Automated transcript, estimated accuracy about 90% for this source; report an error.
Words the recogniser was unsure of are underlined with dots. Use “Report an error” beside any passage to tell us what the teacher actually says.
Key passages
The teacher's own words, quoted from the transcript below and chosen automatically as representative.
- 0:18
So remember, so we talked about the importance of having a guru, how we can't get enlightened without a guru, without a teacher. Because it's like learning anything. If we want to learn something really, really well, we need a teacher. If we want to learn to play the piano really, really well, we can't just sit down in front of the piano and just know how to play really well, unless we had really incredible imprints from past lives.
- 4:07
we may not have to give up these things, but we certainly have to give up. Our attachment to these things. And that's not so easy, right? I mean, oftentimes we can fool ourselves, right? Okay, well, you know, I don't need to give up these things, you know, because I just need to give up the attachment to these things. But for most of us, they're so intertwined, right?
- 7:19
And his energy was always going out. To people, you know, he'd go in the village because our institute was just outside a little village in Tuscany. And, you know, all of these non-Buddhists lived in the village, all these old people who just loved seeing this kind of short little, I mean, just get your jump against, it was like five feet tall, you know,
- 18:17
What's one? Meditative stabilization. So the higher training in concentration or meditative stabilization. So discipline, that's the ethical discipline, higher training in ethics. Great knowledge, scriptural knowledge, peace, complete peace. And what does that mean?
- 22:59
Excellent. So then the text goes on, and we went through those ten last time, and then it goes on to say, okay, well, we're in the degenerate times, so if you can't find a guru with all ten, which I think that we can. I think we can because we're in like the pure realms here. And yeah, someone upstairs I think has all 10. So we're extremely fortunate.
Transcript
0:00 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 0:00
0:05 So actually, we're talking about relying on a spiritual teacher. So that section starts on page 19. Report an error in the passage at 0:05
0:18 So remember, so we talked about the importance of having a guru, how we can't get enlightened without a guru, without a teacher. Report an error in the passage at 0:18
0:29 Because it's like learning anything. If we want to learn something really, really well, we need a teacher. If we want to learn to play the piano really, really well, we can't just sit down in front of the piano and just know how to play really well, unless we had really incredible imprints from past lives. Report an error in the passage at 0:29
0:53 But in general, we all need a teacher. The light is strange. No, we don't need that light. It's okay. I think there's just some glare. Yeah. So I can't see your faces, but I don't need to. Report an error in the passage at 0:53
1:15 Okay. And then enlightenment, right? Enlightenment, none of us have been there before, right? So we need somebody who's, you know, who's done it to help us find our way, right? because actually, our prince... Our imprints are so much the opposite of enlightenment. So we have such strong imprints of ignorance, of seeing things as being existing from their own side, as being annoying from their own side, thinking the external world is causing us problems. Report an error in the passage at 1:15
1:53 We have so many imprints that are the opposite of what we need to cultivate to get enlightened. And then we have such a habit of Report an error in the passage at 1:53
2:06 You know, of really focusing on our own happiness, right? Our own well-being. You know, remembering other people as well, hopefully, you know, a lot of the time. But for the most part, you know, our lives revolve around ourselves, right? Waking up, brushing our teeth, eating, going to work. You know, for the most part, that's for our own, right? For our own health, our own financial security, our own success, our own... Report an error in the passage at 2:06
2:35 Happiness, right? And then when we're happy, then we give to others, right? But usually when we're unhappy, there's not a lot of giving to others or not a lot of heartfelt giving to others, right, when we're not happy. So slowly, slowly along the path, right, we learn to be happy, like very content in ourselves, and then we have a lot more to give, right, to others. Report an error in the passage at 2:35
3:06 So to get enlightened... We need to go beyond our ego stuff, right? We need to let go of our attachments to our idea of how we want to get enlightened, right? Because most of us, yeah, we want to get enlightened, but we kind of want to do it our way, right? It's like, you know, get enlightened, but I don't want to have to give up anything. Report an error in the passage at 3:06
3:37 Or anything really big. I don't want to have to give up my comfortable home. I don't want to give up being warm. I don't want to give up good food. I want to get enlightened kind of the soft, the easy way. Report an error in the passage at 3:37
3:55 So the guru helps us, helps teach us how we actually need to get enlightened. And Report an error in the passage at 3:55
4:07 we may not have to give up these things, but we certainly have to give up. Our attachment to these things. And that's not so easy, right? I mean, oftentimes we can fool ourselves, right? Okay, well, you know, I don't need to give up these things, you know, because I just need to give up the attachment to these things. But for most of us, they're so intertwined, right? Report an error in the passage at 4:07
4:38 So the guru helps, helps show us where we need, where we need to go, where we're stuck. Helps us. Let go of the ego. Report an error in the passage at 4:38
4:52 And the guru shows us our potential, right? Just being around the guru, the guru can help us see the purity of our minds. The guru can take us to specific mind states that we never knew were possible, right? Just being around the guru. You know, just being around Chodron Rinpoche. I don't know if people experienced that, just being around Chodron Rinpoche. You know, the mind is just so much more... Report an error in the passage at 4:52
5:20 At peace and happy around such a great master like him. Report an error in the passage at 5:20
5:31 And then they serve as a living example, right? Because most of the people in the world, you know, that we're supposed to look up to or the society looks up to, right? Sports figures or, I mean, I don't know about politicians. You know, people actually look up to politicians. But those are our leaders, right? But they're not exactly the best examples, right, of being. Report an error in the passage at 5:31
5:57 Of behavior, right? But the guru is. The guru is, I mean, just being around the guru is incredible. Like, I lived around my guru, you know, for seven years. And, you know, and there's kind of nothing that can replace just being around the guru and just seeing how they act from day in, day out. You know, so for seven years, my guru gets you jumpy yet, so I never saw him do one selfish thing, you know, and I was around him all the time. Report an error in the passage at 5:57
6:37 He was constantly doing for others, you know, and he had health problems, you know, and people, some of you have read about his health problems, like it was seven years before he died, he was diagnosed with... He had cancer, you know, and given like eight months to live. And he, you know, and so we were really trying to take care of him. Well, maybe you should cancel class and take it easy. Report an error in the passage at 6:37
7:04 He just wanted to teach. He wanted to teach. But he started taking care of himself a bit better. He would still take walks and he'd always be blessing beings, you know, on his walks, you know, and he'd be laughing. And his energy was always going out. To people, you know, he'd go in the village because our institute was just outside a little village in Tuscany. And, you know, all of these non-Buddhists lived in the village, all these old people who just loved seeing this kind of short little, I mean, just get your jump against, it was like five feet tall, you know, you know, this short little happy beaming Lama, you know, monk, you know, just walking around and just laughing like crazy, Report an error in the passage at 7:04
7:53 you know, and so. Report an error in the passage at 7:53
7:57 So you just learn by being around them. Report an error in the passage at 7:57
8:03 And you also learn that bodhicitta isn't about just being nice all the time, right? Because that's what we tend to think, you know, cherishing others. Oh, just be nice to people. But that's not really the way to get others enlightened, right? The guru's job is to get others out of saṃsāra, to show them how to get enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 8:03
