Basic Program - Buddhism From A-Z (19 June 2009)

0:03 Alright, so we're covering karma. Report an error in the passage at 0:03 Highlight the passage at 0:03

0:09 You may have noticed the slick new design of the slide. I got bored with the old one. Report an error in the passage at 0:09 Highlight the passage at 0:09

0:21 Okay, so once again we're on the initial scope. We covered relying on a spiritual teacher, the precious human rebirth in order to inspire us to practice. And then we covered death to inspire us to practice now because death can come at any time. And we covered the suffering of the lower realms, reminding us that our good fortune in this life won't necessarily last. Report an error in the passage at 0:21 Highlight the passage at 0:21

0:52 So inspiring us to use this life well. And then refuge is a means to save us from the suffering of the lower realms and suffering in general. And then karma. How do we create happiness in saṃsāra? So remembering that every single moment of pleasure and happiness that we experience is a result of a virtuous karma that we've created and every single moment of suffering or pain we experience is a result of a non-virtuous karma we've created. Report an error in the passage at 0:52 Highlight the passage at 0:52

1:28 And there are no exceptions. Report an error in the passage at 1:28 Highlight the passage at 1:28

1:34 So just even, you know, sitting in this gompa this evening, if we have a happy mind, it's a result of a virtue that we've created. And so we need to keep creating that virtue, right? If we want to keep creating happy circumstances for ourselves, we need to just keep creating virtue and stop creating non-virtue. Report an error in the passage at 1:34 Highlight the passage at 1:34

2:06 So, actually I'm going to skip this. Well, just a reminder that the singular cause of all happy results is the practice of ethical conduct. This does not mean that there is no other cause. But without the solid foundation of ethical behavior, nothing positive can be achieved. Report an error in the passage at 2:06 Highlight the passage at 2:06

2:30 Okay. And then we went through the four general aspects of karma. And what were those again? One of them. The general aspects of karma. There's four of them. Karma. The increase of karma. You want to experience a result that you haven't created. Report an error in the passage at 2:30 Highlight the passage at 2:30

2:57 Who else? Lewis. Peter. I was just going to say karma is definite. Karma is definite. This Report an error in the passage at 2:57 Highlight the passage at 2:57

3:13 other one is the one I tend to forget too. I'm wondering if it's the same thing. Report an error in the passage at 3:13 Highlight the passage at 3:13

3:23 Karma is definite. Karma increases. If you don't commit the karma, you aren't responsible for any other karma except that which you've created. I don't know if that's an aspect of something else. Report an error in the passage at 3:23 Highlight the passage at 3:23

3:42 It's worded a little bit different, but you will not experience the result. You will not experience the result. If we haven't created the cause. And then there's a fourth one. Now Report an error in the passage at 3:42 Highlight the passage at 3:42

3:55 that's a separate topic. Report an error in the passage at 3:55 Highlight the passage at 3:55

4:03 Is it karma increases or did we already cover that? We already covered that one. Report an error in the passage at 4:03 Highlight the passage at 4:03

4:17 Very good. Ding, ding, ding. The guy who wasn't in class last week. Report an error in the passage at 4:17 Highlight the passage at 4:17

4:24 Right. So. Right. Right. So if we've created it, it doesn't dissipate. So we will definitely experience the result if we've created it, unless we purify it. Report an error in the passage at 4:24 Highlight the passage at 4:24

4:43 But it doesn't get accidentally lost. Report an error in the passage at 4:43 Highlight the passage at 4:43

4:49 Some people think you take another body and then you get to start over. You still have your karma that you created a long time ago. Even the karma that we created when... Right? I lost my I know. Report an error in the passage at 4:49 Highlight the passage at 4:49

5:02 We didn't know any better when we were five years old. We still have to deal with the results of that. So we need to purify that as well if it's negative. Report an error in the passage at 5:02 Highlight the passage at 5:02

5:15 And then virtuous karma or positive karma is that which will bring about happiness in the future. Non-virtuous karma is that which will bring about suffering in the future. And neutral karma brings about an experience of neither happiness nor suffering. Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:38 Three doors. And then we started talking about the ten karmic paths, the ten non-virtues last time. And just a reminder that the ten virtues are actively counteracting the ten non-virtues. They're the antidote to the ten non-virtues. So, for example, Report an error in the passage at 5:38 Highlight the passage at 5:38

6:06 let's say we have a mind of wanting to... The virtue would be actually applying the antidote and deciding not to steal it. If we just happen to not steal something, that's not the virtue. Report an error in the passage at 6:06 Highlight the passage at 6:06

6:31 I've been virtuous all day today because I haven't stolen anything. That's not what the virtue is. The virtue is actually counteracting the mind that wants to do it. Report an error in the passage at 6:31 Highlight the passage at 6:31

6:48 Is it linked with generosity, the opposite of stealing? Well, generosity is even better, right? Generosity would be kind of the opposite of stealing. But in general, when we talk about the ten virtues and the virtue that's the opposite of stealing, it's the refraining from stealing. You don't necessarily have to be generous. Report an error in the passage at 6:48 Highlight the passage at 6:48

7:18 For it to be a virtue. I thought I read somewhere that these are linked with the perfections too in some way. All of these are linked with the six perfections. I haven't heard that. That would be very possible. But yeah, in the Dharma there are many lists and many links and it's hard to keep track of them all. Report an error in the passage at 7:18 Highlight the passage at 7:18

7:48 But that would be, we probably could do that. Although I was thinking apropos of the example you were using, if you had a habituation, if you stole a lot and you suddenly said, I'm going to go for the whole day without stealing, that would actually be virtuous karma in that case, if that was a very strong habituation that you had. Report an error in the passage at 7:48 Highlight the passage at 7:48

8:09 Yeah, probably. Because just resisting the urge to do it for 24 hours would probably be a type of virtue. Yeah, and that urge would arise throughout the day and you'd be resisting it. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And even more so, right, if we take a vow, right? If we take a vow to not steal and then we don't steal, then we're actually creating virtue all the time, right? Report an error in the passage at 8:09 Highlight the passage at 8:09

8:34 If we never take a vow to not steal and we just happen to not steal, well, that's not virtuous, right? So that's, you know, one of the selling points of taking vows. Report an error in the passage at 8:34 Highlight the passage at 8:34

8:47 Okay. All right. Then... And just a reminder that the ten non-virtues, it's not, right, those aren't all-inclusive of all non-virtues. There are, but they're kind of the grossest, the grossest, the coarsest or more obvious. Report an error in the passage at 8:47 Highlight the passage at 8:47

9:14 So, you know, just because something's not on the list, it doesn't mean that it's not non-virtuous. Like, for example, Report an error in the passage at 9:14 Highlight the passage at 9:14

9:25 punching somebody, right, is not on the list of non-virtues. But it doesn't mean that it's not a non-verdue, right? Okay. These are just the coarser ones. Report an error in the passage at 9:25 Highlight the passage at 9:25

9:44 So remember that there are four branches in order for it to be a complete karma, right? So for it to be a complete karma, that means that it creates this imprint to have a particular kind of rebirth. But if we don't have all four branches, then it's still a negative karma, but it's not creating cause for rebirth. So there needs to be a basis, three parts to the attitude, being a perception and a mental affliction and a motivation, a performance or an act and a completion. Report an error in the passage at 9:44 Highlight the passage at 9:44

10:25 And the heaviness of the karma depends on the completeness of these four branches. This is all review, right? Report an error in the passage at 10:25 Highlight the passage at 10:25

10:37 So the three non-virtues of the body. We covered killing last time. So if all of these four are complete, then it's a complete action of killing. But if you accidentally kill the wrong person, it's still an action of killing. It's a non-virtue, but it's not a complete action of killing. So it may cause you to have a short life in the future. Report an error in the passage at 10:37 Highlight the passage at 10:37

