Cultivating Meditative Concentration: Calm Abiding (11 January 2011)

0:03 like yoga. Yoga, okay. Physical yoga or mind training? Report an error in the passage at 0:03 Highlight the passage at 0:03

0:19 Okay, okay. So for some of you this class might be a little bit advanced in that we use a lot of terms that are used in Tibetan Buddhism and I ask you just to be patient with that. training Report an error in the passage at 0:19 Highlight the passage at 0:19

0:34 You'll start forming imprints. You know, the words will be repeated and slowly you may come to know what it means. Some of us are still learning. Even at the beginner level, we're all still learning. The classes get repeated. So hang in there. And I'm sure that you'll be able to ask questions. So I want to introduce Emily Hsu. I used to spell her name TSU, but it's HSU. I'm sorry. Report an error in the passage at 0:34 Highlight the passage at 0:34

1:04 And we are very, very lucky to have her. Some of you have taken classes with her for several years now. And she's very, very well qualified to teach. So we're very fortunate that she travels all the way from Santa Cruz, that challenging road, all the way to the land of great compassion. Report an error in the passage at 1:04 Highlight the passage at 1:04

1:32 So thank you, Emily. For hanging in there with us and for coming back. And I hope you will hang in there with us for a long time to come. And I didn't introduce myself. I'm the new director of Tzechen Ling. My name is Teresa Mia. And Charles is our program coordinator, designer. Report an error in the passage at 1:32 Highlight the passage at 1:32

1:57 And I look forward to meeting all of you individually at some point. So welcome. Report an error in the passage at 1:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57

2:12 Yeah, so welcome everyone. Welcome back to the people who were in the class before and welcome anew to the people who weren't here before. Report an error in the passage at 2:12 Highlight the passage at 2:12

2:23 Since we do have a number of new people, I wonder if we could just go around the room and just say your name and then just a little bit about your Buddhist background so I can maybe hopefully present things in a more useful way. Yeah, would you like us to hear something? I think if people can hear, we don't need to record the introductions, so I think if you just speak loudly enough so other people can hear, that would be good. Report an error in the passage at 2:23 Highlight the passage at 2:23

2:55 So I'm Emily, and I've been teaching here at Setcheling for, what, since early 2006, so gosh, almost five years now. And then before that I studied pretty intensely. Report an error in the passage at 2:55 Highlight the passage at 2:55

3:10 In Italy for a while and in India and Nepal. Report an error in the passage at 3:10 Highlight the passage at 3:10

3:16 Hi, my name is David and I'm a Buddhist. Report an error in the passage at 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:23 I'm a member here at Say Something and I'm a Wednesday night volunteer for Shantideva and I come and take Thursday night classes but it's tricky but I'm coming on Tuesdays now because I'm filling my calendar just being here all the time. I do. Report an error in the passage at 3:23 Highlight the passage at 3:23

3:41 Well, thank you. Yeah, and I've been practicing and studying for a long time. Report an error in the passage at 3:41 Highlight the passage at 3:41

3:49 I'm Carol, and I've been coming in St. Tulane for a long time and practicing for almost as long and hope to get some study time. And Carol founded this center. We have her to thank. Sorry, Carol. Report an error in the passage at 3:49 Highlight the passage at 3:49

4:17 Thank you for adding her. Report an error in the passage at 4:17 Highlight the passage at 4:17

4:22 Sorry. Okay, why don't we go this side of the room and then that side of the room. So Chad. I'm Chad. I have been coming to the Center for a couple years at least, maybe three years or so. I take a lot of classes here and this class has been a long time. Report an error in the passage at 4:22 Highlight the passage at 4:22

4:41 It's been a long time since the last class. Yeah, we took a long break. I'm very happy to be here. I'm also responsible for uploading the audio to the website. So if anyone has questions about that, I can certainly help. Report an error in the passage at 4:41 Highlight the passage at 4:41

4:57 name is Joe, I've been coming for a few years too, meditation classes and I'm in these classes. a meditation practice like that for about five years. Report an error in the passage at 4:57 Highlight the passage at 4:57

5:12 It's a man-less thing, it's a man-less thing, it's a man-less thing. Report an error in the passage at 5:12 Highlight the passage at 5:12

5:20 If Report an error in the passage at 5:20 Highlight the passage at 5:20

5:30 you don't feel comfortable talking, it's okay. It's fine. Report an error in the passage at 5:30 Highlight the passage at 5:30

5:52 Welcome. Report an error in the passage at 5:52 Highlight the passage at 5:52

5:57 Leslie, I've been studying Buddhism for about six years and I've been coming here for about a year. It has been a long time since the last class. Report an error in the passage at 5:57 Highlight the passage at 5:57

6:10 I'm Fred, I've been coming for about nine months. I came to... Just say a little English, so I don't... Report an error in the passage at 6:10 Highlight the passage at 6:10

6:05 I'm glad that we're starting again. Report an error in the passage at 6:05 Highlight the passage at 6:05

6:14 Emily's classes last fall, and then it should be on Thursday in of the fall, and it's nice to be Report an error in the passage at 6:14 Highlight the passage at 6:14

6:25 Hi, I'm Keisha. I just walked through the door. We're just doing introductions. And come on in, there's plenty of cushions in here. Unless you want to cheer. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 6:25 Highlight the passage at 6:25

6:51 five, seven years I lost him. Report an error in the passage at 6:51 Highlight the passage at 6:51

6:55 mean, call my body. Don't go. I'm Jessica. I'm the Tuesday volunteer, so you'll see me here. So I'm a student here and I've been coming here for, I don't know, a year and a half or so since I got settled in San Francisco. So I also need calm and biting. I'm looking forward to the class. But let me know, since I'm the volunteer tonight, definitely let me know if you need anything. Report an error in the passage at 6:55 Highlight the passage at 6:55

7:25 Hi, I'm Charles. I've been working here for about a year as the spiritual program coordinator and I first got interested in Tibetan Buddhism about eight years ago when I was quite young and I'm abiding too. Report an error in the passage at 7:25 Highlight the passage at 7:25

7:40 Yeah, we all do. Report an error in the passage at 7:40 Highlight the passage at 7:40

7:46 Okay. She's a good friend. She's also my landlady. Okay. She dove me here today so I'm very fortunate to have her in my life. Okay. Betty. Report an error in the passage at 7:46 Highlight the passage at 7:46

8:00 Hi, my name is Betty. I've been a student here for a while, and I haven't taken Emily's class in a long time, so I'm glad I'm back. I'm glad to be back. Report an error in the passage at 8:00 Highlight the passage at 8:00

8:12 Hi, my name is Eleanor, and I've studied Buddhism on and off for a couple of years. Report an error in the passage at 8:12 Highlight the passage at 8:12

8:22 Hi, I'm Peter. I've been interested in Buddhism pretty much most of my life, but practicing seriously here for about six years. And I also need calm abiding. I'm partially sighted, so if I ever walk by any of you, I'm not being a snob, I probably can't see who you are, so just announce yourself if I have a confused look on my face, which I generally do. Report an error in the passage at 8:22 Highlight the passage at 8:22

8:45 But it's nice to be back again. I've been with Emily's class since the beginning, so it's nice to be continuing with it. I'm Louis, and I've been studying Buddhism for a few years, not too many. Report an error in the passage at 8:45 Highlight the passage at 8:45

9:02 and I've been taking all these classes and reading that. Okay, and Dreen you kind of already. I'm Dreen, I'm a new kid to share your journey. I'm interested in wooden and I'm very happy to be here to know you all. Report an error in the passage at 9:02 Highlight the passage at 9:02

9:24 All right, yes, so welcome to everyone. Okay, so, For people who don't know, so this is a continuation of a class that I've been doing for a couple, two, three years now on the entire path to enlightenment. So if you've been coming, this is a continuation and if you haven't been coming, that's fine. It's fine to just drop in for this concentration part. Report an error in the passage at 9:24 Highlight the passage at 9:24

10:04 Okay, so here we're going to be talking about how we develop calm abiding or this incredibly concentrated mind. Report an error in the passage at 10:04 Highlight the passage at 10:04

10:18 Sometimes people ask, do we really need to meditate on the path? Is it that important or is it fine to just be a nice person and be generous to others and patient, try not to get angry? You know, that it's Report an error in the passage at 10:18 Highlight the passage at 10:18

10:32 And of course that's wonderful, right, to be a nice person and all that. But if we want to get the deep realizations, the deep transformative experiences to completely change our perspective on the way we look at things, then we really need to develop a concentrated mind and calm abiding. Calm abiding is said to be essential, actually, for... Report an error in the passage at 10:32 Highlight the passage at 10:32

11:00 For deep realizations. Report an error in the passage at 11:00 Highlight the passage at 11:00

11:06 And if we think about it, it's because normally we have, you know, if we've tried to sit down and meditate, you know, our minds jump all over the place, right? We may be sitting down and meditating and then before we know what we're thinking about, lunch, or we're thinking about, you know, some problem at work or something we need to do. Report an error in the passage at 11:06 Highlight the passage at 11:06

11:25 And so as long as we have this distracted mind that's all over the place, then it doesn't have the stability and the power in order to really penetrate any subject deeply. Like we can get a brief insight into something like we're in a class on emptiness or something and we think, yeah, I got it. And then it's gone, right? It's gone a couple minutes later, right? Or we have these wonderful experiences. Report an error in the passage at 11:25 Highlight the passage at 11:25

11:54 But we're not able to bring them into our day-to-day life. We're not able to really transform, really, really deeply change the day-to-day life and apply what we've learned to our moment-by-moment experiences. Because we have these deeply held habits of how we look at things. I mean, it's just really hard to... Report an error in the passage at 11:54 Highlight the passage at 11:54

12:21 To change, like if we find a certain person annoying, it's not easy to just think, oh, okay, well, you know, it's just my mind, right, and transform, right, so that we don't find them annoying anymore, right? We just have a habit of finding certain... Report an error in the passage at 12:21 Highlight the passage at 12:21

12:39 It takes a deep transformative experience over time, a habitual experience, in order to really change and actually see that person as being kind and develop compassion and love for a person that we previously had a really difficult time with. So calm abiding is really, or a concentrated mind is really important and able to be able to really transform. Report an error in the passage at 12:39 Highlight the passage at 12:39

13:06 Our mind very deeply. So there's a difference between what we call flash insights, which is having that momentary insight, and a realization. A spiritual realization is something that's stable and we can bring to mind again and again and again, and it deeply transforms the way we look at things. Report an error in the passage at 13:06 Highlight the passage at 13:06

13:34 And if we want to have a realization, then we need a deeply concentrated mind. And actually, according to many scholars, we need to have calm abiding if we want to get a realization. So in Buddhism, if we're just looking to improve our lives a little bit here and there, it's fine to not have calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 13:34 Highlight the passage at 13:34

14:03 But if we actually want to end our suffering forever, we want to deeply transform things, then we do need calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 14:03 Highlight the passage at 14:03