8:26 And so that means, you know, being hard sometimes and, you know, sometimes being there for you and sometimes not being there for you and really reflecting your mind back to you. Right. So I noticed that my Guru sometimes, like when I really, really needed him, he was there for me and he would create this wonderful, accepting, loving space. Report an error in the passage at 8:26
8:51 But when I just wanted attention, no. He wasn't there. He just knew my mind and he would reflect it back to me and then I would see, okay, well, I didn't really need his advice. I didn't really want his advice. I just wanted a little bit of attention. So it's just very interesting to see how he knows your mind and how he's teaching you all the time. Report an error in the passage at 8:51
9:22 So Report an error in the passage at 9:22
9:25 here we have these incredible gurus. And we've talked about this before, you know, Geshu Dagpa, Chodron Rinpoche, you know, Kinza Rinpoche down at Land of Medicine Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 9:25
9:47 Is it on what we were just talking about? Yeah. Okay. Oh. No, I wanted a recipe. I'm just kidding. Report an error in the passage at 9:47
10:01 I had a question with regard to this. When you have found somebody that you consider, you know, having the qualities to be your guru, is there a formal way? To ask them, I mean, do you get on your knee and ask them three times? Do you park in front of their door? You hear all these stories from old Tibet of people, you know, hanging out for months sometimes. Report an error in the passage at 10:01
10:22 Is there a formal way in this tradition that we ask somebody? You know, there probably is. I'm not the best person to ask about that. I'm not so good with the, what is the right way of doing things. Report an error in the passage at 10:22
10:38 But traditionally, yeah, you do go and you ask the guru if they would be your teacher. Report an error in the passage at 10:38
10:48 You know, I'm not sure. I remember once I heard a story of someone going to their teacher and saying, you're my teacher. Report an error in the passage at 10:48
10:59 And the Lama said, I know, you know, kind of thing. But I don't know. You know, I don't know specifically. That would be a good question for Gishadakpa. Because Gishadakpa knows everything about these kinds of things, right? The right way of doing. Yeah. And then also sometimes we think, oh, you know, we're waiting for the right teacher or we're waiting for the perfect teacher, my root guru that I have, you know, perfect connection with. Report an error in the passage at 10:59
11:35 Or a deep connection with. But it doesn't, you know, it doesn't necessarily work that way. You know, we don't necessarily have one teacher for our whole entire lives, right? We have different relationships with different teachers and that's fine. We just need to be clear in our own minds what our relationship is with each teacher, right? Report an error in the passage at 11:35
11:58 Like one teacher might be your tantra guru. Another teacher might be, you know, more of a sūtra teacher. Another teacher might be the one you ask. ask personal advice to, right, so. Report an error in the passage at 11:58
12:10 As we said last time, once we find a teacher with all of the qualifications, then it's great, so beneficial to follow them and not wait for the perfect teacher to come along. Report an error in the passage at 12:10
12:27 Matt, Report an error in the passage at 12:27
12:31 right behind you. You were talking about your guru when you were in Italy. And so when your teacher passes away, do you... Do you have another person that you call a teacher now, or how does that work? Yeah, well, I mean, I have a few teachers. Report an error in the passage at 12:31
12:54 Gishin Jumping Gyatso was my, you know, my day-to-day teacher for seven years, right? But I remember before Gishin Jumping Gyatso, I had a teacher named Kirti Sanchin Rinpoche who was just mind-blowing. He was just amazing. Amazing. His mind was so not ordinary. Report an error in the passage at 12:54
13:18 But he lived in India, right? And he would travel around once in a while. And I remember once he came to Italy, you know, and everything he said, I completely believed. Every bit of advice that he gave me, I always knew on a very deep level that's exactly what I needed. As soon as he would say it, I would think, oh my gosh, you know, he is exactly right. He knows my mind. Report an error in the passage at 13:18
13:46 Better than I do. I never would have thought of it on my own, but he knew. And you would ask him a question and he would answer like a Buddha. Like ordinary people, when you ask him a question, they think about it and then they give you an answer. But you would ask him a question and he would immediately answer. Report an error in the passage at 13:46
14:11 And so he came to Italy to visit a couple of years after I was there. He said, you follow Geshe Jumpy Gatso now. He is your teacher, so you follow him now. Report an error in the passage at 14:11
14:27 So yes, you have different relationships with different teachers. And I think no teacher ever completely replaces another one. You just have a different kind of relationship with them. You get something slightly different from each teacher. But it's said in general, and we have to build up our guru devotion. Guru devotion is very difficult for most of us. Report an error in the passage at 14:27
14:53 We need to build it up so that it's really stable. Guru devotion isn't some emotional thing where you become infatuated with a guru, and that's guru devotion. You feel really high around the guru and that's guru devotion. That's not what guru devotion is. It's a start. But guru devotion is something that you develop stability over time. Report an error in the passage at 14:53
15:17 So no matter what he does over time, you still have faith in that guru. So even if he does things that you would consider very unconventional and that we don't understand, you still give him the benefit of the doubt because you've discovered that they're really... an exceptional truly holy being right they will do things that we don't understand Report an error in the passage at 15:17
15:45 guru devotion is very stable. I just lost my train of thought. Report an error in the passage at 15:45
16:03 but why was I talking about that? Because Matt was asking if you had on more Report an error in the passage at 16:03
16:09 oh okay so right thank you thank you So it's said that in the beginning when our Guru Devotion is... Still kind of fragile, baby guru devotion, then not to have a lot of gurus. To just stick with one or two or three or whatever. But once your guru devotion becomes very firm and you're not going to see faults in your guru, you're always going to give them the benefit of the doubt, then you can have many gurus. Report an error in the passage at 16:09
16:41 But to start with, we should just have a few. Did that answer your question? Report an error in the passage at 16:41
16:54 I might tell some more guru stories through the class. So the first thing we need to do is to know what are the qualities of a guru. And I found this teaching, when I first encountered this teaching, I found this teaching incredible. Like, oh, this is the list of qualities, or this is one list of qualities. Report an error in the passage at 16:54
17:21 That we should look for in a teacher. Because habitually, before we came to the Dharma, what were we looking for in a teacher? Report an error in the passage at 17:21
17:32 Charismatic and nice to us. We kind of didn't really know any better. So a lot of people get in trouble because they follow a guru who has a lot of charisma, a lot of power, but maybe just... right you Report an error in the passage at 17:32
17:52 But are just gathering followers for their own selfish reasons. So this list we went through in the last class of ideally a guru should have ten qualities in a perfect world. So who remembers these ten qualities? This is a really, really good list to memorize. Report an error in the passage at 17:52
18:17 What's one? Meditative stabilization. So the higher training in concentration or meditative stabilization. So discipline, that's the ethical discipline, higher training in ethics. Report an error in the passage at 18:17
18:36 Great knowledge, scriptural knowledge, peace, complete peace. And what does that mean? So calm abiding would be the higher training in concentration. So that's three so far. Report an error in the passage at 18:36
18:57 So we had ethical discipline. Concentration and scriptural knowledge so far. Thoroughly realizing emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 18:57
19:16 Yeah, yeah, but that's part of the thorough knowledge in scripture and getting, you know, having the oral transmissions. So that's four. More qualities than the students, right? And eloquence, so able to communicate effectively the Dharma to the students. Okay, we're doing pretty well. I love you. Loving. Report an error in the passage at 19:16
