Basic Program - Buddhism From A-Z (8 August 2008)

0:01 Let's read this Heart Sūtra on page 79. Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:10 I Report an error in the passage at 0:10 Highlight the passage at 0:10

0:19 prostrate to the Arya Triple Gem. Thus did I hear at one time, the Bhagavan was dwelling on massive vultures, mountain, Raj, Shriya, together with a great community of monks and a great community of bodhisattvas. At that time, the Bhagavan was absorbed in the concentration on the categories of phenomena called profound perception. Report an error in the passage at 0:19 Highlight the passage at 0:19

0:41 Also at that time, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Arya Avalokiteshvara looked upon the very practice of the profound perfection of wisdom and beheld those five aggregates also as empty of inherent nature. Then through the power of Buddha, the venerable Shariputra said this to the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Arya Avalokiteshvara, How should any son of him in each train who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom? Report an error in the passage at 0:41 Highlight the passage at 0:41

1:11 He said that, and the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Arya Avalokiteshvara said this to the venable Shariputra. Shariputra, any son of the lineage or daughter of the lineage who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom, should look upon it like this, correctly and repeatedly beholding those five aggregates also as empty of inherent nature. Report an error in the passage at 1:11 Highlight the passage at 1:11

1:36 Form is empty, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form. Form is also not other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors, and consciousness are empty. Shari Kutcha identifies all phenomena of emptiness. Without characteristic, unproduced, unceased, stainless, not without stain, not deficient, not fulfilled. Report an error in the passage at 1:36 Highlight the passage at 1:36

2:04 Shari Kutcha, therefore, in emptiness there is no form. No feeling, no discrimination, no compositional factors, no consciousness, no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no visual form, no sound, no odor, no taste, no object of touch and no phenomenon. There is no eye element and so on up to and including no mind element and no mental consciousness element. Report an error in the passage at 2:04 Highlight the passage at 2:04

2:36 There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so on, up to and including no aging and death, and no extinction of aging and death. Similarly, there is no suffering, origination, cessation, and path. There is no exalted wisdom, no attainment, and also no non-attainment. Shari Kutra, therefore, because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on and dwell in the perfection of wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 2:36 Highlight the passage at 2:36

3:05 The mind without obscuration and without fear, having completely passed beyond error, they reach the end point of nirvāṇa. All the Buddhas who dwell in three times also manifestly, completely awakened to unsurpassable, perfect, complete enlightenment in reliance on the perfection of wisdom. Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to the unequaled, The mantra that thoroughly pacifies all suffering should be known as truth since it is not false. The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is declared, Tayata Om Gate Gate Paragate Parasam Gate Bodhisattva. Report an error in the passage at 3:05 Highlight the passage at 3:05

3:51 Sharyapirja, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva should train in the profound perfection of wisdom like that. Then the Bhagavan arose from that concentration and commended the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Arya Avalokiteshvara, saying, Well said, well said, son of lineage, it is like that, it is like that. One should practice the profound perfection of wisdom, just as you have indicated. Even the Tantagatas rejoice. The Bhagavan, having thus spoken, the benevolent Sharivadiputra, The Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avalokiteshvara, those surrounding in their entirety along with the world of gods, humans, Asuras and Gandharvas were overjoyed and highly praised as opened by the Bhagavan. Report an error in the passage at 3:51 Highlight the passage at 3:51

4:39 Glory to the Lionface Dakini. I prostrate to the gathering of Dakinis and the three chakras who abide in the holy yoga of using space by your powers of clairvoyance and magical emanation. Look after practitioners like a mother her child. Report an error in the passage at 4:39 Highlight the passage at 4:39

5:14 By the teachings of the three supreme jewels possessing the power of truth, may inner and outer hindrances be transformed. May they be dispelled. May they be pacified. May they be completely pacified. May all negative forces opposed to Dharma be completely pacified. May the host of 80,000 obstacles be pacified. May we be separated from problems and harmful conditions to Dharma. May all enjoyments be in accord with the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 5:14 Highlight the passage at 5:14

5:50 And may there be auspiciousness and perfect happiness here right now. And the praise to Manjushri. Obeisance to my guru and protector Manjushri, who holds to his heart a scriptural text, symbolic of his seeing all things as they are. Whose understanding shines forth as the sun, unclouded by defilements or traces of ignorance, who teaches in sixty ways with the patient love of a father for his only son, all creatures caught in the prison of saṃsāra, confused in the darkness of their ignorance, overwhelmed by their suffering. Report an error in the passage at 5:50 Highlight the passage at 5:50

6:25 You, whose dragon-thunder clock, O nation of Dharma, arouses us from the stupor of our delusions and freezes from the iron chains of our karma. Whose powerful sword of wisdom queues down suffering wherever its brows appear, clearing away the darkness of all ignorance. Whose princely body is adorned with 112 marks of a Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 6:25 Highlight the passage at 6:25

6:46 Who has completed the ten stages, achieving the highest perfection of a bodhisattva. Who has been pure from the beginning, O Mantusri, all-loving one, with the brilliance of your wisdom, illuminate the darkness in closing my mind. Enlighten my intelligence and wisdom so that I may gain insight into Buddha's words and the texts that explain them. And then refuge in bodhicitta on the bottom of page 88. Report an error in the passage at 6:46 Highlight the passage at 6:46

7:16 I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, the Supreme Assembly. By the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am enlightened. To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly, by the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 7:16 Highlight the passage at 7:16

7:42 I go for refuge until I'm enlightened. To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly, by the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 7:42 Highlight the passage at 7:42

8:03 Sounds very impressive in this room, doesn't it? Booming voice. Report an error in the passage at 8:03 Highlight the passage at 8:03

8:12 Okay, so last time we started on the section on the meditation session, which started, well actually not last time, a few classes ago. Report an error in the passage at 8:12 Highlight the passage at 8:12

8:24 And so we covered the preparatory practices, including the seven limbs. Report an error in the passage at 8:24 Highlight the passage at 8:24

8:32 And then we covered mandala offerings. And then now we're in the section of what to do during the main part. So we talked about what meditation was, which was one of the homework questions. So what is meditation? Report an error in the passage at 8:32 Highlight the passage at 8:32

9:00 We talk about meditating all the time, right? So what's meditation? Yeah, Effie. Nobody's saying anything. Training the mind. Well, yeah, training the mind, but becoming familiar with. That means becoming familiar with. Training the mind, becoming familiar with. Okay. Yeah. Anything else? Repetitively placing your mind on a virtual zone. Report an error in the passage at 9:00 Highlight the passage at 9:00

9:24 Repeatedly placing your mind on a virtuous object. Someone did his homework. Perfect. And Karen? This is the act of sustaining an object of concentration and it brings the mind under control and makes it serviceable. Excellent. Sustaining the object of meditation and it brings the mind under control. Report an error in the passage at 9:24 Highlight the passage at 9:24

9:52 You need a clock and I'll clean this up. Give me the clock. Alright. And making the mind serviceable. What does it mean to make the mind serviceable? You can focus your mind on whatever object you wish to. Well, yes. Report an error in the passage at 9:52 Highlight the passage at 9:52

10:17 So you can actually use these objects, you can actually use them. Report an error in the passage at 10:17 Highlight the passage at 10:17

10:24 So you can actually make use of virtuous objects by focusing on that. Report an error in the passage at 10:24 Highlight the passage at 10:24