14:16 And even if we're not interested in enlightenment, developing a concentrated mind really helps in order to develop a more peaceful, calm state of mind and not so full of emotional ups and downs. Report an error in the passage at 14:16 Highlight the passage at 14:16

14:35 So to put this into context of the entire... Path to enlightenment. We've covered basically the initial scope, the intermediate scope, and we're actually at the end of the great scope. So just very briefly, the lamrim or the graduated path to enlightenment takes us from where we are all the way up until enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 14:35 Highlight the passage at 14:35

15:09 And the initial scope, of the Lom Rim. What it's focused on is changing our minds or changing our concern from just being concerned about this life and the happiness of this life and meditating on things like death and suffering and refuge and karma in order for us to remember that, well, if we believe in past and future lives that there's... Report an error in the passage at 15:09 Highlight the passage at 15:09

15:36 That there are future lives and for us to not just be concerned about this life, but also focus on, okay, well, I want to make sure I have a good life in the future as well. Report an error in the passage at 15:36 Highlight the passage at 15:36

15:49 The intermediate scope, not only are we concerned about our future lives, but we're thinking, okay, well, even if we have a good life in the next life, we're still in what we call cyclic existence in saṃsāra. And as long as we're in saṃsāra, we're under the control of our karma and our mental afflictions. So our mental afflictions such as ignorance, anger, irritation, jealousy and all of that. Report an error in the passage at 15:49 Highlight the passage at 15:49

16:19 So as long as we're in cyclic existence, we're going to have mental afflictions and we're going to be subject to karma. So undesirable circumstances can happen at any time. So we contemplate the Things like True Sufferings and True Origins and the Twelve Links to help us want to get out of saṃsāra, right? To not just be complacent about, okay, well, I just want, you know, a comfortable life now. Report an error in the passage at 16:19 Highlight the passage at 16:19

16:44 But if we want lasting happiness, we need to get out of saṃsāra. And then the great scope is where we think, okay, well, not only am I stuck in this place called saṃsāra, but all other beings are as well. And all other beings have been kind to us. We're very interdependent. So it doesn't really make sense for me to just focus on my own happiness. Report an error in the passage at 16:44 Highlight the passage at 16:44

17:14 But also I want to help others as well achieve the state of everlasting happiness. And that's what bodhicitta is. And then based on bodhicitta, we practice the six perfections in order to attain enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 17:14 Highlight the passage at 17:14

17:31 So some of you probably aren't even thinking in terms of enlightenment or future lives or anything. And if you're not, calm abiding in and of itself is useful even just for this life. Report an error in the passage at 17:31 Highlight the passage at 17:31

17:46 So just reviewing the six perfections, we covered the first four perfections last summer, I believe it was, which is practicing generosity, ethical discipline, Patience of not getting disturbed or angry, joyous effort, and then the last two perfections are concentration and wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 17:46 Highlight the passage at 17:46

18:13 So calm abiding is the fifth perfection concentration. Report an error in the passage at 18:13 Highlight the passage at 18:13

18:22 Oh, another thing I should mention is that this class is based on a text by Lama Tsongkhapa, a really amazing text called the Middle Length Lamrim. There are copies actually in the bookstore. So I'll be often quoting Lama Tsongkhapa throughout this class. And the section we're at in this class is the section where Lama Tsongkhapa is introducing the last two perfections, concentration and wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 18:22 Highlight the passage at 18:22

18:56 So we're going to talk first about calm abiding and special insight, which are the last two. Perfections. And then moving on from there, we'll focus, starting next time, we'll focus just on calm abiding. So concentration in general is the mental state that is able to focus upon any virtuous object for a long time. Report an error in the passage at 18:56 Highlight the passage at 18:56

19:18 So being able to focus on whatever object we are wanting to focus on. It's calm abiding for as long as we wish. Report an error in the passage at 19:18 Highlight the passage at 19:18

19:31 You might wonder, well, why does it need to be a virtuous object? I mean, in general, we can concentrate on anything. Well, if we learn to concentrate, right? Report an error in the passage at 19:31 Highlight the passage at 19:31

19:41 We should be able to concentrate on anything. And it's said, actually, with calm abiding, you can focus on anything. You can focus on a rock. You can focus on, like, there's a story of a Tibetan monk who attained calm abiding by visualizing a horn on top of his head. So it's possible to attain concentration on any object, but generally it's recommended to attain concentration on something that's more beneficial. Report an error in the passage at 19:41 Highlight the passage at 19:41

20:10 If I learn to concentrate on a rock, there's not so much benefit to that. But if I learn to concentrate on love for all beings, there's a great benefit for that. Report an error in the passage at 20:10 Highlight the passage at 20:10

20:25 Kenzerjumpa Tekchoka, great. A great teacher, he says, the function of concentration is to provide both physical and mental flexibility to engage in virtue as long as one wishes. Report an error in the passage at 20:25 Highlight the passage at 20:25

20:38 Generally when we sit down and meditate, we sit down and maybe we meditate for 20 minutes or 45 minutes or 5 minutes or an hour and then we get tired. And then we don't want to have anything to do with that anymore. We get up and we want to do other things. But when we... When we develop a high degree of concentration, we can stay on the object for as long as we want. And we can see that's a very much more powerful mind than a mind that's flitting around here and there. Report an error in the passage at 20:38 Highlight the passage at 20:38

21:12 And then wisdom in general is the mental state of being able to clearly distinguish a phenomenon or clearly understand a phenomenon or understand the difference between what's beneficial and what's not. Report an error in the passage at 21:12 Highlight the passage at 21:12

21:29 So the last two perfections. Concentration and wisdom are general terms, but in the context of the six perfections, concentration is referring to calm abiding, which we'll talk about what calm abiding actually is, and wisdom is referring to special insight, which is a specific type of wisdom, and calm abiding is a specific level of concentration. Report an error in the passage at 21:29 Highlight the passage at 21:29

22:00 Okay, just terminology, calm abiding. In Sanskrit is shamatha, or in Tibetan is shine. And special insight, and I'm probably not pronouncing that right, but Charles can correct me. Special insight in Sanskrit is Vipassanā, or in Tibetan is Laktong. So sometimes we hear teachings, people say shamatha and Vipassanā, and that's basically saying the same thing as calm abiding and special insight. I mean, another warning about this term Vipassanā. Report an error in the passage at 22:00 Highlight the passage at 22:00

22:36 Vipassanā technically... Is special insight. It's this analytical meditation penetrating the nature of reality. But nowadays that term is used much more loosely in terms of like just meditating on the breath is sometimes called Vipassanā. People think that's Vipassanā. But technically speaking, it's the special insight which we'll explain in a little while. Report an error in the passage at 22:36 Highlight the passage at 22:36

23:08 Okay, so this is a big statement. Without some attainment of calm abiding, it is not possible to gain realizations. Report an error in the passage at 23:08 Highlight the passage at 23:08

23:20 And more importantly, calm abiding serves as the basis for generating special insight. To completely eliminate disturbing emotions or mental afflictions, one needs the special insight that cuts them at their very root. First of all, the Buddha said it's possible to get rid of our... Anger, our irritation, our jealousy, our pride, our ignorance, our miserliness, all of these things called disturbing emotions. Report an error in the passage at 23:20 Highlight the passage at 23:20

23:51 It's possible to get rid of them completely and forever. Report an error in the passage at 23:51 Highlight the passage at 23:51

24:01 In order to do that, we have to have calm abiding and special insight. Calm abiding is the concentrated mind part and special insight is the wisdom that penetrates reality. that's Report an error in the passage at 24:01 Highlight the passage at 24:01

24:15 So if we really want to eliminate all of our mental suffering and our physical suffering forever, it's possible to do that. And we can do that with calm abiding and special insight. This is really the key. This is the key to ending our suffering, is calm abiding and special insight. The key to ending our problems. The key to ending all of the difficulties in life. Report an error in the passage at 24:15 Highlight the passage at 24:15

24:44 So the key is developing an inner mental transformation and not changing the external world so much. The key to ending suffering is for us to transform our minds deeply from within. Report an error in the passage at 24:44 Highlight the passage at 24:44

25:07 I'm going to skip that. So then Lama Tsongkhapa gets into the benefits of cultivating calm, abiding and special consent. So first of all he says that He quotes the sūtra that all the mundane and super mundane positive qualities of the Mahāyāna and Hinayana are the results of calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 25:07 Highlight the passage at 25:07

25:26 Okay, what does this mean? So all of the mundane qualities of the path. So these are things like bodhicitta, you know, this great compassion for others. Clairvoyances, it's possible to develop clairvoyances, you know, reading others' minds and seeing past and future lives and all this. Those qualities on the path are the results of calm, abiding and special insight or the practice of calm, abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 25:26 Highlight the passage at 25:26

26:00 Not necessarily the achievement of those two, but the practice of meditating, concentrating and concentration in wisdom, basically. As well as the super mundane positive qualities. So the super mundane is referring to a direct realization of emptiness. So the ultimate wisdom is the ultimate wisdom as well as the mundane qualities of the Mahāyāna and Hinayana paths are a result of meditating on calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 26:00 Highlight the passage at 26:00

26:41 So we may or may not have doubts about this, but this is what Lama Tsongkhapa is saying, according to Sūtra. Report an error in the passage at 26:41 Highlight the passage at 26:41

26:58 Then also the practices of calm abiding and special insight are the actual means to cut the bondage of cyclic existence. And as I was saying before, the way to get out of cyclic existence, the way to get out of saṃsāra, the way to cut our mental afflictions at their root, the way... of these slides Report an error in the passage at 26:58 Highlight the passage at 26:58

27:18 To end our difficulties and problems forever is to develop calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 27:18 Highlight the passage at 27:18

27:30 And stop me at any time if you have questions or doubts. Report an error in the passage at 27:30 Highlight the passage at 27:30

27:41 Okay, so I'm just quoting Lama Tsongkhapa how he's saying that by familiarizing ourselves with calm abiding and special insight beings will gain complete liberation from the bondage of bad states and signs. Report an error in the passage at 27:41 Highlight the passage at 27:41

27:58 So what is... What is the cause of suffering, according to Dharma? What's the main cause of suffering or the main causes of suffering? I'll get people involved. Carol. Report an error in the passage at 27:58 Highlight the passage at 27:58

28:17 Ignorance. Yeah. So ignorance is the main cause of suffering. And it's a specific type of ignorance. It's not just not knowing where... Report an error in the passage at 28:17 Highlight the passage at 28:17

28:30 San Jose is, right? But it's a specific type of ignorance, right? So if we think about it, our anger, our irritation, our jealousy, right, have as a basis, right, believing that something, something is, okay, anger, something or someone is undesirable from their own side, right? We believe that they are annoying or irritating or... Report an error in the passage at 28:30 Highlight the passage at 28:30

29:00 Undesirable, unpleasant, right? Independent of what I think about them. They are definitely, you know, from their own side, they are irritating. Report an error in the passage at 29:00 Highlight the passage at 29:00

