circling aggregates, which ties us to this suffering realm and which interferes with us achieving liberation. This dissatisfied mind, this attachment, can also be eliminated by our own mind, by that which is Dharma, by the determination to be free from these defiled, circling aggregates, from samsara, this suffering realm.
Then, the self-cherishing thought interferes with us achieving full enlightenment, from ceasing all the mistakes of the mind and completing all the qualities of the realizations. It interferes with us having the realization that allows us to perfectly work for other sentient beings, to guide other sentient beings, without the slightest mistake. The self-cherishing thought that interferes with us achieving these realizations can also be eliminated by our own mind, that which is Dharma, by bodhicitta, the altruistic mind to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
HOW REALIZATIONS PROTECT US
A few days ago I gave just a very rough idea of the five paths to achieve the liberation of the Lesser Vehicle path and the five Great Vehicle paths, the five Mahayana paths, with the ten bhumis, through which the mental continuum approaches full enlightenment. And then tantra, the path of the Secret Mantra.
All these are our own mind, all these paths are our own mind, the positive, right realization. They are the positive minds that eliminate all the mistakes of our mind—all the causes that produce all the suffering—and the imprints left on the mental continuum by the disturbing thoughts. All those are eliminated by our own mind, which is Dharma, the right realization.
When we have this disease of the mind, this pain of the mind, the dissatisfied mind, attachment, when we have this mental pain or this mental disease so much, this is eliminated by meditating, by realizing impermanence and death. That is also our own mind and that is Dharma. Dharma is that which protects us from the cause of suffering, the concept of permanence, from this dissatisfied mind, attachment. Meditating on the thought of impermanence and death protects us from this cause of suffering, it protects us from these delusions that create the unwholesome action, the nonvirtuous action, the harmful action, which results in problems in this life and problems after this life, experiencing rebirth in the suffering realms of the animals, the naraks or hell beings and the pretas or hungry ghosts. The thought of impermanence and death protects us from the cause, from the wrong concept, and from karma, action, and the whole entire result, the sufferings which arise from that cause. So, it protects us from the whole thing, cause and result, from the cause, the disturbing thought, karma, and the whole entire suffering result. It protects us from this whole thing, from this whole evolution. This thought of impermanence and death, this awareness, this meditation, this realization protects us from those heaviest suffering experiences of the animal, hungry ghost or narak beings.
That’s why our own thought of impermanence and death, this right understanding, this right realization, is called Dharma; it’s because the meaning of Dharma is protecting ourselves from the sufferings. It holds ourselves up and holds the suffering of the lower realms down. It protects us from both the cause and the result, suffering. That is the meaning of Dharma. This is just one example.
Meditating on impermanence and death, the thought of impermanence and death, immediately cuts off the emotional mind, the painful mind, the dissatisfied mind, attachment. It immediately cuts this off. It immediately protects the mind from that and so immediately there’s peace. It immediately gives peace to the mind. The thought of impermanence and death, this is Dharma, which is our own mind, Dharma. This mind immediately gives peace, tranquility, calmness, relaxation, rest in our mind, rest in our life. The real rest in our life is rest from that mental confusion, from those problems of life. It gives real rest, a real holiday, in our heart, in our mind.
The wisdom realizing emptiness protects us from the concept of true existence, ignorance, the root of the samsara, then the whole entire suffering of samsara, the whole six realms’ sufferings, including all human beings’ problems. That wisdom does the function of Dharma, protecting us from the main cause of suffering, of problems, from the whole entire problems. That wisdom is real Dharma, that which is our own mind.
So, the same thing, bodhicitta, renouncing the self and cherishing other sentient beings, and on the basis of this, wishing to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings—this bodhicitta protects us from the self-cherishing thought and from all the obstacles that arise from the self-cherishing thought. It protects us from all the remaining obstacles, including the greatest obstacle, to complete the path to enlightenment. It protects us from falling down into the lower liberation, the liberation of the Lesser Vehicle path, which binds us to the blissful state of peace. It protects us from falling down into the liberation of the Lesser Vehicle path which binds us to that state.
So, bodhicitta, which is our own mind, protects us from the self-cherishing thought, from all the obstacles to achieve enlightenment, from falling down into the liberation of the Lesser Vehicle path. It has that function, protecting us from all these obstacles, from the risk, from the dangers, from all these problems. Therefore, that is Dharma. Our own mind, which is bodhicitta, is that which protects us from all these things—that is Dharma.