19:44 Loving concern, right? So the motivation of the teacher should not be for their own benefit, right? But out of love and compassion for the students. And that one's a really, really important one, right? Well, they're all important, but... Report an error in the passage at 19:44
20:10 Exactly, speak up. So not becoming discouraged and being patient, explaining things, no matter how many times you have to explain things. Right, that's good. Remember there are three higher trainings and we only caught two of them so far. Report an error in the passage at 20:10
20:31 Wisdom, higher training and wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 20:31
20:43 Yeah, so there are two different ones. The third one is the higher training and wisdom and then there's this other one, a separate one that is the understanding of a realization of emptiness. So the higher training and wisdom generally what I've... Report an error in the passage at 20:43
21:01 I've Read about that one and heard, been taught about that one, is that one isn't necessarily focused on emptiness. So it could be a special insight into impermanence or true sufferings of Four Noble Truths or the Twelve Links or something like that. It doesn't have to be emptiness. Geshe Sopa's book, though, he specifically mentioned emptiness. So it's a different interpretation. Report an error in the passage at 21:01
21:28 Otherwise, then what's the difference between? The higher training in wisdom and the quality of having realized emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 21:28
21:39 The tamed mind, Report an error in the passage at 21:39
21:45 that's part of the higher training in ethics. Ethics and concentration. So there's one more. Report an error in the passage at 21:45
22:00 Not being discouraged with people like Keith. That's exactly what it says in the scriptures. Report an error in the passage at 22:00
22:10 Well, discouraged with Report an error in the passage at 22:10
21:58 the best way to Report an error in the passage at 21:58
22:11 That one is, that one is one that we are, that was the one of not being discouraged, repeating the same teaching again and again. Right, so Hillary had the other one. Energetic, energetic, energetic, you know, delighting and, yeah, energetic. I think in this text it's effort. It's joyful effort. Report an error in the passage at 22:11
22:49 Yeah, delighting in the welfare of others, basically. Okay, so those are the ten qualities. Excellent. So then the text goes on, and we went through those ten last time, and then it goes on to say, okay, well, we're in the degenerate times, so if you can't find a guru with all ten, which I think that we can. Report an error in the passage at 22:49
23:17 I think we can because we're in like the pure realms here. And yeah, someone upstairs I think has all 10. Report an error in the passage at 23:17
23:31 So we're extremely fortunate. Report an error in the passage at 23:31
23:37 But then if we can't, let's say we move to St. Louis, Missouri, and we don't, and we're looking for a teacher. Report an error in the passage at 23:37
23:50 Whatever, next life. Or Kishidogpa leaves. So what are the most important of those ten? If we can't find someone with all ten, then Lama Tsongkhapa says that there's at least they should have five. Report an error in the passage at 23:50
24:17 So what do you think those five are before I read it? Ethics, Report an error in the passage at 24:17
24:29 so ethics, concentration, wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 24:29
24:38 That one's actually not on the list of five. Yeah, you would think, but yeah. Loving heart, yeah. And it's not scriptural understanding. Report an error in the passage at 24:38
24:55 Realization of emptiness, yeah. So the three higher trainings, right, in ethics, concentration, wisdom, the realization of emptiness and loving heart. So those are the main thing it says. So the text says, Potawa said, the three trainings, realization of suchness, And a loving heart. Those five are the main thing. My master Shang Tsung is not very learned in everything, as he cannot bear disenchantment either. Report an error in the passage at 24:55
25:33 He does not impress on his mind the kindness he received. However, as he has the above-mentioned five, whoever is in his presence benefits. Report an error in the passage at 25:33
25:45 So Patawa's master Shang Tsung was not... So learned in his scriptural knowledge. He couldn't bear disenchantment and he didn't thank people for their kindness. But because he had those five, the loving heart, the three higher trainings, the realization of emptiness, then whenever people were in his presence they would be benefited. Report an error in the passage at 25:45
26:15 Or whenever beings were in his presence they would be benefited. Report an error in the passage at 26:15
26:22 And then there was this other Master named Nyantan. Nyantan is by no means eloquent. And each time he makes a dedication, the only thing he knows is that, again, nobody understood anything. But as he has those five, people near him benefit. Right? So when people around Nyantan, they didn't understand what he was saying. Report an error in the passage at 26:22
26:50 But people still benefited because he had those five. Right? And actually, you know, we can kind of experience that, you know, sometimes we can sit in a teaching and not understand much, but yeah, yeah, but then we can really benefit. Like I took my mother to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teachings and he was talking about emptiness most of the time. So of course she didn't know, you know, didn't understand. Report an error in the passage at 26:50
27:21 And I was really worried. I thought, oh my gosh, you know, what is she going to think? And afterwards, you know, I asked her what she thought and she said, oh, it was wonderful. I didn't understand anything he said, but it was wonderful. Report an error in the passage at 27:21
27:36 So just being around that enlightened energy is beneficial. So, of course, it helps to have a teacher that you understand as well. Report an error in the passage at 27:36
27:49 And so sometimes, you know, sometimes we have obstacles. Getting teachings from a Tibetan Lama through a translator. It's certainly easier to get a teaching directly from an English speaker, right? But still there's something that you get from a Lama even through a translator that you don't get with someone like me who doesn't have those realizations. Report an error in the passage at 27:49
28:17 So I think it's nice to go to teachings with both, right? Report an error in the passage at 28:17
28:28 And then Lama Tsongkhapa says, okay, well, maybe even if we can't find someone with those five qualities, then at least, okay, he says, even if it is difficult due to the times to find someone who has the complete set of characteristics like that, it is said you should not rely on anyone whose faults are greater or whose faults and positive qualities are equal. Report an error in the passage at 28:28
28:57 But on someone whose positive qualities exceeds the faults. So that's pretty, I mean, that's pretty minimal, right? To rely on someone whose, at least their positive qualities exceed their faults. Report an error in the passage at 28:57
29:12 But then, you know, it's interesting because when I look in different sources, it says different things in different sources about what the bare minimum of qualities is. Report an error in the passage at 29:12
29:23 I Report an error in the passage at 29:23
29:27 guess she's Sopa. Report an error in the passage at 29:27
29:40 So here it says, Okay, so if you can't find a teacher with half of those ten attributes, look for someone with one quarter. Even a person who possesses one-eighth of these virtues can be relied upon as a praiseworthy spiritual friend, according to a statement attributed to the great Atisha. Report an error in the passage at 29:40
30:04 Tsongkhapa added that this minimum requirement of one-eighth of the good qualities does not mean that the spiritual friend should have just a few qualities that are easy to obtain. The true spiritual friend should at least possess a combination of virtues, some of the difficult ones along with others that may be easier. Report an error in the passage at 30:04
30:25 For example, a teacher may lack a direct realization of emptiness, but he or she should... At least possess a good understanding of it through scripture and reasoning. Report an error in the passage at 30:25
30:44 So at least an eight of the ten qualities, right? Report an error in the passage at 30:44
30:52 How Report an error in the passage at 30:52
31:04 many of you are convinced that you need a guru to get enlightened? Report an error in the passage at 31:04
31:17 Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 31:17
31:26 good point. Keith? Report an error in the passage at 31:26
31:36 It seems to be in stone. It's hard to accept, especially I think for Western. For me as a Western person, because I'm not used to thinking that way. And it does seem from reading the Buddhist teachings that the people that became enlightened became enlightened through him during his time. So it would make sense that it would continue on in terms of the scriptures. Yeah, yeah. You know, and it may in a very, very rare circumstance be possible in a particular lifetime to get enlightened without... Report an error in the passage at 31:36
