Discovering Buddhism - Death and Rebirth (5 April 2012)

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0:59 Jenna, you Report an error in the passage at 0:59 Highlight the passage at 0:59

1:10 have to change the cable to monitor in. You've got it on out. Wait, Report an error in the passage at 1:10 Highlight the passage at 1:10

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1:46 yeah. What do you want to do? Don't worry about that. No, it's just, it's okay. No, no, no. You don't need to do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:46 Highlight the passage at 1:46

1:58 Is it too much of a... Yeah, it'll find it now. If you need to move it up a little bit, that's okay. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:58 Highlight the passage at 1:58

2:23 Well, welcome everybody. Report an error in the passage at 2:23 Highlight the passage at 2:23

2:27 To the third class of Death and Rebirth, I'm so happy that you all returned. You haven't given up yet. A couple questions tonight. First of all, how's the meditation going? Report an error in the passage at 2:27 Highlight the passage at 2:27

2:44 Readings? Anybody had time to do any readings? I have to say that one of the things I'd like you to do for next week is to read, if you haven't done it already, is to read Dissolution by Lama Yeshe. yet Report an error in the passage at 2:44 Highlight the passage at 2:44

2:40 that things? Read. Report an error in the passage at 2:40 Highlight the passage at 2:40

2:57 It's in the readings and it's really inspiring. It's actually only a couple of pages. And what I would like you to do is read it and reflect on it and then maybe use it as a guide for a meditation during the week. Report an error in the passage at 2:57 Highlight the passage at 2:57

3:16 And then in terms of other readings that are going along with the material we're covering now, the readings authored by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, I think there's one on page nine about... Death and Impermanence, and then a longer one on page 70. And that material also follows along with this. I think some of the other readings, the Geshe Raptan reading is also very relevant, but maybe more as we get a little further in the class. Report an error in the passage at 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:48 Because some of the readings get into the stages and the processes of death, and we'll be covering more of that later. Report an error in the passage at 3:48 Highlight the passage at 3:48

4:03 And I have a question regarding the teachings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Long Beach. It's happening the weekend of the 20th of April. Is anybody here going to that? Okay. Do you think you'll be leaving? You'd probably be here at class or you think you might be leaving on that Thursday? Don't know. Report an error in the passage at 4:03 Highlight the passage at 4:03

4:28 The teachings start on Friday. Friday at about... Okay. So that'd be just... Two people probably. Okay, just trying to figure out whether we'll have an empty class or not and how to plan for that. So why don't we begin with, if we read, it's in the gold book on page 111. And if you want, this is a prayer of the four immeasurables. And you can, if you'd rather just reflect on that or have a little moment, just a quiet moment, that's fine too. Report an error in the passage at 4:28 Highlight the passage at 4:28

5:09 Page 111 in the gold book. Report an error in the passage at 5:09 Highlight the passage at 5:09

5:13 When we're reading this, if you can mentally just listen to what we're reading and if you're not reading it, just internalize what we're saying in terms of setting a positive motivation, this altruistic motivation to be here tonight to do this kind of work where we're going to look at a pretty challenging subject, a difficult subject, something that... Report an error in the passage at 5:13 Highlight the passage at 5:13

5:39 Conventionally or with the conventional world is a topic we'd rather not address, but we're instead going to look at this and think about what we can do to face this truth of death, the various topics that we're going to cover tonight, and to do this with this motivation of wishing to attain enlightenment to benefit others. Report an error in the passage at 5:39 Highlight the passage at 5:39

6:09 So how wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were to abide in equanimity, free from hatred and attachment, not holding some close and others distant. May they abide in equanimity. I myself will cause them to abide in equanimity. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the causes of happiness. May they have happiness and its cause. Report an error in the passage at 6:09 Highlight the passage at 6:09

6:39 I myself will cause them to be free from suffering and its cause. Report an error in the passage at 6:39 Highlight the passage at 6:39

6:55 Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. May they be free of suffering and its cause. Report an error in the passage at 6:55 Highlight the passage at 6:55

7:03 how wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were never separated from the happiness of higher rebirth and liberation may they never be separated from these i myself will cause them never to be separated from these please guru deity bless me to be able to do this Report an error in the passage at 7:03 Highlight the passage at 7:03

7:30 So we're going to be doing more meditation tonight, but I think we'll get on to a little bit of a review of last... of some of the things we covered last week and then go into that meditation so In an attempt to do that, I think maybe I mentioned the six preliminary practices last week. And these are just a means of preparing ourselves for this kind of study, particularly of meditation and practice. Report an error in the passage at 7:30 Highlight the passage at 7:30

8:05 So the six preliminary practices involve cleaning and arranging symbols of the enlightened body, speech and mind. So what you see here behind me in terms of the altar, you know, a Buddhist altar, you see statues on it. It represents this enlightened body, speech and mind. The body is represented by the statues. Report an error in the passage at 8:05 Highlight the passage at 8:05

8:28 The speech is usually represented by a text place on the altar and the altar can just be a table. It doesn't have to be anything special. And the mind is represented by a stupa. You can see the stupa back there. Report an error in the passage at 8:28 Highlight the passage at 8:28