11:10 Or, you know, to have a lot of sickness in the future. But you won't actually get the rebirth associated with killing if you kill the wrong person, for example. Report an error in the passage at 11:10 Highlight the passage at 11:10

11:22 Oh, and I wanted to mention something that we had a controversy about last time. We were wondering about the death of the other being due to the performance. So I found something. Report an error in the passage at 11:22 Highlight the passage at 11:22

11:35 Like why does that, why does the person... That you've killed have to die before you do for it to be a complete act of killing. Report an error in the passage at 11:35 Highlight the passage at 11:35

11:50 Gishisopa said something about this. Report an error in the passage at 11:50 Highlight the passage at 11:50

12:11 So here Gishisopa calls it the culmination. So the culmination of the action of killing is accomplished when the victim dies because of the action of killing. It may be immediately or at a later time. If your particular victim dies seven months or even seven years after the action as a result of what you have done, you receive the complete karma of killing at the moment he or she finally dies. Report an error in the passage at 12:11 Highlight the passage at 12:11

12:38 Even if you are sitting in meditation, performing the most virtuous actions, or sleeping, eating, or doing whatever else you might be doing when your victim dies, at that moment you will receive the complete karma of killing. Report an error in the passage at 12:38 Highlight the passage at 12:38

12:55 You have already planned the action, made preparations for the action, done the deed yourself or made someone else do it, so it does not matter what you are doing when the victim dies. The actual deed is already done, but the action becomes full and complete the moment the victim dies. Report an error in the passage at 12:55 Highlight the passage at 12:55

13:15 On this point, the Treasury of Knowledge adds, if the agent dies before or at the same time as the victim, there is no actual karmic path because the agent is born into another body. Report an error in the passage at 13:15 Highlight the passage at 13:15

13:29 If you commit the action of killing someone, but before the victim dies, you die yourself, or if you both die at the same time, then the karma will not be complete. Report an error in the passage at 13:29 Highlight the passage at 13:29

13:43 This is because at the time when the victim dies and the action becomes complete, you have already taken another birth. That new body is not the one that prepared to kill or did the killing. Report an error in the passage at 13:43 Highlight the passage at 13:43

14:00 So would this explain soldiers on the battlefield? They don't necessarily engage in a complete karma if they die at the same time that they shoot somebody else. Report an error in the passage at 14:00 Highlight the passage at 14:00

14:16 Interestingly, because you've taken another body, You don't have a complete karma. Yeah, I still find it puzzling. You know, it seems like a technicality. Report an error in the passage at 14:16 Highlight the passage at 14:16

14:37 You're Report an error in the passage at 14:37 Highlight the passage at 14:37

14:41 still getting a pretty heavy negative karma, but you've gotten out of the complete act of karma. So it's interesting, you know, like the... but I don't want to Report an error in the passage at 14:41 Highlight the passage at 14:41

14:55 The people who go and shoot a bunch of people and then shoot themselves, if the others don't die, like if you die first, then it seems like you don't get the complete karma. It's still an extremely bad karma, right? But it's not the complete karma. So what's the difference between, in that case, the complete karma and the incomplete? Report an error in the passage at 14:55 Highlight the passage at 14:55

15:22 How does that... Well, you know, I mean, it's said that the complete karma... It creates, you know, will create a rebirth, let's say in hell, right? Whereas the incomplete karma won't create that rebirth in hell. I didn't realize it was rebirth in hell that you were looking at. Yeah, I mean, usually with killing, it would be a rebirth in hell, but, you know, it might be a lesser rebirth, right? Report an error in the passage at 15:22 Highlight the passage at 15:22

15:50 So it's, you know, so you might, you know, you might just have a really... A lot of really sickly lives, right? But you won't necessarily have a rebirth in hell as a result of that action. Or according to this, you won't have a rebirth in hell as a result of that action because it's not complete. This would apply just as much to deliberately killing a bug, wouldn't it? Report an error in the passage at 15:50 Highlight the passage at 15:50

16:16 Yes. Unfortunately, we might have done that one. Right. Yeah. We're a part of it. We're a part of it. We're a part of it. Report an error in the passage at 16:16 Highlight the passage at 16:16

16:28 The karma is less killing a bug than a person, but we're going to go into that later. But we still need to purify it. Report an error in the passage at 16:28 Highlight the passage at 16:28

16:44 So when you were reading, you were saying that, okay, if the person dies some other later time, it doesn't matter, you're still going to get the karma. But what if you spent that whole time purifying that initial action? Okay, let me continue reading. Report an error in the passage at 16:44 Highlight the passage at 16:44

17:03 No, that's good because that's a segue into the next paragraph. because that's that Report an error in the passage at 17:03 Highlight the passage at 17:03

17:07 The action will also be incomplete if your motivation thoroughly and sincerely reverses before the victim dies. Okay, so if you purified it, right, if you have sincere regret, right, then it's not complete, right? Well, you've purified it at least partly, right, such that it won't be complete. Report an error in the passage at 17:07 Highlight the passage at 17:07

17:35 Right, well, the motivation here, right, for killing is the wish to kill, and then the regret is... Oh, I wish I didn't do that. So you've kind of turned the motivation around. So your motivation has reversed in that case. Yeah, so the motivation in this context to make it complete is the wish to kill. Then there's another motivation like why you want them dead and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 17:35 Highlight the passage at 17:35

18:07 So in general there's like a... There's two types of motivations. There's the causal motivation, like the why you want to do it, and then the motivation at the time of the action, which is just the wish to kill. Report an error in the passage at 18:07 Highlight the passage at 18:07

18:21 Okay, so here this is more talking about the motivation at the time of the action. What about euthanasia, where somebody asks somebody to help them die? There are a lot of guys that died during the AIDS epidemic with the help of friends and family. Yeah, I mean, that's a tricky one, right? So let's go through these. Report an error in the passage at 18:21 Highlight the passage at 18:21

18:39 Is the basis complete? Another living being, yes. The perception must be unmistaken, like correctly perceiving that person is who you think it is. So that's complete. The affliction, so this is the main point here. Is there an affliction involved? Does it involve attachment? Is it... it pure Is it really pure, right, not involving an affliction? If it's really pure not involving an affliction, then we could say it's not complete. Report an error in the passage at 18:39 Highlight the passage at 18:39

19:20 But if there is an affliction there, if it's, then, and so that's a tricky one because usually our motivations are mixed, right? I mean, we do have some, some. Report an error in the passage at 19:20 Highlight the passage at 19:20

19:47 it still is somewhat troubling for circumstances. Yeah, no, it's tricky. Like Lama Zopa Rinpoche, I've heard him say that we don't know what their next life will bring. You know, the next life may bring even more suffering, right? And sometimes when we want to euthanize someone, it has something to do with our not wanting to deal with their suffering. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:15 I mean, sometimes, right? I'm not saying always, but sometimes. key, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 20:15 Highlight the passage at 20:15

20:22 Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 20:22 Highlight the passage at 20:22

20:29 Yeah, I know. I mean, there's no easy answer there, right? Yeah, holiness is even good. Report an error in the passage at 20:29 Highlight the passage at 20:29

20:42 Yeah, I mean, Report an error in the passage at 20:42 Highlight the passage at 20:42

20:47 definitely. Absolutely. Report an error in the passage at 20:47 Highlight the passage at 20:47

20:52 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I think, you know, the lamas usually take the strategy of presenting what, right, what the scriptures say and then... So we have the information and then we have to decide. Sometimes we want the Lama to decide for us, like give us permission. But the Lamas can't really do that, right? Report an error in the passage at 20:52 Highlight the passage at 20:52

21:19 We need to perform the action or not and accept the consequences of what that action is, like kind of with our eyes open. So we try to have the best motivation that we can. and, you know. And do what we think is really best based on the wisdom and compassion that we have. And unfortunately, it's not so clean clear, right? Report an error in the passage at 21:19 Highlight the passage at 21:19