32:13 A guru? Well, actually, solitary realizers. You know, there's here solitary realizers and bodhisattvas. And solitary realizers, there's two different kinds of solitary realizers. One of them is called the rhinoceros, like solitary realizer. And they're said to be able to, at least in that last lifetime, to attain liberation. Report an error in the passage at 32:13
32:38 Complete enlightenment, but liberation without a guru in that particular life. But that's as a result of training with a guru in a previous life. Report an error in the passage at 32:38
32:49 So even if it was possible, it would take a lot, lot longer without a guru. Because it's like learning anything. We make this mistake, we try this, we make that mistake, we try this, we make that mistake. Report an error in the passage at 32:49
33:10 You know, a teacher can really help us see what our particular needs are, right? Teach us those particular things that we're going wrong, like in areas where we're going wrong, but we don't necessarily see, right? Report an error in the passage at 33:10
33:28 And I find it's very interesting on the path. The ego is so insidious. You know, it's so tricky. You know, it's constantly trying to preserve itself. So even when I think that I'm following the way of wisdom, you know, it's hard to really say. It's hard to really say. Report an error in the passage at 33:28
34:07 And the teacher, yeah. I mean, the teacher sees what you need, right? So, you know, I told you before when I was on retreat, I made certain decisions when I was on retreat. And, you know, when you're on retreat, you're as clear as you can ever be, right? You don't have all these distractions. You really thought deeply about things. And I came out of retreat and my guru said, no, you're not going to do that. You're going to do this instead. Report an error in the passage at 34:07
34:30 Oh, OK. Readjust. But I think this is a very hard one, I think, honestly, for we Westerners to really accept, to really, truly heartfelt. you know, read. Report an error in the passage at 34:30
34:49 Like intellectually, we can kind of understand it, right? Oh yeah, we need a teacher. But then when we get into, or what does it really mean to follow a guru? You know, kind of to give up our own preferences, our own attachments to what we think we need, becomes very difficult, right? Becomes very difficult. But, you know, but we do it as we become ready. Report an error in the passage at 34:49
35:23 So we don't kind of just jump in to rely on a guru and then kind of surrender ourselves completely and say, you know, what do you want me to do and then try to do it. You know, we have to do it more gradually, right? Otherwise we might kind of freak out and our guru devotional will go. So, okay, so we do it gradually. Report an error in the passage at 35:23
35:55 Yep, Report an error in the passage at 35:55
35:59 there you go. The speaker right on Report an error in the passage at 35:59
36:00 Chiki was saying when she teaches the DB series, the Guru Devotion class is always the least, most sparsely attended of all of them. And I think it's because we do have so many blockages to that idea and these memories of Jonestown and, you know, the Mahar, you know, all these, the Bhagavan, all of that stuff going through our heads. Report an error in the passage at 36:00
36:20 I think it's the toughest block to get over, at least it was for me in some ways. Yeah, it is. It's really hard. And I think, and that's why the teachings say, Check out the teacher for a long time. And the traditional teachings say 12 years. Check them out. Check them out until you're convinced that they're really a realized being. Report an error in the passage at 36:20
36:47 Because once you're really convinced that they're a realized being, knowing a lot more, having a lot more realizations than you. you know. With truly no self-interest, only interest in our benefit. Then we can truly trust them, right? Report an error in the passage at 36:47
37:08 And so once we've really checked them out and we don't have doubt in our minds anymore whether or not they're for real, then we can't entrust ourselves. We can't entrust ourselves if we still have that doubt. But we need to get to that point of... Really trusting them. If after 12 years we've checked someone out and we still have doubt, then maybe we have some work to do to really let ourselves trust. Report an error in the passage at 37:08
37:41 Because doubt is one of the biggest obstacles on the path. Doubt will prevent us from practicing. Doubt will prevent us from really putting effort. Report an error in the passage at 37:41
37:58 So of course we have doubt in the beginning. We need to have doubt in the beginning and we need to check out the teachings. But we can't stay at that doubt space forever or we won't make progress. So sooner or later we need to really do the checking up and seeing, okay, well, is this person for real or not? Report an error in the passage at 37:58
38:23 Is the Dharma really my path or not? Do I really believe in karma? Do I really believe in the Four Noble Truths? So the Report an error in the passage at 38:23
38:42 next paragraph, Lama Tsongkhapa says, Such a spiritual master bringing about complete liberation is a perpetual root of aspiration. Therefore, those wishing to rely on a spiritual teacher should be aware of them and make an effort looking for someone who possesses the characteristics. Those wishing to have disciples rely on them should also strive to acquire these characteristics. Report an error in the passage at 38:42
39:10 So basically what we just said. So if we really want to get enlightened, then we should look for a guru. Someone who possesses as many of those characteristics as possible. All ten if possible, or at least five, or at least an eighth. Report an error in the passage at 39:10
39:32 And then those wishing to have disciples. Rely on them, should strive to acquire those characteristics. Okay, so probably none of us are there quite yet looking for disciples. Report an error in the passage at 39:32
39:48 Okay, then next are, okay, so those were the ten characteristics for the master, right, for the guru. Next are the characteristics for the disciple, right? So the disciple needs to have particular characteristics in order to... Be able to follow a spiritual master and actually benefit from a spiritual master. Report an error in the passage at 39:48
40:16 It's not just that we're checking out the spiritual master and we're fine the way that we are, right? Of course we are. Well, we are in one sense, right? But if we want to get enlightened, we probably have some work to do. all right okay so So there are three characteristics or there's a list of three and there's a list of five characteristics of a suitable disciple. So from the 400 Arya Deva's, one of Arya Deva's great texts, impartial, intelligent and full of endeavor. Report an error in the passage at 40:16
40:55 So those are the three impartial, intelligent and full of endeavor. Did you get these in discovering Buddhism? Okay. All right. So we'll talk about that. Thus is explained a vessel for teachings. Otherwise qualities of the teacher have no effect. There's no change in the listener. So the first one, impartial or unbiased, straightforward, honest. So actually the next section we'll talk a bit more about that. Report an error in the passage at 40:55
41:29 But just in brief, it's, you know, so we shouldn't have an attachment to. Our views, our opinions, our way of getting enlightened. If we're really going to benefit from a teacher. Let's say I have a strong attachment to my view that there are no past and future lives. Report an error in the passage at 41:29
42:01 You know, you can't get very far in the Dharma if you're... Like rigidly holding to the view that there are no past and future lives. Maybe we don't quite believe yet that there are past and future lives. Report an error in the passage at 42:01
42:17 But we need to have some level of openness, right, that there may be some past and future lives. But if we're rigidly holding on to the view that there can't be past and future lives, then we can't benefit very much. Report an error in the passage at 42:17
42:33 Or if we're rigidly believing that there are no lower realms, right? A lot of us have this, right? A lot of ex-Catholics or Christians or whatever have this great aversion to the thought of the hell realms, right? Or hell. Or hell, right? So it's important not to have this rigid... Report an error in the passage at 42:33
43:03 Refusal to believe that there are other realms that are full of suffering. Because that's another obstacle, right? Because if we think that every life is going to be like this one, that there's not going to be, it's not possible to have a huge amount of suffering, then it kind of inhibits our kind of enthusiasm or that kind of sense of urgency to practice now. Report an error in the passage at 43:03