8:43 There's these little structures that sometimes they're square, sometimes they're round. They're different traditions. And these small ones represent much larger. If you go to Nepal or India or Tibet especially, you'll see stupas that might be... Actually bigger than this room, sometimes as big as this house. And they contain special substances and usually mantras and they're blessed and some of them actually contain relics and they represent the enlightened mind. Report an error in the passage at 8:43 Highlight the passage at 8:43

9:28 So having those representations and then relics are... It's sometimes when really great practitioners die and then their bodies are burned, you know, cremated. What's left sometimes are pieces of bone and sometimes they're actually relics that take the form of, they look like little pearls or little different, actually later this year you'll get to see some because I think the relics tour is coming and there are relics from Great pandits and a relic, I mean, in general terms, a relic is just a piece of bone or, you know, part of the body of someone who was a great teacher or, you know, in the Catholic tradition, they're relics of the saints, practitioners. Report an error in the passage at 9:28 Highlight the passage at 9:28

10:25 So it's just having that representation, that bit of what's left in the body of that person. When the relics tour... You'll see a lot of different, they'll have some more information on that. But generally what we're talking about here with these stupas, they just basically contain various substances that are considered auspicious. Report an error in the passage at 10:25 Highlight the passage at 10:25

10:55 And then, like I said, there'll be mantras. And the mantras are special, you know, like Omani Pemi Hum. They're words that... By virtue of their sound and the speech are said to be like beyond the ordinary and carrying a more, a deeper meaning, a deeper function. So that's one way of practicing is to recite mantras. So we would have part of preparing a practice. Report an error in the passage at 10:55 Highlight the passage at 10:55

11:34 This is again in a more Buddhist tradition there, but the idea of cleaning. And kind of having your space, having a space that you've prepared. If you think about just having people over, you'd clean your house. We make special considerations. So in some ways it prepares our mind to be inviting, to sort of approach this practice with a sense of respect in terms of what we're doing, what we're bringing in. Report an error in the passage at 11:34 Highlight the passage at 11:34

12:06 It can also be looked at as... As we're cleaning, it's like the dust represents obscurations to our learning and understanding. So you can visualize it in that respect as well. And then we can arrange offerings, which is the second preliminary practice. And that's what you see here in terms of these water bowls. Report an error in the passage at 12:06 Highlight the passage at 12:06

12:30 And the different bowls of water represent different objects. And you can offer water bowls if you have an altar at home. You can offer food, flowers. The bowls actually symbolize water for drinking, water for washing, flowers, incense, light, perfume, food and music. And if you have a bell, you can put that on your altar and that's an offering of music. Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

13:08 If you want, I mean, you can even visualize offerings. They don't have to be physical offerings. It's, again, the idea of just, you know, again, if you're inviting someone to your house, you're making an offering. And so we're making an offering to these enlightened beings to enable or to create merit, basically. Report an error in the passage at 13:08 Highlight the passage at 13:08

13:34 And creating merit... It sort of clears the way for us to have understanding and realization. Report an error in the passage at 13:34 Highlight the passage at 13:34

13:45 And of course, this is in some of the texts, but they would all say that when we make offerings, we should be offering substances that we gained by right livelihood. So clearly, it's better to make no offerings than to offer something that was obtained in a less than. positive way. And then the third preliminary practice is adopting the seven-fold posture of Vairachana or a meditation posture. Report an error in the passage at 13:45 Highlight the passage at 13:45

14:19 I included a couple slides with the posture just so that you'd have it for reference. And it really has to do with just your posture. Paying attention to your position and we'll talk a little bit more about that in the next couple slides. The eighth part of that sevenfold posture is to begin by breathing. Report an error in the passage at 14:19 Highlight the passage at 14:19

14:49 And one way to help us, you know, focus our minds when we're starting meditation is to do a little breathing meditation and to count our breaths. Counting helps keep our concentration focused. So, you know, as you're breathing. With a small bit of your awareness, you're sort of watching yourself, watching the breath. And by counting, we have an indication of whether we have just completely lost, we've gotten lost in thought. Report an error in the passage at 14:49 Highlight the passage at 14:49

15:18 We've lost our count. We don't know where we are. And it's said that it's good to do this kind of breathing meditation before we start any practice because it puts our minds in a neutral state. Report an error in the passage at 15:18 Highlight the passage at 15:18

15:34 In a sense, what you're doing with these six preliminary practices is you're getting ready to do some sort of meditation or practice and you want to have your mind in a positive state. Report an error in the passage at 15:34 Highlight the passage at 15:34

15:45 If it's the first thing in the morning, maybe you're more likely to be in a neutral state. But if you've had a lot of things on your mind or if it's later in the day, you might have a bit of a negative mind or a distracted mind. And it's much easier to get your... your sense of awareness to a positive state if you start out from a neutral state. that's also, you can kind of... Report an error in the passage at 15:45 Highlight the passage at 15:45