29:13 Well, when we understand emptiness, actually irritating comes from our minds. There's actually, from their own side, they, you know, nobody is irritating from their own side. Nobody exists, actually, from their own side. Difficult to really get, right? But in order to have a mental affliction, in order to have irritation or anger and jealousy, we need to believe that there's some independent existence. Report an error in the passage at 29:13 Highlight the passage at 29:13

29:47 We need to believe that there's a basis who is from their own side irritating or desirable or undesirable. Report an error in the passage at 29:47 Highlight the passage at 29:47

29:59 So when we realize emptiness, We, like that basis, dissolves. There's no solid thing to hang on to in order to be irritated. Report an error in the passage at 29:59 Highlight the passage at 29:59

30:14 So it's like being irritated at, or it's like trying to hang on to a rainbow, like try to grab a rainbow, or fog, right? We try to grab it and there's nothing really there, right? And so I think it's like that with emptiness. That irritating person, when we try to find that irritating person, it's like trying to grab fog. Report an error in the passage at 30:14 Highlight the passage at 30:14

30:45 And when we realize that, with a strongly concentrated mind, then that irritation just dissolves because there's no basis. Report an error in the passage at 30:45 Highlight the passage at 30:45

30:59 So when we eliminate ignorance, we eliminate... All of our mental afflictions, all of our disturbing emotions. And so how do we eliminate ignorance in our disturbing emotions? It's through special insight. Yeah. How do we get special insight? Well, we need calm abiding in order to get special insight. So we're going to be spending, you know, the next, what, 11 weeks on calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 30:59 Highlight the passage at 30:59

31:28 And then after that, we'll do special insight. Carol? Just a quick question. Uh-huh. Report an error in the passage at 31:28 Highlight the passage at 31:28

31:39 Thank you. Emily, I just wondered on this slide, Lama Tsongkhapa says the bondage of bad states and signs. What is he talking about? That's a good question. Report an error in the passage at 31:39 Highlight the passage at 31:39

31:53 So that leads into the next slide. Report an error in the passage at 31:53 Highlight the passage at 31:53

32:02 I'm glad you asked that question. So bad states. So bad states, it's special insight that abandons bad states, and bad states basically is referring to ignorance. But Lama Tsongkhapa says bad states, everything in italics here is quoting Lama Tsongkhapa, just so you know, my little system. So bad states, he says, are latencies abiding in the mind, capable of generating more and more wrong consciousnesses. Report an error in the passage at 32:02 Highlight the passage at 32:02

32:40 So these latencies, these imprints in the mind of the ignorance, and as long as we have these imprints in the mind, they can ripen again and again and again, and they do ripen again and again and again into disturbing emotions like irritation and jealousy, things like that. Report an error in the passage at 32:40 Highlight the passage at 32:40

33:04 All right, so these mental... Anyway, no, I don't want to get off. Okay. Bad states refers to these latencies of ignorance, whereas signs refer to conceptualizations. Report an error in the passage at 33:04 Highlight the passage at 33:04

33:22 We'll talk a little bit more about calm abiding. When we develop calm abiding, our mind is able to focus on the object of meditation for as long as we want. Report an error in the passage at 33:22 Highlight the passage at 33:22

33:37 Let's say I'm meditating on... My breath. So when I have calm abiding, I'm able to meditate on my breath without distraction for as long as I want. Report an error in the passage at 33:37 Highlight the passage at 33:37

33:54 So what is a distraction? A distraction is usually a thought. Our mind is moving away from our meditation object, moving away from the breath in this case, and thinking about the sound that I just heard, or thinking about... Report an error in the passage at 33:54 Highlight the passage at 33:54

34:13 How uncomfortable it is to sit here or thinking about how tired I am or thinking about what I'm going to have for lunch. So what distracts us from our object are usually thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 34:13 Highlight the passage at 34:13

34:28 So once we have calm abiding, we've quelled our thoughts completely. There's no discursive thought anymore. The mind is completely focused on the object. Report an error in the passage at 34:28 Highlight the passage at 34:28

34:42 And what are disturbing emotions? What are mental afflictions? Thoughts. Anger? Okay, it's an emotion, but it's generated from a thought. A thought like, what a jerk. A thought like, he shouldn't have done that. A thought, right? All of the disturbing emotions, all of the disturbances to our minds are thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 34:42 Highlight the passage at 34:42

35:10 So when we have calm abiding, we've... We've tamed our thoughts. We're not just subject to whatever thought arises. We're able to control our mind. We're able to focus our minds on whatever object we want to with calm abiding. I don't know if people have noticed with loving kindness meditation if you've done. Report an error in the passage at 35:10 Highlight the passage at 35:10

35:37 Loving kindness meditation, right? So if we try to do loving kindness meditation, let's say on a difficult person, right? We think, oh, you know, may they be happy, may they be happy. But then oftentimes a thought, right? A but thought comes up, right? We're trying to develop loving kindness, but then the distraction, the but, but he shouldn't have done that or but. Report an error in the passage at 35:37 Highlight the passage at 35:37

36:03 But if only she didn't do that, then I could develop love for her. Then she would deserve it. So all of these disturbances to our loving-kindness meditation are thoughts that arise, these uncontrolled thoughts. It's not like I'm purposely thinking but, but it just arises involuntarily. So with calm abiding, these involuntary... Report an error in the passage at 36:03 Highlight the passage at 36:03

36:31 Thoughts, these disturbances, these distractions are quelled and we can just focus on the object that we want for as long as we wish. So when we have calm abiding, we have an incredibly peaceful mind and we have a mind that doesn't have these mental afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 36:31 Highlight the passage at 36:31

36:53 So it's a tamed mind, it's a peaceful mind, it's a controlled mind and it's an incredibly peaceful mind. Report an error in the passage at 36:53 Highlight the passage at 36:53

37:06 So while we're in calm abiding, These mental afflictions don't arise while we're in meditation. Report an error in the passage at 37:06 Highlight the passage at 37:06

37:24 So in other words, through familiarizing ourselves with calm abiding and special insight, we will cut through the root cause of our suffering and attain liberation or enlightenment, thus freeing ourselves from problems and difficulties forever. Report an error in the passage at 37:24 Highlight the passage at 37:24

37:44 So how are we doing so far? There's a lot of terms being bandied around. Report an error in the passage at 37:44 Highlight the passage at 37:44

37:56 Signs! Signs, conceptualizations, conceptual thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 37:56 Highlight the passage at 37:56

38:05 Here he says it's that which revives the latencies for adherence to wrong objects that arises time and again. So this particular translation is a rough translation. It hasn't been edited yet, so sometimes it's kind of hard to glean the meaning. But here, according to the commentaries, that which revives the latencies. Report an error in the passage at 38:05 Highlight the passage at 38:05

38:30 For adherence or holding on to wrong objects that rises again and again. It's our thoughts, right, that trigger these latencies again and again. Report an error in the passage at 38:30 Highlight the passage at 38:30

38:43 Fred? Report an error in the passage at 38:43 Highlight the passage at 38:43

38:47 Yeah, for the recording. Report an error in the passage at 38:47 Highlight the passage at 38:47

38:52 I was curious if anybody has experienced non-verbal thoughts. Non-verbal thoughts. For example? I don't have any. Report an error in the passage at 38:52 Highlight the passage at 38:52

39:09 Thoughts have to be verbal. Like animals, animals. ha ha! Report an error in the passage at 39:09 Highlight the passage at 39:09

39:14 They have thoughts, but they don't verbalize them. Well, maybe they do, but not in the language we can understand. I mean, we have, like, memories. Memories are conceptualizations, but they're not necessarily verbal. Most of my thoughts are non-verbal. Are they? I couldn't hear you. I was just saying most of my thoughts are non-verbal. What's an example? Just knowing what you need to do. Report an error in the passage at 39:14 Highlight the passage at 39:14

39:43 Do you have to think about it? I don't have to verbalize it. You're sitting in class. You just are going through your day and you're just doing the things you need to do. You don't necessarily have to think, oh, I need to go and make lunch now or, oh, I have to go and turn on the computer. You just do it. I don't know. I mean, I have that experience anyway. What about mental images? Report an error in the passage at 39:43 Highlight the passage at 39:43

40:10 Yeah, mental images. Calm abiding actually does have a mental image because you're focused on a mental image, but you don't have the discursive thought, right? Report an error in the passage at 40:10 Highlight the passage at 40:10

40:22 The what do I want for lunch kind of things, right? You're just focused on that one mental image. The mental image of a Buddha or the mental image of whatever you're concentrating on. Report an error in the passage at 40:22 Highlight the passage at 40:22

40:36 The thing I was thinking about or associating with that is typically when we think about a thought we do associate it with a verbal stream when we're communicating but if you think about But our minds really work in such a complex system like a matrix that even when you're thinking about one thing and you're thinking about something else, you get a lot of stuff going on. Report an error in the passage at 40:36 Highlight the passage at 40:36

40:59 And think about what happens when you smell something and it generates an entire complex of associations that are images from your childhood or being in a kitchen and emotional attachments that go along with that. And so you can have an entire matrix of stuff that takes place that's triggered off, for instance, by a smell that's not necessarily verbal, but it's an internalized experiential process that's taking place, although it doesn't necessarily mean it's a contemporaneous experience, but you're reflecting on something. Report an error in the passage at 40:59 Highlight the passage at 40:59

41:37 So that's a whole nonverbal example of that that's very powerful, I think, that we all get. Report an error in the passage at 41:37 Highlight the passage at 41:37

41:50 Yeah, so, I mean, thoughts, conceptions, I mean, generally, I mean, they can actually include, like, memories, like, visual memories, right? Memories of smells, visual memories of how we felt, memories of, you know, anyway, you know, etc. You know, memories of a massage, right, or very, like, sense-oriented memories. Yeah, so they're not necessarily verbal. But anything that's... Report an error in the passage at 41:50 Highlight the passage at 41:50

42:23 Distracting you from your object of meditation is generally conceptual. Well, not necessarily actually. It can be conceptual or non-conceptual because if I'm attracted to a sound outside. Report an error in the passage at 42:23 Highlight the passage at 42:23

42:42 But anyway, once we've achieved calm abiding, we've dispelled all of the distractions, both the thoughts as well as the sounds and odors and tastes and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 42:42 Highlight the passage at 42:42

42:57 And it's actually said, you know, there are, and according to the Dharma, there are six consciousnesses, five sense consciousnesses, like the eye consciousness, the ear consciousness, the nose consciousness, etc. And these sense consciousnesses actually withdraw, or withdraw inward when we have calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 42:57 Highlight the passage at 42:57

43:21 So actually when we have calm abiding, we don't even hear the sound. We don't even, we don't see. When we're sitting in meditation, we're focused inwardly just on the mental. Report an error in the passage at 43:21 Highlight the passage at 43:21

43:37 So we'll talk about that more later. Report an error in the passage at 43:37 Highlight the passage at 43:37

