Discovering Buddhism - Samsara and Nirvana (22 April 2010)

0:00 And then when you complete all the DB courses, what's the next thing after that? Well, the basic studies program. The basic studies is like the program with Geshe-la. It's a pretty formalized program. And those are like Adi Dharma classes that he teaches over, you know, it'll be like maybe, it might take him a year to get through a course. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:29 But that's part of the basic program that has homework and exams. The other thing actually, I was looking at, you talked about the November, the month-long retreat at the Kropon Mountain area. Report an error in the passage at 0:29 Highlight the passage at 0:29

0:48 Anyway, so I brought that up online and I looked at it and I talked to my wife about it and said, you know, I think I would go to Nopala to do this month-long retreat. She was like, okay. Report an error in the passage at 0:48 Highlight the passage at 0:48

0:59 So I can't do it this November because I'm in the midst of a long-term medical treatment, but I can go a year from November. It's every November? Yeah, so I think I can... Do Nepal? Yeah. It's a great course. Put that in my... Yeah, it's a great course. And then in the meantime, I was looking at, I don't think, go to other local, like, shorter retreats that you can do? There are. In fact, there's one coming up later this year that's on East Coast. Report an error in the passage at 0:59 Highlight the passage at 0:59

1:26 I think it's at... It's in North Carolina. And if you're interested, I can send you the information. I just saw that. Report an error in the passage at 1:26 Highlight the passage at 1:26

1:38 Sorry. My map, it's really weird. It changed the, at least what I see here is kind of a stretched screen. Oh, yeah. I'm not sure what's going on. But it's just a green map there. Report an error in the passage at 1:38 Highlight the passage at 1:38

2:01 Let's open that to see. Report an error in the passage at 2:01 Highlight the passage at 2:01

2:06 Yeah, we can talk, if that's okay. Oh, a little bit, yeah. I didn't really read them much. There's a museum out in . Report an error in the passage at 2:06 Highlight the passage at 2:06

2:17 going to let you guys start. Report an error in the passage at 2:17 Highlight the passage at 2:17

· · · silence, 1 minute

3:39 Saturday? This Saturday. Oh, that's right. Yeah. And it's, I believe I don't want to be late. Report an error in the passage at 3:39 Highlight the passage at 3:39

3:57 I can send an email. I mean, if everybody, if you want to make it earlier, that's fine. But I don't know why they need 30. That did stick in my mind. Is there a drop-in from like 9 to 10 or something? Yeah, there's a 9 to 10 patient. Oh, I see. It would be 10 to 30 then. Okay. Oh, is that still good for everybody? I'll Report an error in the passage at 3:57 Highlight the passage at 3:57

4:25 send an email reminder on it. And it can be, like I said, more a day of meditation and practice. Questions, Report an error in the passage at 4:25 Highlight the passage at 4:25

4:40 whatever. Report an error in the passage at 4:40 Highlight the passage at 4:40

4:46 We don't... For people who aren't going to be there, we aren't really going to cover any new material. There Report an error in the passage at 4:46 Highlight the passage at 4:46

4:58 was a little bit of meditation to set our motivation. Report an error in the passage at 4:58 Highlight the passage at 4:58

5:05 By the way, before we do this, I opened that window because it was kind of stuck in here. Is everybody, do you want to close now? Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:15 Or at least maybe, Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:21 yeah, they come by and it's really Report an error in the passage at 5:21 Highlight the passage at 5:21

5:28 hard. Report an error in the passage at 5:28 Highlight the passage at 5:28

5:38 Finding your comfortable meditation position, your posture, your back, spine straight. That's the biggest concern. Imagine your spine is like a stack of coins. And just go through mentally from the top of your head down to your toes. And as you visit each part of your body, just let it relax. Report an error in the passage at 5:38 Highlight the passage at 5:38

6:09 Just letting out all of the tension that we're holding all the time. Take Report an error in the passage at 6:09 Highlight the passage at 6:09

6:28 a couple of deep breaths. And as you exhale, imagine you're exhaling all of your days, all the concerns, issues of the day. Anything that... Report an error in the passage at 6:28 Highlight the passage at 6:28

6:38 Hanging on to your mind, hanging on to Report an error in the passage at 6:38 Highlight the passage at 6:38

6:47 your mind. Feel your mind very clear and able to concentrate light. And Report an error in the passage at 6:47 Highlight the passage at 6:47

6:59 just focus your attention on your breath for a while. Report an error in the passage at 6:59 Highlight the passage at 6:59

· · · silence, 6 minutes

13:23 Make that association with saṃsāra. And to break this wheel of cyclic existence, to really free ourselves, we need to follow the path. We need to generate renunciation. We need to break that chain of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 13:23 Highlight the passage at 13:23

13:53 So methods for generating renunciation, we talked about earlier, first or second, I guess the first few classes, about realizing the suffering of saṃsāra. We spent a lot of time looking at the Four Noble Truths, at the causes of suffering. We learned about suffering and ignorance, especially this ignorance, grasping at inherently being the root of all of our suffering. Report an error in the passage at 13:53 Highlight the passage at 13:53

14:29 Now another way... to generate renunciation is to meditate on these 12 links. I don't know if you can see, this is kind of a, this diagram has just the names of the links written in it. It says desire, hatred, and delusion. Report an error in the passage at 14:29 Highlight the passage at 14:29

14:52 The names of the various realms. Report an error in the passage at 14:52 Highlight the passage at 14:52

15:00 The very outer, Report an error in the passage at 15:00 Highlight the passage at 15:00

15:17 we'll go over these in detail. Report an error in the passage at 15:17 Highlight the passage at 15:17

15:22 It's said that this, you know, this study of the Wheel of Life or the 12 links of dependent origination, it is, it's, It is a method for generating renunciation, and it's generally for practitioners of higher intelligence. Report an error in the passage at 15:22 Highlight the passage at 15:22

15:46 It says that because it's a bit more to understand. Obviously, there's more to this than just recognizing the suffering of our existence. Recognizing our everyday suffering takes a little bit of mindfulness, perhaps introspection. It just takes a bit more study, and you could spend Report an error in the passage at 15:46 Highlight the passage at 15:46

· · · silence, 1 minute

16:42 various links on this wheel of life, it gives us some of the terminology. we're going to talk about levels of consciousness, about the depth absorption process, and the intermediate... So first of all, when we talk about death, there are conditions that cause death. One is our lifespan runs out, karmically, and that's Usually, you know, when we hear of someone dying of natural causes, just lifespan is exhausted. Report an error in the passage at 16:42 Highlight the passage at 16:42

17:18 And then we can have death occurring when your merit runs out. And that sometimes, like an example of that would be someone who is relatively healthy but is living in a place where famine occurs. And they, you know, They don't have the merit to receive enough food and they die of starvation. Report an error in the passage at 17:18 Highlight the passage at 17:18

17:48 Or maybe it's like a plague comes through and you're one of the 15 % or something to die. Or maybe you're ill but you don't get the medicine in time. Things like that. And then their . There's what's called an untimely death, which could be, you know, accidentally eating something that's, you know, something that's got E. Report an error in the passage at 17:48 Highlight the passage at 17:48