21:49 Yeah, it's a very tricky one. Report an error in the passage at 21:49 Highlight the passage at 21:49

21:57 It seems like if our intention is compassion for that other being, that maybe it wouldn't be so bad, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 21:57 Highlight the passage at 21:57

22:08 Yeah, okay, so let's talk about the affliction of attachment, right? And then what about the affliction of ignorance? You know, that's the really tricky one, right? It's like, I think that it's better for that person if they die, but we don't, do we really know that, right? Do we really have the wisdom to say? I was just going to say, doesn't it say that only high-level bodhisattvas and Buddhas can like really truly make that kind of choice skillfully? Report an error in the passage at 22:08 Highlight the passage at 22:08

22:44 Yeah. Because even the Buddha killed in his past lives when he was a bodhisattva. Right. Well, there's that story of the bodhisattva killing the man who was going to kill 500 passengers. And it's said that that bodhisattva incurred... Still incurred some negative karma, even though the motivation was pure, right, or a moment in hell or something like that, right? So even with such a pure motivation, there was still some negative karma associated with it. Report an error in the passage at 22:44 Highlight the passage at 22:44

23:19 I was just thinking in terms of this, what about poor Sonny von Bulow, who just died not that long ago, and she had been in a coma for like 30 years. Report an error in the passage at 23:19 Highlight the passage at 23:19

23:31 The family had enough wealth to keep her alive, but I can't even imagine what kind of an existence that would have been like. It seems like it would be sort of like a hell realm. Report an error in the passage at 23:31 Highlight the passage at 23:31

23:44 But maybe better than with the next... Yeah. Right. Right. I mean, maybe we would do that with our loved ones. We would keep them alive if we had the resources, right? Well, it's hard to really say. Report an error in the passage at 23:44 Highlight the passage at 23:44

24:20 And I just wanted to mention about the affliction of ignorance if we kill out of ignorance. There are a couple of examples given by Geshe Loden in this wonderful book he has called Path to Enlightenment. So one example is killing animals believing that they were placed on this earth to be food for humans and that it is therefore not negative to kill them. Report an error in the passage at 24:20 Highlight the passage at 24:20

24:45 So that's an example. Report an error in the passage at 24:45 Highlight the passage at 24:45

24:54 And then another case of ignorance is the belief that to kill a wild animal that attacks you is not negative. That's even harder, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 24:54 Highlight the passage at 24:54

25:07 So he says, the Buddha says that even in such dire circumstances you should not kill but try to escape instead. Right. Report an error in the passage at 25:07 Highlight the passage at 25:07

25:20 Climb a tree. Or they say to run downhill, right, because bears. so. Report an error in the passage at 25:20 Highlight the passage at 25:20

25:16 All right. . Report an error in the passage at 25:16 Highlight the passage at 25:16

25:27 I have a hard time running downhill. Yeah, that's what I heard. Report an error in the passage at 25:27 Highlight the passage at 25:27

25:37 Okay, Report an error in the passage at 25:37 Highlight the passage at 25:37

25:42 so that's about the completion of killing. Any other questions or comments on that one? Chad? I'm not saying that it completely makes sense to me, is what it says. Report an error in the passage at 25:42 Highlight the passage at 25:42

26:05 Yeah. So. Report an error in the passage at 26:05 Highlight the passage at 26:05

· · · silence, 1 minute

26:05 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 26:05 Highlight the passage at 26:05

26:09 So you were talking about the motivation changing and diminishing the result of the karma. Were you talking specifically before the completion or after completion? Yeah. Or does it matter? Yeah, well here, or Gishisopo was saying, if you regret it before the victim actually dies, then the karma's not complete. Report an error in the passage at 26:09 Highlight the passage at 26:09

26:36 Right? So if the motivation doesn't reverse before they die, then it's a complete karma. It becomes a complete karma the moment they die. Then we can purify it, but it's different. You have a complete karma to purify as opposed to an incomplete karma in the first place. Report an error in the passage at 26:36 Highlight the passage at 26:36

26:58 What the significance is in terms of results, it's hard to say. right, but that's, uh. Report an error in the passage at 26:58 Highlight the passage at 26:58

27:08 was thinking of terms of there Wait, microphone. Report an error in the passage at 27:08 Highlight the passage at 27:08

27:18 I was thinking of that in terms of the Manson women. There are a couple that seem to have real regret. It's still hard for me to accept that they even do, but I've seen an interview with a couple of them that seem profoundly disturbed by what they did. Report an error in the passage at 27:18 Highlight the passage at 27:18

27:36 It's curious if that would be a complete karma still. Report an error in the passage at 27:36 Highlight the passage at 27:36

27:42 The victims are dead, so it is a complete karma. and you know. Report an error in the passage at 27:42 Highlight the passage at 27:42

27:46 Maybe they've purified a little bit. So when the killer doesn't have any remorse, doesn't have any regret, then the karma is definitely more serious. Report an error in the passage at 27:46 Highlight the passage at 27:46

28:07 So we covered stealing. I don't think we had any questions about stealing last time. Did we? It's Homer Simpson. Report an error in the passage at 28:07 Highlight the passage at 28:07

28:26 I was having a little fun. with PowerPoint. Okay, Report an error in the passage at 28:26 Highlight the passage at 28:26

28:34 so, yeah. So then moving on to a controversial topic, right, sexual misconduct. Report an error in the passage at 28:34 Highlight the passage at 28:34

28:49 So I really debated on how I wanted to present this topic. Well, no, I mean, especially in San Francisco, right? All right, so actually before we even get into this, big. Report an error in the passage at 28:49 Highlight the passage at 28:49

29:10 I wanted to bring up some context around when the definition of sexual misconduct was developed, who the audience was, etc. So for the most part, all of these texts, the sutras and the commentaries that were written over the years were written by either Indian masters or Tibetan masters. Report an error in the passage at 29:10 Highlight the passage at 29:10

29:40 All men, for the most part monks, for the most part the audience was men, right? Because the people who were studying, who had the luxury and the education to study the Dharma at that point were men, right? Report an error in the passage at 29:40 Highlight the passage at 29:40

30:03 And in India and Tibet, you know, it's still a very male-dominated society. Report an error in the passage at 30:03 Highlight the passage at 30:03

30:12 Also remembering that culturally in India, in general, the women were married without really any say. Their parents would marry them off to a man. And even it could be like a 12-year-old girl could be married off to a 30-year-old man or something like that based on... What the parents set up. So it was a society where the women pretty much had to do what the men wanted them to do, kind of. Report an error in the passage at 30:12 Highlight the passage at 30:12

31:00 So the women didn't have a lot of power. So Report an error in the passage at 31:00 Highlight the passage at 31:00

31:14 I was talking to somebody the other day about a recent study, whereas... Where the men, like of couples, right? Couples. And the men were asked what they liked sexually and the women were asked what they liked sexually, you know, separately. And in general the men all, you know, thought anal sex was great and oral sex was great and, you know, it was all great, right? Report an error in the passage at 31:14 Highlight the passage at 31:14

31:43 And in general the women didn't like anal sex, oral sex, these kinds of things. But the women... Would engage in it in order to please the man. And so that was kind of interesting to me. You know, this was a modern day example. Right. So and I think that that it pertains here as well, especially in a society right when where the audience right here is men and a society where the women were subservient to the men. Report an error in the passage at 31:43 Highlight the passage at 31:43

32:20 Right. So how do you treat, you know, your wife or your partner? In a respectful way. Report an error in the passage at 32:20 Highlight the passage at 32:20

32:30 And then to talk about sexual desire. I mean desire, attachment, is our biggest mental affliction here in the desire realm. And our biggest obstacle, perhaps, besides ignorance, our biggest obstacle to attaining enlightenment. Our biggest obstacle to getting calm abiding and attaining enlightenment. And then sexual desire is one of the biggies. And it's also an affliction that causes a lot of people to create a lot of negative karma. Report an error in the passage at 32:30 Highlight the passage at 32:30

