Buddhism from A-Z, 2nd Semester - Bodhicitta: Developing the Big Heart (30 March 2010)

0:05 How is it now? Still a little soft. That's better. That's better. That's good, I think. Okay. Thank you. All right. Report an error in the passage at 0:05 Highlight the passage at 0:05

0:17 So just remembering that there's aspiring bodhicitta versus engaging bodhicitta. So we've been going through the precepts of aspiring bodhicitta, which is the wish to attain enlightenment. And then engaging bodhicitta is when we actually take the bodhisattva vows. So tonight we're going to start on the bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 0:17 Highlight the passage at 0:17

0:40 So just as a review, the precepts of aspiring bodhicitta included under two main headings, training in the cause that assure that bodhicitta will not degenerate in this life and in future lives. And to assure that the bodhicitta or to help the bodhicitta not to degenerate in this life, we... Training Report an error in the passage at 0:40 Highlight the passage at 0:40

1:17 and generating it six times a day, usually three times in the morning, but better if it's throughout the day. Third, not mentally abandoning any sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:17 Highlight the passage at 1:17

1:47 Someone and we decide, no, okay, I'll help others but not this one. And then finally, Accumulating the collections of merit and wisdom. And then training in the causes that help our bodhicitta not to degenerate in the future lives or at least not be separated from bodhicitta in future lives. So creating the beneficial conditions so that the next life we can continue to train in bodhicitta. So we try to abandon the four black dharmas and adopt the four white dharmas. Report an error in the passage at 1:47 Highlight the passage at 1:47

2:28 So the four black dharmas we went through already, which was deceiving one's abbot, master, guru or those worthy of offerings. So deceiving, lying. Secondly, causing others to regret virtuous actions you don't regret. Report an error in the passage at 2:28 Highlight the passage at 2:28

2:49 So maybe, yeah, trying to, well, putting down, you know, virtuous actions that people do. It might be Report an error in the passage at 2:49 Highlight the passage at 2:49

3:02 something like that. Number three, saying that which is not praise and so forth about a sentient being who has entered the Mahāyāna. So a bodhisattva saying Report an error in the passage at 3:02 Highlight the passage at 3:02

3:19 something negative. Report an error in the passage at 3:19 Highlight the passage at 3:19

3:24 Fourth, an activity done out of deceit and dissimilation but without the extraordinary attitude. So acting, we should abandon our deceit and dissimulation, which is basically pretending that you have qualities that you don't actually have. and you don't have Report an error in the passage at 3:24 Highlight the passage at 3:24

3:48 And then the four white dharmas were the opposite of those. So firstly, we abandoned lying intentionally. Secondly, we sustained the extraordinary attitude, which means what was the extraordinary attitude? Report an error in the passage at 3:48 Highlight the passage at 3:48

4:13 Being honest, straightforward, in a kind way to others, without deceit or dissimulation. Then generating the discrimination that bodhisattvas are like the teacher or the Buddha and praising them. So saying, you know, Report an error in the passage at 4:13 Highlight the passage at 4:13

4:34 treating bodhisattvas like Buddhas, right? And then the tricky thing here is, Report an error in the passage at 4:34 Highlight the passage at 4:34

4:43 so it's good to treat all beings, right, with respect. And then finally, ripening sentient beings, which we started last time. We kind of muddled through that a little bit last time. So remember, so the... Remembering the object of ripening sentient beings are the sentient beings you're helping to ripen. So these are beings that you're trying to help along the spiritual path, not pushing it on them, not proselytizing, but if somebody asks us about the Dharma and they're interested, then that would be a sentient being we're trying to help to ripen. Report an error in the passage at 4:43 Highlight the passage at 4:43

5:26 And the action is to cause them not to want the Hinayana, but help Report an error in the passage at 5:26 Highlight the passage at 5:26

5:36 them see the benefits of the Mahāyāna. So if somebody's asking us about the Dharma, to focus more on the Mahāyāna and then the Hinayana. Report an error in the passage at 5:36 Highlight the passage at 5:36

5:52 So this also includes if we're giving a talk on the Dharma or people who ask us for help. Report an error in the passage at 5:52 Highlight the passage at 5:52

6:09 Lama Tsongkhapa says, well, from your side you should cause the disciple to make a connection with the Mahāyāna. If that thought does not arise in the disciple, it does not become a mistake because you are unable to accomplish that. So if the student decides to go for Hinayana, that's okay. It's not a mistake on our part. Report an error in the passage at 6:09 Highlight the passage at 6:09

6:36 So this is the antidote to the black dharma of causing others to regret virtues they do not regret. Because Lama Tsongkhapa says, if you want from the depths of your heart for others to set forth toward the culmination of all happiness, you will not do something that brings about unhappiness in others so as to make them feel some regret about their virtuous activity. Report an error in the passage at 6:36 Highlight the passage at 6:36

7:00 So basically this is just saying, right, if we're really trying to benefit others, trying to bring them to enlightenment, then naturally we wouldn't. Report an error in the passage at 7:00 Highlight the passage at 7:00

7:14 Put them down for doing virtuous activity, right? Because we want them, right? We're working for their happiness. Report an error in the passage at 7:14 Highlight the passage at 7:14

7:25 So then the four white actions, right, are the antidotes to the four black actions. So the abandoned lying, abandoning lying knowingly, it's hard for me to say, counteracts deceiving, right, our abbot, masters and holy beings, right? Sustaining the extraordinary attitude without deceit or dissimulation. Obviously counteracts activities done out of deceit and dissimulation. Report an error in the passage at 7:25 Highlight the passage at 7:25

7:59 Generating the discrimination that bodhisattvas are like the Buddha and praising them. Counteracts saying bodhisattvas. And then ripening sentient beings counteracts the causing others to regret virtues. So is that clear? Pretty clear. I went through that really quickly, but that was just a review. Okay. So then Lama Tsongkhapa quotes the sūtra. Report an error in the passage at 7:59 Highlight the passage at 7:59

8:32 It says, By means of what is bodhicitta not given up in all one's lives, if not even in one's dreams, much less while one is not asleep? Report an error in the passage at 8:32 Highlight the passage at 8:32

8:44 Okay. So basically this is just saying, okay, well what do we practice to make sure that we don't give our... our bodhicitta in even when we're sleeping. The answer, in cities or in villages, in the countries where you live, guide others correctly to enlightenment. By that, bodhicitta will not be abandoned. Report an error in the passage at 8:44 Highlight the passage at 8:44

9:07 So if we're trying to help others to enlightenment, according to the sūtra, that's what will help us not abandon our bodhicitta in the future. Report an error in the passage at 9:07 Highlight the passage at 9:07

9:23 Of course, this is a tricky thing. How do we lead others to enlightenment? But, you know, just making that aspiration and trying to help beings as best as we can, right? Not in a, I've said this many times, right? Not in a pushy way, right? But on the level that they're ready. Report an error in the passage at 9:23 Highlight the passage at 9:23

9:50 I think we tend to have the habit of helping people with mundane activities. Oh, you know, I'll help you do your shopping or I'll help you move or I'll help you with this or that. And that's good, right? But it's even better, right, to help them understand, you know, that our mental afflictions are really the cause of suffering and Report an error in the passage at 9:50 Highlight the passage at 9:50

10:18 not reinforce, right, their attachments. Report an error in the passage at 10:18 Highlight the passage at 10:18

10:27 furthermore, This arraying the Buddha field of Manjushri, it is taught that the aspiring mind is not abandoned if one possesses the four qualities. So this was an interesting one for me to read. So our aspiring bodhicitta, our wish to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings, we won't, he's saying we won't abandon it if we have abandoned, well, if we have these four qualities. Report an error in the passage at 10:27 Highlight the passage at 10:27

10:57 First of all, we have abandoned pride. So the pride feeling puffed up and superior and aren't I great kind of thing. If we've abandoned pride, because pride is an obstacle. Pride is about me, right? So there's a lot of self-cherishing in pride and it's an obstacle to cherishing others. Report an error in the passage at 10:57 Highlight the passage at 10:57