10:32 Yeah, well through focusing, right, developing that concentration, right, we develop the power of the mind, right, so that our little insights aren't just little insights, right, they have some power to interact with afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 10:32 Highlight the passage at 10:32

10:49 Okay, great. Report an error in the passage at 10:49 Highlight the passage at 10:49

10:55 All right, so we are now on page 32. Report an error in the passage at 10:55 Highlight the passage at 10:55

11:03 We talked about how to sustain the meditation in general. We talked about Lama Tsongkhapa's advice about Report an error in the passage at 11:03 Highlight the passage at 11:03

11:17 deciding about the order of objects in meditation, etc. So what did Lama Tsongkhapa say about that? Report an error in the passage at 11:17 Highlight the passage at 11:17

11:32 should on a particular object or a series of objects and once you've decided stick it don't change it from both way or. Right. Yeah. So decide before you sit down to meditation what you're going to meditate on and in what order and then stick to it. And even how long you're going to meditate, right? And stick to it, right? Because we're trying to bring the mind under control so we're not just sitting down and doing whatever we feel like doing. Report an error in the passage at 11:32 Highlight the passage at 11:32

12:10 Right? Because that's what we normally do, right? I thought I had that problem with the breathing meditation because I thought, well, I'll watch the girls kind of rise in the fall when I have them. And as I watched it, it stopped doing it. And so then I was thinking, well, maybe I could feel it going in and out here. Report an error in the passage at 12:10 Highlight the passage at 12:10

12:32 And it's like I caught myself by going, well, but then I'm glad. I it up here, then my abdomen started measuring a little bit again. I thought this is too weird. So I was not following the instruction at all. But I did notice. But I wasn't following it. Very good. So you have the introspection and mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 12:32 Highlight the passage at 12:32

12:57 All right. Okay. Okay, so now we'll start on the section on... How to sustain the meditation in this context? So in the context of relying on a spiritual teacher, how do we meditate? So first, the first outline, by thinking about, we're on the bottom page 32, by thinking about the benefits of reliance and the faults of non-reliance. Report an error in the passage at 12:57 Highlight the passage at 12:57

13:25 So you should first think about the benefits of reliance and the faults of non-reliance. So when we're meditating on the subject of relying on a spiritual teacher, Or really any subject in the long run. First, it's recommended that we meditate on the benefits of meditating on that or doing that particular practice and the faults of not. Report an error in the passage at 13:25 Highlight the passage at 13:25

13:47 The drawbacks of not. So this uplifts the mind. This inspires the mind to go forward with the meditation. Because oftentimes we get really bored when we're meditating. Why do we have to do this? Why do we have to do it more than once? Right? I mean, you know. We need to meditate on the same topics again and again. And it gets really dull and boring, right? So it's very helpful to meditate on the benefits of it first, right? Report an error in the passage at 13:47 Highlight the passage at 13:47

14:19 And to really have that deeply ingrained in us so we know, okay, well, this is really a good beneficial practice. And so I'll do it until something happens, right? Because in general... Like when you're meditating on the lamrim, one way of meditating on the lamrim is to meditate on the first topic of the lamrim again and again until you gain some experience of it. Report an error in the passage at 14:19 Highlight the passage at 14:19

14:46 And then you meditate on the next topic again and again until you have an experience of it. So that might be a while, right? It might be some weeks or months or years. You know, before you get an experience of it. So you get tired of it if you don't really see the benefits of it. Okay. So what were some of the benefits of relying on a spiritual teacher to revive our memories? Report an error in the passage at 14:46 Highlight the passage at 14:46

15:22 They give you step-by-step instructions to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 15:22 Highlight the passage at 15:22

15:34 You reach enlightenment much more quickly than trying to do it on your own. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good one. They give you step-by-step instructions to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 15:34 Highlight the passage at 15:34

15:42 Reach enlightenment much more quickly than on your own. And actually, you know, according to the alum room, you can't reach enlightenment without a spiritual teacher. Also, if you're kind of drifting into the wrong lane, they get you back on course. Right. They get you back on course if you're drifting off. Report an error in the passage at 15:42 Highlight the passage at 15:42

16:07 Anything else that people remember? Report an error in the passage at 16:07 Highlight the passage at 16:07

16:12 More quickly attain realizations. Report an error in the passage at 16:12 Highlight the passage at 16:12

16:18 You'll stabilize them. Report an error in the passage at 16:18 Highlight the passage at 16:18

16:25 Eventually all of your obscurations. Okay. You'll more quickly attain realizations. What was the second thing you said? Testing my memory. Report an error in the passage at 16:25 Highlight the passage at 16:25

16:42 You stabilize them. And stabilize. Okay. Stabilize your realizations. Realizations. So they just don't come and go. Okay, yeah, and then, yeah, and actually that's what a realization is, it's something that's stable. Okay, and then eventually remove your obscurations. Okay, good. And Peter, you had one? I was just going to say by thinking about contemplating all the good qualities of the teacher, you develop those good qualities within yourself. Report an error in the passage at 16:42 Highlight the passage at 16:42

17:16 Yeah, you develop good qualities within yourself. Any others? Report an error in the passage at 17:16 Highlight the passage at 17:16

17:27 I just like to think of the kindness of the teacher. Yeah, that actually comes next. Report an error in the passage at 17:27 Highlight the passage at 17:27

17:42 Okay, any other benefits? Next. Report an error in the passage at 17:42 Highlight the passage at 17:42

17:49 get inspired. Report an error in the passage at 17:49 Highlight the passage at 17:49

17:54 just an example of you mean in theory. Report an error in the passage at 17:54 Highlight the passage at 17:54

18:04 Yeah, they're a living example that inspires us. Yeah, that's very true. It was kind of included in one of them, yeah. You exhaust the karmas for rebirths in lower realms. Yeah, yeah. Exhaust the negative karmas for rebirth in lower realms. Another one? Report an error in the passage at 18:04 Highlight the passage at 18:04

18:33 Yeah, Peter. The teacher can pinpoint exactly what... practices you need for your specific level of it. Report an error in the passage at 18:33 Highlight the passage at 18:33

18:46 can direct you in the right direction. Right, so the teacher gives you the practices that you specifically need. Right. All right. Report an error in the passage at 18:46 Highlight the passage at 18:46

19:02 develop confidence in qualities of the teacher, confidence in the darkness. should be a lot of practice. Yeah. Develop confidence in the teacher and the dharma in your practice. Okay, good. How about creating the causes for being a qualified teacher in the next life? That's a big one, right? If we want, yeah, we have excellent karma now, right? Report an error in the passage at 19:02 Highlight the passage at 19:02

19:35 So we need to create the causes to have this again, right? Okay. And there's some other ones, but I think those are sort of just... Report an error in the passage at 19:35 Highlight the passage at 19:35

19:47 And, well, I mean, and the other thing is your own mind improves, right? Your own practice improves. Your own mind improves. You won't, well, you won't be easily overcome by negative karma and your mental afflictions, right? Because you're training your mind to not see the guru in a negative light, right? So then you can, you develop that mindfulness and that vigilance so that you can spread that out to the rest of your life as well. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:18 Okay. All right. So first we meditate on the benefits of relying and the faults of not relying. And then we train in faith by means of thinking about his positive qualities. So then you repeatedly resolve never to allow your mind to get lost in conceiving faults in the guru and think of qualities like discipline and meditative stabilization that you yourself have perceived in him. Report an error in the passage at 20:18 Highlight the passage at 20:18

