Buddhism from A-Z, 2nd Semester - Bodhicitta: Developing the Big Heart (23 March 2010)

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0:34 We'll start with the praise to Manjushri on page 84. Report an error in the passage at 0:34 Highlight the passage at 0:34

0:50 I'm going to wait for you to come up here. Report an error in the passage at 0:50 Highlight the passage at 0:50

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

1:26 Confused in the darkness of their ignorance, overwhelmed by their suffering, you whose dragon thunder proclamation of the Dharma arouses us from the stupor of our delusions and frees us from the iron chains of our karma, whose powerful sword of wisdom hues down suffering wherever its sprouts appear, clearing away the darkness of all ignorance, whose princely body is adorned with the 112 marks of a Buddha, who has completed the ten stages achieving the highest perfection of a bodhisattva, Who has been pure from the beginning. O Manjushri, all loving one, with the brilliance of your wisdom, illuminate the darkness in closing my mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:26 Highlight the passage at 1:26

2:05 Enlighten my intelligence and wisdom so that I may gain insight into Buddha's words and the texts that explain them. Report an error in the passage at 2:05 Highlight the passage at 2:05

2:34 On Report an error in the passage at 2:34 Highlight the passage at 2:34

2:39 page 88 at the bottom, Refuge and Bodhicitta. Tidididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididid Tee Report an error in the passage at 2:39 Highlight the passage at 2:39

2:50 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. 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 2:50 Highlight the passage at 2:50

3:16 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 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:35 So this is one of the prayers that we can recite every day after we've taken aspirational bodhicitta, except for it to change instead of listening to the Dharma by practicing the six perfections. Report an error in the passage at 3:35 Highlight the passage at 3:35

3:51 All right, so we've been talking about... Bodhicitta. Remembering bodhicitta is the aspiration for complete enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings. So not settling for individual liberation, but out of our great compassion and love for all beings, not wanting to leave them behind and wanting to help bring them all out of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 3:51 Highlight the passage at 3:51

4:19 So striving to become a Buddha in order to help sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 4:19 Highlight the passage at 4:19

4:28 And then we talked about the two types of bodhicitta, the aspiring bodhicitta and the engaging bodhicitta. Aspiring bodhicitta being what we just talked about, the wish to attain enlightenment for the welfare of sentient beings. And then engaging bodhicitta, taking the next step and practicing the six perfections, practicing the bodhisattva conduct, actually doing it. Report an error in the passage at 4:28 Highlight the passage at 4:28

4:52 Aspiring bodhicitta is the wish and engage. Engaging bodhicitta is actually practicing the bodhisattva trainings in order to attain enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 4:52 Highlight the passage at 4:52

5:05 So we talked about how we can develop aspirational bodhicitta without taking any vows, or we can develop aspirational bodhicitta, the wish to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings, with the vow never to give up our bodhicitta until we become enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:29 So that's a stronger, stronger bodhicitta. And then the engaged bodhicitta, where not only do we take the vow never to give up our bodhicitta, but we take the 18 root and 46 secondary bodhisattva vow. Report an error in the passage at 5:29 Highlight the passage at 5:29

5:49 And Lama Tsongkhapa doesn't go into the root and secondary bodhisattva vows in this text, but I thought that maybe we'd go through. I don't know if we'll have time, because this class is scheduled to have two more classes after this one, and I think that we'll probably finish Lama Tsongkhapa's section today, depending on how much discussion we have. Report an error in the passage at 5:49 Highlight the passage at 5:49

6:14 So I thought that we could spend the next two classes talking about the bodhisattva vows, if that's agreeable to you guys. And then we'll have a couple of weeks off until we start, before we start the six perfections. Report an error in the passage at 6:14 Highlight the passage at 6:14

6:34 So now we're talking about how do we guard our aspirational bodhicitta without it degenerating. And last time we talked about how we train in the causes that assure that bodhicitta will not degenerate in this life. And then today we'll talk about how we assure, I don't know about assure, but how we create the conditions, positive conditions so that we... Report an error in the passage at 6:34 Highlight the passage at 6:34

7:03 We'll hopefully not be separated from bodhicitta in future lives as well. So just reviewing the causes that help our bodhicitta not to degenerate in this life. Report an error in the passage at 7:03 Highlight the passage at 7:03

7:16 So we talked about how we remember the advantages of bodhicitta. So that's in order to strengthen our joy and delight in our bodhicitta. Continuing to train in bodhicitta. Because it's a long haul, right? I mean, bodhicitta, you know, we need to keep our bodhicitta until we become enlightened, right? So it's not this, you know, temporary high that, you know, that's not enough to maintain our bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 7:16 Highlight the passage at 7:16

7:53 I mean, I was just thinking, you know, Chodron Rinpoche just gave the refuge in bodhisattva vows on Sunday. This past Sunday, you know, and everybody gets all high. Everybody's all excited and, you know, inspired. You know, but then, you know, then after that, you know, maybe a couple of days later, you know, you're back down to earth and you're dealing with sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 7:53 Highlight the passage at 7:53

8:17 You know, you're dealing with, you know, some kind people and some not so kind people. And, you know, and that high from the ceremony doesn't carry you through all of the difficult circumstances, right? So that's why we have these precepts to help our bodhicitta not degenerate. Secondly is to generate our bodhicitta six times every day in order to increase our bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 8:17 Highlight the passage at 8:17

8:48 And that's reciting this refuge in bodhicitta formula. But Lama Tsongkhapa actually says ideally you go through the whole ritual of aspirational bodhicitta. That we went through a couple of weeks ago. But then if you don't have time, then you recite this prayer. But not only reciting the prayer, right? Report an error in the passage at 8:48 Highlight the passage at 8:48

9:12 But generating love and compassion in your heart. Report an error in the passage at 9:12 Highlight the passage at 9:12

9:18 And then the third cause to help our bodhicitta not degenerate is training in not mentally abandoning any sentient being. Report an error in the passage at 9:18 Highlight the passage at 9:18

9:29 So this is, once again, this is deciding in our minds like out of anger. I'm never going to help this person. I'm fed up. I'm never going to help them again. As soon as we decide that in our minds, as soon as we think that in our minds, we've lost our bodhicitta. Because bodhicitta is to aspire for complete enlightenment for all sentient beings, not all of those sentient beings that we like, or all of those sentient beings that meet my criteria. Report an error in the passage at 9:29 Highlight the passage at 9:29

10:03 For how you should act. So we need to be really careful, right? Not to mentally abandon anyone. And then fourth, accumulating the collections of merit and wisdom. Any questions on those? Report an error in the passage at 10:03 Highlight the passage at 10:03

10:27 Yes, Report an error in the passage at 10:27 Highlight the passage at 10:27

10:33 please. Can you make a little more clear than numbers two? Because it's training, generating it six times. Six times a day. A day. It means practice that. How is that? Report an error in the passage at 10:33 Highlight the passage at 10:33

10:48 Yeah, so usually it's done three times in the morning and three times in the evening. And what people normally do, right, is to recite that refuge and bodhicitta prayer three times in the morning and three times in the evening. Report an error in the passage at 10:48 Highlight the passage at 10:48

11:08 Yeah. I mean, Lama Tsongkhapa says, you know, first, you know, set up your offerings and visualize the merit field and then generate love and compassion and then recite that prayer. Report an error in the passage at 11:08 Highlight the passage at 11:08

11:22 Generate bodhicitta, right, and then recite, reciting that. It actually means the whole thing, right, not just reciting, but I think a lot of people just recite the prayer. Report an error in the passage at 11:22 Highlight the passage at 11:22

11:36 Yeah, but at least bring to mind, right, bodhicitta six times a day, right, so we don't completely forget, get lost in, you know, our daily activities. It's like, oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be working for the benefit of all sentient beings, right? Yeah. So ideally, once we have uncontrived bodhicitta, we'll have it all the time. But it takes a while to get to uncontrived bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 11:36 Highlight the passage at 11:36

12:02 So training in it six times a day is getting us to that point, training us to get to uncontrived bodhicitta. So at least we don't go days without even remembering that I took bodhisattva vows. Yeah, it means in the moment that we're reciting, we're feeling, you know, what they What we are reciting in that moment goes with your feelings too and connection with that. Report an error in the passage at 12:02 Highlight the passage at 12:02

12:30 Yeah, so it's good before you recite the prayer to spend a few minutes recalling how kind sentient beings are and the advantages of bodhicitta and how they're suffering, how they're stuck in saṃsāra and how we need to free them from saṃsāra. And then take refuge and generate bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

13:01 And there might be more than one four-line prayer that's more inspiring to some people than others. So it doesn't have to be just that refuge prayer. I myself prefer the one that His Holiness almost always, He weaves in in every talk, even in public talks. When he's not even offering the bodhisattva thousand. Report an error in the passage at 13:01 Highlight the passage at 13:01

13:29 Yeah, no, that's a very good point. We should, you know, with all of our practice, I think it's good, right, to search around and find what really resonates with us. You know, these are the traditional prayers, you know, but the main thing is to mentally, right, mentally and with feeling, with our hearts, to develop, you know, some level of bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 13:29 Highlight the passage at 13:29

13:52 So, yeah, like you're talking about for as long as space endured. Report an error in the passage at 13:52 Highlight the passage at 13:52