43:52 So the nature of calm abiding and special insights. So what's calm abiding? So calm abiding is a mental state that is able to focus upon a virtuous object without distraction and is sustained by physical and mental ecstasy or pliancy. And blissful flexibility that can be maintained as long as one wishes. So it's a mental state that's able to focus on a virtuous object without distraction. Report an error in the passage at 43:52 Highlight the passage at 43:52

44:24 So calm abiding is able to focus on your object for as long as you want. And not only that, if we're only able to focus on the object as long as we want. But not only that, we don't have calm abiding if we're only able to... Focus on the object as long as we want. But also we have this physical and mental pliancy, which is, okay, so physical pliancy. Report an error in the passage at 44:24 Highlight the passage at 44:24

44:52 We develop physical pliancy and what that is is what's considered a serviceability of the body or the body. Once we develop calm abiding, the body no longer feels heavy, right? Like you don't feel... Physical pain anymore, you don't feel neck pain, you don't feel back aches, you don't feel knee pain. So it's said that your body feels like light, like a ball of cotton. Report an error in the passage at 44:52 Highlight the passage at 44:52

45:20 Which is why you can sit there and meditate for as long as you want, because your body doesn't ever feel tired and it doesn't feel heavy. Report an error in the passage at 45:20 Highlight the passage at 45:20

45:30 And then that also brings about a mental pliancy, which eliminates the obstructions to be able to... To stay in meditation mentally, so the, oh I'm tired of meditating, or you know, just being mentally tired, or mentally just not wanting to do it, being bored, you know, so mental pliancy eliminates all of that. Report an error in the passage at 45:30 Highlight the passage at 45:30

45:54 And then the physical and mental pliancy bring about a bliss, like a bliss throughout your mind and your body, so it can be maintained as long as you want. Report an error in the passage at 45:54 Highlight the passage at 45:54

46:06 Okay, so calm abiding once again can focus on your, Object as long as you want, and it has this pliancy of body and mind and the bliss of pliancy. Report an error in the passage at 46:06 Highlight the passage at 46:06

46:22 Peter? Report an error in the passage at 46:22 Highlight the passage at 46:22

46:27 I know it's not the same thing as sleep, but is it almost like how when you're in a sleep state you're able to stay in a sustained state of relaxation for hours on end? Is it in a sense like that, but there's an awareness instead of a sleep state where you're able to maintain it for hours on end? Report an error in the passage at 46:27 Highlight the passage at 46:27

46:45 There's a sort of relaxation that takes over with that awareness. I'm not quite sure what the state is that would allow you to have that pliancy. Report an error in the passage at 46:45 Highlight the passage at 46:45

46:56 Well, in my experience, when I attained calm abiding, I haven't attained calm abiding, pretty obviously. But I wouldn't say that it's like sleep. Because when you sleep, At some point, you get tired of sleeping, right, and just staying in bed. You know, your back hurts and, you know, sometimes, you know, some of us toss and turn a lot. Report an error in the passage at 46:56 Highlight the passage at 46:56

47:26 So the body does kind of hurt. And then the sleep is actually considered an obstacle to calm abiding because it's a dull state. And calm abiding is an extremely sharp, clear mind. I guess I didn't mean sleep per se, but just that state of relaxation that you're able to sustain the awareness because you're in such a relaxed state, not like sleep, but like a relaxed awareness. Report an error in the passage at 47:26 Highlight the passage at 47:26

47:55 Yeah. So my understanding of calm abiding is we're trying to find that balance between relaxation and being very intensely focused on the object. So, you know, it's not too relaxed that it relaxes your attention, right? But it is relaxed enough, right? I mean, you're not tense, right? You have, it's that kind of middle way. It's relaxed and focused. So maybe in the sense of, yeah, of what you're talking about. Report an error in the passage at 47:55 Highlight the passage at 47:55

48:27 Yeah, Alan Wallace actually often talks, well, he talks about in his book, Attention Revolution, about... How in the Tibetan texts they often don't talk about the need for relaxation when we learn to meditate. But he was saying, you know, he's done a lot of calm abiding meditation and he's probably one of, you know, the foremost Western scholar on calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 48:27 Highlight the passage at 48:27

48:50 That's really kind of his specialty. And he was saying how Westerners really need to learn how to relax first. Right, because if we're sitting here meditating like this, you know, it's, you know, it becomes a real obstacle. Exactly. Exactly. So he leads long, you know, calm-abiding retreats and he really focuses on relaxation to start with and then, you know, kind of balancing it with the clarity. Report an error in the passage at 48:50 Highlight the passage at 48:50

49:26 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 49:26 Highlight the passage at 49:26

49:35 So Tsongkhapa says, calm abiding is dwelling alone in solitude. One places the mind inwards and attends to the same phenomenon just as he or she has thoroughly reflected on them. So first of all, we become familiar with our object of meditation before we start calm abiding. So if it's the breath, that's not too difficult. Report an error in the passage at 49:35 Highlight the passage at 49:35

50:03 But if it's like the picture of an image of a Buddha, we become familiar with that picture. But when we meditate on calm abiding, we're not looking at the picture, we're looking at the image of our picture in our minds. Report an error in the passage at 50:03 Highlight the passage at 50:03

50:19 So we're focused on an inner object when we're meditating on calm abiding. We're not focusing on some external image. Report an error in the passage at 50:19 Highlight the passage at 50:19

50:32 And then we attend to the same phenomenon, so we're focusing on that object again and again. Because in the early stages, right, we meditate, we try to focus on the object, and then the mind goes away, and then we have to bring it back, and then the mind goes away and we have to bring it back, and the mind goes away and we have to bring it back, right? Report an error in the passage at 50:32 Highlight the passage at 50:32

50:52 If we don't bring it back, if we follow our thoughts, that becomes a big obstacle to developing concentration. Even if it's a virtuous thought, it's an obstacle to being able to concentrate. So we need to bring it back again and again, the mind back. Report an error in the passage at 50:52 Highlight the passage at 50:52

51:13 Which is what he's saying, he attends to them by means of the mind that directs inwards continuously and attentively. And the state he thus enters and abides in where physical and mental pliancy arise are called. That's pretty much what I was saying before. Report an error in the passage at 51:13 Highlight the passage at 51:13

51:37 So through the great joy of physical and mental suppleness or pliancy, one is able to use the body and mind to perform virtue without tiring. It is called calm because there's no outer distraction during meditation upon a virtuous object and abiding because one can remain in concentration upon a virtuous object for a long time without a problem. Report an error in the passage at 51:37 Highlight the passage at 51:37

52:01 It's interesting he was saying outer distraction. I don't think it has to be an outer distraction. I'm not sure. But there's no distraction at all. Report an error in the passage at 52:01 Highlight the passage at 52:01

52:13 So with this physical and mental pliancy, we never get tired. And we never get tired of performing virtue. And it's through pliancy that we get rid of laziness. Report an error in the passage at 52:13 Highlight the passage at 52:13

52:32 So Geshe Loden brings out this point that concentration and calm abiding are therefore different. Concentration is a general term for focusing the mind on an object. Where calm abiding is a particular type of concentration or a particular level that we achieve. Okay, so are people, does that make sense? Report an error in the passage at 52:32 Highlight the passage at 52:32

52:54 Are we clear about the difference between concentration and calm abiding? Because we all have some level of concentration, right? It, you know, maybe sometimes is concentration on a virtuous object and sometimes it's not. But, you know, to be able to do anything well. We need to be able to concentrate. Report an error in the passage at 52:54 Highlight the passage at 52:54

53:21 How Report an error in the passage at 53:21 Highlight the passage at 53:21

53:29 are we doing for need of a break? Do you need a break yet? Report an error in the passage at 53:29 Highlight the passage at 53:29

53:41 Okay, we'll talk about special insight and then we'll take a break. So special insight is where having attained calm abiding... Okay, wait, actually before we get into special insight, do we have any questions on what calm abiding is? Anna, then Charles. Report an error in the passage at 53:41 Highlight the passage at 53:41

54:03 So I'm trying to kind of clarify what's going on in this state. The senses have withdrawn, the physical senses, so that's not. Then the mind has also withdrawn. It has just gone to a particular focus, point of focus. Okay. I mean, they wouldn't use the term withdrawn in terms of the mind. The mind is active, but it's... Report an error in the passage at 54:03 Highlight the passage at 54:03

54:34 And it's very clear and very sharp and very focused on its object. So what's happening during that focus? I mean, I can, because I cannot focus, I would think you'd get tired of focusing on this object. I mean, what is the tension that keeps the mind focused on that object? Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, for most of us, we have many obstacles like boredom. Report an error in the passage at 54:34 Highlight the passage at 54:34

55:07 Trying to stay on the object. But one of the reasons why Lama Tsongkhapa talks about the benefits of calm abiding so much is so that even when that boredom arises, we bring the mind back, we bring the mind back, and we bring the mind back. Report an error in the passage at 55:07 Highlight the passage at 55:07

55:30 But once we get... All right. Report an error in the passage at 55:30 Highlight the passage at 55:30

55:32 So in the beginning, it's really a lot of effort, right? Oh, I need to bring my mind back to the object. You can do it again, do it again, do it again. But as the concentration develops, you know, and the mind becomes more still, then it becomes easier. It becomes less effort. It's like, I mean, maybe it's like, you know, starting to jog right at the beginning. It's difficult and it's... Report an error in the passage at 55:32 Highlight the passage at 55:32

56:02 You know, it's heavy. But at a certain point, like when you get really good at it and you get in a good enough shape, some people say it's pretty blissful. Report an error in the passage at 56:02 Highlight the passage at 56:02

56:13 Not that I've ever experienced that. But with concentration, I mean, I think it's similar. In the beginning, it's a lot of effort. But then at a certain point, you know, you really enjoy it and you see the benefits. The main thing is, you know, you see the benefit. You see how... Report an error in the passage at 56:13 Highlight the passage at 56:13

56:31 The mind becomes more powerful and it becomes more calm, right? And actually that even becomes an obstacle after a while because the mind becomes incredibly blissed out and then you don't want to go back to the real world sometimes. So what's keeping you to the object initially is effort but then over time it's I think the force of familiarization. Report an error in the passage at 56:31 Highlight the passage at 56:31

56:59 But we're going to talk about that more actually because Lama Tsongkhapa talks about, anyway, we'll talk about Charles. So my question was just related to the word pliancy and what that refers to. Why do we need it? How do we get it? Yeah, so the pliancy arises through this high level of concentration. Report an error in the passage at 56:59 Highlight the passage at 56:59

57:22 And we need it because otherwise... Our back, you know, when our back starts to hurt and our knees start to hurt, we have to get up, give up our concentration, right? So physical pliancy is needed so that we can, so that we have control over, how do I say that? Report an error in the passage at 57:22 Highlight the passage at 57:22

57:49 We need it so that we can direct our body to do whatever is necessary in order to stay in concentration. Is it the same, sometimes it's translated as suppleness? Do you know? Suppleness or serviceability. Okay, so they're all three, the kind of synonyms. Yeah, I think that those are just different translations for the same term. Report an error in the passage at 57:49 Highlight the passage at 57:49