20:49 Cultivating the faith that is the mind, having an aspect of faith until it arises. Report an error in the passage at 20:49 Highlight the passage at 20:49

20:57 So first of all, right, we resolve very strongly never to conceive of faults in our guru, right, once we've taken them as a guru. And then we think about the guru's qualities again and again, the ones that we've actually perceived in him or her, until faith arises from within us, right from our hearts. Report an error in the passage at 20:57 Highlight the passage at 20:57

21:25 So from that list of ten qualities, we can use that list or other qualities that we've observed. Report an error in the passage at 21:25 Highlight the passage at 21:25

21:43 So we talked about that quite a bit before. And then training in the respect that remembers kindness. So then you should, in accordance with the above quotations from the sūtra collection, consider the instances of beneficial kindness that you received and are still receiving and sincerely cultivate respect until it arises. Report an error in the passage at 21:43 Highlight the passage at 21:43

22:05 So this is really from personal experience. What is the kindness that the Guru has shown us? And really think about that again and again until respect arises. Usually a lot of gratitude arises from the heart. Report an error in the passage at 22:05 Highlight the passage at 22:05

22:31 Because once again, the Guru is giving us the greatest possible kindness, which is helping us out of saṃsāra, helping us to complete enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 22:31 Highlight the passage at 22:31

22:41 And ultimate happiness. Can you all hear me? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 22:41 Highlight the passage at 22:41

22:58 Then what to do at the end. So we've talked about what we do before we actually meditate, and then what we do when we actually sit down and meditate, and then what to do at the end. What should actually be done at the end? By means of the prayer of good behavior, which is the prayer of Samanta Badra, which is the king of prayers. Report an error in the passage at 22:58 Highlight the passage at 22:58

23:22 And the 70 about aspiration. The accumulated virtue should be dedicated with strong determination to the temporary and ultimate aspirations. So dedication. So we've talked about dedication already. So dedicating the merit for both temporary and ultimate gains, right? And the ultimate right is to attain a complete enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings. And then the times and duration of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 23:22 Highlight the passage at 23:22

23:56 Indication of the times of meditation. Thus you should meditate in four sessions, at dawn, in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. So this is really more applicable to when you're in retreat. So in retreat, traditionally, you do four sessions a day. Report an error in the passage at 23:56 Highlight the passage at 23:56

24:18 First thing in the morning at dawn, so it might start at 5 in the morning or 4.30. or 5.30, something like So traditionally your first session is maybe a couple of hours, 2-3 hours, so maybe it's like 5-8 or something like that in the morning. Report an error in the passage at 24:18 Highlight the passage at 24:18

24:41 And then you take a break, eat breakfast, do whatever. And then, well not, do whatever. Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

24:53 You know what I mean. And then the second session would be like the late morning, right? So maybe like 10 to 12, right before lunch. Then you take a break, you eat lunch, maybe you study, you do different things, maybe take a walk. And then in the afternoon, then you do another session, maybe let's say three to five or something like that in the afternoon. Report an error in the passage at 24:53 Highlight the passage at 24:53

25:24 And then you take another break. And then you do a session in the evening, 7 to 9, 8 to 10 or something like that. So traditionally the schedule follows something like that. Report an error in the passage at 25:24 Highlight the passage at 25:24

25:43 or mantra recitation these four times? I know. It's talking about meditation But I wondered if you did other practices. Yeah. That would be... Yeah, I mean, traditionally you do your prayers and practices, right, in those particular sessions. I mean, it depends, right, on what retreat you're doing. Like, if you're doing a tantric deity retreat, or... Report an error in the passage at 25:43 Highlight the passage at 25:43

26:04 No, I meant daily. You wouldn't have to retreat to necessarily do some of your practices. Oh, no, you don't have to do retreat to do your practices, no. Yeah, it's good to do your practices even when you're not in retreat. Report an error in the passage at 26:04 Highlight the passage at 26:04

26:25 Yeah, unless you don't do your practices. Report an error in the passage at 26:25 Highlight the passage at 26:25

26:31 Yeah, so some of those things, I mean, when you're outside of retreat, you do your practices whenever it is, you know, that you can do them first thing in the morning or in the evening. it. Report an error in the passage at 26:31 Highlight the passage at 26:31

26:50 Oftentimes it says in the morning the mind is more alert for most people, but it really depends on the person. But then when you're in retreat, usually you're focusing on something in particular, a particular practice. If it's lamrim or if it's a particular deity. Let's say you're doing a particular deity practice, then you're doing four sessions a day of that particular deity. Report an error in the passage at 26:50 Highlight the passage at 26:50

27:17 And then on top of that, you have your other commitments. You know, you have your mantras and you have your, you know, Succession Guru Yoga or whatever, you know, people have. And then usually you do that between sessions. So then the day gets pretty full, you know, if you have a lot of commitment. So, I mean, just my personal opinion is that a lot of people take on a lot of... Report an error in the passage at 27:17 Highlight the passage at 27:17

27:47 A lot of commitments, and I personally don't think that's a very good idea. I think it's good to take on some commitments, but you have commitments usually for the rest of your life, right? So then when you get your main practice, then your time is diluted, right? Then you don't really have the energy to really put to your main practice if you have a lot of other commitments. Report an error in the passage at 27:47 Highlight the passage at 27:47

28:17 So I'd just be careful about not taking too many other commitments. You know, mantra commitments are usually not a big deal, you know, but doing long sadhanas every day, you know, that can really take a lot of time. So I think I've told you before, one friend of mine, she took, she has eight hours of commitments a day, you know, so she doesn't have for a job. Report an error in the passage at 28:17 Highlight the passage at 28:17

28:47 You know, things like that. So it's something to be careful about. And I was recently talking to a monk friend of mine who's been a monk for like 30 years and he said, you know, I think I made a mistake by taking on too many commitments. Report an error in the passage at 28:47 Highlight the passage at 28:47

29:04 That's just my thought and I think some people agree with me. Report an error in the passage at 29:04 Highlight the passage at 29:04

29:16 Then how to meditate in the beginning. So moreover, if your sessions are long in the beginning, it is easy to fall under the power of laxity and excitement. As it is difficult to correct this state of mind once you have got used to it, you should have many short sessions. If you break off the session when there is still a desire to meditate, you will really want to enter meditation the next time too. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:45 They say that otherwise you will become overcome by nausea. That's really funny. Report an error in the passage at 29:45 Highlight the passage at 29:45

29:57 Lama Tsongkhapa. I knew that hundreds of years ago. Report an error in the passage at 29:57 Highlight the passage at 29:57

30:06 Personally, I think this is excellent advice. I didn't follow this for... know. I don't Report an error in the passage at 30:06 Highlight the passage at 30:06

30:14 When I first started, I used to meditate for long dullness sessions, basically. You sit there for 45 minutes and you can really only concentrate for 10. Then you sit there and you just space out or you're dull for 45 minutes. If your capability is only to meditate for 10 and really maintain a concentration and focus. Report an error in the passage at 30:14 Highlight the passage at 30:14

30:41 So what's really important, right, to, that That the quality of your meditation is, well, you're trying to balance two things, right? Relaxation and kind of attention, right? Focus, attention. So oftentimes I think we Westerners, we try really intensely to meditate and we get really tense, kind of the shoulders go up. Report an error in the passage at 30:41 Highlight the passage at 30:41