14:00 With a wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha. Actually, I throw in Guru as well, Guru, Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha. I don't see I do every day, and of course now I'm blocking it. With a wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 14:00 Highlight the passage at 14:00

14:21 Enthused by wisdom and compassion, today in the presence of Buddha, I generate the mind of enlightenment for all sentient beings. As long as space endures and as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too abide to dispel the misery of the world. It's just got teeth for me. Report an error in the passage at 14:21 Highlight the passage at 14:21

14:43 Yeah, and it's to change it up too because when we recite the same thing again and again, it just becomes rote, right? We don't even think about it. Report an error in the passage at 14:43 Highlight the passage at 14:43

15:00 And then how do we not separate from bodhicitta in our future lives? So these are really based on the fact that we need conducive conditions, right? in order to bodhicitta. If in our life we're constantly having to deal with people who are being really abusive to us or really mean to us, we don't get any support, it's really hard to develop bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 15:00 Highlight the passage at 15:00

15:32 Or if we're just struggling to survive, if we don't have enough food, bodhicitta isn't going to be the first thing on our minds. Report an error in the passage at 15:32 Highlight the passage at 15:32

15:42 We need to create the causes in order in the next life to continue to have conducive circumstances for developing bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 15:42 Highlight the passage at 15:42

15:54 So how do we do that? Abandoning the four black dharmas that cause bodhicitta to degenerate and adopting the four white dharmas that do not allow it to degenerate. So the four black dharmas. Shantideva says that there are four black actions that weaken or make one forget bodhicitta in future lives. Even if one has developed bodhicitta through sincere practice and has not lost it completely, these black actions will destroy future positive conditions for developing bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 15:54 Highlight the passage at 15:54

16:34 Then even if one tries to develop bodhicitta, it will be very difficult because one has created powerful opposition. Report an error in the passage at 16:34 Highlight the passage at 16:34

16:45 Okay, so these four. Black Dharmas are deceiving one's abbot, master, guru, or those worthy of offerings. Second, causing others to regret the virtuous deeds they do not regret. Report an error in the passage at 16:45 Highlight the passage at 16:45

17:01 Third, causing others to regret the virtuous deeds that they do not regret. And we'll go into these. Sometimes edit Report an error in the passage at 17:01 Highlight the passage at 17:01

17:16 it a little bit to make more sense. The third one, saying that which is not praise and so forth about a sentient being who has entered the Mahāyāna. And fourth, an activity done out of deceit and dissimilation but without the extraordinary attitude. Report an error in the passage at 17:16 Highlight the passage at 17:16

17:37 So the first one, deceiving one's abbot, master, guru or those worthy of offerings. Lama Tsongkhapa says, among the four black dharmas with respect to that of deceiving one's abbot, master, guru or those worthy of offerings. The objects that are one's abbot and master are easy to understand. Report an error in the passage at 17:37 Highlight the passage at 17:37

18:00 Okay, what's an abbot? So an abbot is talked about, like, if we take monastic vows, the abbot is the person who takes responsibility for you as a monk or a nun. Report an error in the passage at 18:00 Highlight the passage at 18:00

18:19 So it's important not to deceive this person who's, you know, taken you under their wing. Master. There was an Abbott. Report an error in the passage at 18:19 Highlight the passage at 18:19

18:31 Well, there's a couple of different interpretations that I found of master. Geshe Jampi Gyatso says master is someone who's given us teachings, Dharma teachings. Report an error in the passage at 18:31 Highlight the passage at 18:31

18:43 Whereas it seems that Geshe Sopa is saying the master is someone who's given us vows. So the abbot, the one who gives us the vows could be an abbot or it could be like Report an error in the passage at 18:43 Highlight the passage at 18:43

19:05 the abbot. He's the one who takes responsibility for your ordination but may not actually give you your vows. So the master seems to be the one who gives you your vows. Report an error in the passage at 19:05 Highlight the passage at 19:05

19:20 The guru is someone who wishes to benefit you. And those worthy of offerings are endowed with good qualities even though they do not belong to the previous two. Report an error in the passage at 19:20 Highlight the passage at 19:20

19:33 But those worthy of offerings are other holy beings. They may not have given us vows but other beings with... Special qualities. So any of these beings, we shouldn't deceive. Because they've been so kind to us, they're giving us the Dharma. And so it's important not to deceive them. Report an error in the passage at 19:33 Highlight the passage at 19:33

20:04 So what does it mean to deceive them? Lama Tsongkhapa says, to knowingly cheat them by any means. But then he goes on to say, However, as the deceit and dissimilation that are not lies are indicated below, it has to be cheating through lying. So this particular precept refers to not verbally lying to one of these beings. Report an error in the passage at 20:04 Highlight the passage at 20:04

20:33 So, for example, if you tell, let's say, Geshe Dagpa that you're going to go home and meditate and study and... Actually, you're going to the beach, right? That's not a good thing, right? You'd be violating this precept. So this particular precept is through speech. Like if you're deceitful through body language, it's not technically considered under this precept. Report an error in the passage at 20:33 Highlight the passage at 20:33

21:22 You're violating a different precept, but not the first one. Report an error in the passage at 21:22 Highlight the passage at 21:22

21:33 yeah, they divide themselves really precisely. Report an error in the passage at 21:33 Highlight the passage at 21:33

21:43 So deceiving any of these beings is weakening our bodhicitta, right? Report an error in the passage at 21:43 Highlight the passage at 21:43

21:53 Causing others to regret the virtuous deeds they do not regret. Report an error in the passage at 21:53 Highlight the passage at 21:53

22:01 So with respect to causing others to regret virtues they do not regret, the object is another person without regrets about a virtue he has done. So let's say somebody... Report an error in the passage at 22:01 Highlight the passage at 22:01

22:15 Decides to take ordination. Decides to become a monk and a nun and you tell them, well, you know, you shouldn't have done that. It's better to, you know, to stay a layperson and, you know, be a householder and help beings in that way. Or you should, you know, you should, anyway, something like that. So someone's done something virtuous and you're, yeah, you're putting them down. Report an error in the passage at 22:15 Highlight the passage at 22:15

22:40 You're implying that that wasn't a good thing to do, right? Saying or implying. And that can be done right out of jealousy. Report an error in the passage at 22:40 Highlight the passage at 22:40

22:54 So Lama Tsongkhapa says what one does toward him is that with the intention to make him or her regret, the person generates regret for that which is not an object of regret. Report an error in the passage at 22:54 Highlight the passage at 22:54

23:08 So making that person, you know, creating the causes for them to regret, you know, getting ordained or doing something virtuous. You know, it might be something like doing retreat. Someone wants to go off and do retreat, but others, you know, don't understand why. You know, oftentimes I think you get that. No, you know, you're just escaping from the world and, you know, you shouldn't go on retreat. You know, that's dangerous. Report an error in the passage at 23:08 Highlight the passage at 23:08

23:36 What Report an error in the passage at 23:36 Highlight the passage at 23:36

23:48 about donating money or something to charity or something and then... A roommate or a friend says, you really shouldn't have given all that money away. You need that for stuff. Yep, that would be violating this precept. If they had bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 23:48 Highlight the passage at 23:48

24:13 Or giving Report an error in the passage at 24:13 Highlight the passage at 24:13

24:20 money to a beggar and somebody says, no, you shouldn't give money. Report an error in the passage at 24:20 Highlight the passage at 24:20

24:31 So it's important not to put people down for doing something. Yeah. Right. Right. Um. Report an error in the passage at 24:31 Highlight the passage at 24:31

24:38 Even if we don't agree with it. Report an error in the passage at 24:38 Highlight the passage at 24:38

24:45 And here Lama Tsongkhapa says it's the same whether or not the person is deceived or whether or not the person has regrets. So in this case, it doesn't matter if the other person actually ends up regretting giving money or regretting doing retreat or regretting ordination. The main thing is we have the intention for them to regret it. We have the intention to put them down. Report an error in the passage at 24:45 Highlight the passage at 24:45

25:16 So this is the opposite of encouraging people to practice virtue. This is discouraging people from practicing virtue. So that causes our bodhicitta to degenerate. Report an error in the passage at 25:16 Highlight the passage at 25:16

25:31 The third one, saying that which is not praise and so forth about a sentient being who has entered the Mahāyāna. This one is very easy to break. Report an error in the passage at 25:31 Highlight the passage at 25:31

25:43 So with respect to saying that which is not praise and so forth about a sentient being who has entered the Mahāyāna. The object is someone who has generated the mind of enlightenment and now possesses it. So this is a person. There's some debate on, okay, well, what does this mean? Does this mean somebody who's on the Mahāyāna path of accumulation or more? Does it mean someone who has uncontrived bodhicitta or just the bodhisattva vows or aspirational bodhicitta? Report an error in the passage at 25:43 Highlight the passage at 25:43

26:15 Lama Tsongkhapa says this is... Anyone who has either aspiring or engaging bodhicitta. So if they've taken bodhisattva vows and haven't relinquished them, or taking aspirational bodhicitta and hasn't relinquished that. So that would be a lot of people. And Report an error in the passage at 26:15 Highlight the passage at 26:15

26:40 what one does toward him or her is to say something unpleasant, motivated by hatred or anger. So we can say something unpleasant. directly to that person or about that person to somebody else. Report an error in the passage at 26:40 Highlight the passage at 26:40