Just relating to the complete path, basically, it’s the same. What does Dharma mean? What does Dharma mean? Another meaning of Dharma is when we have cut the mind that causes suffering, when we have cut the wrong concept. That is Dharma. When we have cut those minds or those wrong concepts that bring unhappiness, that result in harm to ourselves and to other sentient beings, that is Dharma. It fixes up something that is wrong in the mind. That is Dharma.
This is basically the same as I explained before, but maybe just a little bit wider idea.
Relating to the lamrim, the whole path, it’s fixing up the mind, fixing up the mind, in other words, creating devotion in the mind. It’s fixing up the mind by creating devotion in our mind by seeing from our own side the virtuous friend with whom we have a relationship, from whom we have received Dharma contact, as an enlightened being.
That cuts the wrong concept, the thought of mistakes, heresy, the non-devotional mind that is the opposite of devotion. The non-devotional mind becomes the greatest obstacle to the development of our own mind in the whole path to full enlightenment. That means it’s the greatest obstacle for us to have all the qualities of the omniscient mind, perfect power, to complete the mind-training in compassion for all sentient beings—this as a basic—then to have all the qualities that allows us to free everyone from all the obscurations and sufferings and lead them to peerless happiness, full enlightenment. This non-devotional mind, or this thought of mistakes toward the virtuous friend, is the greatest obstacle. Therefore, by fixing up the mind into this realization, this devotion, we cut off those wrong concepts, those obstacles. Our own mind, this devotional mind, protects us from that greatest obstacle. That’s how it is Dharma.
Then that brings all success. That brings all the success for the happiness of this life, for actualizing the path, all the way up to leading each sentient being to peerless happiness, to full enlightenment. It brings success up to that point, where we can bring each and every sentient being to peerless happiness, to full enlightenment. We are able to do that.
This is the first Dharma, relating to the lamrim, the graduated path to enlightenment. This is the first Dharma; this is the root of the path to enlightenment.
The mind is fixed up by meditating on the lamrim, by meditating on the perfect human rebirth—its usefulness, the difficulty finding it again, the eight freedoms, the ten richnesses—on impermanence and death, on the sufferings of the lower realms and from there up to karma. This is the mind training in the graduated path of the lower capable being. With this the mind is fixed up, the determination, the renunciation of this life, is created. In that way we have cut off this painful mind, attachment, clinging to this life, which is the basis of our life’s problems, disease, relationship problems and so forth. Even when we try to practice Dharma we are unable to. Attachment interferes with us being able to practice Dharma or if we try it doesn’t become pure, it doesn’t become successful. With this realization, however, we cut this, the attachment clinging to this life.
Then, by meditating, by training the mind in the graduated path of the middle capable being, the true sufferings and the true cause of suffering, by meditating on the evolution of the self, on samsara, on the shortcomings of samsara, the mind gets fixed up in the realization, in the determination to be completely free from the whole entire samsara, not finding the slightest attraction to samsara, to samsaric perfections. This way we have cut off the attachment that finds attraction to samsara, to samsaric perfections, that attachment that continuously ties us all the time to samsara, to these suffering realms, that doesn’t allow us to achieve liberation, everlasting happiness, peace.
That mind relating to the lamrim is the second Dharma.
Then the third Dharma relates to the mind training in bodhicitta, the graduated path of the higher capable being, such as the seven techniques of Mahayana cause and effect. By this, the mind is fixed up in bodhicitta, renouncing the self, cherishing only other sentient beings, day and night, constantly, wishing to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. We spontaneously wish to achieve full enlightenment for sentient beings. The mind is transformed by this, the mind is fixed up in this bodhicitta. We have cut off the self-cherishing thought.
Then also, by training the mind in the six paramitas,4 by fixing the mind, as I mentioned last night, we fix the mind in various realizations. Charity means the thought of giving. Morality means the thought of protecting. Fixing the mind in these six paramitas, we cut off those other obstacles, miserliness, laziness, ignorance, the concept of true existence and so forth. We cut off those obstacles, those disturbing thoughts.
Then, by training the mind in the generation stage and the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, the mind is fixed up in pure thought and pure appearances, in pure thought that has pure appearances. In that way, we cut off the impure, ordinary concepts and appearances. And by training the mind in the completion state, the mind is fixed up, mended, so that the wind enters into the center channel and abides and absorbs there. Then we actualize the clear light, the extremely subtle consciousness, the extremely subtle mind. We actualize what is called clear light and illusory body. Then, after the unification of those two, the clear light and illusory body, which is the direct cause, we achieve enlightenment, the unification of no-more-learning, that completely pure clear light, the holy body, the rupakaya, the pure illusory body that is completely free from even the subtle obscurations.