31:11 And then we get exhausted. When we meditate and we get headaches and then we don't want to meditate again. So Alan Wallace, I don't know if people know Alan Wallace. He's done a lot of shamatha meditation. He's led a lot of retreats. He's gotten a lot of meditation instruction over the years, over his 30 years in the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 31:11 Highlight the passage at 31:11

31:35 And he really advises people to learn how to relax. Report an error in the passage at 31:35 Highlight the passage at 31:35

31:42 So to relax and then focus. And I find that excellent advice. And then you can sustain your meditation. It's much more pleasant. You can sustain your meditation longer if you can relax. And, well, I don't know. I mean, he says you're better able to focus when you're relaxed. You know, not too relaxed, right? If you're too relaxed, you know, then you space out or you fall asleep or you have a dull mind, right? Report an error in the passage at 31:42 Highlight the passage at 31:42

32:20 So that's why we need the two, right? Relaxation and then focus. So we have a really alert, clear mind, and yet relaxed at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 32:20 Highlight the passage at 32:20

32:32 All right, so this is, I mean, this is similar to, you know, when we get really good at something, we're not really tense. It's like when you first learn how to drive. You're really tense, right? You're really trying to keep your eyes on the road, really tense in order to do something wrong, right? But then once you get good at driving, you can be alert. Report an error in the passage at 32:32 Highlight the passage at 32:32

32:58 Hopefully you can still be alert, but relaxed at the same time. So with meditation, it's similar, except hopefully you're more alert. Really alert and clear and yet relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 32:58 Highlight the passage at 32:58

33:20 So then it's good, right? Then it's good to just... Figure out what our capacity is, right? For how long we can stay really alert and relaxed, but really alert in that session. If it's five minutes, you know, you can meditate, let's say, for five minutes, take a break, and then start again. But the important thing is not to develop a habit of dullness in meditation, right? Report an error in the passage at 33:20 Highlight the passage at 33:20

33:55 Because when we meditate with dullness, there's not any power to it. Report an error in the passage at 33:55 Highlight the passage at 33:55

34:04 So we start with short sessions, and they say to end, Lama Tsongkhapa says to end, when you still want to meditate, you still feel good about meditating. Report an error in the passage at 34:04 Highlight the passage at 34:04

34:18 Otherwise, if you stay too long, then you really dread going back to your meditation cushion. You feel nauseous. at just looking at Your Majesty's Commission. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 34:18 Highlight the passage at 34:18

34:35 this happened to me actually fairly recently. In my house we were doing 45 minute sessions for a long time and that was really good, but it started feeling not long enough. And so what we did was we jumped to an hour. Like instead of jumping to 50 minutes, we jumped to an hour. And I found that... An hour was too long for me and I started dreading our meditation because there's like 45 minutes of good meditation or 50 minutes of good meditation and then that last 10 minutes I was like filling time. Report an error in the passage at 34:35 Highlight the passage at 34:35

35:12 And so then popping back down 50 minutes was much better. But it was really true. I really did dread, you know, feel nauseated. At the thought of sitting down and meditating. Report an error in the passage at 35:12 Highlight the passage at 35:12

35:33 So then gradually increase the time. Report an error in the passage at 35:33 Highlight the passage at 35:33

35:44 So here Lama Tsongkhapa says, if your sessions are long in the beginning, it's easy to fall under the power of laxity and excitement. So those are the two obstacles to calm abiding that are talked about again and again. So do people remember what, who remembers what laxity is? Report an error in the passage at 35:44 Highlight the passage at 35:44

36:14 that's where the Report an error in the passage at 36:14 Highlight the passage at 36:14

36:18 have it exactly backwards, but where it's, you can hold the image, but it's out of focus. Yeah, exactly. So actually, laxity is more subtle than lethargy. So lethargy is this really heavy, sluggish mind. And we have that at the beginning, but after we progress on calm abiding, you let go of the lethargy. And then you have laxity. Report an error in the passage at 36:18 Highlight the passage at 36:18

36:43 And laxity is where you're... Well, coarse laxity, there's coarse and subtle laxity, where you're able to keep your mind on the object, like you're saying, but the object is not clear. Report an error in the passage at 36:43 Highlight the passage at 36:43

36:57 So we're trying to develop clarity in our meditation as well. So coarse laxity, you're able to stay on the object, but the mind is not clear. Report an error in the passage at 36:57 Highlight the passage at 36:57

37:12 And then subtle laxity is, it's clear. But it's not intense. It's like a light bulb that's not very bright. Report an error in the passage at 37:12 Highlight the passage at 37:12

37:30 So we're trying to develop clarity and intensity as we get to calm abiding. Report an error in the passage at 37:30 Highlight the passage at 37:30

37:41 And then excitement. Who remembers what excitement is? Following objects of attachment. Exactly. So most of us are familiar with excitement. Report an error in the passage at 37:41 Highlight the passage at 37:41

37:58 In our meditation, we're constantly following our objects of attachment. I call it racing thoughts. So there's distraction and there's excitement. You can be distracted from your meditation. And it could be excitement or it could be something else. It could be being distracted toward that person who mistreated you. Report an error in the passage at 37:58 Highlight the passage at 37:58

38:04 you. you. Report an error in the passage at 38:04 Highlight the passage at 38:04

38:29 So it would be like aversion that arises or anger that arises that distracts you. But excitement in particular is excitement toward objects of attachment. Report an error in the passage at 38:29 Highlight the passage at 38:29

38:43 Does that include like pleasurable sensations that you're having in the meditation? Like getting attached to those, would that be excitement? Yeah, if it's distracting you from your meditation. Because with calm abiding, when you're trying to do calm abiding, You know, the mind ultimately will be very still. And so if the pleasurable sensations are causing, you know, you start thinking about your sensations and think, oh, how wonderful this is. Report an error in the passage at 38:43 Highlight the passage at 38:43

39:15 Yeah, then that can serve as excitement. And as you go higher, like in the form realm, concentrations in the formless realm, like the first concentration, you have a lot of bliss. It's the second concentration, I think, by the third concentration, form room concentration, you're going even beyond bliss. Report an error in the passage at 39:15 Highlight the passage at 39:15

39:44 Yeah, so even that bliss is like an obstacle. Report an error in the passage at 39:44 Highlight the passage at 39:44

39:51 For most of us, we kind of like it. It inspires you to go back into meditation. Yeah. So... Report an error in the passage at 39:51 Highlight the passage at 39:51

40:04 Yeah, so coarse excitement is where you lose your object of meditation altogether. You know, when you're following your object of attachment, you're following, you know, thinking about the dinner that you're going to eat later or whatever, you know. Report an error in the passage at 40:04 Highlight the passage at 40:04

40:19 And then subtle excitement is where you're still able to keep, like, part of your mind stays on the object, but then part of the mind is thinking about something else. Report an error in the passage at 40:19 Highlight the passage at 40:19

40:32 When they say monkey mind, do they need to keep the excited mind? Probably. Yeah, usually. I wonder Report an error in the passage at 40:32 Highlight the passage at 40:32

40:47 if Report an error in the passage at 40:47 Highlight the passage at 40:47

41:09 we want to spend a few minutes practicing this meditating with relaxation and attention. So it's like the middle way. So choose your object in meditation if it's your breath or something else. Report an error in the passage at 41:09 Highlight the passage at 41:09