18:21 coli or botulism or something. Could be a car accident. Kind of what we think about in terms of, you know, when death occurs unexpectedly. Report an error in the passage at 18:21 Highlight the passage at 18:21

18:34 And when we die, we can have, just like there's, you know, three types of karma, there we can have three states of mind. And with virtuous state, there are actually two types of virtue. One is virtue by one's own mindfulness. So if you've practiced and meditated most of your life and you've created or generated a strong refuge, you might just remember those virtuous objects, virtuous practices. Report an error in the passage at 18:34 Highlight the passage at 18:34

19:10 You might think of the three jewels or think of mantras. When you're going through the death process. But virtue can also, a virtuous state of mind can be generated by the condition of others. So that you're dying and people surround you who are reciting mantras or talking about the Dharma. Maybe they bring holy objects. All these things can trigger a virtuous mind on your part and help you. Report an error in the passage at 19:10 Highlight the passage at 19:10

19:42 Remember refuge. Report an error in the passage at 19:42 Highlight the passage at 19:42

19:47 Of course, it's easier to remember virtue if you meditate if you've been doing it most of your life. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:01 But, you know, we live in a culture that postpones things, that there's always time for. So this is one of the reasons why it kind of brings back that valid reason for practicing while we're still alive. It's also said that this virtuous state of mind, it remains until our coarse perception fades. And at that point the mind becomes neutral. Report an error in the passage at 20:01 Highlight the passage at 20:01

20:31 We're going to talk about levels of consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 20:31 Highlight the passage at 20:31

20:40 So it's said there are three levels of consciousness. This coarse level, which is kind of the conventional, it's your sensory consciousness, your eye, your ear, your nose. face all your sense perceptions. The subtle level of consciousness is said to be like our conceptions, our emotions, our feelings. And then the very subtle level is that refers to what's called clear light consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 20:40 Highlight the passage at 20:40

21:09 So this is from the tantric system of teachings. And it brings up some interesting things because, you know, conventionally I think a lot of people think in terms of life continuing. And I mean, from a Buddhist perspective, we talk about reincarnation, so we're definitely looking at life to life. But then the question we have to look at more carefully is, what continues? So a lot of theistic faiths consider a spirit or a soul continuing. Report an error in the passage at 21:09 Highlight the passage at 21:09

21:51 And the Buddhist view doesn't share that at all. There's nothing physical, nothing even on that subtle level of consciousness that continues. Report an error in the passage at 21:51 Highlight the passage at 21:51

22:03 The I is, you know, a construct basically. The I exists dependent only upon our aggregates and our, you know, our consciousness. So there isn't an I that goes on. But there is, from a tantric viewpoint, this clear and this very subtle level of consciousness. Sometimes it's called the winds. Report an error in the passage at 22:03 Highlight the passage at 22:03

22:31 And it's meant to be this very, very subtle level of consciousness that carries, that's what carries karmic inference as well. Report an error in the passage at 22:31 Highlight the passage at 22:31

22:43 Actually, there's Dalai Lama in this. He answers a question regarding it. And he says, Report an error in the passage at 22:43 Highlight the passage at 22:43

22:57 That in the highest school, there are many different schools within the Tibetan Buddhist system. There are lower schools and higher schools. And the Dalai Lama and the Hindu teachings, actually all the four schools of teaching ultimately embrace the higher school teaching. And that, it's called the consequence school. And it says, Report an error in the passage at 22:57 Highlight the passage at 22:57

23:24 The consequent schools hold that just as a chariot is imputed in dependence upon its parts and cannot be found in the parts themselves, so a person is merely imputed in dependence upon the mental and physical aggregates, but cannot be found under analysis among any of those particular aggregates. Thus, not only is the eye dependently imputed, but all phenomena are dependently imputed. Report an error in the passage at 23:24 Highlight the passage at 23:24

23:52 Human emptiness, even Buddhahood, all things. So this is just to give sort of this terminology of where these karmic inference are deposited. Report an error in the passage at 23:52 Highlight the passage at 23:52

24:10 So the depth absorption process, during that time the coarse consciousness is absorbed into the subtle consciousness and that absorbs. into the very subtle consciousness of this clear light. And then there's a whole process, which we're going to go through, there are stages to the process of death. And even though it's a process, it can happen very quickly, especially if you die suddenly. Report an error in the passage at 24:10 Highlight the passage at 24:10

24:47 But nevertheless, the steps are all there. And there are basically eight steps, but the first four... are called outer dissolutions. And there are detailed explanations in terms of what we experience when we're going through this process. And these four visions, the mirage-like vision, the internal vision of smoke, the fire sparks vision, and the glow of the candlelight, these occur as each element dissolves. Report an error in the passage at 24:47 Highlight the passage at 24:47

25:19 So the earth element dissolves, and that's when Report an error in the passage at 25:19 Highlight the passage at 25:19

25:28 The body tends to, it loses its vitality. Report an error in the passage at 25:28 Highlight the passage at 25:28

25:40 Well, I don't even want to get into the details on the body, but what I can say is that the wind supporting the earth element becomes non-manifest. And when we talk about wind here, it's a lot like the chi. In Chinese medicine, sometimes it's an analogy for energy. But in Buddhist or in Tibetan medicine, you'll hear about winds. Report an error in the passage at 25:40 Highlight the passage at 25:40

26:11 You'll hear sometimes in the teachings even about loom. Loom is when the winds that circulate in the central channel. So when you study the tantric system, you've probably heard of the chakras. Report an error in the passage at 26:11 Highlight the passage at 26:11

26:30 A channel that connects those and winds flow. So it's like the energy balance. And sometimes those winds can get out of balance. And some people experience physical disturbances like difficulty breathing or just a lot of anxiety. And sometimes these symptoms come up when you're practicing too hard. People are just starting out, they go into maybe a very involved retreat, and they're bringing a lot of determination to it, and often times it's a lot of ego mixed in. Report an error in the passage at 26:30 Highlight the passage at 26:30

27:15 And sometimes pushing too hard, it creates this kind of imbalance. I don't know if this is the right, should I take the stick? Report an error in the passage at 27:15 Highlight the passage at 27:15

27:29 I don't know if this is too in-depth for this point, you're going to get to it. In the process of a dissolution of consciousness relating to these sort of outer disillusions, like when someone's at that stage where they physically have gone through an end stage process where they're going through like organ shutdown and they've lost more or less outer consciousness but you can still kind of talk to them in the health moments of lucidity and can speak versus in that next stage where you're no longer... Report an error in the passage at 27:29 Highlight the passage at 27:29

28:02 Cognizant or verbal, and from what I've read then, they're at that stage of they no longer recognize the people around them and then do not recognize themselves. Where that relates to in terms of these outer disillusions, is that parallel to this process? What it is, actually it's coming up. This is prior to that. Report an error in the passage at 28:02 Highlight the passage at 28:02