By fixing the mind in the clear light, by developing this extremely subtle wisdom, we are able to cut off the gross and subtle dual view, that subtle dual view that arises even during the appearance of the white path, the increasing red path and near-attainment dark path. Those dualistic minds that arise during these times all get completely ceased.
Then, like the sun and sunbeams, there’s the sun, the completely pure holy mind, the dharmakaya, and the sunbeams, the holy form body, the manifestations. Like there are so many millions of beams which function to eliminate darkness in the world, everywhere doing the function, eliminating darkness. Like this, the dharmakaya—the ultimate fixed mind, the completed one, the dharmakaya, having ceased all the mistakes of the mind and completed the qualities of the realizations—is the sun and [the rupakaya] is like the sunbeams, innumerable numbers of forms that manifest according to the level of mind of sentient beings, to eliminate the darkness of the sentient beings’ mind. They eliminate the mental darkness, the obscurations, the darkness of mind, such as the ignorance of true existence, ignorance not knowing the nature of the I and so forth. All these obscurations are dispelled by various means, including revealing the highest, Dharma, and by manifesting in various forms according to the level of mind of sentient beings.
This last one, the completion stage, is how our own mind is ultimately fixed up; it becomes the fully fixed up mind. This way then we have cut off all the mistakes of the mind. This is the meaning of Dharma. The Tibetan term is sem chö pa, to fix up the mind.
In our day-to-day life, when somebody bothers us, when somebody disrespects us, then by practicing patience, that’s fixing up the mind, cutting off the anger. When there’s danger of anger arising due to somebody doing something we don’t like, and then practicing loving-kindness and compassion is fixing up the mind, cutting off those wrong concepts, those harmful minds: anger and so forth.
WE NEED TO RELY ON THE BUDDHA, DHARMA AND SANGHA AS OUR DOCTOR, MEDICINE AND NURSE
In our daily life, when we try to listen to the teachings, try to do the meditations, when we try to live our life—eating, sleeping, walking, sitting, and so forth—doing the actions with the attitude of universal responsibility, by the motivation of cherishing other sentient beings, then whatever activities we do with such a motivation, again this mind becomes Dharma. The mind is fixed up. And this way, we have cut the self-cherishing thought.
The explanation has gone on and on like this but, I think, this is the conclusion! This is the medicine. These external things can’t remove the cause of suffering. And as long as the cause of suffering is not removed, that which is in the mind, or which is the mind, as long as that is not removed, then the problems will come back again and again, such as the suffering of rebirth, death and so forth. They all come back; we have to experience them again and again and again without end. As long as we don’t remove the cause of suffering, that which is within the mind, then these problems become endless.
Therefore, the method that can eliminate the cause of suffering, that is within the mind, is only Dharma, only Dharma. As I described just before, it’s that which is our own mind, not somebody else’s mind, which is our own mind; it’s the right realization, the right understanding, the right path. This is the fundamental thing that we have to analyze, that we have to understand and recognize. Only then can we understand the importance of Dharma, of why there’s a need for practice, for meditation. Why there’s still a need for a meditation practice, even though we are healthy now, even though we don’t have problems of poverty, relationship problems and so forth, even though we don’t have these problems. This gives the reason why there’s still a need for meditation practice. Even if we are a millionaire, there’s still a need for meditation.
So, you can see that the Dharma is an incredible protection. That is the real, that is the ultimate medicine. That is the real medicine, the ultimate medicine. The Dharma is much more important—a million times more important, more precious—than external medicine. The inner medicine, the Dharma, becomes a million times more important than external medicine, because without the inner medicine, the Dharma, there’s no end to the problems, and there’s no end to taking medicine.
If we become free from the whole entire cause of the suffering by practicing Dharma, then we don’t experience at all the true suffering, disease and so forth. So medicine is no longer needed. All this surgery, doing operations again and again, all these expenses, all these worries, fears, become unnecessary. No matter how precious external medicine is, even if it can cure the disease, when we compare it to the inner medicine, the Dharma, the outside medicine is nothing. When we compare the value of those two, the value of external medicine and the inner medicine, the Dharma, the benefit of the Dharma is infinite. It’s where all temporary happiness comes from and all ultimate happiness comes from.