16:12 And then the fifth practice is a petition to the merit field or petitioning the merit field. And that begins by visualizing the merit field. And this is a thangka that shows the merit field. Report an error in the passage at 16:12 Highlight the passage at 16:12

16:33 If you recall our first session, I talked about Buddhism being this living lineage and having the teachings handed down from teacher to disciple. So when we see the merit field, it's a collection of the great lamas of a particular lineage, the enlightened beings and saints of that lineage, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Report an error in the passage at 16:33 Highlight the passage at 16:33

16:58 So sometimes your merit field might... That's a pretty complicated image to conjure in your mind. And it can be as simple as visualizing your teacher. And maybe in your mind remembering that your teacher, just mentally thinking my teacher and my teacher's teachers, remembering that there is this lineage. Report an error in the passage at 16:58 Highlight the passage at 16:58

17:22 And that lineage does go all the way back to the Buddha. So if you want, you can also visualize that. You can visualize the Buddha. And all the teachers that receive those teachings as well. And then, again, this is part of that visualization. The purpose is involving creating merit. So this is sort of culminating this practice of what we're doing. Report an error in the passage at 17:22 Highlight the passage at 17:22

17:53 We're inviting these lineage lamas, these enlightened beings to be present. And we're asking them to help our understanding, to sort of make the teachings available. And that leads into the sixth preliminary. Oh, did I? One, two, three, four, five, six. Oh, sorry. That was the fourth. The petition of the merit field was the fourth. Report an error in the passage at 17:53 Highlight the passage at 17:53

18:15 The fifth is offering the seven limb prayer. And the seven limb prayer is just basically like a seven line prayer that has seven different parts to it. And the first is paying homage or respect. Sometimes it's... Report an error in the passage at 18:15 Highlight the passage at 18:15

18:33 I prostrate to the Buddhas. You see in here a lot of times people who have come to the teachings, who are practicing Buddhists, they'll bend and touch their heads to the floor, and that's a prostration. And part of the reason for doing that is showing respect and homage, and the other part is to counteract our own pride. So coming in and remembering, you know, to kind of really... Report an error in the passage at 18:33 Highlight the passage at 18:33

19:01 attracting creatures here today. Anyway, kind of preparing our minds and putting ourselves in a mind state because if we come to study something and we have too much pride, it closes our minds. It blocks the openness that's needed to really understand and comprehend. So this homage or prostration is the first limb. Report an error in the passage at 19:01 Highlight the passage at 19:01

19:28 The second is offering and that offering is That is essentially maybe the verbal part of what was done in the second step when you arrange the offerings. If you just have visualized offerings, then you go back to that visualization and now you're offering them because you've visualized this merit field and you have a presence, an enlightened presence to offer, to make those offerings to. Report an error in the passage at 19:28 Highlight the passage at 19:28

19:54 And then the next limb. This is like a confession or a purification. It's recognizing that we have accumulated these multiple lifetimes of negative karma and just having the wish to eliminate it, recognizing that the causes and conditions need to be proper for us to nurture these teachings, to realize them. Report an error in the passage at 19:54 Highlight the passage at 19:54

20:21 And so just by asking... for this kind of confession or this forgiveness, if you will, for all of our negative actions, again, puts our mindset in a positive direction. Report an error in the passage at 20:21 Highlight the passage at 20:21

20:37 then the... fourth limb is rejoice. Rejoicing in the accomplishments of others, spiritual accomplishments, rejoicing in all of the actions of... Report an error in the passage at 20:37 Highlight the passage at 20:37

20:54 Rejoicing in our own actions. The fact that we're sitting down to meditate. We can rejoice in that. The fact that we've gotten up and done all of these preliminary practices. So that's fine. And then we request the lineage lamas, the teachers, the enlightened beings to continue to turn the wheel of Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 20:54 Highlight the passage at 20:54

21:22 Turning the wheel of Dharma is a... phrase basically that the Buddha used to talk about or to describe giving teachings. So we talk about the first turning of the wheel of Dharma being the Four Noble Truths. And so we're basically requesting the teachings to flourish and to continue. And then the sixth limb is requesting the enlightened beings to remain. Report an error in the passage at 21:22 Highlight the passage at 21:22

21:53 So that we maintain the teachings so that they stay. And then finally, we dedicate. Because I think we talked a little bit maybe the last time about how dedication completes an action. And in terms of accumulating merit, when we do a positive action, we can take that merit and really offer it for this altruistic wish, this wish to attain enlightenment to benefit others. Report an error in the passage at 21:53 Highlight the passage at 21:53

22:21 And then it said that... When we've done that, just in our mind state, that when negative karma, when we get angry or we do a negative action, then that previous positive action that we did has already been dedicated. So it's not like it's there to be basically destroyed by that anger or by a negative action that we commit after. Report an error in the passage at 22:21 Highlight the passage at 22:21

22:50 So that's the idea behind dedication. Report an error in the passage at 22:50 Highlight the passage at 22:50

22:55 And then we finish with what would be further petitions, just again wishing or requesting the guidance of our lineage teachers. And it could be part of that visualization with the merit field and the next step to whatever practice you're going to do, whether you're doing a meditation on death, whether you're doing a practice that, you know, some sort of a practice that you do every day as a practitioner or as a Buddhist. Report an error in the passage at 22:55 Highlight the passage at 22:55