27:00 that violates precept. Report an error in the passage at 27:00 Highlight the passage at 27:00

27:06 Anger is talked about a lot, Report an error in the passage at 27:06 Highlight the passage at 27:06

27:12 tradition, because it's so harmful to our bodhicitta, right? That's really the opposite, right? The opposite of love and compassion is anger. So there's all sorts of teachings about how, you know, one moment of anger will cause you to be reborn in love. Report an error in the passage at 27:12 Highlight the passage at 27:12

27:35 I think that the aim is for us to be not lackadaisical about our anger, not to justify our anger. Because oftentimes we do, right? That person deserves our anger. That person really did something wrong. And then we feed our anger. Report an error in the passage at 27:35 Highlight the passage at 27:35

27:57 But that's really going to destroy our bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 27:57 Highlight the passage at 27:57

28:10 So I thought I would use this whiteboard and talk. This is going to be straying from Lama Tsongkhapa a little bit. I think Report an error in the passage at 28:10 Highlight the passage at 28:10

28:24 this might be useful. Report an error in the passage at 28:24 Highlight the passage at 28:24

28:29 So let's say, because Report an error in the passage at 28:29 Highlight the passage at 28:29

28:43 in the Dharma we often times talk about anger, right? We shouldn't get angry. But what is anger? You know, there's many different levels. Like the lowest level we can say is maybe tension. Like we start feeling tense and then maybe we get impatient. Report an error in the passage at 28:43 Highlight the passage at 28:43

29:02 someone and they won't even get irritated. Report an error in the passage at 29:02 Highlight the passage at 29:02

29:09 know, on so on, and then at some point, it's anger, and at some point, like, the Report an error in the passage at 29:09 Highlight the passage at 29:09

29:21 strongest anger maybe we call rage, right? There's this progression, right? We start by getting a little bit tight. Somebody cuts you off and then you can either feed it or you let it go. If we feed it, we keep going up this curve. And then at some point it becomes anger. And anger, according to Asanga's compendium of trainings, is the intent to harm sentient beings or computers or whatever, right? Report an error in the passage at 29:21 Highlight the passage at 29:21

30:02 Suffering in your continuum. So, you know, when we're down at this point, you know, just irritation, we're not really at the point where we're going to lash out yet. But if we can keep feeding it, then it becomes anger and then we want to harm, right? Which is the complete opposite, right, of bodhicitta. You know, instead of wanting to help, we want to harm. So I think the object of Dharma practice is to catch it when it's down here. Report an error in the passage at 30:02 Highlight the passage at 30:02

30:34 We notice at... The low levels, the irritation, the impatience, and then we apply the antidote there, right? We notice the thinking. Instead of letting it escalate up to anger by feeding it with our thoughts. So I think that's why in the Dharma it talks about again and again how anger, right? Anger destroys your mirror. Anger destroys your virtue. So that we don't let... Report an error in the passage at 30:34 Highlight the passage at 30:34

31:09 So we're more diligent, right, about not lamrim. Report an error in the passage at 31:09 Highlight the passage at 31:09

31:24 The other thing, this is my made up bodhicitta curve. Report an error in the passage at 31:24 Highlight the passage at 31:24

31:40 So this is my idea of how bodhicitta works, right? At the beginning, when we first start, it really takes a lot of effort to develop bodhicitta, right? A lot of effort to develop love and compassion and bodhicitta, right? So the progress is slow. But then, you know, then after a while, it gets easier and easier. Report an error in the passage at 31:40 Highlight the passage at 31:40

32:04 Hopefully, you know, especially if we, as we abandon our anger. And on the path, we make progress and I think sometimes we go up and sometimes we go down and sometimes we go up and sometimes we go down. If we take bodhisattva vows with, you know, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, maybe our bodhicitta gets to this level and we go back to work and it goes down and we get irritated at people and, you know, so these precepts. Report an error in the passage at 32:04 Highlight the passage at 32:04

32:37 I think is to help the bodhicitta not go down so much. I mean, it'll go down sometimes, you know, just with difficult circumstances. But anger is probably the affliction that will bring our bodhicitta down the most. But judgmental mind, it goes down, right? Critical mind, it goes down. Selfish mind, it goes down, right? So with the precepts, we're trying to not. Report an error in the passage at 32:37 Highlight the passage at 32:37

33:12 I Report an error in the passage at 33:12 Highlight the passage at 33:12

33:28 notice that in my mind quite a lot. I go through periods where I think, oh yeah, my bodhicitta, it's increasing, my love and compassion is increasing. And then I just let my mind go sloppy. It's like judgmental mind, irritated mind, and then suddenly I see a being and no love and compassion arises at all. Report an error in the passage at 33:28 Highlight the passage at 33:28

33:58 So with these precepts we're trying to help. You know, our mindfulness and not, you know, and to identify those minds that cause our bodhicitta to degenerate and cut them off, right? Not feed them. This Report an error in the passage at 33:58 Highlight the passage at 33:58

34:29 is a slowly, slowly, right? This is a slow process. You need to work day by day. Report an error in the passage at 34:29 Highlight the passage at 34:29

34:40 So going back to this precept of saying that which is not praise and so forth about a sentient being who has entered the Mahāyāna. So we say something unpleasant to someone with bodhicitta or about someone with bodhicitta motivated by hatred or anger. And the object, to make this complete, the person understands the meaning. If you say something nasty about somebody to your cat, you know, you're not... Report an error in the passage at 34:40 Highlight the passage at 34:40

35:16 Really breaking this precept, right, because the cat didn't understand the meaning. Report an error in the passage at 35:16 Highlight the passage at 35:16

35:26 Why is this so serious, right, saying something unpleasant about or to a bodhisattva? Because a bodhisattva, right, is dedicated toward helping all beings. Report an error in the passage at 35:26 Highlight the passage at 35:26

35:40 So I was thinking, if I said something unpleasant or derogatory about, let's say, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, you know, and caused people to, you know. To have negative thoughts about him, I mean, how detrimental is that? He's there just to benefit others. And here I am trying to cause other people to not believe in him. Report an error in the passage at 35:40 Highlight the passage at 35:40

36:11 That's really an obstacle for them to attain enlightenment. So it's really a serious matter. Yeah, John. Report an error in the passage at 36:11 Highlight the passage at 36:11

36:29 I think one way... looking at it too at least the thing that pops into my mind right away is that you know if if whoever were going to go and say something you know nice about llama zopa and they say it to their cat well the cat isn't going to go out and start saying the same thing to others you know might say to another cat but it would just come out like meow now. Report an error in the passage at 36:29 Highlight the passage at 36:29

36:53 But if you say like they say to like another human. Or something like that. Then the potential for that thought to propagate out to more people, it has a potential to magnify. So the negative karma that can be created from that is much greater than if you were just to go and say it to your cat. I think, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 36:53 Highlight the passage at 36:53

37:17 Yeah, I think that definitely has something to do with it. Report an error in the passage at 37:17 Highlight the passage at 37:17

37:27 Plus, you're not affecting that other being's mind, right? If they don't understand what you're saying. You're not turning that being's mind against this bodhisattva, right? I mean, this is just my thinking, right? Lama Tsongkhapa doesn't say this, but, you know, that seems to be an important aspect of, you know, the other being, understanding the meaning. Because you're affecting their mind if they understand the meaning. Report an error in the passage at 37:27 Highlight the passage at 37:27

37:54 If they don't understand the meaning, then it doesn't cause them to turn against this bodhisattva. Report an error in the passage at 37:54 Highlight the passage at 37:54

38:07 I believe it's more easier to not say something against Lama Zopa Rinpoche or somebody that is helping us, but the more difficult part would be saying to another person that is not maybe practicing or they don't know about the teachings, the Dharma, and we say something unpleasant, you know, we have to, I believe, be more careful about it. Report an error in the passage at 38:07 Highlight the passage at 38:07

38:36 I have to be more careful about it because they don't know that we're generating something negative to the person because we're telling the person something unpleasant. Report an error in the passage at 38:36 Highlight the passage at 38:36

38:49 You know, I believe it's a... It means it's easier not to go against it with somebody, a guru or somebody who's practicing here or maybe here between us. It's easier to practice because everybody knows the teachings, everybody, we want to, you know, practice. But outside when nobody knows who is a bodhicitta, you know, we don't know who's a bodhicitta or who's not. Report an error in the passage at 38:49 Highlight the passage at 38:49

39:16 We cannot, we don't know that. And it's, you know, I believe, you know what I'm That's what makes this one so tricky, right? Because we don't know who's a bodhisattva. Even that obnoxious person at work could be a bodhisattva. We don't know, right? Because we don't know another person's mind, right? We can't know another person's mind until we get some level of clairvoyance, right? Report an error in the passage at 39:16 Highlight the passage at 39:16

39:41 So what this is implying is that we shouldn't say anything unpleasant about anyone, right? Or to anyone at all. So that's how we're safe, right? Is if we don't say anything unpleasant to or about anyone. Report an error in the passage at 39:41 Highlight the passage at 39:41

40:04 So then we really have to be mindful. Report an error in the passage at 40:04 Highlight the passage at 40:04

40:12 So Lama Tsongkhapa continues and says, it is easy for this to occur, right? And it is also a very great disadvantage. That has already been mentioned previously in brief. Report an error in the passage at 40:12 Highlight the passage at 40:12