33:13 Because sexual desire oftentimes is just about me, me getting my desires fulfilled. And it's not necessarily about the other person. Report an error in the passage at 33:13 Highlight the passage at 33:13

33:29 Unless, right, it's done in a kind and considered in a loving way, right, in a respectful way, then it's good, right? It's virtuous if we're really considering the other person. But any time we're just focused on me and what I want, right, it's non-virtuous. So I wanted to bring that up in this context. Report an error in the passage at 33:29 Highlight the passage at 33:29

34:02 Then we can pop into the details. Report an error in the passage at 34:02 Highlight the passage at 34:02

34:07 So the basis. The basis of sexual misconduct. Have you all gotten this teaching before? Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:18 Some people yes, some people no. Okay. So the basis of sexual misconduct is talked about in four parts. Inappropriate partners, inappropriate body parts, inappropriate places and inappropriate times. And it gets to be quite detailed about who's an inappropriate partner, what are inappropriate body parts, places and times. Report an error in the passage at 34:18 Highlight the passage at 34:18

34:46 Okay. And then interestingly, Jose Cabazon, who is a scholar of Buddhism and a professor of Buddhism, he wrote an article in the latest Buddha Dharma magazine called Rethinking Sex and Buddhism or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 34:46 Highlight the passage at 34:46

35:08 Is he still a monk? Report an error in the passage at 35:08 Highlight the passage at 35:08

35:16 No, he doesn't look like a monk in that picture. He's wearing a tie. Report an error in the passage at 35:16 Highlight the passage at 35:16

35:23 All right, so basically he argues, okay, I know I'm jumping all over the place because I'm really kind of nervous to prevent this topic. Report an error in the passage at 35:23 Highlight the passage at 35:23

35:34 I know, I kind of wanted to just kind of gloss over this, right? So, okay, so based on the whole context that I was talking, right, so all of these texts were written, right, in a particular context, in a particular culture, etc. Report an error in the passage at 35:34 Highlight the passage at 35:34

35:53 And remembering that all of these texts, you know, we're supposed to really reflect on whether or not they still make sense, right? Whether or not they make sense, not to swallow them wholesale, right? But also not to automatically reject it either, right? And so Jose Cabezon says, I love texts. Of all the wonderful gifts my Tibetan teachers have bestowed on me, none is more dear than the training I have received in reading texts. Report an error in the passage at 35:53 Highlight the passage at 35:53

36:35 I don't mean simply the ability to read the great texts of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism in their original languages, but the ability to think through them, to think about what they mean, what the world means in light of them, and to come to an understanding of the world. What we are, what our responsibilities are, and what constitutes a meaningful life. So what they mean, you know, to really, to really, yeah, to question and think about these texts, right? Report an error in the passage at 36:35 Highlight the passage at 36:35

37:10 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 37:10 Highlight the passage at 37:10

37:13 He says, the texts are not the end point of reflection, but rather the beginning of it. And the great masters of old are not irrelevant dead brown men, but living conversation partners whose thought... Report an error in the passage at 37:13 Highlight the passage at 37:13

37:28 Can help us reconstruct our lives so that they lead to a flourishing of our lives, etc. So he continues on to talk about His Holiness the Dalai Lama and about how a group of gay... And lesbian Buddhists had requested an audience with His Holiness in 1997 to discuss his views on homosexuality and to ask for clarifications about statements he had made. Report an error in the passage at 37:28 Highlight the passage at 37:28

38:00 And so the Dalai Lama began the hour-long meeting by reiterating his opposition to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and his commitment to full human rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Report an error in the passage at 38:00 Highlight the passage at 38:00

38:29 So then His Holiness was referring to Lama Tsongkhapa's text, this one Lama Rinpoche actually, and the possibility of understanding these precepts in the context of time, culture and society. And it's possible that we can rethink what constitutes sexual misconduct. Okay, we might read more from that a little bit later. Report an error in the passage at 38:29 Highlight the passage at 38:29

39:00 So we don't have to take this as being like the gospel, either we can accept it or not, but really to think about it and think about why things are written this way. And also historically, Kabuzan says that in the sutras, the sexual misconduct was just defined as adultery, and specifically a man taking another's wife as a sexual partner. Report an error in the passage at 39:00 Highlight the passage at 39:00

39:27 Once again, the audience being men. And not prohibiting anything for women so we can do anything we want. I'm just kidding. But that's all the texts explained was what was appropriate and inappropriate for men. And it didn't even mention what was appropriate or not for women because women were always good back then. They didn't do anything wrong. Report an error in the passage at 39:27 Highlight the passage at 39:27

39:55 And then later on... In India, then these additional writings about sexual misconduct came about. And based on inappropriate partners, body parts, places and times, and these are the four categories that were written in the Vinaya, you know, for monks. Okay. All right. Okay. Mary's had enough. Okay. All right. Report an error in the passage at 39:55 Highlight the passage at 39:55

40:24 So the first one, inappropriate. Partners. So the main one here is adultery, right? You know, someone who's committed to somebody else, right? And that's obvious, right? Because that creates a lot of pain and suffering for others. Report an error in the passage at 40:24 Highlight the passage at 40:24

40:47 Also prohibits having sexual intercourse with your mother for obvious reasons. And women under the care of their mothers. Report an error in the passage at 40:47 Highlight the passage at 40:47

41:03 Interestingly enough, this was a violation to that person's mother because the women actually, the underage women didn't actually have rights in those societies at that time. But in the present day society, like anyone underage, ordained women, Report an error in the passage at 41:03 Highlight the passage at 41:03

41:32 etc. Report an error in the passage at 41:32 Highlight the passage at 41:32

41:40 all Unix. Report an error in the passage at 41:40 Highlight the passage at 41:40

41:45 I don't get. I don't get that either. Report an error in the passage at 41:45 Highlight the passage at 41:45

41:50 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 41:50 Highlight the passage at 41:50

41:55 Maybe. Maybe. Because I think, you know, I mean, it was anything that really deviated from acceptable behavior at that time, right? You know, and what acceptable behavior was then and what it is now, you know, are probably very different. And then the hard one for me to say is other men. Report an error in the passage at 41:55 Highlight the passage at 41:55

42:24 So you've all heard this one before, right? Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 42:24 Highlight the passage at 42:24

42:37 I mean, it could have been something like that because so many men were living together. Yeah, I mean, if we think about, you know, nowadays in prisons, you know, when all these men are living together, how, you know, how the stronger ones would take advantage of the weaker ones, you know, right? And, yeah, and taking advantage of the younger ones. Report an error in the passage at 42:37 Highlight the passage at 42:37

43:05 So I think it's interesting to look at in that context. Report an error in the passage at 43:05 Highlight the passage at 43:05

43:22 Well, he was just saying, and Report an error in the passage at 43:22 Highlight the passage at 43:22

43:29 I will quote, well, you know, he's very hesitant to make any kind of unilateral decisions about things, right? But he says, right, if homosexuality is part of accepted norms today, it is possible that it may be acceptable. However, no single person or teacher can redefine precepts. I do not have the authority to redefine these precepts since no one can make a unilateral decision or issue a decree. Report an error in the passage at 43:29 Highlight the passage at 43:29

44:05 Such a redefinition can only come out of saṅgha discussions within the various Buddhist traditions. It is not unprecedented in the history of Buddhism to redefine moral issues, but it has to be done on the collective level. Report an error in the passage at 44:05 Highlight the passage at 44:05

44:20 So His Holiness called for further research and dialogue on the topic and concluded by reiterating that blah, blah, blah, that however sexual misconduct comes to be defined, it can never be used to justify discrimination. Report an error in the passage at 44:20 Highlight the passage at 44:20