11:24 Having abandoned jealousy. So jealousy technically in the Dharma is... Is being unhappy about the good qualities of others. Being unhappy about others having something that we want. Report an error in the passage at 11:24 Highlight the passage at 11:24

11:47 About others' good qualities, their wealth, their good looks, their good job, their money. So being unhappy is about something that somebody else has. So jealousy is said to be close to... Anger or hatred. It's out of a negative mind. Versus envy. Envy is more like wanting something that someone else has. Report an error in the passage at 11:47 Highlight the passage at 11:47

12:17 But jealousy in the Dharma is not wanting them to have the good things. So it's basically not wanting them to be happy on some level. So that directly counteracts bodhicitta and love and compassion for others. So jealousy is destructive to our bodhicitta. Then thirdly, miserliness. Hanging on to what we have and not wanting to give. So if we abandon miserliness, that helps our bodhicitta. And then being mentally joyful when seeing others' wealth. Report an error in the passage at 12:17 Highlight the passage at 12:17

12:59 So this one's the opposite of jealousy. Being happy with others' good qualities. Being happy with others' good fortune. Being happy with others' good, you know, their wealth and their success and their good looks, etc. Okay, so it's an interesting list. Abandoning pride, jealousy, miserliness and then being joyful when seeing others' good qualities, wealth, etc. Report an error in the passage at 12:59 Highlight the passage at 12:59

13:30 That will help our aspiring bodhicitta to never be abandoned. Report an error in the passage at 13:30 Highlight the passage at 13:30

13:51 That's the way it's talked about. Yeah, because jealousy is rejoicing, like rejoicing, being happy about others' good qualities. So I'm not sure why number two and number four are both listed here. It's almost redundant. But I guess having abandoned jealousy doesn't necessarily mean that you're happy with others' good qualities. Report an error in the passage at 13:51 Highlight the passage at 13:51

14:32 it seems that number four. Four is the antidote to the first three because if you're joyful when you see others' good qualities and others' wealth, that by definition kind of eliminates pride. It's definitely going to eliminate jealousy. And if you're happy when you see somebody else's good qualities, you're less likely to be miserly to them when you come across them and by default others as well. Report an error in the passage at 14:32 Highlight the passage at 14:32

15:03 Yeah, I mean, I think in general, right, number four has a lot of different benefits. It is the direct antidote to jealousy because it's the opposite of jealousy, right, because jealousy is being unhappy because somebody has something good and rejoicing is being happy because they have something good. Report an error in the passage at 15:03 Highlight the passage at 15:03

15:26 But yeah, being, but rejoicing is a good antidote for a lot of mental afflictions. But I think that we can rejoice and still be miserly. Report an error in the passage at 15:26 Highlight the passage at 15:26

15:41 Yeah, I don't think that those are opposite. But certainly, when we do the seven limb prayer with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, if anyone ever does it with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the seven limbs, prostrating, making offerings, confession, and then the fourth one, rejoicing. Lama Zopa always stops and has us rejoice for some time before we go on. Report an error in the passage at 15:41 Highlight the passage at 15:41

16:07 I shouldn't say always, but a lot of times. So rejoicing is a very beneficial thing to do, both for others as well as for our own minds, for our own happiness. Just training to be happy when we, you know, being happy because somebody's named the richest man in the world, right? Being happy for him, right? Being happy when somebody wins something, being happy when they get something. Report an error in the passage at 16:07 Highlight the passage at 16:07

16:38 That we want. Not so easy, but it's a good training. This came up when we did the DB series and someone brought up Angelina Jolie and how we live in this culture where we love to... Adore people like that, but we also love to tear them down, take them down a few pegs. And what you can do with someone like that is just look at them and go, they're beautiful, so they were patient in a past life. Report an error in the passage at 16:38 Highlight the passage at 16:38

17:05 They're rich, so they were generous in a past life. And you can kind of go through whatever the qualities are that someone has and see, that person's worked very hard to be Angelina Sholie in this life. And she's using her wealth and fame to bring attention to poverty around the world. So she's educating and helping people. So, I mean, you can go through and do a list of antidotes because a lot of times people's reaction is, you know, envy, jealousy, anger when they see someone beautiful and rich and famous. Report an error in the passage at 17:05 Highlight the passage at 17:05

17:38 If you start really thinking about it, there's a reason why they have those qualities. Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. Report an error in the passage at 17:38 Highlight the passage at 17:38

17:49 Yeah, and it's our self-cherishing that prevents us from being able to be happy for somebody else. It's like, oh, how wonderful. I mean, it's wonderful, right? These people who have all this good karma and are doing something good with it, right? Then there's others who have good karma and doing something negative with it, right? So it's harder, right, to rejoice in somebody's wealth and things if they're doing negative things with it. Report an error in the passage at 17:49 Highlight the passage at 17:49

18:21 But we can still try. Report an error in the passage at 18:21 Highlight the passage at 18:21

18:36 Well, I mean, I think when we really understand that they're in saṃsāra, you know, then we can, you know, we genuinely have compassion for them and we can genuinely rejoice in their good qualities. You know, they're, yeah, they're still in saṃsāra, you know, so, you know, whatever they have isn't going to last, you know, unfortunately, right? Report an error in the passage at 18:36 Highlight the passage at 18:36

19:04 Not rejoicing that it's not going to last. Right? Right? Right? Report an error in the passage at 19:04 Highlight the passage at 19:04

19:14 That might degenerate your bodhicitta. But yeah, I'm being happy that they've created this wonderful karma and then compassion for them because it's not going to last. Report an error in the passage at 19:14 Highlight the passage at 19:14

19:29 Jill? Reading that, I find myself wondering if there is a difference between the conception of the word that's translated as well when it was written. written two three thousand years ago. And our conception of being rich or wealthy or having a lot of money today. Because I'm not sure that there was the equivalent of billionaires or even millionaires at the time that this was written. Report an error in the passage at 19:29 Highlight the passage at 19:29

19:56 Do you know what I mean? I think maybe to be wealthy at that time meant to have everything that you could possibly personally use. Fine clothes and food and servants and that sort of thing. But I don't know if it meant to be a billionaire like it is today. Because I think that the concentration of wealth. Report an error in the passage at 19:56 Highlight the passage at 19:56

20:12 Very few people today directly result in the suffering of millions of other people. And I just hesitate to be mentally joyful about billionaires who can't possibly enjoy all of that money personally. Do you know what I mean? So I just find myself hesitating drawing the equivalency between the richest man on the planet and wealth. Report an error in the passage at 20:12 Highlight the passage at 20:12

20:38 Yeah. mm-hmm Report an error in the passage at 20:38 Highlight the passage at 20:38

20:41 To not get stuck in that, I think that the point here is just being happy with others' happiness. If you think that their wealth is harming somebody, then we don't rejoice that they're harming people. But just rejoice that they have a good, comfortable, happy life. Report an error in the passage at 20:41 Highlight the passage at 20:41

21:12 Some super rich people are doing really good things with their money too, so we can rejoice about that. Report an error in the passage at 21:12 Highlight the passage at 21:12

21:23 Yeah, I mean this is translated as wealth in this particular translation, but let me see if I can, Report an error in the passage at 21:23 Highlight the passage at 21:23

21:54 yeah there wasn't much commentary on this verse in particular, Report an error in the passage at 21:54 Highlight the passage at 21:54

22:02 so I didn't check the Tibetan, but in the commentary by Geshe Jampa Gyatso, he says when others, Have wealth, good bodies or other good things. We should we should think, oh, isn't that wonderful? Report an error in the passage at 22:02 Highlight the passage at 22:02

22:17 OK, I don't know if that helps at all. Report an error in the passage at 22:17 Highlight the passage at 22:17

22:22 Chris, and let's use the mic. Report an error in the passage at 22:22 Highlight the passage at 22:22

22:28 First of all, I'm sorry I'm late. Yeah, yeah. Everybody knows that you are late. Everybody listening to the record. So my question is being late. I didn't hear you explain wealth. Could it also be somebody's? Wealth of qualities or spiritual practice or, you know. Yeah, I mean, wealth, I mean, I don't want us to get stuck on wealth, but just good qualities, internal qualities. Report an error in the passage at 22:28 Highlight the passage at 22:28