23:27 These are sort of the basic preliminaries and we actually do these if you come to Geshe-la's classes. They're pretty much covered in various ways. Some of them are covered by the person who comes in in the morning and makes the offerings and goes through these practices. Some of them we'll do as a prelude to the teachings. They'll come up as part of those prayers. Report an error in the passage at 23:27 Highlight the passage at 23:27

23:58 And then in terms of the preparation for meditation, there are two aspects, the preparation of place and preparation of person. And the preparation of place refers a lot to what those first couple of items were in the six preliminary practices in terms of cleaning a place, setting a place aside. I think we talked about this in our first class, that it's good to have a particular place that you can meditate and a place that's yours, a place where you can feel comfortable and feel like you're not going to get disturbed, and that your meditation place can be a cushion, it can be a chair, whatever you have, whatever feels best for you. Report an error in the passage at 23:58 Highlight the passage at 23:58

24:50 And if you want, you can have a meditation place where you arrange an altar. You can have something there that brings your consciousness to kind of a higher state. If you're not Buddhist, it's fine. Something that makes you think of, brings your thoughts to a positive higher place. And that can be it. It can be some piece of art. It can be whatever works for you. Report an error in the passage at 24:50 Highlight the passage at 24:50

25:19 It could be a tanka. It could be a very simple thing. It doesn't have to be elaborate at all. And then the second portion of this, the preparation of person, involves this meditation posture that we were talking about. Report an error in the passage at 25:19 Highlight the passage at 25:19

25:33 So just going through these. Again, I think most every time we've started meditation, I try to remind or bring up the idea of being aware of our back, the spine being straight, and that the legs, part of this... The official posture is that the legs should be crossed in the Vajra posture. Now that's like having one, you know, like a full Vajra position is having your legs crossed with the other one. Report an error in the passage at 25:33 Highlight the passage at 25:33

26:02 I can't even begin to do it. It's, you know, the text basically says it should be crossed that way or however is comfortable. What we normally do when we're on a cushion is we cross our legs because we don't want to, you know, have our legs extended because we're sitting in a room with all of these images. Report an error in the passage at 26:02 Highlight the passage at 26:02

26:23 And it's disrespectful. In our culture, it's disrespectful to point your feet at the images. It doesn't come up, I should say, more in the Asian culture. It's more disrespectful because in our culture, we're usually on chairs, so you're not going to be in a lecture where you've got a professor up there and you've got your feet out. Report an error in the passage at 26:23 Highlight the passage at 26:23

26:48 But you can imagine that if you were... You know, in general, it's not considered very polite if you happen to be sitting on the floor to have your feet, you know, pointing at someone. So the idea is there, if you're on a cushion, you cross your legs or you put them behind you. You know, some people and some traditions, they kind of kneel and have their feet, you know, behind them. Report an error in the passage at 26:48 Highlight the passage at 26:48

27:14 Or if you're in a chair, that's fine too. It's perfectly... Again, no difference here in terms of the result. And then in this, there's one text that, I shouldn't say one text, but in this seven-fold posture of Arachana, it says that the hands should be folded, kind of in this sort of a, they call this the meditation mudrā. Report an error in the passage at 27:14 Highlight the passage at 27:14

27:36 But also, that's the right palm on the left with the thumbs touching, and usually it's, you know, just below the navel, like maybe about four finger widths. Report an error in the passage at 27:36 Highlight the passage at 27:36

27:48 There's also another text by Lama Tsongkhapa, the middle-length treatise on the path to enlightenment. And in that, Lama Tsongkhapa spends a lot of time talking about meditation and calm abiding, which is a very advanced meditation practice. And the meditation posture laid out there is similar to this, except it also says that you can rest your palms on your knees. Report an error in the passage at 27:48 Highlight the passage at 27:48

28:16 Perfectly fine either way. I think it's interesting here it says you should have your elbows out or your shoulders up and back like a vulture. And if you think about it, it just lets the air circulate and it's a little more comfortable. If you have things sort of in or slump, if we're slumping, there are two things. Report an error in the passage at 28:16 Highlight the passage at 28:16

28:39 One is the tendency. Again, to lose our attention and to fall into kind of a sleepy mode. The other is that it goes along with having the back straight, that there are subtle winds. Report an error in the passage at 28:39 Highlight the passage at 28:39

28:52 The tantric teachings talk about these subtle winds or subtle energy. And it's probably similar to like qi. You hear about qi energy in the Chinese tradition. So keeping our posture fairly erect helps. helps in terms of that circulate. And then the Report an error in the passage at 28:52 Highlight the passage at 28:52

29:32 next point is having the, this one says the chin should be tucked in slightly, some Some books say the head should be tilted forward slightly. So it's pretty much the same result. It's said that if our heads, if our chins are going up or our heads are going back, there's a tendency for more distraction of thought and more excitement, as it's called. Report an error in the passage at 29:32 Highlight the passage at 29:32