40:24 So furthermore, it is taught in the sūtra of the miracle of complete certainty of perfect peace, that if a bodhisattva generates a mind of contempt toward a bodhisattva, he must remain in hell for that many eons, and that apart from deprecating a bodhisattva, nothing can make a bodhisattva fall into the bad migrations. Report an error in the passage at 40:24 Highlight the passage at 40:24

40:45 So, this isn't very nice to hear, but, you know, so if a bodhisattva... Generates this mind of contempt toward another bodhisattva. That's the only thing that will cause a bodhisattva to go to a lower realm. Report an error in the passage at 40:45 Highlight the passage at 40:45

41:06 Is that possible for a bodhisattva to say? Report an error in the passage at 41:06 Highlight the passage at 41:06

41:21 Just by reading it, it seems logically impossible. It's like saying, if a dog is a cat, if you are a bodhisattva, why would you say something or do something untoward to anybody? Much less another bodhisattva. Well, there's a lot of different levels of bodhisattvas. So bodhisattvas haven't necessarily abandoned anger completely yet. Report an error in the passage at 41:21 Highlight the passage at 41:21

41:50 Actually, you don't abandon the seeds of anger until pretty far along the path. So after you've directly realized emptiness. So in theory, it's possible. Report an error in the passage at 41:50 Highlight the passage at 41:50

42:09 If bodhisattva here means... Those of us who have taken the bodhisattva vows and were trying, many of us still get angry, right? Report an error in the passage at 42:09 Highlight the passage at 42:09

42:38 Well, I guess what I thought Matt was going to say is something about that's the only thing that can make, am I misreading this? It's the only thing? I thought there were lots of things that could still make you fall down into a bad migration. As a bodhisattva. Yeah, it's interesting. It's interesting. Yeah, you know, this is the first time I've actually heard that, but this is what it says. You know, it seems like if you kill a being or something, you know, it might cause you to lower realms, but I Report an error in the passage at 42:38 Highlight the passage at 42:38

43:15 don't know what to say. Report an error in the passage at 43:15 Highlight the passage at 43:15

43:26 Yeah, so, you know, I would think, I mean, when I read this too, I was thinking a bodhisattva who's actually on the Mahāyāna path, who has uncontrived bodhicitta, right? On the path of accumulation or preparation. It seems like those of us who have taken bodhisattva vows, it's not so difficult to create the causes to be born in the lower right. Report an error in the passage at 43:26 Highlight the passage at 43:26

43:55 If you have uncontrived bodhicitta, maybe. Report an error in the passage at 43:55 Highlight the passage at 43:55

44:04 But, Report an error in the passage at 44:04 Highlight the passage at 44:04

44:09 you know, then there's that story of Shakyamuni Buddha before he became enlightened, you know, when he was still a bodhisattva and he killed the guy who was going to kill the 500 men. It was said he went down to the lower realms, the hell realms, for just a moment and bounced back up. Report an error in the passage at 44:09 Highlight the passage at 44:09

44:32 My thinking is that even if a bodhisattva falls into the bad migrations, he or she is very busy doing good stuff down there. I say down there, but you know what I mean. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 44:32 Highlight the passage at 44:32

44:49 One of the benefits of being a bodhisattva is he won't be reborn in the lower realms. Or if you are born in the lower realms, you won't suffer and you're going to be working for sentient beings. Your compassion will increase, your bodhicitta will increase as a result. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 44:49 Highlight the passage at 44:49

45:22 and I think also with this, it sounds to me like it all has to do with intention. Because with the story of Shakyamuni Buddha, who killed the guy who was going to kill the other people on the boat. He did go down to hell, but it was just for an instant. It's not an eon. And that he was doing out of compassion for everybody on the boat and for the guy as well. Report an error in the passage at 45:22 Highlight the passage at 45:22

45:46 So, yeah, I think it would be all about intention and all that. Yeah, karma is primarily about intention, right? Karma actually is defined as being intention. Report an error in the passage at 45:46 Highlight the passage at 45:46

46:09 And then further, in the abbreviated... Abbreviated Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra. It also says that if a bodhisattva who has not yet obtained a prediction argues out of anger with a bodhisattva who has obtained a prediction, for however long a mine of anger arose, he will have to spend that many eons longer on the path. Report an error in the passage at 46:09 Highlight the passage at 46:09

46:32 So this prediction or a prophecy, I mean it's said that on the path... That bodhisattvas attain prophecies about when they're going to get enlightened at like three different points on the path. Like the path of preparation, the path of seeing and the eighth bodhisattva ground. It's said that the bodhisattva gets a prophecy from the Buddhas on when they're going to get enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 46:32 Highlight the passage at 46:32

47:03 So this is saying that a bodhisattva who has not yet obtained a prediction, so that would be a bodhisattva who's not yet on the path of preparation, argues out of anger with a bodhisattva who has obtained a prediction, so that would be argues with a bodhisattva who's on the path of preparation or further. Report an error in the passage at 47:03 Highlight the passage at 47:03

47:25 So that bodhisattva will have to spend that many eons longer on the path. So let's say it's a bodhisattva on the path of... Accumulation, right, the first of the five paths, getting angry at a higher level bodhisattva, then they won't lose their bodhicitta, but their path will take much longer. Report an error in the passage at 47:25 Highlight the passage at 47:25

47:59 So this is what I was saying earlier. I just wanted to quote a saṅgha. So technically anger is an intention to harm. Sentient beings to harm suffering in one's own continuum or to harm phenomena that are sources of suffering. So we want to harm beings to harm our own pain or to harm phenomena that are sources of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 47:59 Highlight the passage at 47:59

48:34 So to harm computers and things like that, right, that frustrate us. We say more about that middle one, to harm sufferings in one's own continuum. Report an error in the passage at 48:34 Highlight the passage at 48:34

48:48 What is your thinking on that? It's been a long time since I've looked at this in detail. But that's, I think, you know, when we're in pain and we get angry because we're in pain, like angry because our back hurts and wanting to... Yeah, it might be something like that. You know, physically beating. Well, yeah, I would be speculating there. Report an error in the passage at 48:48 Highlight the passage at 48:48

49:22 But it seems to have something to do with, yeah, being mad, right, being mad at the suffering, the pain that we're experiencing. Report an error in the passage at 49:22 Highlight the passage at 49:22

49:45 Yeah, I mean, the main point here is the anger, right, that extremely disturbed mind. Report an error in the passage at 49:45 Highlight the passage at 49:45

49:56 Yeah, I don't really know the thinking behind that second one so much. would mean to stop them, but not what's interior. Report an error in the passage at 49:56 Highlight the passage at 49:56

50:02 But just in general, oftentimes it's said anger is an intention to harm any of the three objects. You know, again, it says the three objects, and these are the three objects, sentient beings, sufferings or the causes of suffering. I know that I've upset people over my lifetime, and they've given me the feedback of, Lynn, you beat up on yourself. I'm just wondering if that falls into this. Report an error in the passage at 50:02 Highlight the passage at 50:02

50:25 I mean, because it's actually upsetting other people. When they overhear me express, you know, like, you know, that kind of thing. When I've done something I don't, I'm not happy about. Report an error in the passage at 50:25 Highlight the passage at 50:25

50:42 I actually make a big sentence about it in my mouth, with my mouth. And people hear it and they're uncomfortable. I mean, I sound angry. You know, so I just wonder if it's kind of in that category. Report an error in the passage at 50:42 Highlight the passage at 50:42

51:04 Maybe. Report an error in the passage at 51:04 Highlight the passage at 51:04

51:10 Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think that's Report an error in the passage at 51:10 Highlight the passage at 51:10

51:23 qualified to answer that one. Report an error in the passage at 51:23 Highlight the passage at 51:23

51:31 It seems like the key is kind of in the slightly different definition of anger, that anger is the intention to harm, rather than, I think we think of anger as just being grumbly or, I don't know, like, yeah, just grumping. And it's not that, it's actually something stronger, an intention to harm. Report an error in the passage at 51:31 Highlight the passage at 51:31

51:57 Intention to harm, it's not the irritated mind or the, you know, just being upset. It's the anger that's gotten to a certain, it's grown, right, enough to the point where you want to harm somebody or something, yeah, like you want to throw your computer across the room or you want to, you know, you want to say something insulting to somebody or punch somebody, right? Report an error in the passage at 51:57 Highlight the passage at 51:57

52:25 So that's the anger in general that's talked about, right? It's an anger that's risen to a point. Where you have the intention to harm somebody. So you're grumbling. It may upset people, but your intention is probably not to upset anyone. Report an error in the passage at 52:25 Highlight the passage at 52:25

52:47 You're just frustrated with yourself. So I don't think that that would be anger. It may be more frustration. But yeah, something to think further about. When I read this, I flashed back to some of the other stuff in the reading. Talked about, you know, when you reach a certain point, you come to welcome suffering because it's like it teaches you or it shows you, it gives you an opportunity to grow and to reach your goal of Buddhahood, right? Report an error in the passage at 52:47 Highlight the passage at 52:47

53:21 Like so you end up sort of embracing your own suffering so that you can escape it eventually. This seems like the opposite of that. Yeah, this seems like sort of disengaging from that and turning away from it instead of... Holding your heart to it and growing from it. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, Shantideva was just teaching on 7-Point Mind Training in Campbell over the weekend. Report an error in the passage at 53:21 Highlight the passage at 53:21