23:02 It could be, you know, it could be material possessions, you know, it could be, yeah, anything that could cause us to be unhappy, right? Something good that others have that we want, you know. Instead of being unhappy about it, being happy about it. Report an error in the passage at 23:02 Highlight the passage at 23:02

23:25 I might have told you this story before, but I really practiced a lot of rejoicing when I was in retreat in Spain, because I was in solitary retreat for some months, and I had some friends also doing retreat, my fellow students. Report an error in the passage at 23:25 Highlight the passage at 23:25

23:51 During my studies, we were all in silence, right? So we'd just walk around and see each other when I'd take a walk. And then I'd say, oh, wow, he looks really blissed out. Here I am, purifying and going through all of these hard times. Everybody else is probably all blissed out and getting realizations and things like that. And my mind was just going, everybody else is having a great retreat and I'm just having a difficult time. Report an error in the passage at 23:51 Highlight the passage at 23:51

24:18 So I really saw that in my mind and then I just practiced rejoicing. Oh, they're blissed out. Well, how great, how wonderful. May I also get blissed out. But, you know, just... It was amazing to me how difficult it was. When I was having a good time, it was really easy to rejoice in others. When I was having a miserable time, I kind of wish others were having a miserable time too. And then it was a really good time to just be happy. Report an error in the passage at 24:18 Highlight the passage at 24:18

24:51 Just be happy for them. Just get rid of the... Try not to indulge in the self-cherishing mind and just be happy for others' happiness. And if we can be happy for others, we can be happy all the time, right? Because there's always something to rejoice in. Rejoice in His Holiness the Dalai Lama's qualities. Report an error in the passage at 24:51 Highlight the passage at 24:51

25:15 Rejoice in Chodron Rinpoche and Gishin Dagpa. Rejoice in somebody's intelligence. Rejoice in somebody's getting a job. Rejoicing in all sorts of different things. We can always find something to rejoice in. Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

25:38 So just getting over our own stuff and just being happy for others. Report an error in the passage at 25:38 Highlight the passage at 25:38

25:50 And then how to restore it, the precepts, or restore a bodhicitta if it's degenerated. So Lama Tsongkhapa says if you transgress the trainings, these precepts that we just went through, excluding the two of giving up the aspiring mind and mentally giving up sentient beings, as long as you do not have bodhisattva vows, there's no downfall from the point. Report an error in the passage at 25:50 Highlight the passage at 25:50

26:17 If we have aspiring bodhicitta, we've developed the wish to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings. If we violate any of these precepts with the exception of these two, then we haven't really transgressed these precepts. Unless we've taken the bodhicitta vows. If we've taken the bodhicitta vows, that's a different story. But if we just have the aspiring bodhicitta and we transgress these, Report an error in the passage at 26:17 Highlight the passage at 26:17

26:48 We haven't transgressed the precepts Report an error in the passage at 26:48 Highlight the passage at 26:48

26:56 unless we give up our aspiring mind, right? We give up our bodhicitta or we mentally abandon even one sentient being. We give up on one sentient being. If we give up on one sentient being or give up our aspiring bodhicitta, then we've given up our bodhicitta, basically. We've lost our bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 26:56 Highlight the passage at 26:56

27:24 So that's... Deciding, okay, I'm never going to help this person. Ever. Like, okay, you know, he's gone over the edge this time and that's it. You know, forget you. I'm not going to help you anymore. Right? Which is pretty easy to do, right? In the midst of anger. It's like, oh, forget you. I'm never going to do anything for you again. That kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 27:24 Highlight the passage at 27:24

27:59 So... But it's not a matter of, oh, you know, just being angry at somebody. No, Report an error in the passage at 27:59 Highlight the passage at 27:59

28:09 it's more of a decision, right? You're excluded, right, from my help. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, you're cut off from my help, right? Report an error in the passage at 28:09 Highlight the passage at 28:09

28:27 Because that's, right, once again, bodhicitta is the aspiration to help all beings, right, without exception, not selected beings. exactly. Report an error in the passage at 28:27 Highlight the passage at 28:27

28:46 But even though we haven't lost our bodhicitta, if we violate the other precepts, we should still purify it. It's still creating non-virtue if we've violated the other precepts. So we should purify it by means of the four opponent powers. What are the four opponent powers? Report an error in the passage at 28:46 Highlight the passage at 28:46

29:11 Regret, Report an error in the passage at 29:11 Highlight the passage at 29:11

29:14 the remedy, reliance. Resolve. Yeah, the four R's. So regret, genuinely regretting the action, right? As opposed to guilt. Not bad, just genuinely regretting the action. Report an error in the passage at 29:14 Highlight the passage at 29:14

29:31 Resolving not to do it again or trying not to do it again, right? The reliance, taking refuge and generating bodhicitta. And then the remedy, which is like Vajrasattva or reading a sūtra or prostrations or something. Okay, so... That's our bodhicitta. Then I want to go through the bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 29:31 Highlight the passage at 29:31

30:03 So I printed off a list of the bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 30:03 Highlight the passage at 30:03

30:35 he's talking. I want to read to everybody. It's a book of daily quotations from His the Dalai Lama. And yesterday, goodness, to stop being born in a cycle. To stop being born in cyclic existence, meditate on the path. Even if your head is on fire, engage in practice and do not take time to put out the fire. Report an error in the passage at 30:35 Highlight the passage at 30:35

31:01 And that's from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Report an error in the passage at 31:01 Highlight the passage at 31:01

31:15 Okay, so the bodhisattva vows. So there's the 18 roots and 46 secondary vows, bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 31:15 Highlight the passage at 31:15

31:32 So it's with engaging bodhicitta, right, that we take the bodhisattva vows? And when we take the bodhisattva vows, we're taking them for all future lifetimes. Again, right? Not just for this one life, but for all future lifetimes. Report an error in the passage at 31:32 Highlight the passage at 31:32

31:47 Technically, before we take the bodhisattva vows, it's usually advised that we have some level of aspiring bodhicitta, the wish to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings, and really understanding that cyclic existence is suffering. Report an error in the passage at 31:47 Highlight the passage at 31:47

32:15 So vows, in general, are pledging to give up a specific kind of negative behavior, restraining from a particular negative behavior. And this list of 18 and 46 is, oops, this doesn't work with Microsoft Word. Report an error in the passage at 32:15 Highlight the passage at 32:15

32:38 This Report an error in the passage at 32:38 Highlight the passage at 32:38

33:00 is the list that's used by all of the Tibetan schools. Report an error in the passage at 33:00 Highlight the passage at 33:00

33:09 So there's the 18 root downfalls and the 46 secondary. So with the 18 root downfalls, if we commit one of these completely, then we've lost our bodhisattva vows. Whereas it's not true with the secondary bodhisattva vows. If we violate a secondary bodhisattva vow, then we've weakened the vow, but we haven't completely lost the bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 33:09 Highlight the passage at 33:09

33:35 So if we commit these 18 root downfalls, With what's called the four binding factors, then we've lost the bodhisattva vows and we have to retake them if we want to take them again. Report an error in the passage at 33:35 Highlight the passage at 33:35

33:53 Okay, so the first one, praising oneself and belittling others. So this is an easy one to do. So out of attachment to getting respect. Report an error in the passage at 33:53 Highlight the passage at 33:53

34:11 Money, offerings, love from others, then we praise ourselves. That's the first bodhisattva downfall. Either praising ourselves or criticizing, belittling someone else out of attachment to respect, praise, etc. Report an error in the passage at 34:11 Highlight the passage at 34:11

34:40 Or Alex Burson says also our motivation can be jealousy. But specifically, it's attachment and jealousy, whereas if we do it out of anger towards somebody else, it's not a root downfall. It's a secondary, a violation of a secondary bodhisattva vow, but it's not a root downfall. So this is, yeah, this one has attachment or jealousy as being the... Report an error in the passage at 34:40 Highlight the passage at 34:40