58:11 So that's physical pliancy and mental pliancy. Actually, that's really the key to getting rid of laziness because what mental pliancy overcomes is that mind that says, oh, I don't want to meditate or I would rather sit on the couch and watch TV. All of those kinds of minds are eliminated when we attain mental pliancy. So very useful, right? Report an error in the passage at 58:11 Highlight the passage at 58:11

58:40 So the obstacles to practicing virtue are eliminated when we have mental pliancy. So it would be nice to have. Report an error in the passage at 58:40 Highlight the passage at 58:40

58:53 Is that why some of the Lamas don't need to sleep because they're able to? have some quick questions. Report an error in the passage at 58:53 Highlight the passage at 58:53

58:58 Go into this mental and physical pliancy state? There are. Yeah, I mean, I would only be speculating about why they don't need to sleep. But sometimes I think about, you know, these old llamas, they're sitting in empowerment for four or five hours and they don't ever have to move. You know, we're like shifting around and all of this and, you know, and they don't have to move. Report an error in the passage at 58:58 Highlight the passage at 58:58

59:25 And then I think, well, you know, maybe they've got that pliancy. Report an error in the passage at 59:25 Highlight the passage at 59:25

59:35 Yeah, yeah. So maybe, you know, maybe they have clients. Just imagine if you had physical, how good mental would be too. Yeah. Mental would be better even. All right. Okay. Well, let's take a break. We have cookies and all in the back. And then also, after break, I want to pass this around to get... Everybody's email address who plans to stay in this class, just because I tend to send out the slides and handouts and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 59:35 Highlight the passage at 59:35

1:00:14 So, I'm going to give this to Dave. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:14 Highlight the passage at 1:00:14

1:00:22 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. the desk there. Oh, think the book she referred to by Mama Flancapa, we have a couple of copies of just the Kamabadi part of the Lombra. But if you want the whole copy of the one where we can make copies of that as well. If you have the big one, it's included in that. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:22 Highlight the passage at 1:00:22

1:00:46 Oh, Report an error in the passage at 1:00:46 Highlight the passage at 1:00:46

1:00:53 thanks. I'm fine. Oh, look at that. Nice. Night owl. So that's why I called you in my mail. No. All right. Ashley, do you want to say anything? No, thanks. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:53 Highlight the passage at 1:00:53

1:01:01 So I need to know the group. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:01 Highlight the passage at 1:01:01

1:01:07 When you started it said how it said that we need calm abiding to attain any kind of realizations. It struck me when I came to Geshe's class two Sundays ago. I was talking about calm abiding. And one of the things that... jumped out. It's like he said that. He just said, could you expect to, you know, basically he said could you expect to get anywhere. I mean, that's what I heard. You need to call him by. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:07 Highlight the passage at 1:01:07

1:01:38 Yeah. Exactly, it's something that we conveniently forget, because how many of us really focus on calm abiding? Yeah, but it makes sense. There was another thing that came up at the last, his last class, which really threw me away. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:38 Highlight the passage at 1:01:38

1:02:01 I wanted to ask you about it, because it was regarding old guitar, and being a practitioner, and how that means it's such a very beautiful generation stage. He has your hand here for you! Report an error in the passage at 1:02:01 Highlight the passage at 1:02:01

1:02:20 and that you actually cannot, and that it can be harmful to take anything but the most empowerment, which is sort of like, and it made me think, how good does this have this give empowerment, you know, when you have... In the last class? Yes. I didn't hear that. Were you there? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:20 Highlight the passage at 1:02:20

1:02:49 I kind of, that just, was it the Latin, yeah. This past, on the Cheetah Money, I mean the, the Four Mandala. I knew I thought that you were there, because I was thinking that you had to go someplace else. It was about, I don't even have it here, but really, I've never heard that before. I think the Holiness talked about, you know, I think when he was giving commentary to Six Years from Europa, he talked about Tatra, he talked about a lot of visualizations. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:49 Highlight the passage at 1:02:49

1:03:19 But, um, this whole thing about, um, anyway, I'm just kind of... I'm pretty sure it was... Let's see. No, you know what? It was probably the week before. I'm going back two weeks. Because I don't think it was this... Because I'm realizing... Geshe-la was talking about the Chimani card. I'm sorry, it was a week before. Because he was finishing up on the lamp on the path. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:19 Highlight the passage at 1:03:19

1:04:01 Okay. Well, I'm glad I didn't totally miss anything. I'm sorry. Yeah, that's interesting. Maybe I'll email to you what the reference was. I mean, Geshe-la, I'm sure, I asked, it did sort of I asked Ziki about it and there was some mention of Geshe-la was covering this text really quickly. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:01 Highlight the passage at 1:04:01

1:04:28 You know, he covered like ten verses, you know, just a half an hour. I mean, he was just kind of glossing a bit. And she did say that this was because many of us, she said, you know, today we don't really receive the empowerment, which does make sense. But it still brings to mind, if that's the breadth of what we're talking about, or what the text is about, What about the preceptor? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:28 Highlight the passage at 1:04:28

1:05:02 How could a preceptor give empowerments that he or she had not taken? Report an error in the passage at 1:05:02 Highlight the passage at 1:05:02

1:05:14 Unless there's a point that probably goes on from that which says if you're a preceptor of this kind of practice, then this doesn't apply to you. You know me too. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:14 Highlight the passage at 1:05:14

1:05:12 So, yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:05:12 Highlight the passage at 1:05:12

1:05:25 because I mean I can't imagine I mean, His Holiness is ordained, and He is, you know, given many. Most of the llamas, you know, that are giving empowerment are ordained. Yeah, I don't know, Carol, I really don't. Okay, so you haven't come across that before, that wasn't... Anything that came up? No. Not when I was paying attention. This is the first I've ever encountered it. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:25 Highlight the passage at 1:05:25

1:05:58 And like I said, I know that His Holiness, early on I remember getting at least some understanding that what His Holiness was referring to in terms of the empowerment and the activity, it was a lot of visualization. and it wasn't intended. And in all of this, you always wonder how much this is just for your own mind. Right. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:58 Highlight the passage at 1:05:58

1:06:22 Right, yeah. Because you don't need, I mean, you don't need an actual physical consort until far along the path. And Lama Tsongkhapa actually never took an actual physical consort, right? So he purposely did that. But are you violating the Vinaya if you just visualize? That's what I'm wondering. I'm wondering if, you know... Report an error in the passage at 1:06:22 Highlight the passage at 1:06:22

1:06:49 If you have a practice that goes through the four empowerments and you're really only supposed to be taking the bonds that come in. You know, I don't know. Anyway. Yeah, that is mysterious. Because Lama Tsongkhapa did attain enlightenment, you know, he obviously received all the empowerments, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:49 Highlight the passage at 1:06:49

1:07:10 And he didn't disrobe. No. I was like, well, why don't I just talk to people like, you know, reason for me to, like, continue studying, I'm going to, like, facilitate, you know, and I'm just like, ah, I can open it up to people. So, I just try to tell people, if I could go from not understanding what's going on, and I don't know if that was the fact that I didn't study Chinese for many years, I didn't laugh at you. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:10 Highlight the passage at 1:07:10

1:07:42 I can't blame you very much. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:42 Highlight the passage at 1:07:42

1:07:49 Yeah, I didn't go to the next Thank you. Thank you. do something over and over here, you're coming over there, and you don't die. I try to be enthusiastic about it. Why not just spend a year in your life learning something like you do to your rest of your life? Report an error in the passage at 1:07:49 Highlight the passage at 1:07:49

1:08:09 That would be something. We have about 10 years here. Some people just enter class Saturday or so. Yeah. Is that the Tibetan thing? Yeah. What time is that? It's getting so many better disintroduction, How are how are you you doing? doing now? Exactly. It's Saturday night, too. I love it. Please can show up. Is she still around, or is she? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:09 Highlight the passage at 1:08:09

1:08:30 Oh, yeah. She's pretty with me. I was like, you know, I'm going to still be awake. Guess who just gave me a hug? I have to. I know. She's trying. She's having this. She's like flipping her switch. Is that the Tibetan mix? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:30 Highlight the passage at 1:08:30

1:09:05 So that adds up a whole bunch more time. But the thing is, she loved her position as excellent. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:05 Highlight the passage at 1:09:05

1:09:34 Oh, I like this, what you've done to the garage, honey, oh you, I'm gonna... Good guys! Good! Keep coming! Report an error in the passage at 1:09:34 Highlight the passage at 1:09:34

1:10:07 Right? I'm going to Stop it! stress it on the court as long as you feel like you're not. I'm going to have a lot of people over here. And I'm like an inch from the water. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:07 Highlight the passage at 1:10:07

1:10:16 a breath. And if that's your issue, it's okay. So that's why I get plastered. It'll take a long time. Rockets and bodies turn like Report an error in the passage at 1:10:16 Highlight the passage at 1:10:16

1:10:29 just comes up to the water, and she has a little bit more. I'm so sorry. Yeah. And that fails. I took these things out of my sister. My sister, she's doing so much grace on the foundation of the water. You know, where I just . So, yeah, the whole class, she took the whole class, she really was down there. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:29 Highlight the passage at 1:10:29

1:10:53 But the thing with one of the things I found out, you know, No, we we already were did going to a lot of it. let you do a little bit. I was going to let you do a little bit. Yeah. No, I won't let you do a little bit. I got dramatic. I was like, I was like, I was going to let you do a little bit. My mom is good. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:53 Highlight the passage at 1:10:53

1:11:07 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:07 Highlight the passage at 1:11:07

1:11:24 I did look at them, and I read, you know, I looked at them a little bit. And we do that to ourselves. I like alcohol. Yeah, you do. I like that one. I like that one. I like that one. I like that one. I like that one. I like that one. That's, that was one of the worst. Well... Well, nothing connects with Lama. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:24 Highlight the passage at 1:11:24

1:11:52 I mean, that's, that's a question. You know what I mean? That's a sincere... And also, it's on a different level, but the thing is, we're still... So, you know where, you know where that church is? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:52 Highlight the passage at 1:11:52

1:12:06 Yes. Yes. Yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:06 Highlight the passage at 1:12:06

1:12:16 Yes. Yes. We have to work with what we It's right there on 19th and 30th, and you're just waiting on the distinction for a note, right? Can you do a quick question, sir? Yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:16 Highlight the passage at 1:12:16

1:12:17 am like, that's my dad. I am like, that's my dad. I am. I am. The, the surprise. Concentration. We have moved down. Yes, I know. I'm like, here. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:17 Highlight the passage at 1:12:17

1:12:36 I don't want that one. You know, and it's really convenient. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:36 Highlight the passage at 1:12:36

1:13:19 You're the one who's stuck with that side. Really? It's because he's having good exercise. Oh, yeah. I'm not very good at 45 days. Oh, but you're really good at 45 days. Can we get some slip between now? Well, I had my broken ankle. That's not it. Hold on. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:19 Highlight the passage at 1:13:19