53:48 He was talking about how difficult, you know, when difficult circumstances arise. You really take that opportunity to further your love and compassion for others and then you imagine taking on others' suffering and all of that, right? So that's exactly what you're talking about, yeah. Because this habit of wanting to escape from suffering is a strong habit for most of us. Report an error in the passage at 53:48 Highlight the passage at 53:48

54:13 But that's opposite of bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is we're willing to take on suffering in order to help others. We're willing to take on hardships in order to help others. So if we can't deal with pain and suffering, if we're trying to escape it, then our bodhicitta can't be very strong. Report an error in the passage at 54:13 Highlight the passage at 54:13

54:36 But obviously, you know, that's a big thing to overcome, right? So it's just a gradual process. I Report an error in the passage at 54:36 Highlight the passage at 54:36

54:53 wanted to put this too because sometimes people get afraid. Oh, you know, if I get irritated for one moment, I'm going to hell, right? And that's not, right? That's not what we're talking about. It's that anger that's, you know, it's like we all know that anger, right? You want to lash out, right? Report an error in the passage at 54:53 Highlight the passage at 54:53

55:17 And plus being in the Mahāyāna path, we know about the... For opponent powers too, right? So even if we do get angry, we can still purify it and make it less, right? Yeah, definitely. I mean, that's what we need to do, right? Yeah. That's why it's good to do it every night, you know? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 55:17 Highlight the passage at 55:17

55:47 Go finish this and then we'll take a break. Report an error in the passage at 55:47 Highlight the passage at 55:47

55:53 All right, so this is exactly what Chris was just saying. Because of that, it is also taught in the same text that it is necessary to put an end to all anger in all its aspects and to put effort into confessing it and restraining from it immediately whenever it arises. Report an error in the passage at 55:53 Highlight the passage at 55:53

56:12 So restraining from it, keeping it on the lower level as much as we can, and if we can't, then at least to purify it. But of course it's not the same, right, to get angry and purify it as... It is to not get angry at all. Report an error in the passage at 56:12 Highlight the passage at 56:12

56:45 So an analogy I've heard is it's similar to like if you get angry and then you purify it, it's similar to like breaking your leg and it healing, right? It heals, but it's never quite the same, right? I'll take care of this tonight. Report an error in the passage at 56:45 Highlight the passage at 56:45

57:01 So similarly, if we allow our anger and then we think, okay, well, I'll just purify it tonight. Your mind is never quite the same, right? Report an error in the passage at 57:01 Highlight the passage at 57:01

57:17 But it's good that we can purify it if we can't restrain from it. Report an error in the passage at 57:17 Highlight the passage at 57:17

57:26 So Tsongkhapa says, if you give hatred a chance, the love and compassion you have developed will weaken and it will be hard to develop any new love and compassion. Even if you practice for a long time, thus you cut the root of the spirit of enlightenment. If you stop hatred, the unfavorable condition for love and compassion, and cultivate love and compassion according to the previous explanation, then they progressively increase and eventually become limitless. Report an error in the passage at 57:26 Highlight the passage at 57:26

58:03 Do you notice this in your mind? If you get really angry, it really affects your mind for days and maybe weeks. Not so easy to develop, you know, love and compassion of bodhicitta, right, after we've let our minds get really angry. So to be really diligent about trying to stop it as much as we can. And certainly not feed it, right, certainly not justify it. Report an error in the passage at 58:03 Highlight the passage at 58:03

58:41 And then lastly, the fourth black Dharma is an activity done out of deceit and dissimilation without the extraordinary attitude. Report an error in the passage at 58:41 Highlight the passage at 58:41

58:51 So with respect to an activity done out of deceit and dissimilation, but without the extraordinary attitude, the object is any other sentient being. What one does toward him or her is to engage in deceit and dissimilation. What does this mean? So Asanga says that deceit is to display qualities that actually do not exist. Report an error in the passage at 58:51 Highlight the passage at 58:51

59:18 So to pretend that we have qualities that we don't. And dissimilation is to take measures for faults to not become evident. So dissimilation is to hide our faults. Deceit is to pretend that we have qualities we don't. Yeah? Yeah? I'm such a pure Buddhist. Right? So these are really easy to break, aren't they? We don't really want people to see all our faults. Report an error in the passage at 59:18 Highlight the passage at 59:18

59:54 So in this... Right? Report an error in the passage at 59:54 Highlight the passage at 59:54

59:56 So we're supposed to have the extraordinary attitude. So extraordinary attitude in this context isn't the extraordinary attitude we talked about in the context of the sevenfold cause and effect of taking responsibility for sentient beings, freeing sentient beings from suffering. Here, extraordinary thought, Geshe Sopa says, it means being straightforward, earnest and pure in relation to others. Being straightforward, honest. Report an error in the passage at 59:56 Highlight the passage at 59:56

1:00:25 Sincere with respect to others. Like not honest in a, you know, telling people their fault because it's, right, honest, right? That's unkind, right? So honest in a kind way, right? So not pretending, right? Not pretending that we're any better than we are, right? Being straightforward like Report an error in the passage at 1:00:25 Highlight the passage at 1:00:25

1:00:54 a Dharma. Any questions? Let's take a break. And Jeannie brought some nice little sweeties so we can have during break. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:54 Highlight the passage at 1:00:54

1:01:24 Go Report an error in the passage at 1:01:24 Highlight the passage at 1:01:24

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:02:34 into adopting the four white dharmas that do not allow our bodhicitta to degenerate. So the four white dharmas are really the opposite of the four black dharmas or the antidotes to the four black dharmas. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:34 Highlight the passage at 1:02:34

1:02:52 So practicing the white dharmas help our bodhicitta not degenerate. So they are abandoning lying knowingly. Sustaining the extraordinary attitude without deceit or dissimulation. Generating the discrimination that bodhisattvas are like the teacher and praising them. The teacher here being the Buddha, Shakyamuni. And then ripening sentient beings. So abandoning lying knowingly. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:52 Highlight the passage at 1:02:52

1:03:29 There's a lot of ings there. So here the object is all sentient beings and the action is to abandon. Abandon lying to them knowingly, even for the sake of one's life or for as little as a joke. All right, so not lying to anyone, right? Even as a joke? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:29 Highlight the passage at 1:03:29

1:04:05 Even for the sake of one's life. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:05 Highlight the passage at 1:04:05

1:04:14 But that's pretty self-explanatory. ha, ha, Report an error in the passage at 1:04:14 Highlight the passage at 1:04:14

1:04:23 If you act in this way, you will be sure not to cheat special objects such as your abbot master, etc. through lies. So if we practice not lying to anyone, then surely we won't lie to the llamas. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:23 Highlight the passage at 1:04:23

1:04:45 Are there exceptions? Well, because what I was thinking was, let's say a hostile government was against you and your religion. receptions. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:45 Highlight the passage at 1:04:45

1:05:03 And they were going to kill you if you didn't appease their way of thinking. And you knew that if you died, there's a chance you may come back as an animal or you wouldn't be able to continue on the path for a very long time. And if you lied out of bodhicitta, would that be the exception? I'll tell you what I've heard. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:03 Highlight the passage at 1:05:03

1:05:39 Usually what I've heard, it's not good to, and if you're, if somebody's in danger if you tell the truth, it's better to change the subject, right, than in the example I've, somebody's, Report an error in the passage at 1:05:39 Highlight the passage at 1:05:39

1:06:09 well, where did, where did he go? You changed the subject, right? Right. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:09 Highlight the passage at 1:06:09

1:06:24 I mean, so that's what I've heard. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:24 Highlight the passage at 1:06:24

1:06:43 You can justify it in a small level, then we can, you know, that can grow, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:43 Highlight the passage at 1:06:43

1:07:03 You know, we can build up the justification. So in general, it's good to not lie. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:03 Highlight the passage at 1:07:03

1:07:17 That doesn't mean being brutally honest, right? But try to avoid lying. I mean, yeah, and it's, you know, I'm certainly not an authority that can say, oh, yeah, okay, go ahead and lie. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:17 Highlight the passage at 1:07:17

1:07:34 So to try not to. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:34 Highlight the passage at 1:07:34

1:07:40 You know, hearing you talk about this makes me think about some things that I've read in Catholic medical ethics. Line comes up, and they have a very useful way of getting out of a dilemma like that. And here's the scenario, something like, you know, if you're a physician and you have a patient who needs a kidney transplant, you're testing all of her immediate family to see if they could be donors. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:40 Highlight the passage at 1:07:40

1:08:05 They've all agreed to be tested. And then one of them is a match, like one of her sisters is a match, and you bring her into the office and say, you're a match. She says, don't tell my sister I'm a match. I only agreed to do this to keep peace in the family. I never intended to donate my kidney. Don't tell her I'm a match. And then the patient comes in and says, anybody a match? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:05 Highlight the passage at 1:08:05

1:08:26 Is it a lie to say no, there are no matches? So the way that those Catholic ethicists would resolve that dilemma is to say that a lie is an untruth told to someone who deserves the truth. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:26 Highlight the passage at 1:08:26