35:16 Is that really two things? Like, shouldn't Praise yourself. Is it like a simul... He is. Oh. But it's just soft. Oh, sorry. Is it a simultaneous thing? No. No, it's praising ourselves or criticizing others. Either one. Either one, we're breaking this one. Right. That's what I figured. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 35:16 Highlight the passage at 35:16

35:51 Then... Oh, and this one, too, in business, I think, is often effing done, you know, when people... Talk up their own good qualities so that you can get others respect or others hire you and things like that. So this is a tricky one. Report an error in the passage at 35:51 Highlight the passage at 35:51

36:14 Number two, not sharing with others one's wealth and the Dharma. So this is out of miserliness. We don't want to give money to somebody who needs it, who asks us for it. Report an error in the passage at 36:14 Highlight the passage at 36:14

36:34 Or we don't give them the Dharma. Somebody's genuinely asking us to give them some information about the Dharma and out of miserliness because we don't want to share that information. Report an error in the passage at 36:34 Highlight the passage at 36:34

36:47 Or we're too lazy, right? Then we're violating this root downfall. Report an error in the passage at 36:47 Highlight the passage at 36:47

36:58 If, on the other hand, we don't have any money to give, right? Or we don't feel like we... Know enough about the Dharma to tell somebody about it, then we're not breaking this bodhisattva vow. Breaking it is because of miserliness, because we don't want to, right? We don't want to share it. We want to keep it to ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 36:58 Highlight the passage at 36:58

37:25 Okay. Alex Berzin says this also includes being stingy with our time. I haven't heard that from anyone else, but... You know, not helping because we don't want to give somebody our time. Report an error in the passage at 37:25 Highlight the passage at 37:25

37:48 Then number three, not forgiving even when others apologize. So let's say we're angry at somebody and they apologize to us and we won't listen to their apology and we keep getting angrier and angrier, then we violate this vow. Report an error in the passage at 37:48 Highlight the passage at 37:48

38:10 The secondary part of this that I've read in some commentaries but not in others is that we actually even strike or beat somebody else. We're angry at them and they apologize. Not only do we not accept their apology, we become more belligerent and beat them. Report an error in the passage at 38:10 Highlight the passage at 38:10

38:40 Lobson Tarchin, in this book, he has a really nice, in Succession Guru Yoga, he has a really nice commentary on the bodhisattvas. So he says that there's two aspects to this downfall, which is first, refusing to accept the apology, and secondly, to continue to fight with those who are trying to appease you. Report an error in the passage at 38:40 Highlight the passage at 38:40

38:59 And it does not stop with harsh speech, but goes on to beat the object of your anger. Report an error in the passage at 38:59 Highlight the passage at 38:59

39:10 So there's technically... Violating or committing this downfall, right? And then there's a lot of actions that are kind of close to it, right? Where you're not actually breaking this vow, but we're coming close to it by just, you know, refusing to listen when somebody apologizes, right? Report an error in the passage at 39:10 Highlight the passage at 39:10

39:35 It's probably not very often are we going to beat somebody, but, you know, you never know. Report an error in the passage at 39:35 Highlight the passage at 39:35

39:45 Then number four, doubting and denying the doctrine of the great vehicle. So the Mahāyāna, right? So we've taken bodhisattva vows, and here we're denied... Oh, shoot. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 39:45 Highlight the passage at 39:45

40:20 Sometimes Report an error in the passage at 40:20 Highlight the passage at 40:20

40:31 people say that the Mahāyāna isn't actually a teaching of the Buddha. Like Buddha Shakyamuni in his lifetime taught, like publicly, taught mostly the Hinayana. And those teachings were hidden for a long time and rediscovered by Nagarjuna. So some people say, oh, the Mahāyāna, those aren't really the teachings of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 40:31 Highlight the passage at 40:31

40:57 So if we say that and believe it, then we violated this bodhisattva vow, doubting and denying the doctrine of the great vehicle. Report an error in the passage at 40:57 Highlight the passage at 40:57

41:08 So this can be giving up the Mahāyāna or denying the Mahāyāna mentally. Or verbally. Report an error in the passage at 41:08 Highlight the passage at 41:08

41:19 And it can be like criticizing, complaining about, or rejecting authentic Mahāyāna Sūtra and Tantra teachings. So this can be, you know, maybe not even the entire Mahāyāna, but let's say we have problems with certain aspects of the teachings, like Tantric practice. And we say, oh, well, that's not really... Report an error in the passage at 41:19 Highlight the passage at 41:19

41:52 Buddhist practice, you know, then that's also committing this downfall, right? That's not real Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 41:52 Highlight the passage at 41:52

42:03 And maybe it's not actually breaking this one if we complain about certain practices, right? Because there's a lot of different practices in this tradition, right? And some of them we don't necessarily feel an affinity toward or we may even have an aversion toward. So it's good to not complain about them or criticize them. They might not be where we are right now, but we don't have to be negative about them. Report an error in the passage at 42:03 Highlight the passage at 42:03

42:35 So it's good to take care about that. Report an error in the passage at 42:35 Highlight the passage at 42:35

42:43 I had a question about that, actually, because one of the things that I admired about Buddhism when I first discovered it was that... A healthy amount of skepticism was encouraged and that you shouldn't just take things at face value and explore each thing for yourself. And so I'm assuming there's a differentiation there between that kind of skepticism and, I don't know, saying bad things about it or denying that. Report an error in the passage at 42:43 Highlight the passage at 42:43

43:17 Yeah, that's a good question. So, yeah, we are very much encouraged to... To develop healthy skepticism, right? You know, and test it out, right? Test out the teachings for ourselves, right? But this vow is deciding, no, this is wrong, right? This is stupid or this is wrong or this is worthless kind of thing. So it's not just a skepticism, but there's some Um... Report an error in the passage at 43:17 Highlight the passage at 43:17

43:51 Arrogance about it, like, okay, just because I don't agree with it, you know, I decide that it's bad, right? So it's good if we don't, you know, if we don't feel an affinity for a particular practice, it's better to just let it, let it kind of just put it on the shelf, right? But not get negative about it, right? Report an error in the passage at 43:51 Highlight the passage at 43:51

44:20 Okay. Yeah, I mean, I notice for myself when I get a lot of advice or... Let's say I hear Lama Zopa Rinpoche's advice again and again. Oh, you know, do this and then do that and then do that. It's going to meditate on this every day and it's going to do prostrations every day and it's going to recite the Golden Light Sūtra and it's good to do this and good to do that. Report an error in the passage at 44:20 Highlight the passage at 44:20

44:42 You know, at a certain point, I just get like, I can't do all of that. Right. And and that's when I really have to watch my mind. Right. It's like, OK, I just can't do all of that. I would love to be able to do that, but I can't do that instead of. Report an error in the passage at 44:42 Highlight the passage at 44:42

45:00 Who could possibly do this? Report an error in the passage at 45:00 Highlight the passage at 45:00

45:10 It's good to just be careful. It takes humility. I can't do it. I don't have to get angry about it. I just can't. Report an error in the passage at 45:10 Highlight the passage at 45:10

45:22 Then aspire to be able to do it sometime in the future. Report an error in the passage at 45:22 Highlight the passage at 45:22

45:35 Number five, taking offerings intended for the three jewels. If somebody's offered something, let's say... right right so um Report an error in the passage at 45:35 Highlight the passage at 45:35

45:10 so Report an error in the passage at 45:10 Highlight the passage at 45:10

· · · silence, 1 minute

45:43 To the altar, to a statue of a Buddha, to a Dharma center, to a monk or a nun. We violate this if we take the offerings, right? We take, we steal the offerings that either have been offered or are intended to be offered to the three jewels. Report an error in the passage at 45:43 Highlight the passage at 45:43

46:20 And then number eight, oops, sorry, number six. Abandoning the doctrine through sectarianism. Report an error in the passage at 46:20 Highlight the passage at 46:20

46:33 So this is criticizing or claiming that any part of the Hinayana, the Mahāyāna or the Vajrayana are not the Buddha's teachings. So it's kind of similar to number four. Except for number four we are denying that the Mahāyāna was the Buddha's teachings. The number six... Is abandoning any aspect of the Dharma, saying it's not the Buddhist teachings. Report an error in the passage at 46:33 Highlight the passage at 46:33