1:13:44 It's like, yeah. You got it yourself? Just as you're doing your work from somebody else, it's happening. Or you're running the risk of . Report an error in the passage at 1:13:44 Highlight the passage at 1:13:44

1:13:55 Is there a PDF version? PDF version of it. PDF version of this is the There's a complete one. But then, that's what you feel like you've been listening to. Probably. If not, Emily definitely has it. Okay. I think Emily has it. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:55 Highlight the passage at 1:13:55

1:14:16 I think Emily I'm up here now. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:16 Highlight the passage at 1:14:16

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:14:54 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:54 Highlight the passage at 1:14:54

1:15:11 a whole side. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:11 Highlight the passage at 1:15:11

1:15:19 Any more questions on calm abiding, what calm abiding is? How long is it going to take? Report an error in the passage at 1:15:19 Highlight the passage at 1:15:19

1:15:28 We'll talk next time actually the conditions that we need for developing. But they say if you have the conditions you can do it in six months or you should be able to do it in six months. But actually the key is to have all the right conditions. laughter laughter Report an error in the passage at 1:15:28 Highlight the passage at 1:15:28

1:15:47 Excellent, so we'll talk about that next. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:47 Highlight the passage at 1:15:47

1:15:54 Yeah, because I mean it's just very, it's very difficult to develop, you know, that deep concentration in the middle of a busy life. It, you know, it may be possible if people have the imprints, you know, it really depends on your imprints, you know, because some people when they sit down and meditate they can just meditate right away, right, and some of us can't. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:54 Highlight the passage at 1:15:54

1:16:19 Yeah, so very helpful to do retreat. Emily, you were just mentioning about the imprints, and it just brought to my mind. So once you attain or achieve calm abiding, obviously in this particular lifetime, you have that calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:19 Highlight the passage at 1:16:19

1:16:46 You haven't eliminated all of your afflictions at that point, though. So when you take your next rebirth, could you have the strong imprints of calm abiding but not really have that same kind of achievement of calm abiding in your next life? Yeah, I mean, even once we attain calm abiding... What we've actually done is just suppressed the afflictions. We haven't eliminated the afflictions. That's why we need the special insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:46 Highlight the passage at 1:16:46

1:17:19 In order to eliminate mental afflictions from the root, we have to have the special insight. So the comabiding, your afflictions are suppressed as long as you're in meditation. But actually, even when you get up and walk around, those afflictions can arise again. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:19 Highlight the passage at 1:17:19

1:17:38 And actually even if we attain calm abiding in this lifetime it can degenerate as well even in this lifetime if we don't keep meditating. So it's not like an irreversible thing. But once we've attained calm abiding I would think that it would be easier to attain it again. But then sometimes they say we've all attained calm abiding in the past. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:38 Highlight the passage at 1:17:38

1:18:10 But we haven't attained. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:10 Highlight the passage at 1:18:10

1:18:23 That's the answer. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:23 Highlight the passage at 1:18:23

1:18:29 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:29 Highlight the passage at 1:18:29

1:18:39 All right. Anything else on calm abiding? So is that why they call it like, so you can lose calm abiding? You can lose that realization. You can't lose the realization of special insight. Or can you? Yeah, no, I don't think you can lose special insight. So is that why they call it calm abiding coupled with special insight? Because that's kind of immutable? Yeah, we're going to talk about that later in this class. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:39 Highlight the passage at 1:18:39

1:19:03 But yeah, I mean, with calm abiding, all you've done is you've concentrated your mind and you've suppressed the mental afflictions. For the time that you're in meditation. But it doesn't, like, it's like taking a vacation into a blissful, peaceful land. And then you come out and the world looks the same as it did before. You know, it's not... Report an error in the passage at 1:19:03 Highlight the passage at 1:19:03

1:19:34 Well, Report an error in the passage at 1:19:34 Highlight the passage at 1:19:34

1:19:43 I mean, it depends. It depends. I mean, if you develop calm abiding on emptiness, that's different, right? But if you develop calm abiding on a rock, right, you haven't developed any wisdom if you focused on an object that's not going to help you outside of your concentration. But, you know, you can... Report an error in the passage at 1:19:43 Highlight the passage at 1:19:43

1:20:08 Try to develop calm abiding on emptiness or Buddha image and things like that. And then it helps you outside of when you're in concentration. But it doesn't uproot any of your mental afflictions. So we need the special insight as well as the calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:08 Highlight the passage at 1:20:08

1:20:29 So that's why we're going to go through both. So if you achieve special insight and calm abiding, Can you keep the special insight and lose the calm abiding? Report an error in the passage at 1:20:29 Highlight the passage at 1:20:29

1:20:45 You know, if you study a text like Abhisamaya Lamkara, the ornament for clear realizations, they talk about all these different clear realizations that you get along the bodhisattva path, and they talk about the mental basis for each of those realizations, and the mental basis, which is what level of concentration do you need for all those realizations? Report an error in the passage at 1:20:45 Highlight the passage at 1:20:45

1:21:04 At least calm abiding. For every single one of those realizations. So you can't afford to lose the Kama Bunny once you've gotten it. We need to maintain the effort to keep it going. I would think it would be a lot easier to maintain it once you have it than to attain it the first time. Maybe once you get in shape, it's easier to keep in shape than getting in shape the first time. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:04 Highlight the passage at 1:21:04

1:21:32 But still, we have to put the effort in. We can't just say, okay, I got it, now I can do whatever I want. We still need to keep good conditions, keep meditating. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:32 Highlight the passage at 1:21:32

1:21:51 But as I said, this is what I would think, right? Not from any memory of ever having calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:51 Highlight the passage at 1:21:51

1:22:02 Okay, so then special insight is where once we've attained calm abiding, we engage in a particular form of analytic... Analytical wisdom that induces the bliss of pliancy and then with that analyzes to discern the nature of the object of meditation. So this gets into the two different kinds of meditation, the placement meditation or the stabilizing meditation versus the analytical meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:02 Highlight the passage at 1:22:02

1:22:28 The calm abiding meditation is the placement meditation or the stabilizing meditation where you're just focused on... object, right? You're not analyzing the object, you're just focused on the breath or the Buddha image or whatever it is, yeah. Special insight takes that super concentrated mind as its basis and analyzes whatever the subject is. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:28 Highlight the passage at 1:22:28

1:22:58 It could be emptiness, it could be impermanence, it could be the Four Noble Truths, etc. It takes that concentrated mind and analyzes. And because you have that concentrated mind, it's much sharper and more penetrating than the analytical mind that's just sitting and thinking about something and being distracted and not being that sharp and that clear. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:58 Highlight the passage at 1:22:58

1:23:28 Oh, Report an error in the passage at 1:23:28 Highlight the passage at 1:23:28

1:23:36 okay. And so you have calm abiding. You engage in analysis. And that analysis then induces another bliss of pliancy. And then once that bliss of pliancy arises, then it becomes special insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:36 Highlight the passage at 1:23:36

1:24:02 So you have the calm abiding concentration, then you analyze with this very clear, sharp mind, and then you develop the bliss of pliancy on the basis of the analysis. Because initially with calm abiding, the pliancy arose as a result of your stabilizing meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:02 Highlight the passage at 1:24:02

1:24:24 And usually, you know, once you've stabilized on an object and you start to analyze, that disturbs the stability. So with special insight, actually, you start to analyze, it disturbs the stability, and then... The analysis induces greater stability and then induces pliancy from my understanding. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:24 Highlight the passage at 1:24:24

1:25:05 So when calm abiding is attained, the joy of extreme training of the body and mind arises and this joy is intensified when special insight is attained. With special insight one can see more than with calm abiding alone. Special insight is developed within the state of calm abiding, within that physical and mental. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:05 Highlight the passage at 1:25:05

1:25:27 ecstasy or pliancy So special insight provides the wisdom. Calm abiding provides the stability, the concentration, whereas special insight provides the wisdom and the sharp wisdom that we need to cut through the root of all our problems, to cut through the ignorance. Calm abiding doesn't cut through the ignorance. It's the special insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:27 Highlight the passage at 1:25:27

1:26:01 So then there's this... Lama Tsongkhapa gets into the objects of calm abiding and special insight. Actually, it can be almost anything. Well, anything actually can be the object of calm abiding. And there are many things that can be the object of special insight. In the context of the six perfections, we're talking about special insight realizing emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:01 Highlight the passage at 1:26:01

1:26:29 But special insight is also a more general term where we can develop special insight on impermanence and, you know, the 12 links and all of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:29 Highlight the passage at 1:26:29

1:26:50 So here, I'll send you these slides, but I'm not going to go through every slide in detail. But here is the supporting passages from Lama Tsongkhapa describing that the common binding and special insight can have both. Emptiness is an object or other conventional truths as objects. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:50 Highlight the passage at 1:26:50

1:27:15 So this Jewel Cloud Sūtra says the calm abiding is the one pointed mind where special insight is the discriminating awareness or wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:15 Highlight the passage at 1:27:15

1:27:35 Okay, then Lama Tsongkhapa, I'm not going to go through this section, but Lama Tsongkhapa here is distinguishing between a realization of emptiness and a meditation that's clear and lucid and blissful. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:35 Highlight the passage at 1:27:35

1:27:50 Because at the time of Lama Tsongkhapa, there were a lot of misconceptions about what calm abiding was. And so here he's dispelling, well... Misconceptions about emptiness as well as calm abiding. So here he's dispelling these misconceptions. Because sometimes people think if they're absorbed in a blissful, clear meditation, then they're realizing emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:50 Highlight the passage at 1:27:50

1:28:12 And Lama Tsongkhapa is saying, no, when you develop a high degree of concentration, just naturally you're going to have a blissful mind. It doesn't mean that you have a realization of emptiness at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:12 Highlight the passage at 1:28:12

1:28:26 Because they're... There are stories of a lot of yogis who have developed high degrees of concentration and believed, okay, I'm liberated, because they don't have any suffering, they have a lot of bliss, they think, okay, this is it. And then their concentration diminishes, and here they're suffering again. So in this tradition, there's a lot of emphasis on... Report an error in the passage at 1:28:26 Highlight the passage at 1:28:26

1:28:52 Don't just be satisfied with concentration. Don't just be satisfied with calm abiding. You need the wisdom. You need to use that concentration in order to develop special insight. Betty. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:52 Highlight the passage at 1:28:52

1:29:09 The thing that keeps coming to mind to me is merit. We always have to have a lot of merit to be able to attain anything. Do you gather merit when you're doing calm abiding? You do? Well, that's one of the prerequisites, they say. No, but when you're doing it, do you actually stop attaining merit before you start calm abiding and then you're still attaining merit or not? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:09 Highlight the passage at 1:29:09

1:29:38 Well, usually, we'll get into that a bit more later, but usually if you're doing a retreat on calm abiding... So you try to minimize all of your other activities, because then the mind starts to get distracted and busy and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:38 Highlight the passage at 1:29:38