In order to actualize this inner medicine, this Dharma, within us, we need somebody to reveal it to us; somebody has to reveal the Dharma. There has to be a founder. So that is the Omniscient One. Therefore, we need to rely upon the Buddha. There comes the reason to rely upon the Buddha, the Omniscient One. Similarly, in order to receive treatment, medicine, we have to rely upon the doctor who gives the treatment. There is the need for a doctor; we need to rely upon a doctor. So, in the same way, here we come to rely upon the Omniscient One.
Similarly, for a severely ill patient, just having the medicine, just having a doctor is not enough. There needs to be a nurse who takes care of him, who looks after him. Like that example, we need to rely upon the Sangha, those who are intending to virtue. The term Sangha means “intending to virtue.” This virtue means liberation, the liberation of the Lesser Vehicle path and great liberation, full enlightenment.
We need help from the Sangha. The Sangha is the helper who helps us actualizes the actual refuge, the Dharma, like the nurse who takes care of the sick person, helping to give the daily medicine and so forth. We need to rely upon the helper, the Sangha, in order to actualize the actual refuge, the Dharma, within our own mind.
Besides the problems of this life, even to save ourselves from rebirth in the naraks, which means the hell realm, the hungry ghost or preta realm or the animal realm, to be saved from being born in one of those realms and experiencing the sufferings there we don’t need to rely upon all three Jewels. Just for that, even just for that, we don’t need to rely upon all three. Just the Buddha alone is enough. Just the Dharma alone is enough. At the time of death, if we’re able to transform our mind into the Dharma, taking refuge in our own mind, by transforming our mind into the Dharma, we are saved. By generating compassion for other sentient beings or devotion to the Buddha, devotion to the virtuous friend, our own spiritual master and so forth, by transforming our mind by meditating on emptiness, transforming our mind into those positive thoughts, just relying upon our own mind as Dharma, then we don’t get born in those suffering realms. Or just taking refuge in the Sangha alone, we don’t get born in the lower realms.
But here, in order to be completely free from the whole, entire samsara, the defiled aggregates, circling from one life to another life, from this suffering realm, to be completely free from this whole, entire suffering realm, relying upon one is not enough. Like there’s need for three—doctor, medicine and nurse—this is the same, for this we need all these three. We have to rely upon the actual refuge, the Dharma, then the founder of the actual refuge Dharma, the Buddha, the Omniscient One, and then the helpers, the Sangha, who help us to actualize the actual refuge Dharma within our own mind. We need to rely upon all these three, otherwise we can’t be completely liberated from the whole, entire samsara and achieve ultimate liberation.
Now I’ll just go over the prayer. This one took ages. It almost took three countless great eons to explain.
CAUSAL AND RESULTANT REFUGE
“To the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha,” that shows the causal refuge. “Until I achieve enlightenment,” that shows resultant refuge.
So, here we are practicing both together, the resultant refuge and the causal refuge. The resultant refuge is having actualized the precious Dharma, the precious Dharma jewel, that which is the actual refuge within our own mind. Then we become the Sangha. Then we become the Sangha. Then by developing, by completing the actual refuge Dharma within our own mind, we become a buddha. The Buddha, Dharma and Sangha from our own experience. This is the resultant refuge. Our wishing to achieve, to experience these things, that is resultant refuge.
The ultimate purpose is to bring all suffering sentient beings into full enlightenment, therefore, we can’t experience the resultant refuge by ourselves alone. We cannot do it by ourselves alone. To succeed we need to rely upon the causal refuge, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha that is possessed by others’ minds, by minds separate from our own.
That’s why there’s need to practice both causal and resultant refuge. By taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha possessed by others’ minds, that becomes the cause for us to experience the resultant refuge, to actualize the Dharma, to become the Sangha and to become the Omniscient One, the Buddha. So, “I go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha” is the causal refuge and “until I achieve enlightenment” is the resultant refuge.
SAYING THE REFUGE PRAYER
How is the refuge practice done with the two causes? According to the Hinayana or the Lesser Vehicle path, without compassion for all sentient beings, just having the determination to be free from the whole entire samsara that is the nature of suffering, to have the fear of samsara, and to have faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, seeing they have the capacity to free us from samsara, we can achieve liberation.