47:20 Kenzer Lipsong Tarchan says, I have often heard people say that the Mahāyāna is the highest and most holy Dharma and that the Hinayana teaching is inferior and not suitable for them to practice. It is a huge mistake to have that attitude because it causes you to break their bodhisattva vow. Report an error in the passage at 47:20 Highlight the passage at 47:20

47:43 So even though as Mahāyāna practitioners we don't practice the actual hearer's path for the purpose of achieving the Hinayana nirvāṇa, we must study and practice all the three vehicles' paths. We have to respect, study and practice all of them. So there's quite an extensive teaching in Maitreya's text, Abhisamaya Lamkara, the ornament, about how the Bodhisattva needs to practice all three vehicles. Report an error in the passage at 47:43 Highlight the passage at 47:43

48:11 The hearer and the solitary realizer vehicles as well as the bodhisattva vehicle, which is basically the Hinayana as well as the Mahāyāna. Not to attain solitary liberation, but in order to help others. We need to help others at whatever level they are. So if they're at the Hinayana level, then we help them. If they're at the Mahāyāna level, then we help them. Report an error in the passage at 48:11 Highlight the passage at 48:11

48:41 So to be careful, right, not to criticize the Hinayana. Report an error in the passage at 48:41 Highlight the passage at 48:41

48:48 Okay, you want to take a break? Let's take a break. Report an error in the passage at 48:48 Highlight the passage at 48:48

· · · silence, 1 minute

49:34 All right, so we'll continue with number seven. So some of these bodhisattva vows are quite difficult for, the root ones in particular, are quite difficult for us to break. Report an error in the passage at 49:34 Highlight the passage at 49:34

49:51 Number seven is one of them, causing an ordained person to disrobe. So this is if we are in a position of power and we force a monk or a nun to disrobe or force them to commit actions that would violate their vows. So you have to be in a position of power really to commit this one. So this one's like if you're the head of a monastery or disciplinary in a monastery or something like that, right? Report an error in the passage at 49:51 Highlight the passage at 49:51

50:28 Do something like that. Or if you're a king or, you know, what's happening in Tibet right now. Right. Causing. How about when you get in a relationship with the priest? We're forcing them. I mean, it seems to be that Report an error in the passage at 50:28 Highlight the passage at 50:28

50:54 in order to break this vow, we have some, we're forcing somebody else to do what they don't want to do. Right. I mean, getting in a relationship with. With a monk or a nun and being the cause of them committing their vow is obviously not a good thing. It doesn't help our bodhicitta. But I think technically it isn't breaking this particular vow unless we get them drunk or drug them or something and force them. Report an error in the passage at 50:54 Highlight the passage at 50:54

51:34 Right, exactly. Report an error in the passage at 51:34 Highlight the passage at 51:34

51:49 And Report an error in the passage at 51:49 Highlight the passage at 51:49

51:53 it doesn't matter what the moral status is of the monk or a nun. If you force them to give up their ordination, then we've broken this vow. Report an error in the passage at 51:53 Highlight the passage at 51:53

52:10 And the motivation here is specified to be ill will or malice. So it doesn't say attachment. It says ill will or malice. Report an error in the passage at 52:10 Highlight the passage at 52:10

52:34 Committing, number eight, committing any of the five actions of immediate retribution, sometimes called the five heinous crimes, which is killing your mother, killing your father, killing a foe destroyer, drawing blood from a Buddha and creating a schism in the Saṅgha. So killing your father or mother intentionally is committing. Report an error in the passage at 52:34 Highlight the passage at 52:34

53:04 Well, it's committing a root downfall. Killing a foe destroyer, killing someone who's an arhat, someone who's liberated, a Hinayana arhat, someone who's liberated from cyclic existence. Or drawing blood from a Buddha or wounding a Buddha. So Kenza Lobsang Tarchan says that technically drawing blood from a Buddha isn't breaking this vow because technically it needed to be Buddha Shakyamuni right at the time. Report an error in the passage at 53:04 Highlight the passage at 53:04

53:37 time of the Buddha, but... But anyhow, if we if we injure a Buddha in this day and age too, right, it's it's very severe. And then the last one was creating a schism in the Saṅgha. So technically speaking, also, I've I've heard Kinzer Lipsong Tarchan says that that we can't break that one in this day and age because it needed to be creating a schism at the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. Report an error in the passage at 53:37 Highlight the passage at 53:37

54:07 Which is basically drawing monastics away from the teachings of the Buddha by saying nasty things about Shakyamuni Buddha or the teachings and then bringing them to your newfound religion. Report an error in the passage at 54:07 Highlight the passage at 54:07

54:28 But we can do other things that are very severe and violate the essence of this by creating a schism in... The Dharma Center, by talking negatively about others who are in the Dharma Center and how they're not really so wonderful or they're not helping out. So trying to divide people. In the Dharma Center we need to be really careful about not doing things like that. Report an error in the passage at 54:28 Highlight the passage at 54:28

55:01 It's interesting that it's one of the five heinous crimes. The five actions that cause you to go to hell in your next life. That's why they're called the five actions of immediate retribution, because immediately in the next life you'll be reborn in the hell realms, apparently. So it won't be in a future life after that. So those are very serious. Report an error in the passage at 55:01 Highlight the passage at 55:01

55:36 Number nine, holding wrong views. So wrong views, the main one in this context is... Denying the law of cause and effect, right? Denying karma. But also denying the existence of enlightenment and past and future lives and Buddhas and the three jewels. So it's not just doubting the existence of these things. It's coming to the definite conclusion that there is no law of cause and effect. Report an error in the passage at 55:36 Highlight the passage at 55:36

56:07 There are no negative actions or negative consequences to performing non-virtue. There are no positive consequences to performing virtue. There's definitely no enlightenment, etc. Report an error in the passage at 56:07 Highlight the passage at 56:07

56:23 And holding wrong views is said to be... There are two things that are said to cause us to lose our roots of virtue or to cut our roots of virtue. It's wrong view and anger. So wrong view is extremely serious because when we... When we're convinced, right, there are no consequences to our actions, right, then we can do all sorts of things, right, negative things and think, you know, it doesn't matter, right. Report an error in the passage at 56:23 Highlight the passage at 56:23

56:54 So that one, that's why that one's so serious, holding wrong views. So with the first eight of these root downfalls, we need four binding factors to be complete, which we'll talk about a little bit later. In order to completely break those vows. But number nine, holding wrong views. We don't need the four binding factors. All we need is to be convinced, right? Report an error in the passage at 56:54 Highlight the passage at 56:54

57:23 To decide that there is no karma, etc. And then we've lost our bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 57:23 Highlight the passage at 57:23

57:34 Number ten, destroying places such as towns. So this one is easier to commit if we're in positions of power. Right, so this is... Causing complete destruction of any place where living beings, sentient beings live. Report an error in the passage at 57:34 Highlight the passage at 57:34

57:59 So bombing a particular area, causing a forest fire. Report an error in the passage at 57:59 Highlight the passage at 57:59

58:11 And then I was thinking, what about destroying an ant hill? That's more like something that we would do, right? We're probably not going to bomb another... Report an error in the passage at 58:11 Highlight the passage at 58:11

58:25 anytime soon you know we can destroy anthills and you know beehives and things like that Report an error in the passage at 58:25 Highlight the passage at 58:25

58:36 there anything that causes... So would that Report an error in the passage at 58:36 Highlight the passage at 58:36

58:57 be one of the reasons why they say that monks and nuns shouldn't garden? Because they could be potentially destroying the homes of little tiny insects and other sentient beings. Yeah, the homes as well as killing, right? Killing insects and things like that, yeah. Yeah, I mean that's one of the vows of an ordained person. Report an error in the passage at 58:57 Highlight the passage at 58:57

59:37 Okay, number 11. Teaching emptiness to the untrained. Oh, did you have a question, Matt? Report an error in the passage at 59:37 Highlight the passage at 59:37