1:29:55 But we need to attain merit and purify beforehand. And then also, when you're meditating, when you're trying to attain calm abiding and you reach an obstacle, then at that point, let's say you're making progress, you're making progress, you're making progress, and then boom. Suddenly, no matter how much effort you put in, you're not making any progress anymore. So in general, that's a time where it's recommended you need to accumulate merit and purify. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:55 Highlight the passage at 1:29:55

1:30:26 A friend of mine did a two-year calm-abiding retreat, and he said that whenever he would hit that wall, he would make a lot of progress, he would hit the wall, he would do a lot of prostrations. He'd do prostrations, prostrations, prostrations, and then he'd resume his meditation and he'd continue to progress again. So yeah, that mysterious accumulating merit and purifying seems to be necessary. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:26 Highlight the passage at 1:30:26

1:31:01 Okay, so this is all the difference between meditation on emptiness. So meditation on emptiness and a blissful, clear meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:01 Highlight the passage at 1:31:01

1:31:11 So there are meditative stabilizations that are clear, blissful and non-conceptual, but that do not realize emptiness. But as long as it's not a meditative stabilization realizing emptiness, then it can't abandon the root of cyclic existence. So no matter how tempting it may be to stay in this blissful state, we do need to move on and try to realize emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:11 Highlight the passage at 1:31:11

1:31:40 So why do we need both calm abiding and special insight? Report an error in the passage at 1:31:40 Highlight the passage at 1:31:40

1:31:46 So Lama Tsongkhapa gives this illustration. Oh wait, before we go there, any questions on special insight? What special insight is? I mean, we only talked about it briefly, but we have a general idea. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:46 Highlight the passage at 1:31:46

1:32:08 So when you have that skill, that ability, can you actually use special insight for your mundane and worldly issues? Sure, why not? I mean, well... Maybe let me take that back. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:08 Highlight the passage at 1:32:08

1:32:31 Well, I mean, you'll have Columbiding and you'll have Special Insights, so you'll have this super sharp, concentrated mind that will help you solve worldly problems, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:32:31 Highlight the passage at 1:32:31

1:32:46 I mean, hopefully we use it in a positive way, but sure, because you have this ability to concentrate on any object that you want. For as long as you want, so you can, they say, you know, once you have calm abiding on one object, then you need to turn, you know, you turn to another object and you can develop calm abiding quite easily on another object. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:46 Highlight the passage at 1:32:46

1:33:11 So, yeah, so you can do that. It's like the difference between, like, if we're trying to solve a difficult problem, or let's say read some technical paper that's really difficult. Like we have to have a concentrated mind for anything to get in there, right? If we're feeling, you know, distracted that day, then we can read the same paragraph, you know, 20 times and nothing will go in, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:33:11 Highlight the passage at 1:33:11

1:33:39 So there are those times when we have a clear, more concentrated mind where when we read it, it goes in, you know, much more easily. So I would think with Kamal Binding and Special Insight, it would be that much more pronounced, right? That you can understand things much more quickly. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:39 Highlight the passage at 1:33:39

1:33:55 And you can get realizations, right? Because once again, without calm abiding, we can't get the realizations, the stable realizations. Like when we think about emptiness, we can think about it for a few minutes and then before we know it, we're thinking about something else. But if you can stay on that, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:55 Highlight the passage at 1:33:55

1:34:17 I'm sorry, it's a long answer to your question, but I mean, just imagine how great it would be to be able to stay on your object for as long as you want, right? And how much more effective our meditation will be than when our minds are distracted. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:17 Highlight the passage at 1:34:17

1:34:38 Peter. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:38 Highlight the passage at 1:34:38

1:34:46 So when you're in the state of calm abiding, are you... Are you actively thinking about the qualities of that virtuous object in which you're concentrating or are you simply concentrating on the appearance of the object itself? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:46 Highlight the passage at 1:34:46

1:35:04 You're not analyzing. That's kind of an interesting question. Actually, let's get into that more when we get into the objects of concentration or objects of calm abiding. Some objects were... Right. Right. That's... Report an error in the passage at 1:35:04 Highlight the passage at 1:35:04

1:35:22 Yeah, there's some discursive thought involved in some of the objects. That's what I was wondering. Say you're meditating on a Buddha statue, are you going to be thinking about the qualities of Shakyamuni Buddha as well as concentrating on the image of Shakyamuni Buddha? I mean, you're not thinking about the qualities of Shakyamuni Buddha when you're trying to develop calm abiding on it. But you might sometimes focus in on just his face and sometimes on his whole body, like that, to get... Report an error in the passage at 1:35:22 Highlight the passage at 1:35:22

1:35:51 More clarity. So it's not always focusing on the whole body, sometimes on different aspects. But you wouldn't think about how kind he was and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:51 Highlight the passage at 1:35:51

1:36:09 So why we need both calm abiding and special insight? Lama Tsongkhapa gives this analogy about when you light a butter lamp at night in order to look at the murals on the wall. If the butter lamp is both very bright and unmoved by wind, You will see the painted figures very clearly. However, if the butter lamp is not bright, or if even though bright it's stirred by the wind, you will not see the forms clearly. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:09 Highlight the passage at 1:36:09

1:36:41 So the light is akin to the special insight, the wisdom, whereas the stability or the unmoving wind is akin to the calm abiding. The stabilizing meditation, right? So we need the unmoving wind as well as a bright light in order to illuminate the murals. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:41 Highlight the passage at 1:36:41

1:37:08 Yeah, so likewise, with respect to viewing the profound meaning, if you have both the wisdom unmistakenly ascertaining the meaning of suchness or emptiness and the imperturbability of a mind that stays on its object at will, you will see suchness or emptiness clearly. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:08 Highlight the passage at 1:37:08

1:37:30 as long as we have both the wisdom and the... The calm abiding, then we will see emptiness clearly and we can develop a realization. However, if we don't have the wisdom realizing emptiness, despite our non-conceptual meditative stabilization in which your mind remains unscattered, you will not be able to realize its mode of being, however much you familiarize yourself with meditative stabilization. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:30 Highlight the passage at 1:37:30

1:37:56 So if we just have the calm abiding but we don't have the wisdom, We won't be able to realize emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:56 Highlight the passage at 1:37:56

1:38:07 Tenzo Jampa Tech Choke says, calm abiding alone is no big deal. We can focus our mind upon a shoe without much difficulty, but even though there are no conceptual interruptions, this does not mean that the conceptions have been abandoned. They are only temporarily suppressed, as Carol was alluding to before. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:07 Highlight the passage at 1:38:07

1:38:28 Without having an actual antidote to the afflictions, the attain of calm abiding is not of much value. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:28 Highlight the passage at 1:38:28

1:38:39 Whereas on the other hand, if you have the view that understands selflessness but lack the firm meditative stabilization in which the mind remains one-pointed, you will not be able to clearly realize the meaning of the mode of being. So if we understand emptiness intellectually, but we don't have a stable... Report an error in the passage at 1:38:39 Highlight the passage at 1:38:39

1:39:00 Then we're not going to get the realization of emptiness. We have an intellectual understanding that we're not able to translate into our day-to-day perceptions. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:00 Highlight the passage at 1:39:00

1:39:11 So with just an intellectual understanding without the calm abiding being able to focus on your object, you're not able to really deeply penetrate the subject and deeply penetrate our habitual patterns. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:11 Highlight the passage at 1:39:11

1:39:29 Because if we think about it, our habitual patterns are many, many years. The way we've looked at things are at least this whole lifetime and then how many count lifetimes before. So studying emptiness for a few months or a few years is just without... The calm abiding is just not powerful enough to overcome those eons of mistaken ways of looking at things. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:29 Highlight the passage at 1:39:29

1:40:05 So the calm abiding really penetrates it so deeply with the calm abiding and special insight so that then we can actually shake up those habitual patterns. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:05 Highlight the passage at 1:40:05

1:40:28 So it's basically saying that with the understanding of emptiness but without the calm abiding, Understand isn't stable and we won't achieve a clear realization or get to Buddhahood. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:28 Highlight the passage at 1:40:28

1:40:51 Okay, I think we've belabored this point. So it's clear, yeah, that we need both calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:51 Highlight the passage at 1:40:51

1:41:08 So once we attain calm abiding, anything virtuous we do is very powerful. If we have not obtained calm abiding, any virtuous practice is weak due to the mind being distracted to other objects. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:08 Highlight the passage at 1:41:08

1:41:28 Yeah, this is not good news for the society, right? I think about that with this. We all have ADD. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:28 Highlight the passage at 1:41:28

1:41:44 Yeah, I mean, I think it's really difficult, you know, in day-to-day. I think it's useful to meditate every day. I think it's very useful to meditate every day. And we can get to a certain point. I think Alan Wallace says he thinks that you can get to, like, the third mental abiding. this and guess. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:44 Highlight the passage at 1:41:44

1:42:03 There's nine steps to attain calm abiding. He thinks you can get to the third without going into retreat. And some people, I think, you know, I mean, I read stories about Hindu, you know, Hindus who, you know, come home from work and then meditate all night long. I don't know anybody in the society who's able to do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:03 Highlight the passage at 1:42:03

1:42:29 But, you know, if you have the imprints, you know, it's possible. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:29 Highlight the passage at 1:42:29

1:42:35 Yeah, we miss a lot of TV, though. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:35 Highlight the passage at 1:42:35

1:42:40 Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so anyway, so not to be discouraging, right? I think it's still very, very useful to meditate every day and important to meditate every day. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:40 Highlight the passage at 1:42:40

1:43:04 But it's true, but we notice this, right? If our mind is really distracted and we're doing our practice, okay, we've done, we've finished. Have I done my practice yet? Report an error in the passage at 1:43:04 Highlight the passage at 1:43:04

1:43:15 Or was that yesterday that I did it? Right? Yeah, so apparently the concentration wasn't really there. We don't even remember if we did it. Right. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:15 Highlight the passage at 1:43:15

1:43:34 Yeah. Exactly. So we see it didn't have very much impact in the mind if the mind was distracted, right? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:34 Highlight the passage at 1:43:34

1:43:47 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:47 Highlight the passage at 1:43:47

1:43:51 Okay. So the Shantideva quote, the person whose mind is distracted dwells between the fangs of disturbing emotions. Right? So this uncontrolled mind is just inviting the disturbing emotions, the irritation and the anger and the jealousy. And the attachment. The desire, right, is the big one. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:51 Highlight the passage at 1:43:51

1:44:22 So the order in which they are cultivated. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:22 Highlight the passage at 1:44:22

1:44:29 So here Shantideva says that having understood that special insight conjoined with calm abiding destroys the afflictions and first seek calm abiding. So here he's saying that first we attain calm abiding, then special insight, right, based on that. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:29 Highlight the passage at 1:44:29