1:08:41 It's someone to whom you owe a duty to speak the truth. And so they would say you don't owe a duty to the patient to share her sister's personal medical information. So to tell her that there's no donor keeps your duty of confidentiality to the woman who you did the test for, you know, her medical information, because the patient's not entitled to her sister's medical information. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:41 Highlight the passage at 1:08:41

1:09:07 So a lie is defined as somebody who, a lie is defined as telling a mis... Not telling the truth to someone who deserves the truth. And I thought about that because you were talking about the duty to the abbot who's taking responsibility for you or to your guru who's taking responsibility for teaching you about the Dharma or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:07 Highlight the passage at 1:09:07

1:09:26 So it's really important to tell those people the truth because you have some sort of line of duty toward them. But maybe if somebody is just intent on harming somebody else, maybe the duty doesn't run as strongly. And that's what I was kind of thinking when you talked about that. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:26 Highlight the passage at 1:09:26

1:09:44 Well, I would say that the Dharma wouldn't agree with that because the object is all sentient beings, right? Lama Tsongkhapa is very specific. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:44 Highlight the passage at 1:09:44

1:09:55 It's worse, right, to lie to your Lama, right? But your Lama Tsongkhapa is very specific that we shouldn't lie to anyone. Yeah. And then in the context of the... The teachings on karma and the ten non-virtues, lying really refers to misleading, deliberately misleading anyone. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:55 Highlight the passage at 1:09:55

1:10:23 So I haven't heard anything in the Dharma that says, well, it's okay to lie to a certain being. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:23 Highlight the passage at 1:10:23

1:10:51 I'm just asking, in that situation, could you just say, I'm not entitled to give you any information, which is the fact? You know, I can't share confidential medical information even if it's your family. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:51 Highlight the passage at 1:10:51

1:11:06 Could you say that? Or does that, I mean, I know it won't go over well, but I mean, it's really the, but Report an error in the passage at 1:11:06 Highlight the passage at 1:11:06

1:11:18 you wouldn't know which one. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:18 Highlight the passage at 1:11:18

1:11:24 Yeah, so if we can find a way to not lie, yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, the reality, the day-to-day reality is true. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:24 Highlight the passage at 1:11:24

1:11:37 All I can do is give you what Lama Tsongkhapa says, right? And then we have, we need to make our own decisions about what to do. And Lama Report an error in the passage at 1:11:37 Highlight the passage at 1:11:37

1:11:48 used to say, yeah, yeah, you know, people like. To ask the Lama questions because they want the Lama to justify their negativity, to make the decision for them, and the Lama can't do that. The Lama can give you the teachings, and then we have to decide whether or not we're willing to take on the responsibility of the negative karma that we're creating. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:48 Highlight the passage at 1:11:48

1:12:27 I'm making a sincere effort for no fibbing. So sometimes I find myself in conversations, it was a pack of dogs, there was 12 of them, and then I stop and it's like, well, it was three dogs. So I'm correcting as I'm going, is that okay? I mean, because technically I started out with, you know, a pack of dogs and there was 12 of them, but right while that person's there I have corrected it and said, well, it was three. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:27 Highlight the passage at 1:12:27

1:12:53 So that's what I'm doing. Yeah, that's good. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:53 Highlight the passage at 1:12:53

1:13:00 Yeah, I mean. We just have to deal with whatever, you know, wherever we are. I mean, that whole exaggerating thing is hard to stop, right? But you're mindful of it and you correct it, so you're not, you know, so at least you're correcting it, right? Of course it's good to not say it in the first place, but at least you're correcting it. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:00 Highlight the passage at 1:13:00

1:13:23 I use words always and never a lot, and that's, I've Report an error in the passage at 1:13:23 Highlight the passage at 1:13:23

1:13:31 done that, right? So the, you know, Report an error in the passage at 1:13:31 Highlight the passage at 1:13:31

1:13:35 this knowingly, you know, knowingly intention. Are Report an error in the passage at 1:13:35 Highlight the passage at 1:13:35

1:13:43 we deliberately trying to mislead someone, or is it just something that popped out of our mouth out of habit? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:43 Highlight the passage at 1:13:43

1:13:53 The way I see this, I think it's such a powerful sentence. I have to take a very big view of it, and one of them is to, well, if I decide if the bad guy's at the door and said, is your mother behind that door, and he's about to kill her, I have to make a decision kind of like the captain of the ship. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:53 Highlight the passage at 1:13:53

1:14:15 If I'm, you know, like, I'm going to take this on. I'm going to take this on. So the other part is the sake of one's life. Well, big deal. We're working on our continuum. I mean, you guys, this is the long haul here. And I really think it's really powerful when you think of it that way, that we really have to. So if we say, you know, if they say, are you Lynn? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:15 Highlight the passage at 1:14:15

1:14:46 Are you Lynn? Because you're going. You're going. If you're Lynn, I'm going to kill you. I have to say yes. I mean, this is me sitting here on the cushion thinking this, not whether somebody's actually at the door doing that. But isn't it kind of like that, you guys? It's sort of like we make a big damn deal about this one little life of ours, this one little personality running it through. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:46 Highlight the passage at 1:14:46

1:15:10 But man, if we really took this on, imagine we'd get to be enlightened sooner than later. Which is sort of the point. Easy Report an error in the passage at 1:15:10 Highlight the passage at 1:15:10

1:15:39 to say. You can also think, well, that poor, it's funny, I'm thinking it's a Nazi that's doing something weird. But anyway, that poor SOB is going to get horrible karma for killing me or my mommy. So that's in a way, it's sort of like skillful means to lie. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:39 Highlight the passage at 1:15:39

1:16:02 I mean, that's one way to look at it. Like prevent the karma, him getting that karma or her, the murderer. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:02 Highlight the passage at 1:16:02

1:16:15 It's a good point. Back to that Shakyamuni Buddha story of killing the guy who was going to kill the 500 men, right? Shakyamuni Buddha, he knew that he was going to incur negative karma, but that didn't concern him, right? His main concern was saving the lives of those 500 men, as well as the potential killer, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:16:15 Highlight the passage at 1:16:15

1:16:39 So that he didn't incur the negative karma. I've actually heard the teachers, or a teacher, really... Hit that point, that it was mostly to take on the, it wasn't so much about preventing 500 lives being lost, although that was a big damn deal. It was that guy who was going to suffer, unbelievably, for what he was about to do. So that, that's even more powerful for me. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:39 Highlight the passage at 1:16:39

1:17:10 Amazing. Kind of goes in that one little life thing. Because the lamas say, oh, you know, well, the worst thing that can happen to us, okay, so we can be killed, you know. What's the big deal, right? But incurring the negative karma of killing 500 people, you know, you're going to suffer for a long, long, long time, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:17:10 Highlight the passage at 1:17:10

1:17:32 So nobody else can cause you to be born in the lower realms but yourself. So if you create the negative karma, you know, of killing in so much suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:32 Highlight the passage at 1:17:32

1:17:49 But if somebody kills you, nobody can bring us to the lower realm. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:49 Highlight the passage at 1:17:49

1:18:16 Dharma, sustaining the extraordinary attitude without deceit or dissimilation. So toward all sentient beings, to abide with the extraordinary attitude, right? As we were talking about being straightforward, honest, sincere toward beings. Without deceit or dissimilation, that is to abide with an honest attitude. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:16 Highlight the passage at 1:18:16

1:18:39 So being honest, sincere, straightforward. With all beings. So that counteracts the fourth black Dharma of acting with deceit and assimilation. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:39 Highlight the passage at 1:18:39

1:18:55 Pretending to have qualities we don't have or hiding faults that we do have. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:55 Highlight the passage at 1:18:55

1:19:05 Generating the discrimination that bodhisattvas are like the teacher and praising them. So the object of this action is all bodhisattvas. And the action is to generate the discrimination of them as if they were the teacher. And to proclaim truthful praise about them in the four directions. So this is developing pure view, right? To see all bodhisattvas as being Buddhas, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:19:05 Highlight the passage at 1:19:05

1:19:31 They're performing the deeds of Buddhas, right? They're helping sentient beings. So to see bodhisattvas as Buddhas, which means really seeing all beings as Buddhas since we don't know who a bodhisattva is, right? Anyone could be a Buddha. So treating everyone well. And to proclaim truthful praise about them in the four directions. So to praise, right, Geshe Dagpa and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:31 Highlight the passage at 1:19:31

1:20:05 Help Report an error in the passage at 1:20:05 Highlight the passage at 1:20:05

1:20:09 others develop faith in these beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:09 Highlight the passage at 1:20:09

1:20:18 So Geshe Sopa says, this is to praise, honor and respect bodhisattvas as much as we can and perceiving that they're all perfect teachers like Shakyamuni Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:18 Highlight the passage at 1:20:18

1:20:33 So this is the opposite of saying unpleasant things about bodhisattvas. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:33 Highlight the passage at 1:20:33

1:20:45 Okay. Then Tsongkhapa quotes Sharawa. Although we are constantly busy scraping together something like virtue, there is no sign of its increase and many signs of its exhaustion. Virtue is exhausted by anger or hatred towards bodhisattvas and our companions. Disdain towards them and through insulting them. So here we're saying, you know, even though we're practicing virtue, you know, doing nice things and developing some bodhicitta, it keeps getting destroyed every time, right, we develop anger toward beings or Report an error in the passage at 1:20:45 Highlight the passage at 1:20:45