29:58 And then if the head is hanging forward too far, then there's that tendency for sleepiness. And then it says the eyes should be relaxedly looking into space at nothing in particular, downwards in front of the nose. So, again, we're trying to disconnect the eye consciousness, you know, the looking at something. Report an error in the passage at 29:58 Highlight the passage at 29:58

30:23 So this is the idea of just having this gaze. And in the beginning, if that's difficult, you can close your eyes. But I will tell you that further on when you, you know, if you go on with... More advanced meditation techniques. That can be a problem because in the calm abiding meditation you need to have that, your eyes open. Report an error in the passage at 30:23 Highlight the passage at 30:23

30:48 So it's just something that you can kind of deal with later or deal with now. And then it's advised that the tongue is up against the upper palate. I've heard sometimes some talk about, you know, sort of making some sort of an energy connection. I think it also helps because you just don't have to swallow so often. I don't really know the basis for that. The lips should be slightly apart and you don't want your teeth clenched because we're trying to eliminate the tension. Report an error in the passage at 30:48 Highlight the passage at 30:48

31:22 This isn't just a relaxation technique but we want the body to be relaxed and the mind to be alert. So when we're holding on and clenching we're sort of holding energy there. Report an error in the passage at 31:22 Highlight the passage at 31:22

31:39 go. And then breathing through your nose is a idea there. Report an error in the passage at 31:39 Highlight the passage at 31:39

31:49 And again, the breathing should be just a relaxed, it doesn't have to be deep breathing. You don't want it too lightly, too deeply. Again, it's that middle way. Report an error in the passage at 31:49 Highlight the passage at 31:49

32:01 this in mind... Report an error in the passage at 32:01 Highlight the passage at 32:01

32:07 think, did we cover, I think we covered these. The first of these points last time, that death is uncertain, we talked about the nine-point death meditation, and there are these three points, and below each of these points are three more points. And I think last time we talked about death being certain and not being able to have power over that, regardless of who you are and what you're doing. Report an error in the passage at 32:07 Highlight the passage at 32:07

32:43 How much you own or don't or whatever. There's just no stopping death. And then our lifespan is always decreasing. Report an error in the passage at 32:43 Highlight the passage at 32:43

32:55 And again, as the sūtra said, the three realms are impermanent like a cloud in the autumn sky. Watching as people are born and die is the same as theater. The passing of a person's life is a single flash of lightning. We rush on our way to the end with speed like a mountain waterfall. Does this sound familiar? Report an error in the passage at 32:55 Highlight the passage at 32:55

33:13 Did we cover this? And then recognizing that our opportunity to practice is extremely limited, thinking about how many years we have left, how much time we spend every day working, sleeping, eating, socializing, just being bored and how much time is left to actually practice. And then I think as we said last week, the point is to really recognize We have a small window of opportunity and to take advantage of it. So I did, did I email these out to you? Report an error in the passage at 33:13 Highlight the passage at 33:13

33:58 I don't know if I, I think I did but, okay, okay, I will do that. I think I was, I prepared a PDF and I forgot to email it so I will do that tonight so you'll have these. Report an error in the passage at 33:58 Highlight the passage at 33:58

34:13 So, you know what, let's, let's stay with this. Let's do a little meditation now. On this topic, and Report an error in the passage at 34:13 Highlight the passage at 34:13

34:28 as we do this, I'll lead you through this, and I want you, again, this is an analytical meditation technique, so we'll start with just a really short period of breathing, and then as I go in, I'll just be talking about the various things we've discussed here, and try to just take that and internalize it, and see if it begins to... Report an error in the passage at 34:28 Highlight the passage at 34:28

34:56 Disrupt some of the usual views. That's what we're really after here. And if that's the case, just experience that and as it fades, then go back to the logic. So as we said before about just taking note of your posture and Report an error in the passage at 34:56 Highlight the passage at 34:56

35:22 just take a couple of breaths. And as you exhale, just feel all the tension leaving. Feel your mind alert and awake. Report an error in the passage at 35:22 Highlight the passage at 35:22

35:43 just place your awareness on your breath. Report an error in the passage at 35:43 Highlight the passage at 35:43

35:51 begin to count your breaths in and out as one. then in and out again as two. Report an error in the passage at 35:51 Highlight the passage at 35:51

36:02 So now just Report an error in the passage at 36:02 Highlight the passage at 36:02

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36:44 thinking, recalling the inevitability of death, that everyone has to die. So we plan many projects and activities. We plan them for the coming weeks, months and years. Report an error in the passage at 36:44 Highlight the passage at 36:44

37:01 But death is the only event that is certain to occur that we don't count among our plans. Just Report an error in the passage at 37:01 Highlight the passage at 37:01

37:21 think about what it feels like to say, to acknowledge that death is certain to occur. Report an error in the passage at 37:21 Highlight the passage at 37:21

37:32 Just bring to mind people from the past, politicians, Report an error in the passage at 37:32 Highlight the passage at 37:32

37:46 writers, musicians, actors, famous people, philosophers, even saints, people Report an error in the passage at 37:46 Highlight the passage at 37:46