59:49 I know he's not in this tradition, but Thich Nhat Hanh is sort of a famous gardener. Uh-huh. So what do you think he does? Report an error in the passage at 59:49 Highlight the passage at 59:49

1:00:00 Yeah. You know, maybe he hasn't taken the vow to not garden. I don't know. You know, I don't know. I mean, the vows are different in different traditions. Yeah, so. In this tradition, you wouldn't do that. Yeah, as a monk or a nun. Yeah. does. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00:00

1:00:23 Yeah, I mean, when I was studying, you know, we all had to do karma yoga, and specifically the monks and nuns, you know, weren't on the karma yoga for gardening and mowing the lawns and things like that. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:23 Highlight the passage at 1:00:23

1:00:43 Okay. So, number 11, teaching emptiness to the untrained. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:43 Highlight the passage at 1:00:43

1:00:56 So, this one's kind of a difficult one. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:56 Highlight the passage at 1:00:56

1:01:02 So, in general... I mean, the danger here, right, is to teach emptiness to somebody who's not ready for it and then they think that nothing matters, right, and they think they can do whatever they want. They fall to the extreme of nihilism. If things don't inherently exist, okay, they don't exist at all and I can do whatever I want. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:02 Highlight the passage at 1:01:02

1:01:31 But technically, this is referring to somebody who's... On the bodhisattva path, and let's say they're not ready for the teachings of emptiness, and when we teach them emptiness, it may cause them to give up their bodhicitta, because they think, okay, well, why am I working for enlightenment, and there are no beings to help anyway, kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31 Highlight the passage at 1:01:31

1:02:05 So according to Geshitashi Sering, to break this vow. Technically, it's teaching emptiness to a bodhisattva and then causing them to give up their bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:05 Highlight the passage at 1:02:05

1:02:23 But in general, Geshitashi also says that we shouldn't immediately teach emptiness to others. We should teach them about the law of karma first, about refuge, about death, and the basics first. And then when they're ready, right, to teach them about emptiness, right? The tricky thing is understanding when they're ready, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:23 Highlight the passage at 1:02:23

1:02:52 But so for me, you know, when I talk about emptiness, I think it's really important to stress, right, karma again and again, to stress functionality, right? That emptiness doesn't mean that nothing exists at all and nothing matters. His Holiness often says that if your understanding of emptiness causes you to deny the law of cause and effect, then you've gone too far and it's better to go back down to a not so advanced view or not so profound view. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:52 Highlight the passage at 1:02:52

1:03:38 You should follow the teachings of emptiness up until the point where... You think that nothing matters, right? Because karma, I mean, emptiness does reinforce the law of cause and effect, right? Because things are empty, right? Because of cause and effect, things are empty, you know? I don't know if I said that well. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:38 Highlight the passage at 1:03:38

1:04:05 But anyway, you got the point, yeah? Emptiness does not mean that nothing really exists so I can do whatever I want, right? That's a mistaken understanding of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:05 Highlight the passage at 1:04:05

1:04:20 Because things are empty, we need to be really careful with our actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:20 Highlight the passage at 1:04:20

1:04:30 Okay, number 12, discouraging others from seeking full enlightenment. So this is if we tell somebody who's on the bodhisattva path or aspiring to the bodhisattva path that you can't do it. You know, you just... Settle for the Hinayana path. Mahāyāna is too difficult. You can't practice the six perfections, etc. And causing them to give up their bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:30 Highlight the passage at 1:04:30

1:05:08 So that's number 12. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:08 Highlight the passage at 1:05:08

1:05:21 Alex Burson says that this root downfall is complete if they actually give up their bodhicitta. So if they don't actually give up their bodhicitta, the root downfall isn't complete. It's still a negative action, but it's not complete unless they give up their bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:21 Highlight the passage at 1:05:21

1:05:46 Number 12. Number 13. Causing others to break the vows of individual liberation. So there's three levels of vows. The individual liberation vows or the pradhimoksha vows, which are like the monks and nuns vows or the lay vows. Like the, right, not killing, not stealing, not lying, intoxicants, etc. Right? So if we tell somebody who's, you know, keeping their pradhimoksha vows, we tell them, oh, you're on the bodhisattva path. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:46 Highlight the passage at 1:05:46

1:06:20 You don't need to do that stuff. You know, those individual liberation vows, you know, aren't important. You just need to practice the bodhisattva path. Right? If we do that and they actually... Decide to give up their individual liberation vows, then we've broken this downfall. Number 13, causing others to break their pradhimoksha vows. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:20 Highlight the passage at 1:06:20

1:06:48 How Report an error in the passage at 1:06:48 Highlight the passage at 1:06:48

1:06:53 are we doing so far? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:53 Highlight the passage at 1:06:53

1:07:01 Number 14, belittling those who follow the path of individual liberation. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:01 Highlight the passage at 1:07:01

1:07:13 So here, this one, so in one of the previous vows, I think it was number 6. Here, number 6. Abandoning the doctrine through sectarianism, we said that either the Hinayana or the Mahāyāna or the Vajrayana aren't really teachings of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:13 Highlight the passage at 1:07:13

1:07:39 So in number 14, we're not denying that the Hinayana is an authentic teaching of the Buddha, but we think, but we criticize the Hinayana, and we... We tell somebody, well, you know, I mean, that's all fine and good, that Hinayana stuff, but you're not going to get out of cyclic existence if you practice the Hinayana. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:39 Highlight the passage at 1:07:39

1:08:07 If we say something like that, then we're breaking this vow. Okay, you know, the Hinayana, okay, the Buddha taught that, but he didn't really mean it kind of thing, or it's not really going to get you anywhere. It's not going to get you out of cyclic existence. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:07 Highlight the passage at 1:08:07

1:08:26 So if we say things like that, then we're violating number 14, belittling those who follow the path of individual liberation. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:26 Highlight the passage at 1:08:26

1:08:49 Just to be clear, in 14, individual liberation refers to the Hinayana, but the way you spoke about it in 13, it sounded like something that was within the Mahāyāna path, is that correct? Well, the individual liberation vows... Are taken by Hinayana, Mahāyāna and Vajrayana practitioners. But technically the individual liberation, well, yeah, individual liberation in the context of number 14 is the Hinayana path. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:49 Highlight the passage at 1:08:49

1:09:26 Here in 13 we're talking about the vows of individual liberation, which are really Hinayana vows. So their Hinayana level of vows, their Mahāyāna levels of vows, right? The individual liberation vows are part of the Hinayana. But still, as Mahayanists, we still take individual liberation vows and we try to keep them and they're important. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:26 Highlight the passage at 1:09:26

1:09:53 So that's kind of the context in which number 13 is taught, is that... Because they're Hinayana vows and we're Mahāyāna practitioners, perhaps we would look down on those vows thinking they're not important, we don't need to keep them. But the Hinayana is the foundation for the Mahāyāna, so we need to keep those as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:53 Highlight the passage at 1:09:53

1:10:25 Make sense? So if the Dalai Lama, for example, was giving a talk and the Hinayana monk... heard the talk and said, well, I've had enough with the Hinayana, I need to become a Mahāyāna. Have you caused someone to... break the vow or so to speak no No, no, this is more saying those vows, you don't need to keep those vows. Those vows aren't important. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:25 Highlight the passage at 1:10:25

1:10:57 It's like, oh, you know, you're a bodhisattva, so you don't have to worry about, okay, you took that vow to not drink alcohol, but, you know, you're a Mahayanist, so. Go ahead and drink, it doesn't matter, kind of thing, right? If you've taken that vow, then we need to respect that vow, right? Maybe another one that pops in my mind is a monks and nuns vow. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:57 Highlight the passage at 1:10:57

1:11:21 They take a vow not to eat after lunch, right, after noon. So if we tell them, oh, you know, that vow isn't important, you don't need to keep that vow. That's violating the spirit of this root bodhisattva vow. You don't need to keep your individual liberation vows because you're a Mahayanist. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:21 Highlight the passage at 1:11:21

1:11:50 Does that make sense? Am Report an error in the passage at 1:11:50 Highlight the passage at 1:11:50

1:12:01 I going too fast? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:01 Highlight the passage at 1:12:01