43:37 Because we think, okay, well, all lives, all my lives I'll have gurus, all my lives I'll have Dharma, all my lives I'll have good health and good fortune and comfortable home and I'll be able to practice the Dharma. Then why practice hard now? Like, okay, well, I can be comfortable and just enjoy myself now and kind of practice a little, but then I can practice next life and I can practice next life and I can practice next life. Report an error in the passage at 43:37
44:04 So it sounds kind of ridiculous when I say it out loud, right? Some of us live that way, right? Thinking, oh well, you know, next life, usually we think kind of, next life won't be so different from this life. Report an error in the passage at 44:04
44:18 But if we think next life, I can be born in a war-torn country with no food and no clean water and no Dharma. We can imagine being in that situation. Report an error in the passage at 44:18
44:38 And imagine that, oh, I might have created the karma for that to happen. Actually, all of us have created the karma for that to happen sometime in the past. Report an error in the passage at 44:38
44:51 That really gives us this impetus to practice, right? To purify so that we don't, we aren't born in those unfortunate circumstances. And also to really practice, practice generosity, really practice the Dharma well so we'll... Continue to have the Dharma in future lives. Report an error in the passage at 44:51
45:15 So if we have a rigid attachment to our old ideas, then that will be a big obstacle to making progress on the path. So the first qualification is not to be biased, but to be impartial as best as we can. To have an openness, right? To have an openness to the teachings. And to kind of give them the benefit of the doubt, right? Report an error in the passage at 45:15
45:52 Not reject them outright like we've talked about before. Not find fault. I mean, not look for fault, let's say. Then the second qualification is intelligent. We'll talk about what that means. And the third one is full of endeavor or full of effort. Report an error in the passage at 45:52
46:15 And I just noticed the time. Let's take a break and then we'll come back and talk about the rest of these. Report an error in the passage at 46:15
· · · silence, 1 minute
47:04 Okay, let's start again. Report an error in the passage at 47:04
47:10 So here, so these three, there's three characteristics of a suitable disciple. Lama Tsongkhapa says in the Lama Rinpoche. If you, the listener, do not have all these defining characteristics of a suitable recipient, then the influence of your own faults will cause even an extremely pure teacher to appear to have faults. Report an error in the passage at 47:10
47:37 Right? So this is, this is, this is, it makes sense, right? I mean, it's like Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is clearly a highly realized amazing being. But so many people see faults in him because he's late. He doesn't have our conventional concept of time. So if we have this idea that to be a considerate person you should be on time. Report an error in the passage at 47:37
48:18 If we rigidly hold to that idea and then we see Lama Zopa, then we'll think, oh look, he doesn't even have any consideration for people. Report an error in the passage at 48:18
48:30 But if you know Lama Zopa, he's only working to benefit others. He never does anything for himself. He doesn't even lay down and sleep because he's constantly working for the benefit of others. Report an error in the passage at 48:30
48:49 He's tireless in his working for others. You can't even get a hold of him because he's constantly doing prayers and practices for others. Report an error in the passage at 48:49
49:01 If you ever go to a teaching of his, you know you're going to be up late. He doesn't kind of just let you get your eight hours of sleep and have your comfortable life, at least when you're around him. you know it's um Report an error in the passage at 49:01
49:17 You're going to practice, right? And you know he's not doing that for his own benefit. He's not, you know, sadistic. He's doing it for us, right? He's doing that to help us get beyond our limits, right? Because we have kind of a rigid view or a concrete view of what our limits are. I need eight hours of sleep, right? Or I can't function, right? Well, Lama Zopa will help you see that you can function on less than eight hours of sleep. Report an error in the passage at 49:17
49:47 Right. I remember, I mean, recently, right, we had this long life puja for Chodin Rinpoche. Well, Lama Zopa Rinpoche informed us about two weeks before the long life puja happened. He informed the FPMT centers, by the way, you need to throw a long life puja for Chodin Rinpoche. And, you know, and normally, you know, you have months to plan for a long life puja. Report an error in the passage at 49:47
50:15 Well, we had two weeks, you know, and my... And a bunch of our first reaction was, no way, it's impossible. But Lama Zopa, you know, he said, no, you know, you need to throw a long life puja for Chodron Rinpoche and you need to do it at Gyoa Gyatso, you know. And so I teach at Gyoa Gyatso and, you know, the director and the SPC and I were talking, we're like, no way. But then we decided to just kind of let that go and said, okay, well. Report an error in the passage at 50:15
50:44 Rinpoche said, we need to do it, so let's do it. We'll just give it a shot. We'll just do our best. And it happened. We worked really hard and it happened. And it was really beneficial. It was really beneficial for the organizers and the participants. So the guru helps us see that it's not impossible. Report an error in the passage at 50:44
51:09 It's not impossible to live on four hours of sleep a night. It's not impossible. All of the things that we think are impossible. Report an error in the passage at 51:09
51:25 So if we don't have these three qualities, then even an extremely pure teacher we may see as having faults. Report an error in the passage at 51:25
51:40 If you don't like the way someone teaches, one of my classmates in Italy didn't like that the teacher read a lot from the book. He wanted a more original kind of presentation, so he got a really negative mind. It's not a fault to teach in a particular way, but this person got a really negative mind. And we all have that. We all have that capacity to develop a negative mind. Because we have our ideas about the way people should be, the way a guru should be. Report an error in the passage at 51:40
52:16 And if they don't follow it, then our minds can get negative. So we need to really train to not let. Our minds get negative with regard to our guru especially. Because if you think about it, if our minds get negative toward a guru, the purest beings around, then of course our minds are going to get negative toward everybody else. Report an error in the passage at 52:16
52:41 If we can't even develop a positive mind toward our guru, who can we develop our positive mind toward? Report an error in the passage at 52:41
53:00 Also, if we don't have all of these three qualities, although there is a teacher with all ten qualities, it would be difficult for us to recognize that teacher, to have those ten qualities, and then difficult for us to be guided. So, you know, someone like Shantideva again, you know, maybe, you know, I'm convinced in my mind that he has all ten qualities, but maybe not everybody. Report an error in the passage at 53:00
53:30 He's right here underneath our noses or above our heads. So it's kind of hard to believe that a perfect teacher is just right here. You're supposed to travel far, far away for a perfect teacher. But Kishidakpa is amazing. When Peter and I were just talking at the break time, when other llamas come to town, like I know of... Report an error in the passage at 53:30
54:03 You know, other Rinpoches who come to town, high Rinpoches, you know, who sit on higher thrones than Gishidapa. When they come to town, they come and visit Gishidapa and they get teachings from Gishidapa. Report an error in the passage at 54:03
54:15 Gishidapa is just, he's just so pure and he's so knowledgeable and he's just, he's a perfect teacher. He really is. And it's amazing to me, there's the, I Report an error in the passage at 54:15
54:32 could go on and on and on. So, so we need to train our own minds. To be able to see the purity in the teacher. It's not as if there was a pure teacher that showed up, we wouldn't necessarily recognize them. Report an error in the passage at 54:32
54:50 We need to do some work on our own side. Report an error in the passage at 54:50
54:56 So then if we do have the three qualities, then the positive qualities of the teacher appear as positive qualities, not as negative qualities. Report an error in the passage at 54:56
55:06 So Geshe Jumpy Gatso had this habit of pretending to forget people's names. right? I mean, I was, you know, I was studying with him for seven years, you know, and after five years, he would go. Report an error in the passage at 55:06