28:23 So these outer disillusions take us through, well actually, okay, the fire out. Each element basically absorbs. But finally, when this wind element dissolves here, that glow of the candle flame, at that time breathing stops. And at that time the coarse consciousness, our sensory consciousness, has been absorbed into the subtle consciousness. So you've taken that step and it's said that at that time all the sense consciousnesses become non-manifest. Report an error in the passage at 28:23 Highlight the passage at 28:23

28:59 So we lose, essentially, contact with the outside world. The consciousness, the subtle consciousness, is still within the person. And this is a point, actually, where I think, clinically, you're dead. But it doesn't mean that consciousness has left the body in. So, in fact, within the body, there's still more dissolutions. Report an error in the passage at 28:59 Highlight the passage at 28:59

29:26 But from the exterior. they're, um... Report an error in the passage at 29:26 Highlight the passage at 29:26

29:29 The exterior, or the externals, it looks like the person is dead. Report an error in the passage at 29:29 Highlight the passage at 29:29

29:36 It does. This is probably just for a whole separate thing of death in mind. In my experience in emergency medicine, we've actually indeed had people that were clinically dead, sometimes for extended periods of time, and then for whatever reason, they had them in their karma outfit, they were resuscitated and were... Report an error in the passage at 29:36 Highlight the passage at 29:36

29:57 In medicine we teach people that hearing is one of the last things to go. So even just in Western medicine, in emergency medicine we teach people that individuals can still hear, ergo liberation by hearing. But can actually also sometimes describe the people in the room and where they were and what they looked like and what they said. So in terms of the dissolution of the consciousness versus physically. Report an error in the passage at 29:57 Highlight the passage at 29:57

30:25 Where you're kind of like clinically dead, but you haven't quite left yet? Yeah. Yeah, there's definitely, I mean, I think this is kind of a general overview, because if you pick up their books on death and dying, which will go into much more detail on these stages, so probably, you know, like within this last stage, there are probably several different manifestations, so, you know. Report an error in the passage at 30:25 Highlight the passage at 30:25

30:53 Before you actually lose the sense consciousnesses, there might be other steps, smaller steps involved here. I was looking at some other books that, which one was it? Oh, there was a book. I think it's taken from one of Jeffrey Hopkins' books, and it was quite detailed as far as these stages of death. Report an error in the passage at 30:53 Highlight the passage at 30:53

31:24 And if you're interested, you can find a lot more detail than here. So then the four inner dissolutions follow. So at this point, from this, the stages of depth view, we are now on the level of the subtle consciousness. And there's like a white appearance, a vision of red increase, a dark vision, and then a clear light. Report an error in the passage at 31:24 Highlight the passage at 31:24

31:54 So it's said that this white appearance, which is just, they're actually, if you look at a text on this, you'll also get more, you know, it might be like a morning dawn or, you know, an empty dawn sky or something. But it said that at that point, thoughts belonging to the family of anger subside. And with a red increase, thoughts related to the family of desire subside. Report an error in the passage at 31:54 Highlight the passage at 31:54

32:24 And then at dark vision, it said that all our thoughts subside. So this is now the subtle conscious absorbing into the very subtle consciousness. So when that happens, then one arrives at this very subtle consciousness of clear life. Report an error in the passage at 32:24 Highlight the passage at 32:24

32:51 And as I mentioned, this can happen very quickly in a peaceful death. It can be a slower process. If someone's familiar with the stages, then it can be much more prolonged. You know, we actually experience these stages, or we have experienced them, but we don't have any memory, we don't have any experience. Report an error in the passage at 32:51 Highlight the passage at 32:51

33:16 And without preparation, every time we go through them, it's something new, and it happens too quickly. You know, if you're really not prepared for this... It said, you know, we don't believe and perceive them. And that's why we want to, you know, meditate on this death process and become familiar with it, because we can use this. Report an error in the passage at 33:16 Highlight the passage at 33:16

33:40 Accomplished meditators can use this clear light state to meditate. There are stories of llamas, you know. I think Ling Rinpoche, one of His Holiness's tutors, he remained. You know, in a meditation state, in the clear light for several days. He was examined by a doctor, a Western doctor, a Canadian doctor. Report an error in the passage at 33:40 Highlight the passage at 33:40

34:10 This is the guy who's from Kathmandu, and, you know, the doctor had never seen anything like it. But I think now it's more widely known, so it isn't quite the surprise that it was maybe that many years ago. But I've heard of other... Report an error in the passage at 34:10 Highlight the passage at 34:10

34:34 Highly realized llamas being able to just sit in meditation after all of the other signs of stopping breathing and everything. And at that time, you know, there really this clear light consciousness is able to hold that meditation. What surprised the Canadian doctor if he ostensibly... That he was sitting there meditating and the body didn't, you know, the body was fine. And that's the sign. Report an error in the passage at 34:34 Highlight the passage at 34:34

35:12 I mean, usually a body begins to decay pretty quickly after a day or so. But, you know, I think Lama Tsongkhapa's body remained, you know, for weeks or something. You know, that's pretty unusual. And I've read some things where they say, you know, they look for when the body slumps. Then, you know, that's a sign that the consciousness is left. In ordinary, you know, for most of us, I think the consciousness goes pretty fast. But there are certainly things we can do in terms of how we handle bodies and how we are when someone's going through the death process, which we'll talk about some more. Report an error in the passage at 35:12 Highlight the passage at 35:12

35:52 So it's said that when this coarse perception dissolves, at that point, the mind just goes into a neutral state and we lose the ability. to generate that burden to stay in line. So that's where it's good to have this life of practice because it's like we get that chance as we realize we're dying. Once we're past that, you know, the course consciousness, we can't generate that virtue, that virtuous thought anymore. Report an error in the passage at 35:52 Highlight the passage at 35:52

36:32 However, an advanced meditator can maintain awareness. throughout these stages, during the subtle meditation. So that's another benefit in terms of practicing meditation and awareness of the stages of death. Report an error in the passage at 36:32 Highlight the passage at 36:32

36:54 So we die in a virtual state of mind. Remember we talked about throwing karma. The throwing karma is what puts us into that next rebirth. And so positive, you know. Virtuous state of mind, positive karma, higher rebirth. Non-virtuous state of mind, negative karma, lower rebirth. You can also die in a neutral state of mind. And it said, you know, again here, if we live, if we're going to kind of gravitate, the mind gravitates to what it's familiar with. Report an error in the passage at 36:54 Highlight the passage at 36:54

37:30 So, yeah, if you kind of live your life 50-50, you know, virtue, non-virtue. hey, you've got a chance that you might grab onto a virtuous thought, but than likely, you know, I mean, one of the things that happens with death is that we don't expect it, and usually it's like, you know, and it's not really, it would be a good time to expect virtuous thoughts to just arise, so Report an error in the passage at 37:30 Highlight the passage at 37:30

37:58 we can do that makes our minds familiar with, with compassion. you. So if you have a neutral state of mind. Where do you go? What happens? You know, I'm not sure. I think all they're saying here is that, you know, there is this third possibility because it's virtue, not virtue and neutral. And I would imagine, I mean, it's the conditions for that, for whatever karma to ripen. So I don't know. I will look into that because I would think that it may, I don't know if you could really. Report an error in the passage at 37:58 Highlight the passage at 37:58