37:59 you've known. Report an error in the passage at 37:59 Highlight the passage at 37:59

38:03 Just think that these people were once alive, they worked. They thought they lived their lives and then finally they died. Report an error in the passage at 38:03 Highlight the passage at 38:03

38:23 Was there ever anyone who lived and did not have to die? Report an error in the passage at 38:23 Highlight the passage at 38:23

38:35 So no matter how wise, wealthy, powerful or popular a person is, that Report an error in the passage at 38:35 Highlight the passage at 38:35

38:46 person will ultimately die. It's the same for all living creatures. Report an error in the passage at 38:46 Highlight the passage at 38:46

38:57 No matter how much progress is made in science and medicine. There's no cure for death and we don't expect one. Report an error in the passage at 38:57 Highlight the passage at 38:57

39:34 Now bring to mind all the people you know and Report an error in the passage at 39:34 Highlight the passage at 39:34

39:41 just go through them one by one, reflecting that each one of them will one day die. And Report an error in the passage at 39:41 Highlight the passage at 39:41

39:58 then just think of all the human beings on earth right now. Report an error in the passage at 39:58 Highlight the passage at 39:58

40:07 100 years from now, only a handful of these billions of people will still be alive. Report an error in the passage at 40:07 Highlight the passage at 40:07

40:19 You yourself will be dead. Report an error in the passage at 40:19 Highlight the passage at 40:19

40:24 Just think about this, that this is a given. In Report an error in the passage at 40:24 Highlight the passage at 40:24

40:31 2112, none of us will be. We hold, and as we were talking, I mean, it's our culture that really grasps onto these as well. Report an error in the passage at 40:31 Highlight the passage at 40:31

40:44 And we can say, you know, health is no guarantee because people die who are healthy. We label, you know, people as dying, but, you know, there are many times when other people who are You know, perfectly healthy, just drop dead. Sometimes there's no reason. We can think about famous people, Princess Diana, Michael Jackson. Report an error in the passage at 40:44 Highlight the passage at 40:44

41:12 You know, there's just all sorts of situations that arise and it's like the end of life. And it doesn't matter, you know, as I said before, what we're doing, being busy, whatever, if you think about 9-11. That morning I remember watching on the news as they were reporting this and at the time I thought it was some sort of a plane that had accidentally hit the tower. Report an error in the passage at 41:12 Highlight the passage at 41:12

41:44 I remember talking to my mom. We were trying to figure out why this would happen and then it was like another one hit. It was terrible. And if you think about all the people who were there, everybody just got up and went to work that morning. It was a normal day. Report an error in the passage at 41:44 Highlight the passage at 41:44

42:02 It's the same, you know, at any time. The time of death that we just, everything's so, death is certain but everything around it is uncertain. And so we go on with our lives just presuming and making plans and, you know, just going through our normal process. And for a certain percentage, you know, today is it. Report an error in the passage at 42:02 Highlight the passage at 42:02

42:23 That's it. The processes are going to end. thought about... I heard on the news this week that shooting at a school, a religious school in Oakland, you know, everybody was just, they were going to class. I mean, how do these things happen? You think about, there's the story about the Amish school some years ago where this guy with a gun just came in and started shooting the girls in the school. Report an error in the passage at 42:23 Highlight the passage at 42:23

42:52 We just don't know. And yet we see these things on the news. It still feels like it's out there, like, you know, of course this just can't happen. And everything around us, everything that we're seeing is basically contradicting that and telling us that it not only happens, it could very well happen. Report an error in the passage at 42:52 Highlight the passage at 42:52

43:16 It's just this whole view that we have is very, very unstable as far as... It's not grounded at all, in fact. And then the second aspect of this is that there are a lot of things that can kill us, that end our lives, and the things that keep us alive are few. So we can see that there are lots of external conditions. Car accidents are a huge one. Report an error in the passage at 43:16 Highlight the passage at 43:16

43:55 About 115 people die in a car accident every day in the U.S. And that's one death every 13 minutes. So, you know, as we've sat here, several people have died. I mean, it just, again, we drive all the time. You know, you'd think we'd say, okay, that's it, I'm not getting in a car anymore. But there's, again, this idea that, oh well, it's not going to happen to me. Report an error in the passage at 43:55 Highlight the passage at 43:55

44:22 There are natural disasters, tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning strikes. You think about Hurricane Katrina. Think about the tsunami in Indonesia. How many people? They were on vacation. Who ever thought that that could be the end, that life could stop there? And then simple little things. You get an insect bite. You get bitten by the wrong spider. That could be it. Report an error in the passage at 44:22 Highlight the passage at 44:22

44:55 Poisonous plants. I mean, we're subject to so many things. We're subject to our own, you know, our bodies breaking down, organ failure, something as small as a virus can mean the end of our lives. Report an error in the passage at 44:55 Highlight the passage at 44:55

45:11 Oh, you know, complications, you might have the flu and then it turns into pneumonia and the next thing you know, you're, you know, your life is at risk. Report an error in the passage at 45:11 Highlight the passage at 45:11