44:45 And, you know, and I find that that's relieving in a way, you know, just because there's an openness, right, and an openness to looking at it, right, and it's not. Report an error in the passage at 44:45 Highlight the passage at 44:45

44:59 I think for me the only. It's not carved in stone, let's see. My problem with his response, I think it's a skillful response, but I think when you're dealing with gay people who often come out of backgrounds of horrific ignorance and discrimination, to hear yet another response from a world religious leader that doesn't really... Report an error in the passage at 44:59 Highlight the passage at 44:59

45:23 give you a clear-cut definition I think it's been very hard for some gay practitioners not so much me but other people that I know who are gay and I've had a little bit of an issue with it but I think that it's one area where it's been I would just say challenging as a gay person to kind of that Report an error in the passage at 45:23 Highlight the passage at 45:23

45:52 not saying he's Right, yeah, it's uncomfortable. Then if we think about this in the context of Getting enlightened, right? I mean, all sexual desire is an obstacle, right? And he did say the restrictions on body parts applied equally to straight as well as gay people, so nobody gets to have any fun with that one. Report an error in the passage at 45:52 Highlight the passage at 45:52

46:16 Exactly. Gay or straight, married or not, it doesn't matter, yeah. Alright, moving on to the inappropriate body parts. Report an error in the passage at 46:16 Highlight the passage at 46:16

46:28 Yeah, okay, so Lama Tsongkhapa says inappropriate body parts are all those other than the entrance to the womb, such as the mouth. Report an error in the passage at 46:28 Highlight the passage at 46:28

46:38 So the mouth, the anus, the calves, or thighs pressed together and the hand in motion are all inappropriate body parts, according to Lama Tsongkhapa. Okay, so regardless of who you are, what you are, we don't need to know that. peter Report an error in the passage at 46:38 Highlight the passage at 46:38

47:03 um Report an error in the passage at 47:03 Highlight the passage at 47:03

47:07 So, once again, if we think about it in terms of getting enlightened, all of these are obstacles to getting enlightened. Okay, how are we doing so far? Okay, you guys are being really easy on me. Report an error in the passage at 47:07 Highlight the passage at 47:07

47:25 Okay, inappropriate places are the vicinity of gurus, places with stupas and the like. Right, so that's pretty... obvious right in the gompa not right a friend of mine was Report an error in the passage at 47:25 Highlight the passage at 47:25

47:55 How about a room that has an altar in it? Report an error in the passage at 47:55 Highlight the passage at 47:55

48:02 Yeah, you know, that's a good thing to be careful about. I think one piece of advice I've heard from Lama is to put a cloth over the altar. Report an error in the passage at 48:02 Highlight the passage at 48:02

48:15 don't think, yeah. Maybe. Report an error in the passage at 48:15 Highlight the passage at 48:15

48:19 Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 48:19 Highlight the passage at 48:19

48:24 And the main thing, right, is to be mindful, right, and not just kind of get all caught up in our desire and forget about everything else and considering anybody else. And I mean, a friend of mine was telling me when Chodron Rinpoche was teaching this part of Lam Rinchenmo, Atlanta Medicine Buddha, he was explaining, you know, sexual misconduct. Report an error in the passage at 48:24 Highlight the passage at 48:24

48:46 And then as she was leaving... Land of Medicine Buddha, you know, if you've ever been there, you know, there's this narrow road that's kind of a private road. And then she saw these naked arms and legs flailing out of this car window. You know, these young people, you know, were going at it right in the, you know, in plain daylight, outside. Report an error in the passage at 48:46 Highlight the passage at 48:46

49:11 You know, they weren't people, obviously, who had been to the teachings, but it was. But it was just like this, right? But this kind of, this total, like, real-life illustration of what happens, right, when you get overcome, right? And, you know, your complete insensitivity to others and inconsiderate, you know, inconsideration for others, right? And that's what a lot of, well, I shouldn't say, you know. Report an error in the passage at 49:11 Highlight the passage at 49:11

49:39 Just young people, but this is what, you know, people do oftentimes, especially when they're young, you know, it doesn't matter where you are, who's around and whatever, you know. Report an error in the passage at 49:39 Highlight the passage at 49:39

49:51 Yeah. Okay. So inappropriate places. So also it says, okay, so in the vicinity of gurus, a place where there's stupa in the presence of many people. Report an error in the passage at 49:51 Highlight the passage at 49:51

50:05 Also on uneven or hard places that are harmful to the person with whom you are having. Report an error in the passage at 50:05 Highlight the passage at 50:05

50:13 And so that makes sense, right? Anything that's harmful to the other person or inconsiderate to others, right? It's not appropriate, right? Okay. Inappropriate times are pregnancy, when you abide in one-day vows, etc. Report an error in the passage at 50:13 Highlight the passage at 50:13

50:37 So also when the woman is menstruating. When she is at the end of a term of pregnancy, when she has an infant who is nursing, when she is observing a one-day vow, when she has an illness which makes sexual intercourse inappropriate. Report an error in the passage at 50:37 Highlight the passage at 50:37

51:00 And this is an interesting one. In excess of a proper amount. Right. And that one says, no, not at all. And it says a proper amount is up to five times a night. So they're really giving you a lot. So where that five came from is interesting. I mean, it really says something about the culture at that time, right? What was considered acceptable and not. Report an error in the passage at 51:00 Highlight the passage at 51:00

51:42 And so also inappropriate times, Atisha said during the day. Report an error in the passage at 51:42 Highlight the passage at 51:42

51:49 And I was thinking about that the other day, and I was thinking, so Jose Cabezan was saying, you know, what's that about? You know, what about the people who work at night? Right. And then I was thinking about, okay, well, at that time in India, right, there was nobody who worked at night back then, right? Report an error in the passage at 51:49 Highlight the passage at 51:49

52:18 And people were, basically went, Got up with sunrise and went to bed when the sun set. So during the day was supposed to be when you were working and things like that. So maybe it was that context of that's the time when you're supposed to be working and studying and things like that. Not because daytime is inherently worse than nighttime, but just the culture. Report an error in the passage at 52:18 Highlight the passage at 52:18

52:49 proper body Report an error in the passage at 52:49 Highlight the passage at 52:49

52:55 And then interestingly, Ashwagosha says, also it's inappropriate when the woman is unwilling, is in pain or is unhappy. So that's, you know, so that's interesting, you know, that the men at that time needed to be told, you know. But it's very relevant, right? Report an error in the passage at 52:55 Highlight the passage at 52:55

53:19 So, okay. All right. So any other comments or questions on the basis? of sexual misconduct. Report an error in the passage at 53:19 Highlight the passage at 53:19

53:46 I mean, not necessarily agreeing, but maybe just trying to understand why, right? Report an error in the passage at 53:46 Highlight the passage at 53:46

53:59 I Report an error in the passage at 53:59 Highlight the passage at 53:59

54:04 mean, I think so. I mean, I think always we need to apply our skillful means, you know, because there's the one, I mean, there's the one extreme of taking it very literally and, you Report an error in the passage at 54:04 Highlight the passage at 54:04

54:22 know, maybe following it to the letter, but missing the whole point of it all, right? Right. And then there's the other extreme of just dismissing it all together and saying, you know, that's just a load of, you know, garbage, right? But there's using our kind of discerning wisdom and trying to understand what it's all about and then using our own wisdom, right? Report an error in the passage at 54:22 Highlight the passage at 54:22

54:54 And my own feeling is if, you know, if we're respectful, if we're considerate. If we're loving and kind toward the other person, then that's what it's about, right? It's not about body parts or the time of day. Report an error in the passage at 54:54 Highlight the passage at 54:54

55:17 That's just my own thinking on it. Report an error in the passage at 55:17 Highlight the passage at 55:17