38:35 Sort of like you get a, you do it again. Yeah, I mean, goodbye. Yeah, do over. That's a good question. I didn't find anything, I wondered about that. I didn't find anything. Obviously, some throwing permits are going to ripen, but whether it's positive or negative, it's probably going to depend on what a mind has been. Report an error in the passage at 38:35 Highlight the passage at 38:35

39:06 You said in the previous slide that when the coarse consciousness, if I have the right term, dissolves, then we do go into a neutral state of mind. So is this slide talking about what happens right before that moment? Yes. This is when, because at this point, we still have the ability to think and conceive. Report an error in the passage at 39:06 Highlight the passage at 39:06

39:28 We have the consciousness, the full consciousness. But we're all going to go neutral when the course consciousness dissolves. And this kind of sets where it's going to throw from it. This is what brings up that, or I shouldn't say bring it up, but it can affect drawing karma. I mean, I guess karma is karma. It's going to ripen. And we're in a situation where, okay, you're dying, rebirth is coming. Report an error in the passage at 39:28 Highlight the passage at 39:28

39:57 You can affect that with your causes and conditions by having... A virtuous mind or a non-virtuous mind. I think what makes sense to me is if you just have a neutral mind, then you really don't affect it. Whatever is ripening at the time, it's going to happen. So, the intermediate state. We've talked about that sometimes called the bardo state. Report an error in the passage at 39:57 Highlight the passage at 39:57

40:21 And this coarse perception fades to this neutral state. The drawing karma set from the state of mind at dissolution of the coarse perception. Report an error in the passage at 40:21 Highlight the passage at 40:21

40:34 And then the clear light line leaves the body. And at that point, part of what happens is that we Report an error in the passage at 40:34 Highlight the passage at 40:34

40:46 generate this body in dependence on virtuous and non-virtuous karma and craving for body. So this, we're going to talk about craving and grasping a little bit later because those are two of the links in the Wheel of Life. It's said that this bardo body that we take, It's a temporary body and it has senses like sense consciousnesses. It's said that it also has other sense powers because the person in the barda can see the karma of other sense beings and they can see the karma because that tells them where basically they can take rebirth. Report an error in the passage at 40:46 Highlight the passage at 40:46

41:31 It's said that when we're in the barda. When it's time to take a rebirth, we see sentient beings and we're drawn to beings that we have karma with. So isn't that an interesting thing? I don't really understand that whole thing. It's also said that you can move through solid things, you can travel at great speeds. Report an error in the passage at 41:31 Highlight the passage at 41:31

41:57 It's interesting to me because in some ways when you hear people who've had near-death experiences or... I don't know, I guess this wouldn't really be near death because it's the intermediate state, but it sort of makes sense. You know, somehow we're not tied to the conventional sense world we have here. Report an error in the passage at 41:57 Highlight the passage at 41:57

42:27 And it said that you're looking for rebirth, basically, with this part of body. Some texts say that it resembles your past. Actually, it resembles the rebirth you're going to take, possibly. But I don't know what happens. It said that if you don't take a rebirth in seven days, then there's kind of like a small death or like this transition to another part of the body. Report an error in the passage at 42:27 Highlight the passage at 42:27

42:57 And this can happen up to seven times. This is all, I should say all, but a lot of it comes from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Report an error in the passage at 42:57 Highlight the passage at 42:57

43:07 There's a really good translation of that by Robert Thurman, and it goes into a lot of detail. Interesting to read in terms of what's potentially happening there and how we can, you know, the things we can do to prepare for death and to help others who are going through the death process. Report an error in the passage at 43:07 Highlight the passage at 43:07

43:34 It's this coarse perception. That has this attachment to the eye, you know, the attachment, this self-grasping we've dealt with basically throughout our lifetime. We have that familiarity when we're going through the death process and we're losing, you know, we're basically being separated from this body that we've known for this past lifetime. Report an error in the passage at 43:34 Highlight the passage at 43:34

44:01 So fear arises that, you know, Fear of death, fear of the I being annihilated. And as the fear arises, lack of control, fear, the desire for a body arises. And it's said that that's how this craving becomes the cause for this bardo body, this in-between body. Now, this is where this idea of practice and meditation and the potential for someone who's directly realized emptiness. Do you know what that means? Report an error in the passage at 44:01 Highlight the passage at 44:01

44:45 did not realize that. Did you talk to me? It's not on a bumper sticker, right? Intellectually. Intellectually, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 44:45 Highlight the passage at 44:45

44:57 It's, you know, it's cutting through the secrets. So, Report an error in the passage at 44:57 Highlight the passage at 44:57

45:07 from understanding what you have on this slide here, what we're saying is that if you've actually meditated on wisdom and realized emptiness, that At the point when you have the dissolution of the sense of I, if you've realized emptiness, then it kind of decreases the panic because you already realize the I that's there that's freaking out doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 45:07 Highlight the passage at 45:07

45:27 That's exactly what happens. A stream enter, it's the first step. There are several levels of the stream enter, but even at the very basic, when you've had this glimpse of emptiness, this realization, Report an error in the passage at 45:27 Highlight the passage at 45:27

45:45 That when this craving, when this desire for I arises, you're able to overcome it. So it means basically breaking that chain of saṃsāra. And this is where meditators who are able to remain in that clear light also are not under this control of karma and delusion. Report an error in the passage at 45:45 Highlight the passage at 45:45

46:15 So going back to this. You know, virtue and the good throwing karma. Because virtuous life, we're just saying, okay, try to live a positive life. And throwing karma is what ripens at the time of our death. So, you know, if we've got this chance, and this is, again, just kind of realizing the value of keeping... Report an error in the passage at 46:15 Highlight the passage at 46:15

46:51 Virtue in mind. I'm looking at how we spend our time, how we use this life. Report an error in the passage at 46:51 Highlight the passage at 46:51

47:03 We die as we live, so the mind is going to grasp what's familiar. Report an error in the passage at 47:03 Highlight the passage at 47:03

47:15 Certainly we've got virtue in our lives and we've got non-virtue, but it's really wise to have more familiarity with the virtuous side. And that's what's really going to come through at the point of this death process. The Report an error in the passage at 47:15 Highlight the passage at 47:15

47:39 12 links. And these are the names of the 12 links. Ignorance, harming formation, consciousness. Name and form, the six sense fears, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, sometimes called becoming, birth, aging, death. Report an error in the passage at 47:39 Highlight the passage at 47:39

48:03 Ignorance is pretty obvious. But due to ignorance, karmic formation, or sometimes it's called compositional factors, compositional action, or just action, arises. Report an error in the passage at 48:03 Highlight the passage at 48:03

48:15 And then due to that condition of action, consciousness arises. And consciousness, this progression of ignorance, this root delusion, it generates the Report an error in the passage at 48:15 Highlight the passage at 48:15