41:34 You know, a lot of times they say meditating on the breath is very good for if you have a lot of thoughts. Personally, I find meditating on an object like at your navel very good for helping concentration. So maybe you just try and see what works for you. Report an error in the passage at 41:34 Highlight the passage at 41:34

41:55 Is it one thing about meditating on something at your navel? Well, I guess you can meditate on your breath. Is it okay to meditate on something like an image on a tanka? Report an error in the passage at 41:55 Highlight the passage at 41:55

42:08 Yes, so when we're meditating, we can meditate, let's say, on the image of a Buddha, but we're meditating with our mental consciousness, not with our eye consciousness. So you're not actually looking at the tanka and meditating on that. But you can look at the tanka to get that image in your mind and then visualize that image and meditate on that. Shakyamuni in my mind. Report an error in the passage at 42:08 Highlight the passage at 42:08

42:32 Yeah, exactly. And that's said to be very auspicious, very good to meditate on the image of a deity. Great. Report an error in the passage at 42:32 Highlight the passage at 42:32

42:47 So one benefit of meditating on your navel, the navel chakra, let's say, is the winds kind of come down. When we have a lot of excitement, there's a lot of winds up here in our bodies, like in our heads. But just by focusing on the navel chakra, it helps move the winds down and it helps let the winds subside. Report an error in the passage at 42:47 Highlight the passage at 42:47

43:20 All right, so let's just do that for a few minutes so we can balance that relaxation, relax the shoulders, spine straight. And yet relax and Report an error in the passage at 43:20 Highlight the passage at 43:20

43:35 then focus for Report an error in the passage at 43:35 Highlight the passage at 43:35

· · · silence, 3 minutes

46:42 the duration of our session before the mind starts getting really dull. Report an error in the passage at 46:42 Highlight the passage at 46:42

46:54 Any comments or questions on that? I just stepped in. I'm curious about the technique of breaking sessions up into smaller segments instead of the long ones where you end up. Report an error in the passage at 46:54 Highlight the passage at 46:54

47:13 Yeah, there's a chair. There's a chair. That Report an error in the passage at 47:13 Highlight the passage at 47:13

47:23 was true. Chair of the Court. Report an error in the passage at 47:23 Highlight the passage at 47:23

47:34 yeah. So I guess the technique of breaking the session is segments interspersed. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 47:34 Highlight the passage at 47:34

47:56 you can break it with mantra or I once did a retreat with Venable Rene where he said in a group we were doing sessions for however long it was, 45 minutes or whatever. And he said, Report an error in the passage at 47:56 Highlight the passage at 47:56

48:11 Which I found very helpful is that when you're meditating and if you lose your object three times, then to just take a break, not to get up or anything, but just take a break with your mind and just relax and then start again. Because once you've lost your meditation object three times, you've lost any concentration. So to just relax, breathe, start again. Report an error in the passage at 48:11 Highlight the passage at 48:11

48:41 So you can do something like that as well. Report an error in the passage at 48:41 Highlight the passage at 48:41

48:54 to follow up, then... Report an error in the passage at 48:54 Highlight the passage at 48:54

49:00 have a tendency to like the torpor, I just, know, and I'm like, okay, it still counts. And then, you know, in the latter part of the hour, I naturally kind of get up and I'm like, oh, okay, right. Yeah. But so it's probably more skillful to break it down into, I experimented water and tea. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 49:00 Highlight the passage at 49:00

49:32 I mean oftentimes they say, you know, Report an error in the passage at 49:32 Highlight the passage at 49:32

49:40 There are various antidotes that you can apply when the mind starts getting dull and sleepy. You can meditate on something that lifts up the mind like perfect human rebirth or bodhicitta or something like that. Or you can visualize light because the dull mind is starting to get dark. So meditating on light, if none of those things work. Report an error in the passage at 49:40 Highlight the passage at 49:40

50:09 Then I think it's good to just take a break. You know, sometimes stand up, splash cold water on your face from personal experience. That's very effective. And actually, you know, and there's isn't talked about in this tradition so much, but yelling pay really helps. You know, it stops the thoughts and, you know, the mind becomes really clear. Report an error in the passage at 50:09 Highlight the passage at 50:09

50:40 It might alarm the people around you. Does that mean something? It probably does. I don't remember. It's one of the taras that dispels obscuration and obstacles. That's her sound. Report an error in the passage at 50:40 Highlight the passage at 50:40

51:00 One of the raffle taras. Report an error in the passage at 51:00 Highlight the passage at 51:00

51:07 It's like cutting and cuts. so much of different practices. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 51:07 Highlight the passage at 51:07

51:10 It cuts through, yeah, a lot of obscurations, cuts through the dullness, cuts through thoughts. I think it's individual. What works for me is practicing Todd Lennon, but when I get there, for some reason, that kind of brings me out. Yeah, good. Yeah, and all of these things, yeah, I mean, it's different for different people, so we just try whatever works. Report an error in the passage at 51:10 Highlight the passage at 51:10

51:32 Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, you know, we try the various antidotes, and if they don't work, then... Get up. Do prostrations, that wakes you up really, really well. So, yeah. And, you know, when you do retreat, you do retreat more and more than we really see kind of what our natural rhythm is, what really works for us. Report an error in the passage at 51:32 Highlight the passage at 51:32

51:59 I know my torpor mind is that that's definitely my main influence. The moments I've had powerful meditation experiences. It's like I'm brought to an edge where I feel a pressure to do this no matter what. And my mind arrives and it's on and it breaks through into a concentration state. And it's rare moments or rare instances that those situations have created. It's almost to the point of me to stand on the other side. Report an error in the passage at 51:59 Highlight the passage at 51:59

52:33 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 52:33 Highlight the passage at 52:33

52:39 Yeah, I mean, that strong intention, right, to keep going, that strong, right, yeah, yeah. Once you've developed this habit of dullness and torpor, how do you, do you start from the beginning, you know, start with the shorter segments? That's what I would say. I definitely developed a habit of dullness and torpor for a long time. Report an error in the passage at 52:39 Highlight the passage at 52:39

53:06 And, yeah, just shortening up the sessions. And just practicing, you know, keeping the mind clear and attentive really helped. And, you know, I mean, Lama Tsongkhapa kind of tries to scare us a little bit. You know, once you develop bad habits, then you have them for life. But you can change them. It's harder to change a bad habit, right, once you've started than to do it right in the first place, right? Report an error in the passage at 53:06 Highlight the passage at 53:06

53:35 But the reality is, you know, some of us have developed bad habits. And we can definitely change that. I guess a lot in his teachings on this meditation also said that if it's really serious, just sleep on it. Yeah. You know, because a lot of people don't sleep enough. Yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 53:35 Highlight the passage at 53:35

54:03 This is an mp3 recorder. interferes with the limitations. Yeah. Yeah. So you have to monitor yourself to make sure that you're taking proper care of yourself. Report an error in the passage at 54:03 Highlight the passage at 54:03

54:15 Yeah, that's a good point. Two is make sure we get enough sleep. I mean, in the teachings they say, oh, you know, only sleep in the middle of the night and don't sleep during the day. You know, but if we, you know, if we try to do all that at once, then we just sleep during meditation all the time, right? Report an error in the passage at 54:15 Highlight the passage at 54:15