55:31 I've been sweating about it. That's kind of you. Anyway, it's an interesting article. you, Emily. Report an error in the passage at 55:31 Highlight the passage at 55:31

55:41 If you read an article by Jose Cabezan, I would not agree with everything he says in here, but it's an interesting thing to read. Report an error in the passage at 55:41 Highlight the passage at 55:41

55:53 I got it at Borders or Whole Foods or something like that. I got it at Bookshop Santa Cruz, but that's not going to help you very much. Report an error in the passage at 55:53 Highlight the passage at 55:53

56:19 I can maybe photocopy this article. Report an error in the passage at 56:19 Highlight the passage at 56:19

56:25 I just think it's also good to take that, Report an error in the passage at 56:25 Highlight the passage at 56:25

56:32 just the habit of not, or reflecting on the scriptures, not making any sense, but in general not to accept everything literally that's in the scriptures and commentaries, but just really reflect on how they came about. Report an error in the passage at 56:32 Highlight the passage at 56:32

56:58 Like a lot of the vows, the monks and nuns vows came about because somebody in particular did something, right? And then they created a vow. Exactly, right? So these things evolve in a historical way, right? Because somebody did something, right? And if nobody ever did it, then it wouldn't be a vow. Yeah, right. Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 56:58 Highlight the passage at 56:58

57:26 had sex on an every day. Report an error in the passage at 57:26 Highlight the passage at 57:26

57:37 Oh, darn. I was like, oh, I never thought of that one. Report an error in the passage at 57:37 Highlight the passage at 57:37

57:48 So then the attitude, the three parts of the attitude. Oh, wait. Maybe it's break time. Maybe we take a break and then go into the... The hard part's over. Okay, so out on the drink table over there, there are long life pills. And there's long life nectar, which is like, I think, milk and honey, sweet milk and honey or something like that. And then there's long life cake. Report an error in the passage at 57:48 Highlight the passage at 57:48

58:20 So everyone is encouraged to partake. Do you put the nectar in your mouth? Is that dootsie? Yeah, I mean, you can do it that way. Or you can just stick it in your mouth. Report an error in the passage at 58:20 Highlight the passage at 58:20

· · · silence, 1 minute

59:11 Okay. So then the perception, or sometimes translated as discrimination. So there are different opinions on this for it to be a complete action of sexual misconduct. Asanga says that the perception needs to be unmistaken in that you think you're having sex with one person and you are having sex with that person, right? Report an error in the passage at 59:11 Highlight the passage at 59:11

59:38 So for it to be a complete act of sexual misconduct, you need to be having sex with the person you think you're having sex with, right? Report an error in the passage at 59:38 Highlight the passage at 59:38

59:53 All right. All right. So Report an error in the passage at 59:53 Highlight the passage at 59:53

1:00:02 I'm going to jump to the Vasubandhu and then go back to the Vinaya because Vasubandhu follows a little bit better than the Vinaya. Well, Report an error in the passage at 1:00:02 Highlight the passage at 1:00:02

1:00:16 it obviously happened. So Vasubandhu says, so if you approach someone else's wife, Because that's not right. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:16 Highlight the passage at 1:00:16

1:00:29 Thinking that that person is your wife, let's say she's sleeping in your bed or something like that. So if you think that it's your wife, then you haven't committed the complete act of sexual misconduct. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:29 Highlight the passage at 1:00:29

1:00:48 But if you think you're sleeping with someone else's wife, and yet you're sleeping with another person who is someone else's wife, right all right right no But your intention is to sleep with another person's wife, and even if you're not sleeping with the person that you think you are, you're still committing a complete act because your intention was to sleep with someone else's wife or husband, I guess. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48 Highlight the passage at 1:00:48

1:01:24 Since the audience here was men. There's one thing they haven't really mentioned, but I guess I sort of assume they're including it, is what if you're someone else's husband? You know, I find that very interesting as well. It doesn't mention that. But logically, you don't do that because you're creating harm. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:24 Highlight the passage at 1:01:24

1:01:44 It's a selfish act. You're creating a lot of hurt to your partner. But yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:44 Highlight the passage at 1:01:44

1:01:52 But maybe culturally back then too, you know, it was acceptable for men to sleep with different partners even if they were married. Maybe. I don't know enough about the Indian. Because this is mostly, this stuff is coming from India because the Saṅgha was Indian and Vasubandhu was Indian. And Lama Tsongkhapa is just taking what a Saṅgha and Vasubandhu and the Vinayana were saying. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:52 Highlight the passage at 1:01:52

1:02:16 So this is all really from India. Thank you. I was going to put it in her mail box. Okay, thanks. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:16 Highlight the passage at 1:02:16

1:02:27 Yeah, so it's mostly, Report an error in the passage at 1:02:27 Highlight the passage at 1:02:27

1:02:32 and yeah, I may know much about Indian culture and whether or not it was acceptable to... It's breaking a bottle, but... Yeah. But anyway, I would still constitute that, right, sexual misconduct, but it's not explicitly mentioned here, interestingly. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:32 Highlight the passage at 1:02:32

1:03:01 Yeah, I mean, there's that. I don't know if you... so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm Report an error in the passage at 1:03:01 Highlight the passage at 1:03:01

1:03:04 You got David's question, but here they keep talking about how you shouldn't sleep with somebody else's partner. But what if you yourself have a partner and you're sleeping with somebody else? It's not explicitly mentioning that it's not good if you're married and sleeping around. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:04 Highlight the passage at 1:03:04

1:03:28 Right. You're the one who's involved. Because you might be sleeping with someone who's Report an error in the passage at 1:03:28 Highlight the passage at 1:03:28

1:03:34 Well, it's certainly a non-virtue. Yeah, exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:34 Highlight the passage at 1:03:34

1:03:44 So if you think you're sleeping with somebody else's partner, and even if you're mistaken, it's still sexual misconduct. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:44 Highlight the passage at 1:03:44

1:04:02 That was Report an error in the passage at 1:04:02 Highlight the passage at 1:04:02

1:04:10 not prohibited. And Jose Cabezan mentions that in his article. Yeah, exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:10 Highlight the passage at 1:04:10

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:04:19 About how prostitution is not explicitly mentioned and some other things that are, you know, yeah. Anyway, so this is a reflection of the time and the culture, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:19 Highlight the passage at 1:04:19

1:04:40 Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:40 Highlight the passage at 1:04:40

1:04:49 Right, as long as it's not a monkey or a sheep. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:49 Highlight the passage at 1:04:49

1:04:56 Right, it didn't say animal, actually. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:56 Highlight the passage at 1:04:56

1:05:03 Get back to harm. we have too many lawyers in this class. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:03 Highlight the passage at 1:05:03

1:05:05 Whether or not you're harming somebody and whether or not your partner is willing. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:05 Highlight the passage at 1:05:05

1:05:13 Right. Exactly. Yeah. Thank you. All right. And then the Vinaya says, so the Vinaya is the rules for monks and nuns, right? It says with regard to a defeat of impure conduct, right? So monks and nuns obviously aren't supposed to have any sexual conduct at all. So the Vinaya says that it's the same whether... Report an error in the passage at 1:05:13 Highlight the passage at 1:05:13

1:05:37 The discrimination is mistaken or not. So it doesn't matter if you're sleeping with a person you think you are. You're still committing a downfall if you're a monk or a nun. Right. So that makes sense. The mental affliction can be any of the three poisons. So attachment, anger or ignorance. And the motivation, obviously wanting to do it. Right. Wanting to have sexual relations. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:37 Highlight the passage at 1:05:37

1:06:10 And then the actual act or the performance. So Lama Tsongkhapa says, endeavoring for the sake of that. So doing it, basically, right, is the performance. So there's an opinion, a saṅgha says that, so even if you make somebody else perform the action, you create the misdeed of sexual misconduct for yourself. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:10 Highlight the passage at 1:06:10