1:12:06 Number 15, proclaiming false realizations such as the realization of emptiness. So the worst lie we can tell on the spiritual path is, Report an error in the passage at 1:12:06 Highlight the passage at 1:12:06

1:12:22 Telling people that we have realizations when we don't. And this particular vow is saying, is proclaiming or implying that we've realized emptiness. We don't have to say it specifically. We can imply it by, you know, if you practice what I'm practicing, then you're going to get, you know, you're going to realize what I've realized kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:22 Highlight the passage at 1:12:22

1:12:50 So we violate this if we... If we say either explicitly or implicitly that we've completely realized emptiness correctly. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:50 Highlight the passage at 1:12:50

1:13:10 So Alex Berzin says it makes no difference whether the students or readers are fooled by our pretense. Nonetheless, they must understand what we explain. If they don't comprehend our discussion, then the downfall is not complete. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:10 Highlight the passage at 1:13:10

1:13:33 He also says we commit this downfall if we haven't fully realized emptiness, but we teach or write about it, pretending that we did. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:33 Highlight the passage at 1:13:33

1:13:45 So in this Tibetan tradition, you know, in particular, right, the lamas who have the high realizations, right, they never say, I've realized emptiness, right, I have realizations, right. It's, you know, His Holiness the Dalai Lama goes the opposite and says, I'm just a simple monk, you know, I don't have any particular. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:45 Highlight the passage at 1:13:45

1:14:09 Right? Realizations. Well, things like that. You know, he's very humble, right? He never brags about his realizations. So it's important, right, to be humble and not to, you know, brag about whatever qualities and realizations we do have. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:09 Highlight the passage at 1:14:09

1:14:33 Okay. Then number 16. Accepting gifts that have been misappropriated from the belongings of the three jewels. So there was a previous vow, number... Report an error in the passage at 1:14:33 Highlight the passage at 1:14:33

1:14:59 So number five, which was taking offerings intended for the three jewels. This one is accepting gifts that have been misappropriated from the belongings of the three jewels. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:59 Highlight the passage at 1:14:59

1:15:15 So Alex Burson says this downfall is to accept as a gift, offering, salary, reward, fine or bribe anything that somebody else has stolen or embezzled either personally or through Report an error in the passage at 1:15:15 Highlight the passage at 1:15:15

1:15:33 Deputing someone else from the Buddha Dharma and Saṅgha. So this is to accept what somebody else has stolen from the Three Jewels. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:33 Highlight the passage at 1:15:33

1:15:47 To get somebody else to steal it. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:47 Highlight the passage at 1:15:47

1:15:55 So at the break, Shane was mentioning, if you know that a store has kind of stolen something, or if you suspect that, The owners of the store have stolen something from a temple. It's good to not buy it from them. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:55 Highlight the passage at 1:15:55

1:16:25 I guess probably if we go to Tibet and they're selling these... Yeah, they've more destroyed it. I have Report an error in the passage at 1:16:25 Highlight the passage at 1:16:25

1:16:47 a friend who's an art collector and he's given me some antique Tibetan items. I know he buys from legitimate dealers, but if it's Tibetan, then it's old. Chances are it was stolen at some point in its history. What do you do in that case? Report an error in the passage at 1:16:47 Highlight the passage at 1:16:47

1:17:11 Because my mind is blank. I did ask a friend who was Tibetan about that specific issue, and he said that a lot of people did sell things in order to start new lives outside of Tibet. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:11 Highlight the passage at 1:17:11

1:17:27 So it's not always all from bad. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:27 Highlight the passage at 1:17:27

1:17:43 The way I have taken this is that you shouldn't buy anything that you know directly was stolen. And if you're buying it from someone off the street, hey, you want a Tibetan statue from the 18th century? Chances are, if you don't know that the dealer is legitimate, then you shouldn't buy it. I would take it, this is just my own opinion, I would take it as, you know, if you have doubt even that it was, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:43 Highlight the passage at 1:17:43

1:18:16 You have a doubt that, you know, it was stolen. Then it's better to be safe, right? And not kind of reinforce that kind of behavior of rewarding someone who's stolen something. So, you know, just to be on the up and up and clean, clear as much as we can, right? You know, especially when it comes to holy objects. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:16 Highlight the passage at 1:18:16

1:18:40 I've actually stayed away from buying Tibetan. Not that I could afford most of them anyway, but for that reason, because you just never know. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:40 Highlight the passage at 1:18:40

1:18:56 I mean, another aspect of this vow is if you're someone in a position of power, using your authority to impose fines on monks or monasteries or things like that, right? Or taking bribes from monasteries. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:56 Highlight the passage at 1:18:56

1:19:26 If you're king or something like that, right? Which maybe we won't commit anytime soon. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:26 Highlight the passage at 1:19:26

1:19:44 So here, another aspect of this is, Gishitashi says this vow is more, so number five is more about stealing offerings, whereas this one is more about misusing things. So even though we may have permission to use them. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:44 Highlight the passage at 1:19:44

1:20:04 It's easy for people in authority in monasteries or Dharma centers to take shortcuts and start using funds and gifts for their own purpose. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:04 Highlight the passage at 1:20:04

1:20:13 Maybe not really stealing, but just to make life a bit easier for themselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:13 Highlight the passage at 1:20:13

1:20:21 So good to be careful about the property of the Dharma center as well, right? To not borrow something from the center. Not return it or not treat it with respect because everything that belongs to the center really belongs to the three jewels. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:21 Highlight the passage at 1:20:21

1:20:50 And not going into the kitchen and just chomping on food. If you see it there, it might be an offering for a chickie or someone along those lines. Yeah, that's good to be careful. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:50 Highlight the passage at 1:20:50

1:21:04 I mean, if it's already been offered right for soak and then they're distributing it, that's another thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:04 Highlight the passage at 1:21:04

1:21:15 Number 17. Laying down harmful regulations and passing false judgment. So this is another one if you're in a position of authority, the head of the Dharma center, right, or the head of a monastery, and you impose rules that penalize the meditators and the serious practitioners and reinforce, let's say, the people who are doing pujas and making money for the center, for example. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:15 Highlight the passage at 1:21:15

1:21:47 You know, really supporting those who are making money for the center and, you know, at the expense of those who are really practicing and meditating. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:47 Highlight the passage at 1:21:47

1:22:01 So I think this is not, I mean, when I first read this years ago, you know, we're not going to do that. But I see this sometimes in Dharma centers where people who are really meditating are in retreat and not... Contributing to the Dharma Center directly sometimes are penalized, right? And the ones who are working for the center are rewarded. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:01 Highlight the passage at 1:22:01

1:22:28 So I think that's violating the spirit of this vow. Because I know some people who are in retreat who don't get any support and they get criticized because they're not contributing. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:28 Highlight the passage at 1:22:28

1:22:49 But the ones who are meditating in retreat and getting the realizations, those are the ones who are really, really practicing and really going to help others in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:49 Highlight the passage at 1:22:49

1:23:02 And this one also includes, and Report an error in the passage at 1:23:02 Highlight the passage at 1:23:02

1:23:28 then the last one, number 18, giving up your pledge of altruistic aspiration or giving up your bodhicitta, basically. So number 18, you know, deciding, oh, this path is too hard, it's too long, you know. I'm going to go. Let's go for my own liberation. As soon as we decide that, we've given up our bodhicitta. We've given up our bodhisattva vows. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:28 Highlight the passage at 1:23:28

1:23:54 So we don't need the four binding factors for that one. But that's a firm decision again, not just having a bad day. Right. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:54 Highlight the passage at 1:23:54

1:24:06 But deciding. Deciding, okay, Report an error in the passage at 1:24:06 Highlight the passage at 1:24:06

1:24:13 I give up my bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:13 Highlight the passage at 1:24:13

1:24:25 You know, but at the same time, you know, I mean, if you're having a bad day and saying, okay, forget this Mahāyāna stuff, you're still giving this up. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:25 Highlight the passage at 1:24:25

1:24:42 Yeah, I mean, it's one thing to have a bad day and think, okay, well, this is really hard, but not kind of throw up our hands and say, okay, I'm not going to do this anymore kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:42 Highlight the passage at 1:24:42