The first cause, the determination to be free from samsara because of fear of samsara, is like having fear of a disease making us take medicine. We fear the disease and then have reliance on, have faith in, the doctor, the medicine and the nurse who have the power, the capacity to make it better, to make us healthy. With these two—fear of the disease and faith in the doctor, medicine and nurse, we rely upon them.
It’s the same here. With the determination to be free from samsara, due to the fear of samsara, we develop faith in the Triple Gem because they have the power to free us, to save us from the samsara. With these two causes, our heart relies upon the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. That is the way of taking refuge according to the Hinayana or the Lesser Vehicle path. It is done without compassion for all sentient beings.
According to the practitioners of the Mahayana, the Great Vehicle, besides these two causes—fear of samsara and devotion to the Triple Gem—there is a third thing, compassion for all sentient beings. With these three reasons, then our heart continually relies upon the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. That is the Mahayana way of taking refuge.
With such an attitude, we meditate on the meaning, saying the prayer, which reminds us of the practice.
Then, the last two verses, “Due to the merits of having created charity and so forth, may I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit all migratory beings.” This way it becomes a dedication and also generates bodhicitta. When we are listening to teachings we say, “Due to the merits of listening to the teachings and so forth, may I achieve enlightenment in order to benefit all migratory beings.” This means the merits of having practiced the six paramitas and so forth, and listening to the teachings, in order to achieve enlightenment to benefit all migratory beings.
When we say “migratory beings” those who have heard the teachings on dependent arising—dependent origination, the twelve branches—before should remember the meaning of “migratory being.” Sentient beings, by being under the control of disturbing thoughts and delusions, such as ignorance, anger, attachment and so forth, then karma, by being under the control of these causes, they continuously migrate in the six realms. One after another, continuously. They continuously migrate in one of these realms, without freedom. Without freedom because they are controlled, their mind is controlled by the karma and disturbing thoughts. Without any freedom, they continuously migrate in one of these suffering realms. We need to remember the meaning of “migratory beings,” how they migrate due to the twelve links. Then we need to remember how samsaric sentient beings are experiencing the general sufferings, the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change—those temporary pleasures that are labeled “pleasure” on the suffering and that appear as pleasure—and pervasive compounding suffering, being under the control of karma and delusion, pervasive compounding suffering, again creating future samsara, future suffering realms. Because of being controlled by karma and delusion, sentient beings’ minds are contaminated with the seed of disturbing thoughts. This is pervasive compounding suffering. So, sentient beings experience these general sufferings.
Then, the six types of suffering: nothing is definite, not finding satisfaction, leaving the body again and again, joining again and again, again and again becoming higher and lower. After becoming higher, then they become lower, always changing like this, with nothing definite. Then the shortcoming of not having a companion. At the time of rebirth we are born alone, and when we die we have to go alone. Even this body has to be left. Only the bare consciousness goes. Even this body that we have been together with for so long, that we have cherished so much and taken so much care of, even this has to be left.
So remember how samsaric sentient beings experience true suffering: the general sufferings and the particular sufferings of each realm: the hell beings’, pretas’ and animals’ suffering, then the human beings’ suffering and the devas’ suffering, those sufferings, those problems particular to those realms.
If we can remember how migratory beings—dro la in Tibetan—are suffering so much with the true cause of suffering, true suffering, then it helps to develop compassion. There’s no choice. When we reflect on all these sentient beings, how they’re migratory beings and how they’re suffering, there’s no choice, compassion has to arise. There’s no choice. Compassion has to arise in our mental continuum. So, “In order to benefit them, may I achieve enlightenment.”
After this it’s good to think, “I’m going to practice bodhicitta.” Put your palms together and think, “I’m going to practice bodhicitta.” This is the main source. Without this there’s no possibility to achieve full enlightenment. With this, by having bodhicitta, then there’s every possibility to achieve full enlightenment.
When we think like this, “I’m going to generate bodhicitta,” just in this second, we accumulate infinite merit, good karma, the cause of happiness and success. It is explained by the Buddha in the sutra text called Ting nye dzin gyi Gyal pö Do5—I don’t remember the name exactly—that if we do it like this we accumulate infinite merit, right now, in this second.
So I’ll stop here.
Notes
4 The six paramitas (Skt.) or perfections are the practices of a bodhisattva: the perfections of generosity, morality, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration and wisdom. [Return to text]
5 This is The King of Samadhi Sutra (Skt: Samadhirajasutra; Tib: Ting nge dzin gyi Gyäl pö Do). [Return to text]