55:23 And I remember, you know, so you could see that, you know, you could look at that and think, oh, come on, you know, he has a fault, right? But I remember a friend of mine, she sat through a teaching once and she thought, he's never going to remember my name. He's just never going to remember. Report an error in the passage at 55:23
55:45 And at the end of the teaching, he came up to her and looked at her. Hello Charmaine. Report an error in the passage at 55:45
55:56 And she was like, oh my gosh. He knew her mind. Report an error in the passage at 55:56
56:05 So I always thought of his forgetting my name as being a way of subduing my pride. If you think you're important and he doesn't even remember your name, it's going to humble you. a little bit right okay And Report an error in the passage at 56:05
56:33 then if we don't have the three qualities, then we may even see a teacher's faults as good qualities, like someone who's extremely charismatic, someone who we really like. Report an error in the passage at 56:33
56:47 And we may think that their pride is a good quality if we don't have the discernment. Report an error in the passage at 56:47
56:58 So just, you know, in summary, so if we have an impure mind, our impure mind, right, projects impurity on others, right? So if we, for example, have issues, like if we think others are out to get us, right, then we see everything, you know, kind of we use that filter and we look for situations where people are out to get us or we interpret situations so that we think, oh yeah, they're out to get me. Report an error in the passage at 56:58
57:28 Or if we don't trust others, if we have difficulty trusting others, then we find reasons to not trust someone. So we need to develop our own minds and kind of get over that baggage that we have and learn to trust. Report an error in the passage at 57:28
57:49 Learn to trust a valid teacher, right? Not just anyone, but someone who deserves it. Okay, Report an error in the passage at 57:49
58:01 so next. It talks specifically about these three characteristics. In this regard, this impartiality means without bias. If you have a bias, it will make you obscured and you will not perceive positive qualities due to which the meaning of excellent explanations is not found. Report an error in the passage at 58:01
58:25 It is just as it says in the essence of the middle way, with a biased, thus anguished mind, peace cannot. Can never be realized. Report an error in the passage at 58:25
58:40 To be biased means to be attached to one's own approach and to hate other people's approach. Having examined something like this in your own continuum, you should give it up. Report an error in the passage at 58:40
58:55 So being biased, being attached to our own approach or our own views, our own side, our opinions, our own perceptions too, Report an error in the passage at 58:55
59:12 and being hostile toward other. Other positions, other views. Report an error in the passage at 59:12
59:24 So if we have a mind that is like that, or if a mind that we're constantly looking for faults, if we have a cynical mind, if we have a paranoid mind, or we're always suspicious, then that's an obstacle. That's an obstacle to being able to devote ourselves to a guru. So then we work on it. We try to let that go. Report an error in the passage at 59:24
59:54 And I know of people who have very suspicious, very paranoid minds who were able to really devote themselves well to a guru because they were able to trust a guru. They have trust issues with other people, but with a guru they were able to trust. So that's possible as well. Report an error in the passage at 59:54
1:00:18 Also, a lot of us have issues with authority, right? So that's something that... Can become an obstacle too, right? To devoting ourselves to a guru. And so then, you know, we reflect on the guru's qualities. We reflect on the fact that the guru is only there for our benefit. And then we can get over those authority issues, at least with the guru. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:18
1:00:48 Because oftentimes we have authority issues because we Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48
1:00:56 think we have to do what other people want, right? Because they have selfish motives, right? But when we really understand that every bit of the Guru's advice is only for us, for our benefit, then we can get over that, right? It's only for us. Lama Zopa Rinpoche is giving me, you know, 300,000 prostrations, not because he's going to benefit in any way, but because he knows that that's what's going to help our minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:56
1:01:31 Because the Guru doesn't need anything, right, if it's a realized being. They don't need anything from us. Their only aim is for our benefit. And that's really mind-blowing, right? When we really get that, is that the guru is only there for our benefit. Well, for others' benefit, not just ours, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31
1:01:57 But for others' benefit. And they have no selfish motives at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:57
1:02:04 They're not getting anything out of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:04
1:02:15 Because there's nobody else like that, right? There's nobody in the world that you can completely trust that they don't have any selfish motives. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:15
1:02:32 It seems like the qualities necessary for guru devotion would also give you a lot more spaciousness in your day-to-day relationships. You know, it would help you develop kind of a more open and accepting attitude towards others and not being so judgmental and harsh. So it's going to help every aspect of our lives, not just our individual practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:32
1:02:56 Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, because when you let go of your strong attachment to your way of doing things, yeah. Yeah, because then you're slowly letting go of the ego and letting go of that black and white way of thinking. You know, my way is right and other people's way is wrong. So, of course, that's going to help you with the rest of your life. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:56
1:03:27 So the second quality is intelligence. So Lama Tsongkhapa says, if you wonder whether that by itself is sufficient, even though impartial, someone to whom good ways of explaining appears faulty ones, due to not having the intelligence to distinguish them, is not a suitable vessel. Therefore, one needs to have the intelligence that understands those two. So intelligence... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:27
1:03:59 Is the ability to distinguish between correct and incorrect teachings. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:59
1:04:12 So if you sit in a class, do you believe everything that the teacher says? And Report an error in the passage at 1:04:12
1:04:22 why? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:22
1:04:27 So you need some level of intelligence to examine it and determine whether or not it's a valid teaching or not. Or let's say you sit here in class with me. And then you sit in class with another teacher, and maybe the other teacher's explanation contradicts something that I said, or vice versa. So how do you know? How do you know which one's correct? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:27
1:05:05 So we need to think about these things, right? Because not every teacher is going to say exactly the same thing, right? And sometimes you may even hear something contradictory. So we need to really think about. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:05
1:05:24 What makes a teaching valid and not valid? In the world, usually it's people's credentials, right? Reputation, right? Whether they have a certificate on the wall or, you know, what makes you believe someone? Report an error in the passage at 1:05:24
1:05:45 Okay, yeah, Keith. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:45
1:05:57 I had a question. I've often tried to figure out what intelligence means in the context of these translations. I know that I've interacted with people that have... I've certainly a borderline intellectual functioning, but they seem to have a very good concept of virtue and right and wrong. I wonder if the word intelligence doesn't mean more that to discriminate virtue from non-virtue than it does to understand calculus in a certain context. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:57
1:06:27 I don't know. It's the mental factor of wisdom or intelligence, which is, I don't remember the exact definition, but it's Being able to distinguish, discern between, let's say, good and bad explanations or accurate and inaccurate explanations, for example. But to be able to discern, I think the mental factor was discerning, I don't remember, something about discerning characteristics, like knowing. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:27
1:07:07 Knowing positive and negative characteristics or knowing, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:07