1:21:30 criticizing them, right, disdain, insulting them, right. This is where we're going up and down on this curve, right. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:30 Highlight the passage at 1:21:30

1:21:40 So on this, Gishu Sopa says, criticizing and lacking respect for bodhisattvas is the reason that there is no sign of our virtue increasing, even though we seem to be practicing. In fact, more often than not, there's a sign that our merit is decreasing. Even though we do a bit of positive activity here and there, we promptly destroy it. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:40 Highlight the passage at 1:21:40

1:22:05 That's where we really need the mindfulness, right, throughout the day. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:05 Highlight the passage at 1:22:05

1:22:11 Not being lazy about our negative mind, right, to cut it off. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:11 Highlight the passage at 1:22:11

1:22:25 Therefore, if we are able to abandon insulting them and bodhisattvas, we will no longer experience what is referred to in the compendium of all trainings as harm related to persons or negativities that we incur, right? Negative karma that we incur related to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:25 Highlight the passage at 1:22:25

1:22:48 So this is a big deal, right? So if we can stop criticizing others, stop being angry at others in our minds, stop criticizing, being critical of them. Then our bodhicitta will keep increasing, right? But if we still keep getting angry and critical toward others, then no matter how much our bodhicitta increases, it's constantly being destroyed. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:48 Highlight the passage at 1:22:48

1:23:24 So Geshe Soppa says if one is able to avoid animosity and angry thoughts toward bodhisattvas, one will steer clear of many negative actions that destroy merit. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:24 Highlight the passage at 1:23:24

1:23:44 Since we do not know in whom, we've been talking about this, the mind of enlightenment or bodhicitta exists, we act from the perspective of training in pure appearances, generating the discrimination of all sentient beings as the teacher in accordance with the sūtra requested by Kashapa. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:44 Highlight the passage at 1:23:44

1:24:01 So we train in seeing all beings as being the Buddha. Any Report an error in the passage at 1:24:01 Highlight the passage at 1:24:01

1:24:18 questions on that? Report an error in the passage at 1:24:18 Highlight the passage at 1:24:18

1:24:23 That's really the tantra practice. But it's a very good practice, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:24:23 Highlight the passage at 1:24:23

1:24:33 We so quickly develop stories and conclusions about other beings' motivations, right? When they do things. But it's very interesting distinguishing between what we perceive and what we project on. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:33 Highlight the passage at 1:24:33

1:24:58 Usually we just perceive. Sense data, right? We perceive colors and shapes. We perceive sounds. We perceive sense data. And everything else we project on top of that. I heard a sound, then I make up a story, well, this person is deliberately trying to hurt people. This person is, you know, whatever, you know, whatever the stories that we add on top of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:58 Highlight the passage at 1:24:58

1:25:33 So we actually perceive very little. We can know only very little. Like really know, like what do we know and what do we, versus what do we add on. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:33 Highlight the passage at 1:25:33

1:25:45 I've been making that my practice lately, and it's really good for cutting through like irritation or annoyance at someone. It's like, okay, I'm assuming that that person cut me off because he's just a jerk, right? He did it on purpose, right? But really... They cut me off and who knows what was going on in their mind. Maybe they didn't see you. Maybe they're having a bad day. Maybe, you know, who knows? There's so many different possibilities. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:45 Highlight the passage at 1:25:45

1:26:17 Maybe they're a Buddha trying to teach you patience, right? Who knows? So Report an error in the passage at 1:26:17 Highlight the passage at 1:26:17

1:26:27 trying to train in this way, in pure appearances, that, you know, perhaps that person I'm really having difficulty with is really a Buddha, totally changes the story in our minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:27 Highlight the passage at 1:26:27

1:26:46 So it's a very powerful practice if we can remember to do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:46 Highlight the passage at 1:26:46

1:27:03 So then Lama Tsongkhapa continues, you should praise bodhisattvas when there are listeners on hand, but you incur no fault if you do not go out into the four directions praising them. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:03 Highlight the passage at 1:27:03

1:27:15 Because we saw at this previous slide where Report an error in the passage at 1:27:15 Highlight the passage at 1:27:15

1:27:24 we said we're supposed to proclaim truthful praise about them in the four directions, north, south, east, west. That doesn't mean we have to travel in all four directions and tell everybody about Geshe Dagpa. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:24 Highlight the passage at 1:27:24

1:27:41 But if there are people around who are willing to listen and we praise them, then that's good enough we don't incur a fault if we don't go travel around praising them. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:41 Highlight the passage at 1:27:41

1:28:04 And of course this doesn't mean... Proselytizing, right? We Report an error in the passage at 1:28:04 Highlight the passage at 1:28:04

1:28:14 can always say good things about these bodhisattvas. So this one's the antidote to the third black dharma of denigrating or saying unpleasant things to or about a bodhisattva. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:14 Highlight the passage at 1:28:14

1:28:39 Okay, lastly, the fourth white action is to ripen sentient beings. The Report an error in the passage at 1:28:39 Highlight the passage at 1:28:39

1:28:48 object is sentient beings who are helping to ripen, and the action is to cause them not to want... The temporary vehicle of Hinayana, but to adhere to perfect enlightenment. So, not encouraging others to practice the Hinayana vehicle, but to encourage them to enter the Mahāyāna. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:48 Highlight the passage at 1:28:48

1:29:16 Encourage them to enter the vehicle that helps all beings, right? Not just, you know. To get out of here to pacify their own suffering and remind beings how kind others are, how interdependent we are. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:16 Highlight the passage at 1:29:16

1:29:52 That's a tricky one for me. We were talking at the break about my friend who was going to become a Hinayana nun. I was thinking of her when you said this. I mean, is it positive of me to say, yeah, you don't need to become a Hennyanam, I need to get with the Mahāyāna path. I mean, is that, I mean, obviously it sounds silly. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:52 Highlight the passage at 1:29:52

1:30:16 How do you address that? I have difficulty with this one myself, putting it into practice. Understanding the essence behind this is encouraging others to go Mahāyāna versus Hinayana. It's pretty straightforward. But then what do you actually do? There's a really thoughtful vow that you do not disparage. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:16 Highlight the passage at 1:30:16

1:30:47 Right. Right. So we shouldn't disparage the Hinayana. You know, it's a subtle thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:47 Highlight the passage at 1:30:47

1:31:00 And there's one really wonderful talk by Chogyung Trungpa in one of his books. He talks about how tricky it is to help others. You know, how we're not... You know, helping others is not about, you know, being obnoxious and, you know, kind of marching into somebody else's house and saying, you know, this is what you should do kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:00 Highlight the passage at 1:31:00

1:31:28 He says, you know, helping others is really about opening up, he says, opening up your own territory to allow others to come in, instead of marching, you know, here I am, you know, he says, you know, making a nuisance out of yourself, right? Don't make a nuisance out of yourself, but, you know, open up your territory, which means, you know, being very, you know, kind and honest about where you are and kind to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:28 Highlight the passage at 1:31:28

1:32:07 So I think that's a good guideline in general, you know, if that person is really open to hearing what you have to say, you know, and you have the kind of relationship with them that they're not going to get. Offended or defensive if you say something, you know, then maybe. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:07 Highlight the passage at 1:32:07

1:32:46 So here Trungpa says, right, helping others requires opening up our territory rather than marching into somebody else's. It requires not playing magnetizing or repelling games, not surrounding our territory with electric wire or magnets. Then there is a faint possibility that we could be of some use to someone else. But we should still be tentative about helping others. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:46 Highlight the passage at 1:32:46

1:33:18 We have glimpsed the first step in genuinely helping others. But it takes a lot of time to pick up one thing, put it in our mouth, chew it, taste it and swallow it. It takes a long time to take our fences down. The first step is to learn to love ourselves, make friends with ourselves. Not torture ourselves anymore. And the second step is to communicate to people and to establish a relationship and gradually help them. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:18 Highlight the passage at 1:33:18

1:33:52 It takes a long time and a long process of disciplined patience. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:52 Highlight the passage at 1:33:52

1:34:02 And then if we learn to not make a nuisance of ourselves and then to open ourselves to other people, then we are ready for the third stage, selfless help. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:02 Highlight the passage at 1:34:02

1:34:13 Usually when we help someone, we are looking for something in return. We might say to our children, I want you to be happy, therefore I am putting all my energy into you, which implies that I want you to be happy because I want you to provide me with entertainment, bring me happiness because I want to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:13 Highlight the passage at 1:34:13

1:34:35 In the third stage of selfless help, true compassion, we do not do things because it gives us pleasure, but because things need to be done. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:35 Highlight the passage at 1:34:35

1:34:46 Our response is selfless, non-centralized. It's not for them or for me. It is environmental generosity. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:46 Highlight the passage at 1:34:46

1:34:58 But we cannot just go out and try to practice this kind of compassion. First, we must learn how to not make a nuisance of ourselves. If we can make friends with ourselves, if we are willing to be what we are without hating parts of ourselves and trying to hide them, then we can begin to open to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:58 Highlight the passage at 1:34:58

1:35:20 And if we can begin to open without always having to protect ourselves, then perhaps we can begin to really help others. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:20 Highlight the passage at 1:35:20

1:35:34 So I love this, but it doesn't exactly answer your question. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:34 Highlight the passage at 1:35:34