45:27 And then it said that even the things that sustain life can be a... They can become a condition for death, like food. You could eat something that was tainted, or E. coli, salmonella. It's very common. We could even choke on food. The house can collapse on us. The medicine we're taking can end up killing us. Hundreds of thousands of deaths are caused in the medical... Report an error in the passage at 45:27 Highlight the passage at 45:27

46:05 Profession just by medical treatments gone awry or medicines with side effects or, you know, taken badly. A friend of mine, this was a couple of years ago, she ended up accidentally taking her husband's medication. She just picked up the wrong bottle. Turns out she went to work, she was feeling fine and through the days she felt worse and worse. She ended up in the ER. Report an error in the passage at 46:05 Highlight the passage at 46:05

46:34 And she was very lucky that the attending, after doing a lot of different tests, they couldn't figure out what was happening. He happened to check her blood sugar because her husband was diabetic. She didn't even realize, you know, and she was fortunate that she likes sugar because she'd had a bunch of, you know, sweet things that probably saved her life because they just didn't really expect. Report an error in the passage at 46:34 Highlight the passage at 46:34

46:56 Nobody had any idea and it took that long, you know, the better part of a day to figure out what she'd even done. So it's simple. We're not even thinking about it. Report an error in the passage at 46:56 Highlight the passage at 46:56

47:08 And then there's just, if we think about what's happening with the planet now, global warming, air pollution, there's just more and more reasons that life, if we think about how fragile this body is, there's just more and more causes for potentially ending our lives. Report an error in the passage at 47:08 Highlight the passage at 47:08

47:32 And then the third point is that the body being, It's extremely fragile. It's also impermanent. So having this idea that we're indestructible is really misplaced. Our bodies are very vulnerable. And if you think about when you're injured, it happens suddenly. It's always a surprise. You think back and you think, why did this even happen? This didn't have to happen. Report an error in the passage at 47:32 Highlight the passage at 47:32

48:08 But if we look at what we do, it's probably amazing that it doesn't happen more often. Whether we fall or trip or we can break bones without even thinking about it. And you can feel very strong and healthy and still things happen. They discover things. A few years ago my nephew was... He was 15 and on the high school football team and it was the last game of the season and he and another player bumped heads and so he had a mild concussion and they decided to take the players to the ER just to check it out. Report an error in the passage at 48:08 Highlight the passage at 48:08

48:52 When they checked him out they found a brain tumor the size of an egg and I mean he had no clue that this was and suddenly his life changed. I mean it was a month of... It was a real awakening and he was fortunate because it turned out to be a non-malignant type of tumor. But we just don't know. Who would have thought that a 15-year-old would have a problem or could have a problem like that? Report an error in the passage at 48:52 Highlight the passage at 48:52

49:22 And then, you know, we see this happen. We hear it all the time. We hear of people having cancer. We're getting diagnosed with all sorts of serious diseases. Report an error in the passage at 49:22 Highlight the passage at 49:22

49:33 But it always, again, it's always sort of out there. And somehow we tend to feel that, you know, it's just not going to happen to me. And we feel the same way about death, ultimately. But, you know, the body doesn't last. And even if we do manage to live to, you know, live a longer life, the body starts to break down. Report an error in the passage at 49:33 Highlight the passage at 49:33

50:01 So it's... We can't rely on it. We can't protect it. We can't extend it. It's impermanent like everything else. Report an error in the passage at 50:01 Highlight the passage at 50:01

50:18 Lama Tsongkhapa said, all the good things of this life are like the happiness of one night's dream. You wake and then it's nothing more than a memory. The time comes to die and every good thing you ever had lives only in a dim remembrance. Report an error in the passage at 50:18 Highlight the passage at 50:18

50:39 Just remembering that, you know, again, looking at this, not to say, oh, how morbid this is or how, what a fatalistic view. Report an error in the passage at 50:39 Highlight the passage at 50:39

50:51 It's about being a realistic view and resolving, you know, to use this time we have to make the most of it. Remembering that, you know, when we forget about death or ignore death or, you know, when we live in denial, what do we do? We waste time. Because we're living with the idea that there'll always be a tomorrow. So it's the perfect combination in terms of the society that we live in and the way we live. Report an error in the passage at 50:51 Highlight the passage at 50:51

51:22 It's the perfect arrangement for denial and for coming to the end of life totally unprepared. So no wonder there's a lot of fear out there as people begin to get closer to death. When they're living longer and they're reaching, reaching You know, in their 60s and 70s and beyond, what a time to now look and say, you know, gee, what did I do? Report an error in the passage at 51:22 Highlight the passage at 51:22

51:50 What have I done with my time? So just some afterthoughts that, you know, Socrates recommended that we should always be occupied in the practice of dying and so does the Dalai Lama. So if we don't take the time now while we have it to subdue our minds, to learn to meditate, Report an error in the passage at 51:50 Highlight the passage at 51:50