1:06:37 So maybe, maybe in the case of parents and their children, maybe at that time, or... I don't know, kings or, you know, powerful people, you know, if you make somebody else do it, you create the misdeed yourself. But Vasubandhu disagrees, says that if you don't do the action yourself, it's not a complete karmic path. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:37 Highlight the passage at 1:06:37

1:07:05 So Lama Tsongkhapa interprets this by saying you're still committing sexual misconduct, but it's not complete if you have somebody else. If you make somebody else do it, right? Because there isn't the same amount of satisfaction involved. Boy, they really thought about that. Yeah. Right. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:05 Highlight the passage at 1:07:05

1:07:43 Yeah, they don't talk about rape at all. Yeah. I mean, that was another thing that Jose Cabezan mentioned is, okay, well, there was no mention of rape and sexual misconduct. And that was just, I don't know, whatever, because of the time, the product of the times. But what did rape mean? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:43 Highlight the passage at 1:07:43

1:08:06 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:06 Highlight the passage at 1:08:06

1:08:16 Well, I mean, also, I mean, women didn't have many rights back then, so, you know, so you wouldn't even. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:16 Highlight the passage at 1:08:16

1:08:29 Well, I mean, that's the old time cultures, right? You know, the men had, I mean, the women were the men's property, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:29 Highlight the passage at 1:08:29

1:08:41 Yeah, so rape wasn't an issue back then. Unfortunately, you know, Report an error in the passage at 1:08:41 Highlight the passage at 1:08:41

1:08:48 but obviously rape would be sexual misconduct. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:48 Highlight the passage at 1:08:48

1:08:58 So this is you're making someone else perform the act of sexual, you know, like sexual misconduct in terms of you're making someone else have sex with the wrong partner, let's say, for example, or with the wrong body parts or et cetera. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:58 Highlight the passage at 1:08:58

1:09:18 You create the misdeed of sexual misconduct for yourself. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:18 Highlight the passage at 1:09:18

1:09:27 So and then the completion. Right, I hope it's got someone Report an error in the passage at 1:09:27 Highlight the passage at 1:09:27

1:09:29 Consists in the two coming together by the two. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:29 Highlight the passage at 1:09:29

1:09:35 So the completion is the union of the vagina and the penis. Whereas the Vinaya says that the completion of the action takes place when the two touch and experience sensual pleasure. so Report an error in the passage at 1:09:35 Highlight the passage at 1:09:35

1:09:56 So there's this other interpretation, actually, that Geshe Loden mentions, is that the performance or the act itself is the union, whereas the completion is orgasm. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:56 Highlight the passage at 1:09:56

1:10:09 But Lama Tsongkhapa isn't saying that you actually have to have orgasm. It's just saying if there's a union, then you create the sexual misconduct. So they're just the different interpretations. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:09 Highlight the passage at 1:10:09

1:10:24 So how are we doing on that? David, you're making a face. I'm going to get the We finished killing. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:24 Highlight the passage at 1:10:24

1:10:38 All right, so the non-virtuous karmic paths of speech. So we create a lot of non-virtuous through speech, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:38 Highlight the passage at 1:10:38

1:10:57 And we're talking all the time, right? So lying. So lying, the basis of lying is... Okay, so actually there are two bases of... The first one being the lie itself and the other one being the person that you're lying to. So with regard to the lie itself, it needs to pertain to one of these eight things. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:57 Highlight the passage at 1:10:57

1:11:25 That which one has seen, heard, discerned by the nose, tongue or body or become fully aware of by the mind. So this is referring to the six sense doors, right? The eyes, ears, nose, tongue. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:25 Highlight the passage at 1:11:25

1:11:43 Right? Or something that we know with the mind. Right? So basically, this is just saying anything that we know, anything that we've seen, heard, blah, blah, blah, etc. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:43 Highlight the passage at 1:11:43

1:11:53 Or anything that we have not seen, heard, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay? So this is the basis to cover all bases. All right. So it needs to pertain to anything that we know or don't know. Okay? Right. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:53 Highlight the passage at 1:11:53

1:12:14 And then the other person, so the object of comprehension for the other person, so for it to be a lie, the other person has to understand the meaning. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:14 Highlight the passage at 1:12:14

1:12:27 It's not just the other person hearing it, like if that person doesn't understand what you said or wasn't paying attention, doesn't understand your language, doesn't understand your accent, or if it's an animal. Okay, it's not a lie if you tell your dog, right? Unless the dog understands, right? Okay, so for it to be a complete act of line. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:27 Highlight the passage at 1:12:27

1:13:00 We're Report an error in the passage at 1:13:00 Highlight the passage at 1:13:00

1:13:05 getting punchy. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:05 Highlight the passage at 1:13:05

1:13:11 Okay, so the perception. you want to go out? You want to share, you want to share, you want to share. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:11 Highlight the passage at 1:13:11

1:13:17 Lama Tsongkhapa says, making something one has seen into something one has not seen. Or basically, to try to alter or distort a perception. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:17 Highlight the passage at 1:13:17

1:13:28 Is the perception of lying, the affliction, any of the poisons. The motivation is the wish to say something, changing the discrimination someone has of something. That's what Lama Tsongkhapa says, or in other words, wanting to tell a falsehood. Wanting to misrepresent the truth, wanting to deceive another person. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:28 Highlight the passage at 1:13:28

1:13:58 So then interestingly, the performance is indicating something by saying it, by making sure not to say anything, or through body language. So any of these is a lie, right? We don't have to say anything for it to be a lie. We can just kind of nod our head, or... Say nothing, right? Say nothing. Like if somebody is saying something that's not true and you're not saying anything, kind of implicitly agreeing with them, it's Report an error in the passage at 1:13:58 Highlight the passage at 1:13:58

1:14:39 still a lie. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:39 Highlight the passage at 1:14:39

1:14:44 Yeah, kind of. Like Choki's Report an error in the passage at 1:14:44 Highlight the passage at 1:14:44

1:14:52 in her room, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:52 Highlight the passage at 1:14:52

1:15:00 Or something, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:00 Highlight the passage at 1:15:00

1:15:04 So, okay. So. We can say something, not say anything or indicate something with our finger or nodding of the head or, you know, with our bodies. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:04 Highlight the passage at 1:15:04

1:15:24 So moreover, in the scriptures it says that it's the same whether you say it for your own or someone else's purpose. So if you're lying for yourself or for your friend, it's still, it doesn't matter, it's a lie. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:24 Highlight the passage at 1:15:24

1:15:39 So Asanga says for the three of speech, lying, divisive speech and harsh words, It doesn't matter if it's done by yourself or you cause someone else to do it. But for idle gossip, it does matter. You have to do it yourself, according to a saṅgha. But Vasubando says it's true for all four non-virtues of speech that the karma is complete even if you cause someone else to do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:39 Highlight the passage at 1:15:39

1:16:12 So, even if you cause someone else to speak meaningless words, your karma is still... It's kind of hard for me to imagine doing that, but anyway. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:16:12 Highlight the passage at 1:16:12

1:16:36 it always does, yeah, yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:16:36 Highlight the passage at 1:16:36

1:16:45 yeah. And here it says it's the same whether you say it for your own or someone else's purposes. So it's saying it's still a lie, though. But if your motivation, okay, so, yeah, we have... If your motivation, you know, has... What was your motivation? Your motivation... You would have the motivation, right, to tell a falsehood, right? So then the question becomes whether or not there's a mental affliction involved that determines whether or not the karma is complete. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:45 Highlight the passage at 1:16:45

1:17:22 If it's pure, there's no mental affliction involved. If it's purely for the sake of someone else, then it seems to be okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:22 Highlight the passage at 1:17:22