54:36 So, yeah. Yeah, getting sleep, getting exercise, you know, that's important. And not eating too much, and actually we'll get to that section, but, you know, if you eat a lot. And then you try to meditate, you're going to fall asleep, most likely. But we're going to get to those things. One thing Dishla told me, which is really important, is to not take too much on in life. Yeah. Because I can do that and I can't meditate on it. Report an error in the passage at 54:36 Highlight the passage at 54:36

55:07 You can really mess yourself up that way. Yeah. So you have to read a light that's very balanced. Yeah. When we're running all day long. And then you try to sit and meditate, you know, the mind just keeps racing. So, yeah, so we have to, and we'll talk about that, but if we really want to learn to concentrate and if we really want calm abiding, then it's important the way you live the rest of your life. Report an error in the passage at 55:07 Highlight the passage at 55:07

55:41 We can't just do whatever we want between sessions and then expect to sit down and be able to concentrate. Report an error in the passage at 55:41 Highlight the passage at 55:41

55:52 But Lama Tsongkhapa talks about all of these things, so we'll get there. Report an error in the passage at 55:52 Highlight the passage at 55:52

56:03 So just to finish, this thought was, the next section is how to sustain the meditation once it has stabilized a bit and advice on how to avoid exhaustion. When it has stabilized a bit, you should prolong the sessions, sustaining them all, free from the faults of being excessively tense or relaxed. Thereby, small obstacles... Report an error in the passage at 56:03 Highlight the passage at 56:03

56:29 Over-exhaustion and drowsiness will be pacified. Report an error in the passage at 56:29 Highlight the passage at 56:29

56:36 So once our meditation is stabilized, then we can lengthen the sessions, keeping that balance between being too relaxed or too tense, being relaxed and yet focused and clear. Report an error in the passage at 56:36 Highlight the passage at 56:36

56:55 And then in that way we'll pacify obstacles such as over-exhaustion and drowsiness. Report an error in the passage at 56:55 Highlight the passage at 56:55

57:20 Then the next section is what to do. During the periods between sessions. So this is what we were just talking about. So general practices enhancing the object of meditation. So generally speaking, there are numerous practices enhancing the object, such as prostration, circumambulation and recitation. Report an error in the passage at 57:20 Highlight the passage at 57:20

57:41 However, the main point is that having made an effort at the essence of the session, if during the intervals when you leave the session, you let go carelessly, Without relying on mindfulness and introspection with respect to the observed object and aspect, which is the cause of sustaining the meditation, the outcome will be very little. Report an error in the passage at 57:41 Highlight the passage at 57:41

58:04 Therefore, you should also be concerned with the Dharma texts teaching that object in between sessions and recall it again and again. Report an error in the passage at 58:04 Highlight the passage at 58:04

58:16 So, right, so, once again, so let's say we're meditating, let's say we're trying to meditate on emptiness. That's the focus. So if you meditate on emptiness and then you get up and you don't think about emptiness at all in between sessions, you just look at everything and we believe in the appearances, we think everything is solid, then we really don't make much progress in our understanding of emptiness if we only think about emptiness when we're sitting down. Report an error in the passage at 58:16 Highlight the passage at 58:16

58:53 So it's recommended here that when you get up, you still think about emptiness, you read about emptiness, you remain mindful of that subject. Then we can really make a lot of progress, right? Because if you think about it, like we were talking about last time about how meditation is familiarizing yourself. Report an error in the passage at 58:53 Highlight the passage at 58:53

59:20 No, I had that with me. Report an error in the passage at 59:20 Highlight the passage at 59:20

59:29 I was in a class not too long ago where somebody's phone rang and the person just committed to it, they said, screw it, it was really quiet and they just picked up and said, yell it. Report an error in the passage at 59:29 Highlight the passage at 59:29

59:46 So what were you saying? Mindfulness. It's everything learned. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 59:46 Highlight the passage at 59:46

59:58 So in between sessions, continuing to familiarize yourself with that same subject, right? Because if we get up and we familiarize ourselves with the solidity and inherent existence of things again, then what? We're spending how many hours meditating on emptiness and how many hours You know, focusing on the solidity and inherent existence of things, right? So that in between sessions then degenerates whatever insight. Report an error in the passage at 59:58 Highlight the passage at 59:58

1:00:38 So it's good, you know, when you get up to think about appearances as being illusory or like dreams or like rainbows, right? All of the different analogies they give, you know, whatever works for us. the karmic appearances, and then to read about Or if it's bodhicitta, right, you meditate on bodhicitta in the morning, and then you get up you interact with other people, know, to try to think about, oh, you know, how kind they are, how they've been your mother, you know, things like that, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:38 Highlight the passage at 1:00:38

1:01:15 Then it's really and or we we can can make make more more progress. progress. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:15 Highlight the passage at 1:01:15

1:01:25 Lama Tsongkhapa also says, You know, there are numerous practices that we can do in between sessions like prostration, circumambulation and mantra recitation, etc. I mean, those are all also good too, but he's saying the main point is to remember your object and to think about it and study it, read about it between sessions. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:25 Highlight the passage at 1:01:25

1:01:52 And then, by various means, you should accumulate the collection of conditions favorable. To the arising of positive qualities. And by various means purify the adverse conditions, the obscuration. So accumulation, making offerings, etc. Mandala offerings. And purifying. Your determination with respect to the discipline you have accepted, the basis of everything, should be reaffirmed a lot. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:52 Highlight the passage at 1:01:52

1:02:26 So your determination, right? So remembering why you're doing this again and again to get back to the benefits. Like if we're meditating on calm abiding, really good to think about the benefits of calm abiding. How, you know, never get out of saṃsāra without calm abiding. We'll never get stable realizations without calm abiding, blah, blah, blah. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:26 Highlight the passage at 1:02:26

1:02:48 You know, things like that. Whatever moves our mind. Remember that so that we don't just give up, right? Because... We need to meditate a lot, you know, for a long time before we actually get the realizations for most of us. So doing it for a short time and giving up isn't going to help. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:48 Highlight the passage at 1:02:48

1:03:07 Okay, I think it's break time. So maybe if they're in class right now, we'll just try to be quiet and respectful. All right, so we were talking about the periods between the meditation sessions. And Geshe Soppa says, If you really have an interest in practice, you must be concerned with how you act during the non-session time. This is a very important topic because the quality of a meditation session depends a great deal on what happens during the time you are not meditating. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:07 Highlight the passage at 1:03:07

1:03:54 So, you know, so it's a lot easier when you're in retreat and mindfulness and think about your meditation topic between sessions. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:54 Highlight the passage at 1:03:54

1:04:05 But it's also important as we go about our daily life. So if we do some practice in the morning and then we go to work for 8 or 9 or 10 hours that day, it's really good if we can still remember our topic throughout the day. It may be difficult all day long, but at least... Try to remember, you know, once in a while, remember at lunchtime, remember, you know, take some breaks, you know, when you go to the bathroom, remember it, you know, things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:05 Highlight the passage at 1:04:05

1:04:41 Then we'll see much more progress in our path if we just forget about it all day long. Just do our thing in the morning, our session in the morning, and then our prayers at night, and that's it. If that's all we do, then not much progress. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:41 Highlight the passage at 1:04:41

1:05:03 So whatever way is useful for us to help remember it throughout the day. Actually, do people have suggestions about how they remember throughout the day? I have one that's been so helpful to me. I have this book, and this is in a lot of the texts and things, but it's sort of the day in the life of a Buddhist practitioner. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:03 Highlight the passage at 1:05:03