48:35 The delusion which leads to the karmic factor of intent, which produces the karmic potential placed on consciousness. Due to that, name and form arise. So these are, it's easier to understand, I mean, these are kind of like labels, labels if you will, on this progression of how we go from ignorance to actually being born. Report an error in the passage at 48:35 Highlight the passage at 48:35

49:04 So name and form are the mental and physical aggregates. And due to the conditions of those, the six senses arise. So it takes a very, very, you know, tiny steps here. The six senses are really the sense powers, or this is the six sense fears. Report an error in the passage at 49:04 Highlight the passage at 49:04

49:24 Again, it's going to vary a little bit text to text because of the translation. But due to those, contact arises. Contact is just contact with objects, with what's around us. Due to that contact, feeling arises. And then due to the condition of feeling, craving arises. Report an error in the passage at 49:24 Highlight the passage at 49:24

49:48 And then due to the condition of craving, grasping arises. And grasping, this condition of grasping, leads to what's called the potentialized level. of karma, call it existence, for this becoming, it's sort of like the energy of meaning. Due to that condition of existence, birth arises. And then due to birth, aging and death arise. Report an error in the passage at 49:48 Highlight the passage at 49:48

50:29 So we can say in reverse, looking at this progression, we can say that the sufferings of aging and death are produced in dependence upon birth. The sufferings of birth is produced in dependence upon existence, which is produced in dependence upon grasping. Report an error in the passage at 50:29 Highlight the passage at 50:29

50:51 And you just see how this cycle is created. One action leads to the next and leads to the next. And then you can also look at this in terms of purification. So thinking about the third noble truth, the cessation of suffering. We can say when ignorance ceases, karmic formation ceases. When karmic formation ceases, consciousness ceases, and so on forth. Report an error in the passage at 50:51 Highlight the passage at 50:51

51:23 When birth ceases, age and death ceases. So it's just this progression, which we'll go through. It's not obvious just looking at these, although each one arises from the one before it, they aren't necessarily applied usually. To one lifetime. So, first, ignorance. This is the consciousness conceiving inherent existence. Report an error in the passage at 51:23 Highlight the passage at 51:23

51:57 We've talked about that before. And it's symbolized by a blind person. That's a little picture on that. Yeah. And the idea is that he doesn't see where he's going. He doesn't know where he'll be reborn. Doesn't even know what he suffered or what he'll suffer in rebirth. Our information or action. Report an error in the passage at 51:57 Highlight the passage at 51:57

52:22 generates It's generated from ignorance, and it's symbolized by man producing a clay pot. And the idea there is that a clay pot can be fashioned in many shapes and sizes, so the creation of different karmas bring about different results. Report an error in the passage at 52:22 Highlight the passage at 52:22

52:43 Then consciousness, which is generated by that karmic formation, symbolized by a monkey, fruit in his hand, sweet. tree to tree, of course it is. That little multi-minded. Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 52:43 Highlight the passage at 52:43

53:00 What level of consciousness is this referring to? This is referring to that gross consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 53:00 Highlight the passage at 53:00

53:15 That's a good question. I might have to check that out because... that Report an error in the passage at 53:15 Highlight the passage at 53:15

53:33 At this point, I'd say coarse consciousness, but the, like the, I would say the coarse perception, but I have to check that out. The image, like, does. The way that I try to understand this, if you think of this as rising consciousness that doesn't yet have a sense of self itself, but the potential still for Report an error in the passage at 53:33 Highlight the passage at 53:33

54:06 Creating the groundwork that once you have sense of form and then feeling, then you'll have something that can interact with an object and then create that sense of duality and then consequently the sense of I. I always sort of visualize this as being, if you think of like clear light as being a very clear and completely translucent lake, you know, that reflects a clear sky. Report an error in the passage at 54:06 Highlight the passage at 54:06

54:31 Karma is like a wind that passes over that. And then wind can generate waves on that clear water, it creates that disturbance. So as the wave increases in its form, like these particles of consciousness rise up from the one before it, then at that point that's sort of like that wave rises up until the point when you look out on an ocean or wave and you see an individual wave and say that is a wave, it's still actually just part of the continuum of the ocean or whatnot. Report an error in the passage at 54:31 Highlight the passage at 54:31

55:05 It's created a more form and can interact and bounce against things and flip your boat. That's how I started. No, I think that makes a lot of sense. I was just thinking about what you were saying, and in that respect, I mean, the subtle, the very subtle consciousness, so they feel like mind is the continuum, okay? Report an error in the passage at 55:05 Highlight the passage at 55:05

55:25 So that is not generated. It's not created. I mean, it simply is, okay? And at this point, in terms of... I'm not sure those levels are really relevant to this description. I like what you said, David, about the wave analogy. That makes sense. It definitely is a coarser level of consciousness, but whether it corresponds to the other, you know, those three we were talking about in terms of the coarse, the subtle and the very subtle, it definitely isn't the very subtle. Report an error in the passage at 55:25 Highlight the passage at 55:25

56:02 And I don't... I will check into it though. This gets a little bit technical. Often times, you know, it's presented in a way that, you know, you don't really, you know, you hear an explanation along this, you know, of this teaching and then maybe it's presented in a different way over here and you don't necessarily get that connection between. Report an error in the passage at 56:02 Highlight the passage at 56:02

56:32 so I can ask you a lot about that. But the main connection here is that the karmic imprints join the past to the present, the present to the future. Report an error in the passage at 56:32 Highlight the passage at 56:32

56:50 And the name and form, as I said before, the physical aggregates, symbolized by a man rowing a boat. And here the boat symbolizes the aggregate of form. Report an error in the passage at 56:50 Highlight the passage at 56:50

57:02 The person in the boat is the aggregate of feeling, discrimination, compositional factors of consciousness. The link refers to the aggregates sort of being present inside a fertilized egg or like a potential being. Report an error in the passage at 57:02 Highlight the passage at 57:02

57:22 Then the sixth sense powers or the sixth sense figures, they're generated by native form, symbolized by an empty house, and it refers to the potential of the Those six senses at the beginning of life. That they've not met with their objects yet. And this is interesting because it says beginning of life. Report an error in the passage at 57:22 Highlight the passage at 57:22

57:45 So this idea, from a Buddhist perspective, life begins at conception and Report an error in the passage at 57:45 Highlight the passage at 57:45

57:55 contact generated by those six sense fears. Symbolized by the contact of a man and woman. It's like the meeting of the sense spheres with their objects. So that contact distinguishes an object as either attractive, unattractive or neutral. And it arises upon the coming together of that sense power, the consciousness. So now we're getting into a little bit, you know, we know that feeling and grasping, craving are coming, but we're not there yet. Report an error in the passage at 57:55 Highlight the passage at 57:55

58:37 So feeling. Without contact, there's no feeling. It's generated by contact. Report an error in the passage at 58:37 Highlight the passage at 58:37

58:51 Symbolized by a man with an arrow in his eye who was suffering because of his contact with the object. And it basically tells us that without contact, there's no feeling. There's three kinds of feeling. Pleasure. pain, and neutral things. Report an error in the passage at 58:51 Highlight the passage at 58:51