1:07:15 So this particular context is talking about discerning between good explanations and faulty explanations. Yeah, and it's not calculus or physics or medicine or something like that. That's not helpful, right, on the spiritual path. Yeah, good question. Okay. And then the third characteristic. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:15
1:07:45 Lama Tsongkhapa says, are those two sufficient? Even if one has the two, impartiality and intelligence, someone who is just like the listener to the Dharma in a lifeless picture is not a suitable vessel. Therefore, one also needs to have great endeavor. So great endeavor or great effort or diligence. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:45
1:08:10 So we need to actually have an interest in studying and practicing the Dharma and attaining the qualities. If we're just listening for intellectual reasons to increase our knowledge, then it's not going to help. Or if we're not even interested in intellectual knowledge, if we're just sitting there, not paying attention, Report an error in the passage at 1:08:10
1:08:35 not really interested, just sitting. not a Not beneficial. If we're not willing to put effort, if we're just lazy, it's not going to be beneficial, right? So we need an unbiased mind. We need the intelligence to discern between good and faulty explanations. And we need great endeavor, great effort, interest in practicing and studying. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:35
1:09:08 And then there are two more. The commentary states that adding the two, respect for the Dharma and the expounder of the Dharma, As well as an attentive mind, five characteristics are set forth. So the fourth characteristic would be respect for the Dharma and the teacher. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:08
1:09:39 So if we don't respect the Dharma, especially if we disrespect the Dharma and disrespect the teacher, then no benefit. Then we won't practice. And then an attentive mind. So we've talked about that before. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:39
1:09:57 Attentive, paying attention, not being distracted, not having a wandering mind. So that's another obstacle. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:57
1:10:10 So there's this list of three and the list of five characteristics of a suitable disciple. Any questions on that? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:10
1:10:32 When do you need a teacher? When you're ready to do Tantra? Because I've been doing this path for about a year and I'm still content just to... Listen to the archives or attend these classes and I don't feel a need to choose the one. And yeah, you don't have to choose the one. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:32
1:10:59 When do you need a teacher? It's confusing to me. I came from a tradition that had one guru with no choices and it seems like there's a lot of choices out there. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:59
1:11:22 I don't know. I mean, you've been... On the path for a year, I don't think that that's, you know, you don't need to have a guru now. I think once you really decide you're a Buddhist and this is really your path, Report an error in the passage at 1:11:22
1:11:43 really ready, really ready to move beyond our ego stuff. Like we really want, we're really convinced that we need to get out of saṃsāra and we need to go beyond just our habitual way of Doing what we want to do, right? I mean, that's what we normally do, right? We go around and we just try to function and we do what we want to do. When we're ready to go beyond that and we really want to make spiritual progress, then I think it's important to have a guru or at least to start looking for a guru. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:43
1:12:23 So that means that you have access to that person for personal advice? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:23
1:12:34 Maybe, maybe not. I think you can check out the guru just by being around them. I think it's really important to spend time around them. Whether or not you get an individual meeting with them is another thing. There are people who take His Holiness the Dalai Lama as their guru. They're not going to get a lot of individual attention. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:34
1:13:03 From His Holiness the Dalai Lama. But you can easily become convinced that He's a holy being, right? By just being around Him and going to His teachings. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:03
1:13:20 Did that answer your question? I mean, I don't think that there's... See, I mean, I don't know that there's a right time that you're ready... That you need to start looking for a guru. I would say when you're ready. You know, when you really feel ready. When you're really strong and firm in your Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:20
1:13:47 Say, you know, at a certain point you're ready to take refuge. You know, actually when you've taken refuge, your refuge Lama has become your guru. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:47
1:13:58 One of your gurus. And then, you know, when you're ready to take bodhisattva vows, or whoever you take bodhisattva vows from, that becomes a guru. Whenever you get a tantric empowerment, Report an error in the passage at 1:13:58
1:14:15 you know, you've picked up a tantric master, you know, when you get a tantric empowerment. So you've kind of stepped up your commitment, you know, at that point. So I think, you know, you really look inside to see when you're ready. And it's going to be different for different people. Sometimes it'll be right away for some people and some people might wait for, you know, 10 years. That's Report an error in the passage at 1:14:15
1:14:43 all I can say. Peter. My understanding from Chucky's class is that you don't also just check out your Lama. Your Lama checks out you and tells you if you're a suitable vessel. So just because you think someone is your Lama doesn't mean he's going to accept you as his disciple. It's a process. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:14:43
1:15:14 that's what the teachings say. I'm not sure exactly how that works. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:14
1:15:25 I don't personally know of anyone who's asked someone to be their guru and the guru said, no. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:25
1:15:40 not sure how that works, actually, in passing. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:40
1:15:45 There's always a first. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:45
1:15:56 The Report an error in the passage at 1:15:56
1:16:02 story of Melarepa. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:02
1:16:15 Yeah, but did Marpa refuse to be his teacher or he just refused to teach him? Report an error in the passage at 1:16:15
1:16:23 He wouldn't give him teachings, but I don't know that he refused to be his teacher. I don't think so. He kept him around and asked him to do a lot of things. He was his teacher. Right. Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:23
1:16:43 Okay. All right. So I want to just finish this section on the characteristics of the disciple. So this list of five, three and five, was a list, Chandrakirti's list that Tsongkhapa was giving us. Then Tsongkhapa gives his own list. He says, that being so, there are four. So he subsumes these into four. Great endeavor with regard to the Dharma, which is similar. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:43
1:17:13 Second one is an excellently attentive mind while listening. The third was great respect in the Dharma and the expounder of the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:13
1:17:26 Same. And then the fourth is holding to good explanations, having rejected faulty ones. So he's saying there are two conditions to allow these four. So intelligence is a conducive circumstances for these four. So if you have intelligence, that helps us develop these four qualities. And impartiality is what eliminates adverse circumstances or eliminates bias. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:26
1:18:09 And then he goes on. It says you should examine whether or not all the attributes that would make you suitable for being guided by a spiritual teacher are complete and cultivate joy. Well, Report an error in the passage at 1:18:09
1:18:28 cultivate joy if they are complete, right? And if they are not complete, you should strive henceforth, including future lives, at the causes for making them complete. So we examine our own minds and see if we have all of the attributes. And then if so, then we rejoice. And if not, then we strive to get there. So it's not like we're screwed if we don't have those. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:28
1:18:59 We can cultivate them. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:59
1:19:04 Kishisopa says, without that self-examination, you will fail to achieve the great purpose. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:04
1:19:13 So we need to be really honest with ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:13