1:44:49 Which is interesting because then there's this, Doubt that arises, but can't we just attain them at the same time when we meditate on emptiness? You know, we meditate on emptiness, we stabilize on it and we analyze and we stabilize and we analyze and we stabilize. Can't we attain both at the same time that way? And this seems to be actually quite a pervasive practice these days where people like in certain traditions, you know, you're not... Report an error in the passage at 1:44:49 Highlight the passage at 1:44:49

1:45:22 It's trying to develop concentrated mind first and then analyze. You're kind of doing both at the same time. But Lama Tsongkhapa says that you need calm abiding first. Well, actually, according to Shantideva, you need calm abiding first. And he says, if you seek an understanding of selflessness or emptiness and repeatedly analyze its meaning before attaining calm abiding, it will be impossible to accomplish calm abiding independence on that. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:22 Highlight the passage at 1:45:22

1:45:52 Because calm abiding has not been accomplished. So if we repeatedly analyze, that becomes an obstacle to calm abiding. And this is, I don't know about you, but for me, I think a lot of people are addicted to analysis. It's a lot more interesting than staying on the one object without analyzing. But that analysis, if we're trying to get to calm abiding, the analysis becomes an obstacle. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:52 Highlight the passage at 1:45:52

1:46:24 I mean, once you've developed calm abiding, then you analyze. Then it's not necessarily an obstacle. Then the analysis can... increase the concentration, right? Like in special insight. But if you haven't attained calm abiding first, your Lama Sonkapha is saying you're not going, you know, it's an obstacle to analyze. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:24 Highlight the passage at 1:46:24

1:46:48 If you perform non-analytical placement meditation, even though you accomplish calm abiding in dependence on it, this will only be a method of sustaining calm abiding and you will not have a method of sustaining special insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:48 Highlight the passage at 1:46:48

1:47:07 First of all, if we keep analyzing, we won't get calm abiding. But if we just do placement meditation, we'll get calm abiding, but we won't get special insight. We need the analysis in order to get special insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:07 Highlight the passage at 1:47:07

1:47:29 So if we analyze, we can't achieve calm abiding. And if we simply concentrate, we cannot achieve special insight. Calm abiding must be achieved, and then through analysis, then special insight. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:29 Highlight the passage at 1:47:29

1:47:50 Alright, so we've already covered this. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:50 Highlight the passage at 1:47:50

1:47:55 So this is when you newly generate them, it needs to be calm abiding and special insight, but then later on, there are different levels of calm abiding. You can attain special insight and then cultivate calm abiding even more later. Okay, but I don't want to get into all of the different permutations. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:55 Highlight the passage at 1:47:55

1:48:23 And then another way to show that calm abiding precedes special insight is to point out the order of the six perfections. Concentration first and then wisdom. Concentration being the fifth perfection and wisdom as the sixth. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:23 Highlight the passage at 1:48:23

1:48:41 So if we're really serious about getting enlightened, then we need to put effort into calm abiding because it's just not possible without calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:41 Highlight the passage at 1:48:41

1:49:04 Actually, I'm going to skip this for now. Just talk about, so I mentioned to you the main text, the middle length lamrim that we're using as a basis of this class. And then some supporting reading that I recommend if you have the time or inclination. So Gen Lam Rimpa wrote a book called Calming the, well, Gen Lam Rimpa, so back in the 80s, 1980s, Gen Lam Rimpa, who's... Report an error in the passage at 1:49:04 Highlight the passage at 1:49:04

1:49:33 An incredible yogi who spent, I don't know how many years in retreat, decades in retreat, was asked to lead a calm abiding retreat for Westerners. Amazing. Which he did in Washington, the state of Washington. And Alan Wallace was actually the translator for this retreat. And so this book are basically the teachings from the first week of that retreat, which aren't just... Report an error in the passage at 1:49:33 Highlight the passage at 1:49:33

1:50:02 He really gives a lot of really good practical advice for people. So this is a book that I highly recommend if you're interested in calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:02 Highlight the passage at 1:50:02

1:50:13 Because it's difficult to get really practical advice from a yogi who's done it. So I wish there were teachings from the entire retreat. But anyway, it's from the first week. And it includes question and answer when the... The students ask questions, which I found really useful. And then the second is Alan Wallace, who I mentioned before, is Attention Revolution. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:13 Highlight the passage at 1:50:13

1:50:39 So he gives kind of a Western slant, very practical, very clear book. And Alan Wallace leads a lot of calm abiding retreats these days in Thailand. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:39 Highlight the passage at 1:50:39

1:50:53 And then there's a more technical book by Geshe Gendun Lodro, Calm Abiding and Special Insight to Get... Into, you know, a lot more details on the different objects of meditation and things like that. So these are different books that are all here, I believe, you know, if you want to purchase one. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:53 Highlight the passage at 1:50:53

1:51:19 And then, of course, it's, you know, if you have a Lamrim book, you know, you can read the common binding section in the Lamrim book. And the Gishy Loden's Path to Enlightenment, I particularly recommend because it's... So clear. A lot of people like Pabongka Rinpoche's book. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:19 Highlight the passage at 1:51:19

1:51:43 And then I also have a transcript of an oral commentary given by Geshe Jamba Tekchok. That's very good. That's very clear. So I can email that to you if you've put your name on the list. I'll email you the slides as well as the commentary. Everyone gets a chance to do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:43 Highlight the passage at 1:51:43

1:52:06 And actually the root text if you want the root text as well. So you can print it out if you don't want to buy it. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:06 Highlight the passage at 1:52:06

1:52:18 So any other questions that people have? Yeah, how do you channel your past lights where you had calm abiding so you can tap into it this time? Do you have any shortcuts on that? That's not why I'm here. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:18 Highlight the passage at 1:52:18

1:52:39 Yeah. Great tips. You know, actually, I think we'll get into, well, I don't know about channeling calm abiding, but we'll get into the conditions for developing calm abiding next week. And I think that's really the key. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:39 Highlight the passage at 1:52:39

1:52:54 Because, you know, like anything, if we want to get really good at something, like if we wanted to be a concert pianist, we need to really put the time and energy into it, yeah, and be willing to give up. Like watching TV every evening or watching TV for three hours every evening. You know, we need to... Report an error in the passage at 1:52:54 Highlight the passage at 1:52:54

1:53:14 willing to give up some things, right? So if we have a life full of distractions, full of a lot of busyness... it's difficult to attain calm abiding so then we would need Report an error in the passage at 1:53:14 Highlight the passage at 1:53:14

1:53:30 go in, you know, be willing to do some retreat, yeah, in order to attain it. They offer them, don't they, a flash of ponte from time to time? Actually Chodron Rinpoche is going to teach on calm abiding this. year in June and Venerable Rene is coming for that and I think that he'll probably be leading the discussions and things and you know he's really a at Vajrapani yeah so you know and he's a person who's put a lot of effort into calm abiding so he has a he's very good know Chodron Rinpoche is calm. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:30 Highlight the passage at 1:53:30

1:54:11 So the combination of those two should be really amazing. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:11 Highlight the passage at 1:54:11

1:54:18 But yeah, there are some Kamabiding retreats here and there. Is General René in retreat right now? Yeah. Yeah, so he's coming out of retreat for the Chodron Rinpoche teachings actually. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:18 Highlight the passage at 1:54:18

1:54:41 Okay, anything else? That's probably enough for one night, yeah. Um. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:41 Highlight the passage at 1:54:41

1:54:46 Enough information. So we'll dive into calm abiding next week and we'll talk about the conditions we need for calm abiding and some of the prerequisites. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:46 Highlight the passage at 1:54:46

1:55:02 So let's dedicate Report an error in the passage at 1:55:02 Highlight the passage at 1:55:02

1:55:07 with Report an error in the passage at 1:55:07 Highlight the passage at 1:55:07

1:55:15 Shantideva on page 246. May Report an error in the passage at 1:55:15 Highlight the passage at 1:55:15

1:55:34 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. May the blind see forms and the deaf hear sounds. May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:34 Highlight the passage at 1:55:34

1:56:01 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 there be timely rains and bountiful May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:01 Highlight the passage at 1:56:01

1:56:29 Whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur again. May 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 the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:29 Highlight the passage at 1:56:29

1:57:03 You know, I mean, just one other thing that I just want to add, if people find this, I mean, this is what's considered the intermediate level, so if you're finding this like too technical and all of that, the... It might be more beneficial for you to come to the Thursday night class because that's more for beginners. Because sometimes people come to this class not knowing what level it is and get frustrated. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:03 Highlight the passage at 1:57:03

1:57:27 So the Thursday class is more designed for... Report an error in the passage at 1:57:27 Highlight the passage at 1:57:27

1:57:37 Yeah, so just a couple of announcements. Yeah, so tomorrow Karen Villanueva is leading at Tarapuja at 2.30. I know a lot of you work, but if you don't and you'd like to come and do that, it's really fun. And then in the evening, as Emily was saying, Venerable Chucky is starting to teach. It's a new class on lojong, or training the mind, how to transform problems into happiness. And it's going to be more aimed at beginners and not so technical, but definitely a lot of, I don't know, how would you explain lojong in a nutshell? Report an error in the passage at 1:57:37 Highlight the passage at 1:57:37

1:58:14 Very practical. Very practical. How to use the Dharma to transform your mind. It's a very helpful module. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:14 Highlight the passage at 1:58:14

1:58:21 Yeah, and Chukki is a great teacher. Yeah, and some of you in the class will be taking both, as far as I've heard. Maybe just one, but... And two, two. Can we get a third one? Yeah. And of course, this weekend, this is the last week Geshele will be here. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:21 Highlight the passage at 1:58:21

1:58:41 Tomorrow is his last class, Shantideva, before he goes to India for three months. And on Saturday, we'll have a 16 Arhat Puja for his long life. That's going to be at 10 a.m. to noon if you're interested in coming. Are there any gifts still left? Not really. We're just suggesting that if you want to make an offering to Geshe-la, just offer directly towards him. And this Sunday we're going to watch a movie on Sunday in lieu of Geshe-la not being here on Dilgo Kense Rinpoche's life. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:41 Highlight the passage at 1:58:41

1:59:11 And Dilgo Kense Rinpoche was one of Geshe-la's root gurus and he was also a very famous non-sectarian teacher, master of all four lineages. So we'll watch that. Do you want to show us teachers? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant Moon. Yeah. Yes. Yes. I'll tell you now briefly and then I'll send out an email a couple of days before Saturday. He's leaving on Monday. Well, he's leaving on the 17th, which is Monday at, I don't know, 11 a.m. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:11 Highlight the passage at 1:59:11

1:59:47 But we're going to meet, everyone's going to meet at the airport at around 9. His flight leaves at 11. So we'll meet at the airport at around 9 and I'll send out the flight information. All right, and if you haven't put your email address on here and you want the materials, the sheet is right here in the front. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:47 Highlight the passage at 1:59:47

2:00:40 that's the short version did she do a whole hour? Report an error in the passage at 2:00:40 Highlight the passage at 2:00:40