1:35:42 So I don't know, really, Matt. I mean, I think you feel out the situation. And maybe, you know, you can just say something, Report an error in the passage at 1:35:42 Highlight the passage at 1:35:42

1:35:54 a little sentence like, think Report an error in the passage at 1:35:54 Highlight the passage at 1:35:54

1:36:05 of the Mahāyāna path. You know, I mean... Yeah, thanks. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:05 Highlight the passage at 1:36:05

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:36:09 I don't know. I've never tried to discourage somebody from practicing the Hinayana, so I don't have a clue how to do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:09 Highlight the passage at 1:36:09

1:36:25 Yeah, Louis, go ahead. Well, just for this very limited thing, the sentence says, but to adhere to perfect enlightenment. And within the context of what we're learning, this is someone who's already on the Mahāyāna path. So I read this as... People who are thinking of going from the Mahāyāna to the Hinayana so that the adherence there, I mean you're not adhering to perfect enlightenment in our definition of things if you're a Hinayana practitioner because you become an Aura. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:25 Highlight the passage at 1:36:25

1:36:57 So for this, I'd just narrow it down to that because there's an incredible amount of virtue in becoming a Hinayana nun. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:57 Highlight the passage at 1:36:57

1:37:08 And we're not supposed to disparage. you know. Yeah, for sure not to disparage. But I'm not sure about your interpretation here. I haven't read any of that in any of the commentaries. It doesn't say that the object is bodhisattvas. It's saying the objects are sentient beings that you're helping to ripen. Well, you're helping all sentient beings to ripen, but you can't interfere with their karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:08 Highlight the passage at 1:37:08

1:37:40 If their karma means that for the moment they're moving into a Hinayana path and we're not supposed to disparage that, then you just let it go. But if they want to be Mahāyāna, if they intend for the Mahāyāna and then they start thinking of Hinayana views, that's I think where that kicks in. And maybe it's just the way this is translated. But I just, I really have a problem with... Report an error in the passage at 1:37:40 Highlight the passage at 1:37:40

1:38:09 With discouraging anybody in any religion to become a monastic. It's the most virtuous thing you can do within their tradition, and you have to respect them all. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:09 Highlight the passage at 1:38:09

1:38:34 I kind of see it as, because it says cause them to not want the temporary vehicle, and this is kind of what Lewis was saying, but if they already want... you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:34 Highlight the passage at 1:38:34

1:38:47 To become a Hinayana, a monk or nun, then, you know, that's one of the first steps. I mean, in the Lamrim, you know, you go through the Hinayana and you work your way up to the Mahāyāna principles. And, you know, that's kind of like the first step for them. And so, yeah, I kind of see it as promoting the Hinayana over the Mahāyāna. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:47 Highlight the passage at 1:38:47

1:39:17 And causing them to not want the Mahāyāna. If that makes any sense. It makes sense in my mind, but I don't know if I'm expressing it well. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:17 Highlight the passage at 1:39:17

1:39:33 Maybe I'll read you from the commentaries, because I think we can speculate, but it's good to know what the commentaries are saying. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:33 Highlight the passage at 1:39:33

1:39:57 His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in one of his talks from 1998, I believe. The object of all virtuous practice is a sentient being that one should help in making his or her mind mature. In this case, you help that particular sentient being to cultivate a mind toward the practice of bodhicitta or Mahāyāna practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:57 Highlight the passage at 1:39:57

1:40:19 Here, what is important is your effort to help that person to enter into such Mahāyāna practice, irrespective of whether or not you're able to achieve success in that. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:19 Highlight the passage at 1:40:19

1:40:33 Gishisopa says, That the fourth white action is trying to help others as much as we can by leading them to the Mahāyāna path. So by leading them to the Mahāyāna path, the object is all the sentient beings we are trying to ripen. This means that we are trying to make them suitable vessels for Mahāyāna practice, even though they may be attracted to the Hinayana path of self-emancipation. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:33 Highlight the passage at 1:40:33

1:41:03 this white action is trying to lead those who desire to enter. The Hinayana to the Mahāyāna path so that they can become a beneficial savior of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:03 Highlight the passage at 1:41:03

1:41:30 This white action is trying to lead those who desire to enter the Hinayana to the Mahāyāna path so that they can become a beneficial savior of all sentient beings. So it might be something as simple as just inviting them to last line? Report an error in the passage at 1:41:30 Highlight the passage at 1:41:30

1:41:50 To listen to the Dalai Lama sometimes. Just planting that seed in Mahāyāna. I agree not to disparage the Hinayana. We definitely don't want to do that. But maybe to just subtly help plant seeds of the Mahāyāna path. But what if you're already on the Hinayana path? This is desire to enter. For me the words are important. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:50 Highlight the passage at 1:41:50

1:41:56 You know, I mean, that, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:56 Highlight the passage at 1:41:56

1:42:18 If you're deciding, oh, I want to become a Hanayana practitioner, as opposed to I'm already a Hanayana practitioner. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:18 Highlight the passage at 1:42:18

1:42:29 Yeah, I don't know how important that is. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:29 Highlight the passage at 1:42:29

1:42:45 As Geshe Champagyatso says, these are sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:45 Highlight the passage at 1:42:45

1:42:54 Here we're trying to help them, you know, sentient beings who are trying to ripen, right? Help them engage in the great enlightenment and to not engage in a temporary vehicle. In other words, the action is to make sentient beings wish to attain complete Buddhahood without generating the wish to achieve the nirvāṇa of Hinayana enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:54 Highlight the passage at 1:42:54

1:43:18 I Report an error in the passage at 1:43:18 Highlight the passage at 1:43:18

1:43:24 think also key here is these are sentient beings that you're helping to ripen. So I think, you know, these are sentient beings that, you know, you're practicing bodhicitta, right? You know, there's certain beings that we've developed a relationship with. You know, maybe beings, you know, friends who are really interested in the Dharma, who are asking you about the Dharma. You know, this isn't just, you know, going on the street and talking to the homeless person or tackling a Hinayana nun. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:24 Highlight the passage at 1:43:24

1:44:00 This is somebody who I think, you know, who has put some trust and authority maybe in you, you know, and you're helping to lead them onto the path, right? So you're... Here we're trying to lead them to the Mahāyāna path. If they're more attracted to the Hinayana path, there's nothing, what do we do? But here the focus is that we're trying to lead them to the Mahāyāna. We're introducing them to the Mahāyāna, encouraging them. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:00 Highlight the passage at 1:44:00

1:44:40 So beings that we're helping to ripen. I Report an error in the passage at 1:44:40 Highlight the passage at 1:44:40

1:44:48 don't know if any of that helps, Matt, but that's... That's all I know. Yeah, Rose. Yes, I think that helped me a lot because I had always question about that. And the thing is, I never heard about from a Hinayana monk or saying that one should avoid the Mahāyāna. I heard always only from beings. To avoid the Hinayana part. And there is this Vimalakirti also, he saved, I don't know, a hundred or more Arhat, you know, he could convert them to become Mayayana. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:48 Highlight the passage at 1:44:48

1:45:42 So I had always, always difficulty with this. But maybe it's our best in mind also. I don't know, you know, it's not, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:42 Highlight the passage at 1:45:42

1:45:59 Just to clarify further, in this text here it says, beings who are ripened by oneself, which insinuates disciples, but then it goes on to say, moreover well from your side you should cause the slash your disciple to make a connection. So it seems like, that's exactly what you were just saying, but it seems pretty specific that it's not just random people. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:59 Highlight the passage at 1:45:59

1:46:26 Yeah, that's what I think too. And the translation in the Lam Rimchenmo, Report an error in the passage at 1:46:26 Highlight the passage at 1:46:26

1:46:34 the object is... Report an error in the passage at 1:46:34 Highlight the passage at 1:46:34

1:46:56 So next time we'll finish the ripening sentient beings and then get into... We'll finish this. So Report an error in the passage at 1:46:56 Highlight the passage at 1:46:56

1:47:13 we'll end with Shantideva on page 246. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:13 Highlight the passage at 1:47:13

1:47:28 The last thing I want to say is, you know, when you go to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teachings, he encourages people, right, to develop bodhicitta and practice Mahāyāna. So it seems like that's what he's doing, you know, people who come to his teachings, right? He encourages them. It's not like when he meets a Christian priest, he encourages them. He doesn't do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:28 Highlight the passage at 1:47:28

1:47:53 But if you come to his teachings, he encourages you to develop bodhicitta, love and compassion. May Report an error in the passage at 1:47:53 Highlight the passage at 1:47:53

1:48:06 all beings everywhere, plagued by sufferings of body and mind, obtain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits. May no living creature suffer, commit evil or ever fall ill. May no one be afraid or belittled with a mind weighed down by depression. May the blind see forms and the deaf hear sounds. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:06 Highlight the passage at 1:48:06

1:48:29 May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose. 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 bountiful harvests. May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:29 Highlight the passage at 1:48:29

1:48:58 May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments. Whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur again. May the frightened cease to be afraid and those bound be freed. May the powerless find power and may people think of benefiting each other. For as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain, to dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:58 Highlight the passage at 1:48:58

1:49:42 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:42 Highlight the passage at 1:49:42

1:49:53 So I think, yeah, so we need to put everything away. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:53 Highlight the passage at 1:49:53