59:13 And it tells us that if the mind is uncontrolled then we are better off avoiding contact with objects because these objects lead to more attachment and potentially more suffering. Report an error in the passage at 59:13 Highlight the passage at 59:13

59:34 So from feeling or from craving or from feeling or running is craving. it's Symbolized by man drinking wine. And the idea there is that, sorry, yes? Can I ask a question? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 59:34 Highlight the passage at 59:34

59:58 Our listeners will appreciate it. I don't know if it has to do with the class, because I've missed a bunch. If Buddhists don't believe that there's a spirit or soul, is that correct? That's correct. we have to talk about that. Report an error in the passage at 59:58 Highlight the passage at 59:58

1:00:15 What is being reincarnated? What is it? They're talking about energy being reincarnated? Well, what we're talking about, I mentioned that very subtle consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:15 Highlight the passage at 1:00:15

1:00:27 We were talking about three levels of consciousness, right? When we were talking about the depth absorption process, we said that as we die, this coarse level of perception, which is the everyday conventional, what we're used to thinking about or experiencing our sense powers. That's the course level. Then the subtle, there's another subtle level, which is our feelings, our perceptions, and then beyond that is a very, it's called the very subtle level of consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:27 Highlight the passage at 1:00:27

1:01:06 Can you say energy then? Well, you know, energy is kind of a very general, I mean, this is a very specific kind of energy, right? Because... Report an error in the passage at 1:01:06 Highlight the passage at 1:01:06

1:01:19 are talking about. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:19 Highlight the passage at 1:01:19

1:01:23 Consciousness. I've heard the phrase, the subtleness behind. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:23 Highlight the passage at 1:01:23

1:01:32 I've got an extension of my water analogy for you. So Report an error in the passage at 1:01:32 Highlight the passage at 1:01:32

1:01:39 if you think of the clear lake and the very bottom of the lake that can be or bottomless lake that is undisturbed by the weather that takes place above it and that it's continually undisturbed. That the part when you're thinking about what is it that's being reincarnated is not like an individual entity. It's more like a really micro film of scum on the top of that lake, which is the part that's disturbed as you think of winds going across, like the winds of karma creates that potential. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:39 Highlight the passage at 1:01:39

1:02:12 So that the energy of beingness is the undisturbed lake below it. The little part on top that's whipping up the waves. It's sort of that part that's being, passing through, and it's not an individualized thing. Like, you don't look at a lake and say, these are 20 different waves, right? I mean, they're in fact all part of that lake, so that's sort of like part of that overall consciousness. But it's that wind that blows up that little part of the scum on top that's sort of individualized, but that infinite thing underneath it that remains a disturb. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:12 Highlight the passage at 1:02:12

1:02:52 And then you've got a little boat. And if energy makes sense to you... That's fine. You know? I mean, what we're getting at is that there isn't an I, okay? There isn't a sense of who I am, of personhood, of identity. So that's why they know you believe in spirit. Okay. Yeah, because that kind of creates, when you say spirit, now you're, there's more that goes with that. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:52 Highlight the passage at 1:02:52

1:03:18 Yeah, but what spirit, you know? Is my spirit the same as your spirit, you know? Sorry. to interrupt it. Yeah, it's a lot. But, yeah. In the technical term, it's conscious, very subtle consciousness or this clear light. And you can look at that as a type of energy. For me, I'm an engineer. When you say energy, I'm thinking of joules and lots. I'm thinking of different things. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:18 Highlight the passage at 1:03:18

1:03:48 I kind of believe in... So, um... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:48 Highlight the passage at 1:03:48

1:03:58 I believe that when you pass away, your spirit goes to the place where, you know, whatever, and either it says, okay, I don't want to be reincarnated anymore, you know, you're at a certain level, and there's certain levels of spirit, you know, the spirit evolving, and there's a whole bunch of souls in different levels, you know, so that's what I kind of see as, but that... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:58 Highlight the passage at 1:03:58

1:04:27 And so I was just trying to understand the Buddhist point of view. But it's not, to me, it's not like individual, like, this is my spirit and I'm going up, you know, when I die. I feel like you're going back to a place where there's a bunch of souls. Gotcha. And, you know, I mean, it's a very, I think you've talked to a lot of people who get different views, but I think sometimes within our culture, you know, there's a theist view. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:27 Highlight the passage at 1:04:27

1:04:56 of going to heaven and being reunited with people. It brings that identity along. It brings that history. It's like, oh yeah, we're all going to be reunited. Well, that doesn't really fit into the Buddhist view. Kind of a hell of a hell of a thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:56 Highlight the passage at 1:04:56

1:05:15 Does that make sense? Yeah, it does, but I don't believe in nature or whatever. Yeah, yeah. And what I'm saying though is from a Buddhist perspective, I mean in terms of this society, it's like because there isn't that kind of, that sense of reincarnation or going to a place like that, there isn't, when we talk, we don't use that term like spirit or entity because we're really talking in a very, just a different perspective. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:15 Highlight the passage at 1:05:15

1:05:51 And so, like you say, I mean, you're looking at... as not necessarily being person that you are per se so there's there's some similarity Report an error in the passage at 1:05:51 Highlight the passage at 1:05:51

1:06:04 Kind of along those same lines, what about consciousness going to Pure Lands? Pure Lands are actually part of the performance realm. kind of sounds a little bit... Report an error in the passage at 1:06:04 Highlight the passage at 1:06:04

1:06:36 he had the outside name. It's a happy park, right into my house. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:36 Highlight the passage at 1:06:36

1:06:43 And trolls, we have trolls too. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:43 Highlight the passage at 1:06:43

1:06:59 terms of the realms of Report an error in the passage at 1:06:59 Highlight the passage at 1:06:59

1:07:06 I'll scan this in and send this to you because it a whole got a very complete view usually when we're talking know we hear about the six realms yeah this is like it's this page and it's the realms of saṃsāra and so it includes you know The Formless Realm and the levels of the Formless Realm and then it has Pure Lands, Forge Absorption Periodism. It's kind of all, it's a lot of detail, but I can scan that and email that to you. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:06 Highlight the passage at 1:07:06

1:07:39 Is that the Copan study done? This was a long rim outline. It wasn't, actually it was handed out at Copan. I don't know if they still, there might be a little version. Do you scan it? I will. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:39 Highlight the passage at 1:07:39

1:08:02 So, anyway, let me go back. We were just getting on to, oh, here I'm praying, the man drinking wine. And just, you know, a reminder about the man's thirst is never satisfied. Just like, you know, we, with our greed and attachment, whatever, we're always going to pray for things. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:02 Highlight the passage at 1:08:02

1:08:28 Craving really arises from the wish to not be separated from pleasure and of wanting to be separated from pain or displeasure. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:28 Highlight the passage at 1:08:28

1:08:40 And grasping, arising from the craving, monkey picking fruit from the tree, and it says that having tasted one fruit, you know, clings to the tree for more and more. So grasping created by craving procreates existence. Or this becoming, just as humans grasp and cling to their bodies. And there are four kinds of grasping. Desirous grasping, which involves a strong attachment to form and sounds and odors and tastes and tangible objects. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:40 Highlight the passage at 1:08:40