52:12 What happens at the time of death? It's too late then. This is from, Robert Thurman says, he's talking about being afraid of death, not because we know it is nothing, but because we know in our bones it cannot automatically bring us nothing. We fear the many painful somethings it might bring us. So it's an interesting view because it's this idea of, is death nothing? Report an error in the passage at 52:12 Highlight the passage at 52:12

52:38 Is it just an ending? And we don't really fear, That's not really a fearful prospect. It might be a sad prospect. Some people find it too abrupt. But the fear arises that maybe it isn't nothing. Maybe there's going to be something and we can't control it. It's something we don't know. Pascal said that if we become nothing after death, we will not be there to regret having prepared for something. Report an error in the passage at 52:38 Highlight the passage at 52:38

53:13 But if we are something after death... And we've not prepared at all or are badly prepared, then we will long feel bitter, painful regret. So going back to our last class when we talked about, you know, a good Dharma practitioner can die happy and a medium Dharma practitioner can die Report an error in the passage at 53:13 Highlight the passage at 53:13

53:42 without fear. Thank you. I can't even remember that. And then, you know, at the very least, if we're practicing, we can die without regret. So, you know, it's this idea of facing that kind of regret. Anyway, Report an error in the passage at 53:42 Highlight the passage at 53:42

54:03 that's about all I have tonight. But are there any other questions or comments? Report an error in the passage at 54:03 Highlight the passage at 54:03

54:16 As I mentioned, it'd be good if you can find the time to read. There's a, I think I mentioned the... The readings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and on page 70, that one also has a very powerful Report an error in the passage at 54:16 Highlight the passage at 54:16

54:37 meditation in it in terms of a technique to meditate on death and to really do this kind of a vivid visualization so that if you have time to do that, that would be a good thing to do. But at the very least, if you just continue with your meditation. And carrying over some of the things we've talked about here. Report an error in the passage at 54:37 Highlight the passage at 54:37

54:59 Steve. Report an error in the passage at 54:59 Highlight the passage at 54:59

55:03 you know what I but I will I bring you one don't have a hard copy here because I I would have had it but I think I I didn't bring it do you want me to Report an error in the passage at 55:03 Highlight the passage at 55:03

55:20 sure okay yeah anybody else want a hard copy or anything or they're everybody's okay with okay I'll do that. In fact, if you're going to be at the center, I mean, I can bring it. I'm going to be here tomorrow. Okay, I'll bring it. Oh, Report an error in the passage at 55:20 Highlight the passage at 55:20

55:41 next week we'll be just continuing, probably doing the third point. So I'll send out the slides. And that's, again, something that you can just, you know, go through. There'll be the comments. Okay, let's do a little dedication. Okay, Report an error in the passage at 55:41 Highlight the passage at 55:41

56:04 on page 32 of the gold book at the bottom. This dedication by Shantideva. May all beings everywhere plagued by sufferings of body and mind obtain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits. May no living creature suffer, commit evil or ever fall ill. May no one be afraid or belittled with a mind weighed down by depression. Report an error in the passage at 56:04 Highlight the passage at 56:04

56:33 May the blind see forms and the deaf hear sounds. May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose. May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food, may the thirsty find water and delicious drinks. May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy. May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity. May there be timely rains and bountiful harvests. May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit. Report an error in the passage at 56:33 Highlight the passage at 56:33

57:04 May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments. whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur again. the frightened cease to be afraid, and those bound be freed. May the powerless find power, and may people think of benefiting each other. For as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain to dispel the miseries of Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 57:04 Highlight the passage at 57:04

57:46 Tupten Pandey tomorrow night and he'll be here also on... For two sessions on Saturday. And that'll be great. It's, I think, the Song of the Four Mindfulnesses. It's a meditation on emptiness. Oh, Seventh Dalai Lama. And then on Sunday, Venerable Thubten Chodron will be here. And she will be giving a talk related to Easter and a Buddhist perspective. Report an error in the passage at 57:46 Highlight the passage at 57:46

58:15 Sunday, I think, is it 1.30, Mark? 1.30, correct. And Geshe-la will be teaching on Sunday morning too. Report an error in the passage at 58:15 Highlight the passage at 58:15

· · · silence, 1 minute

59:24 Yes, it is the Report an error in the passage at 59:24 Highlight the passage at 59:24

59:36 you use any books? Report an error in the passage at 59:36 Highlight the passage at 59:36

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:00:10 wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. It was a good meeting. I'm trying to say goodbye, but yeah. I was just trying to say goodbye. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, boy. Thank Oh. I know Theodore wasn't here today. I was here. And I know he doesn't have a . He doesn't have a . So he needs . I know. I know. In fact, I realized when I got here . Report an error in the passage at 1:00:10 Highlight the passage at 1:00:10

1:00:32 Thank you. Thank you, . Thanks for being so attentive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . But, oh look that up in one ear and not the other. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:32 Highlight the passage at 1:00:32

1:00:56 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:56 Highlight the passage at 1:00:56

1:01:04 I have a paper, but he didn't put it in. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:04 Highlight the passage at 1:01:04

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:02:34 send you everything that we've had so far, and I've got to send out tonight, Report an error in the passage at 1:02:34 Highlight the passage at 1:02:34