1:05:25 And it has... When you climb the stairs, you say, you know, just as I climb these stairs, male ascension beings, you know, climb the path of enlightenment, that kind of thing. And so, and you can be creative with it and do your own thing, you know, whatever it is, but as long as it's activities that you do repeated during the day. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:25 Highlight the passage at 1:05:25

1:05:46 And the thing that I found so effective about it, or have found effective about it, is that this becomes a real habit. As long as you just remind yourself for five, six days, or maybe three weeks, I almost can't climb up the stairs without remembering that now. Now, a lot of the times it's completely meaningless for me because it's this thing I do when I climb the stairs, but there's this extra Dharma thing I do when I go through doors and go upstairs and all that stuff. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:46 Highlight the passage at 1:05:46

1:06:08 And then every once in a while I remember, oh, that's right, I'm supposed to be paying attention to this thing I'm telling myself. And it makes such a huge difference, like such a massive difference for me. And what I mean is when I get into the chaos of my day and I have a really busy job, and so there are actually times though where I'm like, oh, that's right, I've got to do Dharma right now. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:08 Highlight the passage at 1:06:08

1:06:27 I can skip whole days, but you know what I mean. So that's a big one for me, to tie some Pavlovian response to your everyday activities. So it's like Dharma, and it comes out. So that's what I do, and it helps. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:27 Highlight the passage at 1:06:27

1:06:48 Anything else? I carry around a little pocket Dalai Lama book I got. The bulge in my pocket typically... When I'm bending over or doing something physical, I read, oh, I've got that. And occasionally, just out of the blue, I'll just randomly open to a page and read it. And especially in the bathroom, I have this penchant for reading in the bathroom. Dharma in the bathroom. For some reason, this is like my private space. Nobody's going to intrude on it, you know? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:48 Highlight the passage at 1:06:48

1:07:17 And so I take, you know, a few extra minutes. And then when I leave, it's kind of circulating in my mind and it trails off eventually, but it enters the current. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:17 Highlight the passage at 1:07:17

1:07:33 Anybody else? Well, a lot of times I do my mantras when I have just mantra recitation, I do it while I'm walking. And I think about either it's Manjushri or either myself or the deity in space and showering down all compassion on everybody and all the people I see on the street, it's just all in my brain. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:33 Highlight the passage at 1:07:33

1:08:00 Or anything like that. It varies with how I think about it. And then observing my own mind as I see different people and catching different thoughts that have gone through and just paying attention. I Report an error in the passage at 1:08:00 Highlight the passage at 1:08:00

1:08:27 mean that's really important, right? Paying attention to what's going on in our minds, right? That mindfulness. Effie. it. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:27 Highlight the passage at 1:08:27

1:08:32 this. Well, walking reminded me of Tonglen on the bus, public transportation, like if we can get Report an error in the passage at 1:08:32 Highlight the passage at 1:08:32

1:08:47 wherever you're in a public space yeah I know a lot of people who keep their prayers on their iPods so that if you are out and about you can be playing your prayer to yourself or even reciting quietly along with it. I mix mine with my music sometimes. I may get a good dose of music, but then it comes back to Dharma. Finding that balance. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:47 Highlight the passage at 1:08:47

1:09:17 Okay, good. Peter. I think what's helpful for me are the commitments that we have with our refuge vows and bodhisattva vows of having to remember refuge six times a day and having to remember bodhicitta six times a day. You kind of get it into your head. Sharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:17 Highlight the passage at 1:09:17

1:09:32 by making yourself remember the dinner goals and it kind of keeps that going. Yeah, I think it's really, really helpful if we do set certain times of the day when we're checking something, you know, you're checking your vows or you're checking your mind or something, you know, every day at specific times and then just develop that habit. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:32 Highlight the passage at 1:09:32

1:09:58 Before meals is a really easy way to divide up your day. Yeah, I Report an error in the passage at 1:09:58 Highlight the passage at 1:09:58

1:10:03 Do a practice before each meal. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Better than after the meal. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:03 Highlight the passage at 1:10:03

1:10:17 Okay. Jan? Another thing that I, and I really enjoyed doing it when I was doing work, driving back and forth to work, when I'd stop at a stoplight, Or when I'd see somebody in front of me or people walking on the street waiting for the bus, I'd look at them in whatever form that they were in now, how they appeared in this life to me, and think, in some other life, that was my mother. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:17 Highlight the passage at 1:10:17

1:10:47 And they were so kind to me. You know, you see these big burly drug drivers and the kid all punked out with big holes and all kinds of piercings. and all over them, you know, and you think, you know, they're so beautiful. You know, I mean, they were so kind. This is just how they're here and now. I really enjoyed doing it when I was... Report an error in the passage at 1:10:47 Highlight the passage at 1:10:47

1:11:20 the occasion, I was still real dirty, people were walking around the bus at a Yeah. I personally find that's a wonderful practice myself too, you know going to the grocery store and the checkout clerk. That used to be my mother. You know, you look at them in a very different way. When you're watching the news on television and you see Bush and Lama and any of the other people that you normally draw negative thoughts through your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:20 Highlight the passage at 1:11:20

1:11:51 Or I think a lot of times I think none of them are any different than me. They all are making their best efforts. be happy and know sometimes it brings up a lot of compassion because you see that know unless they're um more advanced than i am which everybody is um you know i you know I hope that I don't ever do those kinds of reactions that I would create this kind of suffering that I think that that actually would be. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:51 Highlight the passage at 1:11:51

1:12:32 knows what, you know, there will be with a well-meaning once in a while doing something for the benefit of I Report an error in the passage at 1:12:32 Highlight the passage at 1:12:32

1:12:44 It works really well for news. Watching myself being drawn toward the victim and then having more compassion for the perpetrator as a practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:44 Highlight the passage at 1:12:44

1:13:07 I have two more practical things I do, which is to email myself and write myself an email. Like, and because, you know, I get up, like, Well, I do my practice in the evening and that's like the best, that's when I'm like, oh, so great, you know, whatever. Then I have to send myself an email because I'm a whole different person at 9 o 'clock, you know, in the morning when I get to work. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:07 Highlight the passage at 1:13:07

1:13:27 I'm worried, I'm doing this and that. And when I read these emails, it's like getting one from my brother, you know what I mean? And to the point where I've even avoided them before, like I've been like, I'm not going to read that. So when I do that, I write myself notes and emails and it helps. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:27 Highlight the passage at 1:13:27

1:13:45 Dharma knows. Yeah, because it's like it comes to me at my most mindful place. I write myself when I know I'm going to be at my least mindful. And then when I read it, I'm like, okay, that's right. It doesn't always work, though. Right, because you know what it's going to say. I do, I swear to God. It's like, you know how you might get one from your mom and you might not open it? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:45 Highlight the passage at 1:13:45

1:14:02 I swear to God, I'm like, not that guy. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:02 Highlight the passage at 1:14:02

1:14:07 He's really annoying. It's true. Let it out. you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:07 Highlight the passage at 1:14:07

1:14:15 You said you had two practical things? The other was just notes, I just write physical notes and I put those in my pocket. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:15 Highlight the passage at 1:14:15

1:14:25 Any other? I've purchased every CD out there with the mattress that I use. So I've got a huge collection of CDs and some of them are pretty danceable. Yeah. Oh, good. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:25 Highlight the passage at 1:14:25

1:14:41 So it's really nice. It's fun to dance while you're doing your practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:41 Highlight the passage at 1:14:41