1:09:16 Grasping at afflicted views. Grasping at bad ethics and conduct. And grasping at views of self. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:16 Highlight the passage at 1:09:16

1:09:28 And then existence, or this becoming. So, you can see how this wheel turns, symbolized by a pregnant woman, and just karma leading to the next rebirth is ready to be actualized, just like the symbolism of this woman late in her pregnancy to be birthed. And it's said that the existence or becoming is this fully potentialized karma. So it's when karma actually takes form. And then birth. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:28 Highlight the passage at 1:09:28

1:10:03 Symbolized by a woman giving birth. And aging in death, symbolized by an old man walking with a cane and carrying a corpse. Oh, and we went over time a little bit. Let's take a little short break and then we'll come back and do a little meditation. Anybody have questions? I heard this in one class and I thought it was a joke, so I wonder if you can help me either way. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:03 Highlight the passage at 1:10:03

1:10:22 questions, I can see out. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:22 Highlight the passage at 1:10:22

1:10:32 So I'm talking about the bardo bodies and how they're drawn to take another rebirth or another body. And so that's why I thought it was a joke. You're talking about the fact that when there is the potential for life to be created, say the moment of conception, that like during moments of intimacy, for example, you could be surrounded by a lot of bardo bodies, like waiting to see if it'll take. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:32 Highlight the passage at 1:10:32

1:10:58 So was that a joke or is that true? No, that is what it is said, that that's how we are conceived, that's how we take our rebirth. And that's where he said that this Varda body is able to understand or know the karma of other beings, to know that it's said that as a Varda being you see your potential father and mother, and that if you are going to be born as a female, you experience like... Report an error in the passage at 1:10:58 Highlight the passage at 1:10:58

1:11:26 Dislike or anger for the mother and desire for the father or love, you know, that you're attracted to the father, propelled by the mother. And if you have a karma, then that... Report an error in the passage at 1:11:26 Highlight the passage at 1:11:26

1:11:39 It's just the fact that they be like physically well and like... Wait, I got one for that. You could have a funky name. Okay, roll roll. Thank you. So by that thought, by extension, if you've had a vasectomy, that the Barta bodies would realize that there's no potential. To be reborn, and ergo, you'd be able to have sex in an empty room. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:39 Highlight the passage at 1:11:39

1:12:06 With a lake, wind, and a rowboat. That's right. Well, you know, that's a great Tibetan tradition. You've got to take these things and run them out. I really thought they were joking, so thank you. You'll find it in the text. Yeah, I think the first time I heard it, it's been freaky. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:06 Highlight the passage at 1:12:06

1:12:32 uh... he... Yeah, nothing of that as being one of your parents getting ready to be reborn, hanging out in the room with you, and it's like, Mom, get out of here! Report an error in the passage at 1:12:32 Highlight the passage at 1:12:32

1:12:58 Wait a second, that's not going to work. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:58 Highlight the passage at 1:12:58

1:13:05 it's so fascinating because it's, because it's... Report an error in the passage at 1:13:05 Highlight the passage at 1:13:05

1:13:12 birth as being and life, but actually just part of the circle that your body. doesn't make sense. it's so convictory when you think about a bird was joy in it. Well, I mean... It's funny, when I was a kid and I first kind of realized I was a Buddhist, I always thought that, you know, we tell my friends this, of course, which went over really big. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:12 Highlight the passage at 1:13:12

1:13:39 Because of your returning in another cycle of existence, the birthdays should be kind of like a moment of mourning in the celebration. It's like, oh dude, I'm so sorry you got through one here too, we could help you get out again. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:39 Highlight the passage at 1:13:39

1:13:56 In all seriousness. So bardo beings can perceive beings like us. Can bardo beings be perceived by us? No. I'm going to announce the reservation. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:56 Highlight the passage at 1:13:56

1:14:15 We don't have that, I mean just like we can't see Buddhas either, we can't see enlightened beings because the only way we can see an enlightened being is if they manifest in the Nirmanakaya which that is a, it's a body, a form, a form body that we can, we have the ability to perceive. We don't have that perception of bardo beings, you know, or formless realm beings or, you know, hell realm beings or, Report an error in the passage at 1:14:15 Highlight the passage at 1:14:15

1:14:46 You know, there are different realms we can't perceive. Sometimes. Yeah, I mean, that's part of it. I would assume that, you know, it's interesting, because I think in some respects, when people see and perceive other, you know, other realms, I mean, when people, you know, this whole thing, there's such a fascination with ghosts and spirits and all that. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:46 Highlight the passage at 1:14:46

1:15:11 And I think Geshe-la has said that, you know, There are other realms, other beings in other realms. Now, I don't understand if there's a whole, like, if it's just another realm of, I mean, I assume it's another realm of saṃsāra, but whether it's a being that's kind of an intermediate being, you know, somebody in the bardo or what, I think, you know, there are people, you know, humans, who perhaps have the karma, so you have some of that perception. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:11 Highlight the passage at 1:15:11

1:15:45 But it isn't, you know, it isn't something generally. It's not a common thing. And I don't even know if that's right. I mean, I would have to ask Geshe-la. But I did hear someone say that, you know, somebody said, oh, yeah, there's, you know, they've seen beings around here in this house, you know, i.e. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:45 Highlight the passage at 1:15:45

1:16:02 the house is haunted. I lived here. But Geshe-la said, oh, you know, they're beings and they're suffering, so just try to have compassion for them. I don't know if he's trying to make the people who live there feel good, or if he's just saying, yeah, you know, you're seeing something a little bit beyond. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:02 Highlight the passage at 1:16:02

1:16:23 I think it's consistent also if you think of the intersection of contemporary physics and Tibetan Buddhism, if you look at string theory, and then you have multiple universes that have a kind of connection that takes place. Yeah, that's an interesting way to look at it. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:23 Highlight the passage at 1:16:23

1:16:42 Sometimes when you hear stories about people who see ghosts or may have other perceptions, it's not necessarily consistent with how things would be explained in this tradition. Because they may see the form of someone who passed away, say, years ago. And it's the same identity. Even if it's on a physical form, it's an image of the same physical form. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:42 Highlight the passage at 1:16:42

1:17:03 So it doesn't necessarily say that. Right. Yeah. They got a lottery, though. They got a lottery. And that an image of an object can have a three dimensional quality to it. And it doesn't exist, well objects don't exist as themselves anyway, but that's an example of why they don't. So I can take a hologram of you, and then you can look at the hologram and you can turn around, you can see all different sides of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:03 Highlight the passage at 1:17:03

1:17:32 It's an imprint that's taken place by a... But it's an imprint that can remain. So if you think sometimes of ghosts remaining, it's not necessarily the individuality, but it's almost like a holographic or photographic imprint within... It's residual energy. Yeah, residual energy, you know, per se. But the timing would be off a little bit if you were thinking about what happened. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:32 Highlight the passage at 1:17:32