1:19:33 And then to finish off the section. Thus, someone possessed of the characteristics of a vessel should examine, the way explained above, whether or not a teacher has the characteristics, and if so, obtain the kindness of the Dharma from him. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:33
1:19:50 So when we have those characteristics of a suitable vessel, then we need to examine the teacher and whether or not the teacher has the characteristics, and if they do, Report an error in the passage at 1:19:50
1:20:07 get Dharma teachings from them. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:07
1:20:19 as I said before, it's... Good to memorize this list of ten characteristics. And then it's good to meditate again and again on the characteristics of your teacher, the positive characteristics of your teacher. Because that's how we develop this really firm, stable mind of devotion toward that teacher, is remembering their positive qualities again and again and again and again and not let ourselves Report an error in the passage at 1:20:19
1:20:54 Focus on their faults. It's like any relationship that we have with someone. If we focus on their faults, it's going to hurt your relationship. So we need to focus on the positive qualities. If we have this perspective of the guru and all of their amazing qualities, and we have that really firm in our mind, Like we've reflected on it again and again and again and again. And we've removed doubt. Oh yeah, well he definitely has subdued his mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:54
1:21:30 He has ethical discipline. Oh well, you look at how stable he is. He doesn't have a lot of afflictions. Oh he has concentration. Oh yeah, well he definitely has wisdom. Oh he's definitely working for sentient beings. He has loving concern. He's always so kind. Oh yeah, well he's definitely rich in scriptural knowledge. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:30
1:21:49 Oh yeah, well he's a really good teacher. He can very well communicate the teachings. Oh well, he certainly has a lot more qualities than I do. Oh yeah, and he patiently explains the teachings again and again and again and again and again. Oh yeah, he has a realization of emptiness because I never see him with his ego. He doesn't have any ego. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:49
1:22:22 And what did I forget? Oh, and the effort. The effort. He's constantly working for others, right? Oh my gosh, you know. He has all ten. We reflect on that again and again and again. Then if we see something that we might not understand, you know, maybe he forgets our name, you know. You know, we won't think, oh my gosh, you know, look at, he can't even remember my name. And, you know, we won't focus on that negative quality, right? Because we've reflected, oh, he has these, all of these ten amazing qualities. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:22
1:22:57 So we're not going to focus on this tiny little perceived fault. You know, we can think, oh, well that, maybe that was a teaching for me, you know, to forget my name. Or maybe he forgot to do something that we asked him to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:57
1:23:15 We won't immediately jump to a negative conclusion, but we'll think, oh, okay, well, I wonder what I was supposed to learn from that. Maybe he's trying to teach me something from that. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:15
1:23:33 So that's why we reflect on those qualities again and again, make them really certain in our minds, so then when they do something we don't agree with or we don't like, we won't immediately get a negative mind, or we won't get a negative mind at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:33
1:23:52 So we train in that. We need to train for years, years and years on guru devotion. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:52
1:24:02 Because what happens is the guru in the beginning when our guru devotion is baby guru devotion, they're really kind to us. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:02
1:24:14 But over time, as you become a really devoted disciple, they start giving you what you really need, which you might not like. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:14
1:24:30 So maybe they start yelling at you to subdue your pride. If your guru devotion is baby guru devotion, if they yell at you, you know, you turn around and you run away. It's like, I want a nice guru. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:30
1:24:54 But if you, you know, if your guru devotion is strong, then you see that as, oh, okay, my guru is trying to teach me to subdue my pride. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:54
1:25:07 Like a friend of mine, she was so, so, so devoted to her Lama and worked for him for 20 years and he almost never thanked her. And that was so hard for her because she gave up her whole life to work for her guru. But her guru devotion was strong, you know, so she knew on some level that it was a teaching, though. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:07
1:25:33 She struggled with that, you know, Report an error in the passage at 1:25:33
1:25:40 those ten. Try to memorize those ten and then meditate on those again and again. And then the people who are disciples of Venerable Rabina, they have to have strong guru devotion, right? Because she doesn't act in conventional ways. She does a bit of yelling. So your guru devotion better be pretty strong, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:25:40
1:26:07 You can't be a... A wishy-washy disciple, right? I hate you missing the plot. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:07
1:26:22 Personally, I like the nice Lama. Because I have baby girl devotion. Okay, time to stop. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:22
1:26:41 So let's do, actually let's just do our own dedication. When Report an error in the passage at 1:26:41
1:27:03 we're ready, may we all find our spiritual teacher and follow him or her. much. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:03
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:27:13 With perfect devotion, which will take us to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:13
1:27:29 May we do that not just for our own benefit, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:29
1:27:36 but for the benefit of those countless sentient beings who are constantly suffering. And Report an error in the passage at 1:27:36
1:28:03 then we'll dedicate for the long lives of all of our spiritual teachers, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Dagpa, Report an error in the passage at 1:28:03
1:28:21 Chodan Rinpoche, all of our other teachers. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:21
1:28:29 And all our lives may we never be separated from Report an error in the passage at 1:28:29
1:28:36 our Lamas and may we always devote ourselves perfectly to our Lamas. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:36
· · · silence, 1 minute
1:29:25 Also, we need to talk a bit about schedule because next Friday is Soak Night. So we won't have class next Friday, which is the 13th, Friday the 13th. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:25
1:29:42 And then we'll have two more Fridays this month. Friday the 20th and the 27th. So we'll have class those two days. And then the first Friday in July is July 4th. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:42
1:29:59 So we need to talk about, do we want, and before I ask you that, so July 4th, question mark, whether or not we'll have class. July 11th, I'm going to be in Pennsylvania. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:59
1:30:18 So I'm wondering, so how many people would come to class if we have class on July 4th? Report an error in the passage at 1:30:18
1:30:27 So why don't we just have class on July 4th? I mean, not everybody's going to be able to come, but otherwise we won't be having much class. We haven't been having much class, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:30:27
1:30:46 Classes. Okay, so we'll plan to have class on the 4th and not the 11th. And then hopefully after that, July 18th, we'll start the weekly thing again. Right, a class. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:46
1:30:59 Okay. All right. So no class next week, so we'll see you in two weeks. Thank you. And I will send you the homework. No, actually, I already gave you the homework on this stuff, and we'll review it next time. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:59
Related talks
Talk by Emily Hsu, recorded 6 June 2008. Original at Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies via Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/EH_Lamrim_200803. Licensed CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. Transcript generated automatically and may contain errors; the audio is the authoritative version.
Recorded at Tse Chen Ling Center, San Francisco, and archived by the center on Internet Archive. More from Tse Chen Ling