1:17:40 Yeah, yeah it is. But it's a tricky one. You know, it's like if somebody, let's say, you know, a loved one is dying and, you know, you don't want to upset them, you know, you might not tell them. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:40 Highlight the passage at 1:17:40

1:18:22 And I've even heard Lama say that even in that case, you know, if somebody's after another person and they say, you know, where did they go? It's better to change the subject than to tell a lie. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:22 Highlight the passage at 1:18:22

1:18:35 know? So, oh, well, look at, you know, look at how beautiful the, yeah, exactly. But it Report an error in the passage at 1:18:35 Highlight the passage at 1:18:35

1:18:52 doesn't Report an error in the passage at 1:18:52 Highlight the passage at 1:18:52

1:19:05 necessarily mean that you're not creating negative karma, though. See, that's the thing. We might have a good reason for doing something, but it doesn't mean that we get scot-free, you know, chronically. yeah. But it doesn't Report an error in the passage at 1:19:05 Highlight the passage at 1:19:05

1:19:26 But they're the only ones wisdom Report an error in the passage at 1:19:26 Highlight the passage at 1:19:26

1:19:31 Yeah, you know, who really have the clairvoyance, right? We all have some level of wisdom, but just not as much, right? So we have to go with our intention, right? But realizing that it doesn't mean that we're not creating negative karma. If our motivation is good, then we're not creating strong negative karma, but it doesn't mean that we're not creating any negative karma at all, like the... Report an error in the passage at 1:19:31 Highlight the passage at 1:19:31

1:20:02 The story of the bodhisattva who killed the man who was going to kill the 500 sailors. Still got some negative karma, even though the motivation was pure. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:02 Highlight the passage at 1:20:02

1:20:16 So, Report an error in the passage at 1:20:16 Highlight the passage at 1:20:16

1:20:21 yeah. I mean, just having this body, we're going to create negative karma, right? And so the point is just to do our best, right? And not to walk around being afraid of, you know, I'm not going to say anything, I'm not going to do anything, I'm going to stay in my room. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:21 Highlight the passage at 1:20:21

1:20:37 Right? I mean, that's not the point, right? We're aspiring bodhisattvas and we just try to do what's most beneficial, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:20:37 Highlight the passage at 1:20:37

1:20:52 Do our purification. And we'll complete lying. So the completion consists in the other person understanding what's been said. And if the other person doesn't understand, then it becomes merely idle talk, right, for us. This is the same with divisive speech and harsh words. So with lying, divisive speech and harsh words, it's always complete when the other person understands, right? And if the other person doesn't understand, then our non-virtue is just idle talk. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:52 Highlight the passage at 1:20:52

1:21:32 All right, we can stop with that. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:32 Highlight the passage at 1:21:32

1:21:55 Have you heard all of this before? The details of all of this? We'll see. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:55 Highlight the passage at 1:21:55

1:22:10 You are a good audience. It's not much for you, it's so good. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:10 Highlight the passage at 1:22:10

1:22:17 going to go have some sexual misconduct as as class is over. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:17 Highlight the passage at 1:22:17

1:22:26 a little late to get into it, but there's the issue of, like, imaginary sexual... I mean, it's not complete, right? Because, like, the performance, like, you actually have to have the physical... Right, right, yeah. So, right. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:26 Highlight the passage at 1:22:26

1:22:55 Yeah, it's still, you know, it's still... Right, like, it's still sexual misconduct but it's not complete, right, because you still have, you know, the perception, you have the affliction, you have the motivation of wanting, right, but you don't actually have the performance because you don't actually, you haven't actually done something physically. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:55 Highlight the passage at 1:22:55

1:23:22 Well, you don't have any tools to do it with. I guess, yeah, that's it. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:22 Highlight the passage at 1:23:22

1:23:37 And His Holiness is pretty good. Yeah, so whenever we have a question like that, oh, well, is this sexual misconduct? Then we can just go back to the four part, yeah, the basis, the attitude, the performance and the completion. So are those complete? Then it's a complete sexual misconduct. If it's not complete, if it's just partly, it's still a non-virtue, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:23:37 Highlight the passage at 1:23:37

1:24:08 In terms of karma ripening in this life due to something that was done, I had done, say, in a prior life. How exact is it? So for instance, say if I had harmed someone hypothetically and actually created certain acts of torture to kill them, will the result be the identical level of pain and the result of killing in this existence? Report an error in the passage at 1:24:08 Highlight the passage at 1:24:08

1:24:44 Or is it so specifically the same? Is it identical or is it kind of generally the case? That's hard to answer. That's kind of one of those questions that only a Buddha can answer. The specific karmic result to a specific cause is said to be something that only a Buddha knows. But in general, because of the increase in karma, then what you will experience is worse than what you committed. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:44 Highlight the passage at 1:24:44

1:25:27 Yeah, until you've purified it. Yeah, it's increased. So we can safely assume that whatever we've done to somebody else, worse will happen to us unless we've purified it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:27 Highlight the passage at 1:25:27

1:25:51 Okay, all right. So let's do dedications on page 240. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:51 Highlight the passage at 1:25:51

1:25:58 And then the first half of 241. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:58 Highlight the passage at 1:25:58

1:26:11 Due to the merits accumulated over the three times by myself and all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas which are empty from their own side, may I, who is empty from its own side, achieve the state of enlightenment which is empty from its own side and lead all sentient beings who are empty from their own side to that state as quickly as possible by myself alone. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:11 Highlight the passage at 1:26:11

1:26:34 Because of these merits may my actions never cause even the slightest harm to any sentient being. Instead, may they bring only the greatest of benefit. Whatever suffering or happy life I experience, may it be only of the greatest benefit to others, causing them to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:34 Highlight the passage at 1:26:34

1:26:54 Like Lama Tsongkhapa, may I be able to offer extensive benefits equaling the limitless sky to all sentient beings and the teachings of Buddha from now on in all future lives by having all the qualities of Lama Tsongkhapa within me. Because of the past, present and future merit created by me and by the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and sentient beings, may I, my family, disciples and all sentient beings be able to actualize completely in this very lifetime Lama Tsongkhapa's path of unified sūtra and tantra, which is pure like refined gold. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:54 Highlight the passage at 1:26:54

1:27:31 May this pure teaching of Lama Tsongkhapa spread in all directions and flourish forever. Because of all the merits of the three times created by me and all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other sentient beings, may there be no wars, famines, disease, quarreling, fighting or unhappy minds. May there be great prosperity and may everything needed be easily obtained. May all the human beings in the world be guided by spiritual leaders teaching only Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:31 Highlight the passage at 1:27:31

1:28:00 And may everyone enjoy the happiness of Dharma. And the last one, may everyone have perfect conditions. And may they only benefit and never harm each other. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:00 Highlight the passage at 1:28:00

1:28:22 Also let's pray for the long lives of all of our spiritual masters. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:22 Highlight the passage at 1:28:22

1:28:30 His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Dagpa, Chodron Rinpoche. Thanks Report an error in the passage at 1:28:30 Highlight the passage at 1:28:30

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:29:14 everyone. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:14 Highlight the passage at 1:29:14

1:29:19 So did everyone get an article? Thanks to Mary. class. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:19 Highlight the passage at 1:29:19

1:29:29 Oh my gosh. Oh, you do. Well, that keeps us on our toes, doesn't it? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:29 Highlight the passage at 1:29:29

1:29:38 Was there a handout from last week? I don't think so. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:38 Highlight the passage at 1:29:38

1:29:45 And one of these days I'm going to create homework again. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:45 Highlight the passage at 1:29:45

1:30:02 Yeah, we just leave, what, three out on? Two or four. Yeah, two on each side. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:02 Highlight the passage at 1:30:02

1:30:13 So Mary, Report an error in the passage at 1:30:13 Highlight the passage at 1:30:13

1:30:31 two on the side. nice to see Report an error in the passage at 1:30:31 Highlight the passage at 1:30:31