1:17:59 You know, if a person dies and moves into the bar to end up in seven weeks... Arguably, they take a rebirth, and that person in the rebirth doesn't even remember who they were before. So to think that five or ten years later that they might show up as that same animal. We have footprints of dinosaurs in sandstone that are ten million years old, the dinosaurs aren't there anymore, but there's a residual imprint of their existence that, you know, the physical passing through that space, if you look at and extrapolate that that thing was there. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:59 Highlight the passage at 1:17:59

1:18:32 I'm just saying that I think that when somebody says, like, well, your grandmother says, you know, the brooch is still in the attic, that's a little bit of a stretch for me. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:32 Highlight the passage at 1:18:32

1:18:42 I'll tell you how. I think that's, I don't know if that fits the imprint theory that you're talking about. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:42 Highlight the passage at 1:18:42

1:18:54 So you have no questions, so you get to say that. Because I'm the newbie. Let's see. So I believe in soul, like, you know, souls that travel together. Do Buddhists believe that when they're reincarnated, it seems like they're going, they try to seek out people that they've had lives with before. So is that kind of similar? It's similar. It is said that, well, as I said here, that Bardo beings can discern karma so that they can recognize beings they have karma with. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:54 Highlight the passage at 1:18:54

1:19:31 And it is said that... Just where we're born, the people we're born with, you know, in this life that oftentimes we've known in other lives that there is definitely this karma, this shared karma, even as a country, you know, you know, why, why are we here? You know, we all, we share karma with everyone who shares this, this region, you know, this, so yeah, definitely. It's said that, I mean, there's stories where it'll say, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:31 Highlight the passage at 1:19:31

1:20:02 The father became, you know, the son or the, you know, the mother became, it's like it gets very complicated. But yeah, people or beings tend to move along together. But by extension, that idea of compassion is that all beings are between the mother at some point. That's true. Because when we talk about limitless lifetimes, limitless, you know, beginningless lifetimes. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:02 Highlight the passage at 1:20:02

1:20:30 So if you take that view, you can kind of say, well, gee, I can keep going back to where, you know, I experienced this person, this person, this person. So everybody at one point or another in my lifetime, in one of my lifetimes, has been my mother. Now, in terms of karma, though, karma does flow and conditions have to arise for karma to ripen. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:30 Highlight the passage at 1:20:30

1:20:54 So in that respect, perhaps, you know. Where we are right now and those we are with, that term is ripening and that's why we're there. And that's what we're receiving together. That doesn't mean it's always going to be that way. Hopefully we're going to be out of saṃsāra. Slightly. The seven weeks that I've heard of, is that just for another human rebirth or just wherever you're going to go, whatever realm? Report an error in the passage at 1:20:54 Highlight the passage at 1:20:54

1:21:23 Saṃsāra rebirth, yeah. And I've seen things. I mean, if you look at the Tibetan Book of the Dead, I think there's some, you know, I don't know if that's a real hard or fast number. What's a date? Report an error in the passage at 1:21:23 Highlight the passage at 1:21:23

1:21:39 I mean, we do use that in terms of, you know, for practices and if you're going to do practices for someone who's dying or who's died, I should say. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:39 Highlight the passage at 1:21:39

1:21:54 You look at, you know, the date they died and then There's a deadline. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:54 Highlight the passage at 1:21:54

1:21:51 everything. Thank you. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:51 Highlight the passage at 1:21:51

1:21:57 Every seven days you try to do some practice or something. And it's said that in the early, like, in the first few days, like before the consciousness actually leaves the body, that the person can sense, can, I mean, that they can hear what we say, that they can, that it's helpful to talk to them. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:57 Highlight the passage at 1:21:57

1:22:28 I don't know if this came up, but when we were talking about dying, it's important to give the person a calm place. We have a better chance of going through the stages peacefully if the area, if we're in a calm place. So it's really good to try to bring up And I think it's important to think about virtuous objects, virtuous practices, mantras, things like that, than to not remember unpleasant memories, and not to be really very emotionally upset, calling the person, crying, because that just, it tends to generate an attachment to arise. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:28 Highlight the passage at 1:22:28

1:23:19 And the person, you know, said the person would be very susceptible at that time. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:19 Highlight the passage at 1:23:19

1:23:29 I have a few more slides, but we'll do them next week because there's still much more to the Wheel of Life. And now there's lots more to the Bargo to investigate, I think. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:29 Highlight the passage at 1:23:29

1:23:42 So let's just finish with a little bit of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:42 Highlight the passage at 1:23:42

1:23:56 So again, finding your comfortable meditation posture. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:56 Highlight the passage at 1:23:56

1:24:10 Try to become aware of the whole evolution of saṃsāra. We've been talking about saṃsāra. Think about... How ignorance is like a farmer planting the seeds of karmic imprints into our consciousness, when our consciousness is the field. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:10 Highlight the passage at 1:24:10

1:24:31 From that arises all the rest of the links of dependent arising. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:31 Highlight the passage at 1:24:31

1:24:52 In this way, while one cycle of dependent arising from the time of the first cause to the full production of its effects is occurring, many other cycles of dependent arising are revolving around other contaminated actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:52 Highlight the passage at 1:24:52

1:25:10 They're all motivated by ignorance. But essentially, we have several Report an error in the passage at 1:25:10 Highlight the passage at 1:25:10

1:25:21 different courses, courses of karma ripening within Report an error in the passage at 1:25:21 Highlight the passage at 1:25:21

1:25:33 our lifetime. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:33 Highlight the passage at 1:25:33

1:25:46 We're always creating more crime. So Report an error in the passage at 1:25:46 Highlight the passage at 1:25:46

1:25:51 it's like committing a crime, being put in jail, and then committing more crimes while in jail. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:51 Highlight the passage at 1:25:51

1:26:10 Until we remove this ignorance, it's endless. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:10 Highlight the passage at 1:26:10

1:26:23 That's why saṃsāra is called a prison. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:23 Highlight the passage at 1:26:23

1:26:33 No matter what one does, even engaging in virtue, one can only reap the limited effects within some certain existence. The Report an error in the passage at 1:26:33 Highlight the passage at 1:26:33

1:26:59 only way out is to put the right key into the lung, the wisdom realizing the true nature of reality. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:59 Highlight the passage at 1:26:59

1:27:08 This has the power to overcome things, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:08 Highlight the passage at 1:27:08

1:27:16 eliminate that root cause. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:16 Highlight the passage at 1:27:16

· · · silence, 4 minutes

1:31:16 heard like this because you are. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:16 Highlight the passage at 1:31:16

1:31:26 I mean, Well, I support early retirement. I have a big trip. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:26 Highlight the passage at 1:31:26

1:32:06 don't understand how that was, and he was just in Report an error in the passage at 1:32:06 Highlight the passage at 1:32:06

1:32:15 Thank you. I've seen people who have horrific just picking it up exactly the right way. Yeah, because I think he said that he's inside your brain. Thank you. know it takes place under the... Report an error in the passage at 1:32:15 Highlight the passage at 1:32:15