1:14:49 Okay. Yeah. Anytime. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:49 Highlight the passage at 1:14:49

1:14:54 Quick one. I'm not sure if anybody's said this, but just, you know, wearing a mala or having a Buddha or something with me is very helpful. Yeah. A reminder. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:54 Highlight the passage at 1:14:54

1:15:11 Great. That was a great list. for all. Any time. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:11 Highlight the passage at 1:15:11

1:15:13 Mine is similar to it, but I've noticed I have a critical mind, but my critical mind comes up, I think it's coming up a little less actually, but now as soon as it comes up, and I think something critical of someone, neighbors making noise, I immediately think one, they're trying to be happy, and two, Report an error in the passage at 1:15:13 Highlight the passage at 1:15:13

1:15:39 what are they teaching me? And there's always... Both of those things lead me to, they are teaching me something, and I've really learned to be grateful to them, but I'm about to sleep at night. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:39 Highlight the passage at 1:15:39

1:15:55 Thanks for stopping by. It actually seems like I've gotten quieter, and or it's just not bothering me as much. So as soon as I see the critical mind, I know there's something for me to look at. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:55 Highlight the passage at 1:15:55

1:16:17 It's really fun and I can't help it say, but I have to do this now. I have the exact same thing. I have neighbors who kept me from sleeping on and off over the years and I'm noticing I'm not as critical. I'm learning to be okay with it. Or else they've gotten a lot quieter. Or both. Yeah. Brian suggests that maybe you live real closely to them. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:17 Highlight the passage at 1:16:17

1:16:55 Okay. But you can see how that whole process in doing it, because I've thought about it myself, how it works. interesting. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:55 Highlight the passage at 1:16:55

1:17:04 Because as soon as you change your mind, it means the karma that led you towards the negative way of thinking has at least subsided for the time. And that your karma that leads you to our virtuous thinking is working. And so then because of cause and effect, which is infallible. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:04 Highlight the passage at 1:17:04

1:17:32 I've heard that somewhere. Your causes, you know, the people, people will change their way of doing things. That happened to me at work. I had a boss at, I was like, everybody was real critical of the stingy, mean, this, that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, on and on and on and on and on. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:32 Highlight the passage at 1:17:32

1:17:57 I thought, well, gee, you know, after doing a few Dharma classes, I thought, maybe I should actually change my mind about it, you know, and be grateful. Look at how many people, and he's paying me so that I could have a place to live and food to eat. I want so many people, and he's so kind to do all this for all of us. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:57 Highlight the passage at 1:17:57

1:18:19 And almost like you could snap your fingers that fast. He started, he never listened to me. started being really nice to me, he started talking to me and listening to me. was like the difference between, like, what happened to him? Report an error in the passage at 1:18:19 Highlight the passage at 1:18:19

1:18:39 It's like one day it was one way, and the next day it was different. I'm not saying maybe it always works exactly like that, but it was quite amazing. Yeah, I mean I once heard that you know When our mind shifts around something, sees the same thing in a different way, in a more positive way, it's an indication that some purification has happened, which really makes sense. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:39 Highlight the passage at 1:18:39

1:19:12 I didn't get that from a Buddha, but it makes sense to me. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:12 Highlight the passage at 1:19:12

1:19:20 Great. Great suggestions for trying to maintain practice through the day. How are you certain you didn't get that from a Buddha? Report an error in the passage at 1:19:20 Highlight the passage at 1:19:20

1:19:33 It might have been a Buddha, I don't know. It wasn't from Gijidagpa. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:33 Highlight the passage at 1:19:33

1:19:49 So, yeah, so whatever opportunities we can take throughout the day to help us, you know, remind us about practice. Anytime we see someone suffering, we can do Tongren, you know, whenever you hear a siren. perfect. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:49 Highlight the passage at 1:19:49

1:20:07 I know, or you see an accident on the road. A really good opportunity to do Tonglen. Yeah, whenever somebody annoys you, really good to think about their kindness or think of them as your mother or think about what they're teaching you. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:07 Highlight the passage at 1:20:07

1:20:32 We have five minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:32 Highlight the passage at 1:20:32

1:20:37 I don't really have time to get into the next section. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:37 Highlight the passage at 1:20:37

1:20:44 I think we already covered the homework. So we can end it earlier. Does anybody else have anything they want to suggest? I just want to say that this tonka should, well it's great up here, but it comes. I think that's like the simple cadence is like totally psychedelic. I realize I got it's like the nicest tonka I've been in the longest time. Or is it just me? Report an error in the passage at 1:20:44 Highlight the passage at 1:20:44

1:21:07 I was like the orange. It's like the orange. I was like really, it's really amazing. It's beautiful. involved. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:07 Highlight the passage at 1:21:07

1:21:16 I was thinking, you know, any Dharma comments. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:16 Highlight the passage at 1:21:16

1:21:34 I thought you were going to say something really profound. I saved a bunch of money. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:34 Highlight the passage at 1:21:34

1:21:46 You Report an error in the passage at 1:21:46 Highlight the passage at 1:21:46

1:21:49 But it did fill his face pretty well. What Tonka, Jay? We don't see any Tonka. Hey, whose karma is that? Report an error in the passage at 1:21:49 Highlight the passage at 1:21:49

1:22:01 Now, now. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:01 Highlight the passage at 1:22:01

1:22:08 Okay, anything else anyone wants to add before we dedicate? Related, you know, maybe to what we were talking about? Report an error in the passage at 1:22:08 Highlight the passage at 1:22:08

1:22:25 Well, since we have a little time, maybe we'll do the, let's do the Shantideva. I'm sorry. No. Thanks. No. Thanks. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:25 Highlight the passage at 1:22:25

1:22:34 Do we need to take cushions down tonight? Report an error in the passage at 1:22:34 Highlight the passage at 1:22:34

1:22:50 I'll just need help bringing the chairs down. Actually, must they go down, because I could use them tomorrow. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:50 Highlight the passage at 1:22:50

1:22:59 Well, the thing is, I mean, they're my household chairs and they'll need them. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:59 Highlight the passage at 1:22:59

1:23:10 Well, if we could get them to the house by Monday. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:10 Highlight the passage at 1:23:10

1:23:18 So page 246. No, that's not. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:18 Highlight the passage at 1:23:18

1:23:26 the Spanty Report an error in the passage at 1:23:26 Highlight the passage at 1:23:26

1:23:33 That's true. 246. Yeah, 246. We'll do the Chantideva prayer. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:33 Highlight the passage at 1:23:33

1:23:48 May all beings everywhere, thanked 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 warm with toil be restored on finding repose. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:48 Highlight the passage at 1:23:48

1:24:18 May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food. May the thirsty find water and delicious drinks. May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy. May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity. May there be timely rains and valuable harvests. May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:18 Highlight the passage at 1:24:18

1:24:45 May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their illness. 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 the people think of benefiting each other. For as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain, until then they have to remain, to dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:45 Highlight the passage at 1:24:45

1:25:17 Let's Report an error in the passage at 1:25:17 Highlight the passage at 1:25:17

1:25:24 also dedicate for the long lives of all of our spiritual teachers. Geshe Dagpa, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Chodan Rinpoche, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Venmo Rabina, Report an error in the passage at 1:25:24 Highlight the passage at 1:25:24

1:26:10 and also for Tibet, for freedom in Tibet. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:10 Highlight the passage at 1:26:10