1:24:56 Yeah, because Lama Tsongkhapa is very specific about giving up your bodhicitta. It's not, you know, as soon as you, you know, make that, you know, kind of decision in your mind, okay, forget it, this is, I'm not going to do this. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:56 Highlight the passage at 1:24:56

1:25:12 Then in that moment, you've lost your bodhisattva, you've lost your bodhicitta. It doesn't, like, it's not like 24 hours has to pass or even 10 minutes has to pass. If in that moment, you said, okay, wait. Forget it. I'm not going to do this anymore. Then you've lost your bodhicitta. Yeah. I mean, you can retake it, right? You can retake your bodhisattva vows, but you've lost, you know, you've lost it. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:12 Highlight the passage at 1:25:12

1:25:38 And you've created an imprint in your mind, right? That damages your bodhisattva vows and your bodhicitta. So we have to be particularly careful, right, when we do have bad days, right? Not to make... decisions when we're having a bad day well i don't think i've ever had an intention that definite but i've definitely had days where like these damn sentient beings are driving me great you know i think that is more the case with practitioners you know yeah where it's just rough yeah Report an error in the passage at 1:25:38 Highlight the passage at 1:25:38

1:26:07 That's not giving up your bodhicitta unless you've decided, okay, I'm not going to help them anymore, right? Yep. Yeah. Yeah, basta is a good word. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:07 Highlight the passage at 1:26:07

1:26:27 Right. Okay. Was there another hand up? Report an error in the passage at 1:26:27 Highlight the passage at 1:26:27

1:26:50 Something you said, I can't remember what it was just now, but something that you were saying sounded to me like giving Report an error in the passage at 1:26:50 Highlight the passage at 1:26:50

1:27:00 up the resolve. It almost feels like giving up the resolve for self-improvement. Do you know what I mean? Like to wish to become enlightened for the benefit of all sentient beings is sort of a commitment to... Open yourself up to growth, to self-improvement, to self-realization, to knowledge and to wisdom and to, you know, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:00 Highlight the passage at 1:27:00

1:27:26 to grow. Do you know what I mean? It seems like giving up this pledge for altruistic aspiration sort of sounds like I'm not going to, I'm good enough. I'm not going to be open to learning and growing and understanding. For a second, that sort of resonated with me. I mean, to help other people, true, but sort of just to say, I don't need to learn anymore. I don't need to practice. Yeah, see, I don't think it's that, Joe. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:26 Highlight the passage at 1:27:26

1:28:00 Because, I mean, the main focus of bodhicitta is others, so you're giving up on others, right? You can be on another path and still want to grow and improve yourself for your own liberation, right? But the bodhisattva path is... It's more about how do I help others in the best way. So giving up bodhicitta is giving up on helping others. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:00 Highlight the passage at 1:28:00

1:28:29 The focus being on others, giving up on helping others attain this lasting happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:29 Highlight the passage at 1:28:29

1:28:41 Yeah, but see that's secondary with bodhicitta. The main focus is I want to help others. And how do I do that? Oh, well, I need to get enlightened myself so that I can help others. Otherwise, if the focus isn't on others, then why not nirvāṇa? Why not liberation? Because you're still growing, you're still getting realizations and things like that. But we'll focus on our own nirvāṇa because the intention isn't to bring others to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:41 Highlight the passage at 1:28:41

1:29:19 I don't want to say that. Do you know what I mean? So I think that you can Report an error in the passage at 1:29:19 Highlight the passage at 1:29:19

1:29:30 still want to work on self-improvement and give up your bodhicitta at the same time. Because self-improvement can be too much about me. I want to become a wonderful person. I want to become even respected. I want to become brilliant. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:30 Highlight the passage at 1:29:30

1:29:56 You know, full of qualities. And that's full of self-cherishing. That can be full of self-cherishing. Whereas bodhicitta is giving up our self-cherishing and working for others. And okay, I'll develop my inner qualities and all of that too, but that's not my focus, right? That's not my primary aim is for me to be great. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:56 Highlight the passage at 1:29:56

1:30:19 My aim is to help others. And oh, by the way, I guess I'll have to become enlightened myself. So that I can do it. You know, I find that a very important distinction is I notice in my own mind that, well, Report an error in the passage at 1:30:19 Highlight the passage at 1:30:19

1:30:38 I think I came into this life very much an individual liberation kind of a person, you know, and I was really focused on me growing and me, you know, me getting realizations and, you know, me, me, me, you know. Until a certain point where the bodhicitta teachings were introduced to me. And I noticed that even like developing love can be about me. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:38 Highlight the passage at 1:30:38

1:31:11 It feels good. I want to open my heart. Aren't I wonderful? I'm so loving kind of thing. Which is not bodhicitta. I, you know, I... Report an error in the passage at 1:31:11 Highlight the passage at 1:31:11

1:31:25 It Report an error in the passage at 1:31:25 Highlight the passage at 1:31:25

1:31:30 makes a huge difference in how much we can help somebody. If we want to help somebody because it makes me feel good about myself, that's still self-cherishing. If I want to help somebody because I genuinely want the best thing for that other person, then that's giving up the self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:30 Highlight the passage at 1:31:30

1:31:53 Yeah, I hear what you're saying. It just feels like the two go together. It's like when you were talking about, oh, sometimes this is just so hard. I just have a really bad day. The sentient beings are getting on my nerves. That's all about me, my, my feelings. Too much for me. It's too much work for me to overcome this. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:53 Highlight the passage at 1:31:53

1:32:14 If I were really enlightened, it wouldn't feel like too much work. It would be like, it's just me. It's just my feelings. That's sort of a thing. I didn't mean to take away from doing it for other beings. I mean, and that's sort of... Report an error in the passage at 1:32:14 Highlight the passage at 1:32:14

1:32:32 When it starts to feel like too much work, what is it that's feeling like too much work? It's the striving for enlightenment that's feeling like too much work, isn't it? Report an error in the passage at 1:32:32 Highlight the passage at 1:32:32

1:32:50 Personally, I think it's just the self-cherishing that causes us to give up our bodhicitta. Yeah, it's too much work. It's too hard. The sentient beings aren't cooperating. They're asking too much from me. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:50 Highlight the passage at 1:32:50

1:33:07 I don't know if that's addressing your question. I don't think I'm quite getting at the essence of your doubt. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:07 Highlight the passage at 1:33:07

1:33:18 But what you were saying before about self-improvement, giving up self-improvement, I don't think that that's what this giving up bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:18 Highlight the passage at 1:33:18

1:33:36 Yeah. So I guess in a nutshell, I would say this one is giving up your bodhicitta is really about giving up working for others and focusing more on yourself. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:36 Highlight the passage at 1:33:36

1:33:54 That's the best I can do. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:54 Highlight the passage at 1:33:54

1:34:06 You said also that we have to study the Hinayana and what else? Hinayana and Mahāyāna. So isn't it, if we come back to this self-cherishing, isn't it just a falling back to Hinayana? I always understand that Hinayana is Report an error in the passage at 1:34:06 Highlight the passage at 1:34:06

1:34:32 It's self-liberating. I don't want to suffer anymore. Liberate myself. And then this is really the first step we have to do. And once we have this first step, then we can come to bodhicitta and to bodhisattva thinking. But then there is a time in our life that we... Go for and back actually from Hinayana to Mahāyāna. You know, when I come back and I cherish myself more and I wanted to liberate myself first, isn't that a falling back in Hinayana view, perspective? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:32 Highlight the passage at 1:34:32

1:35:21 And then from that point again, I try. I try to come back to the bodhicitta, you are. Yeah, I mean I think that's normal in our training right before our bodhicitta is really stable and strong, right? Sometimes we're working for others and sometimes, well, we're really working more for ourselves. But we're not actually giving up our Mahāyāna unless we decide, okay, I'm not going to work for others anymore. I'm not going to strive for enlightenment anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:21 Highlight the passage at 1:35:21

1:36:04 We have those days where we're not so loving and compassionate and caring toward others and we're not so energetic to work for others. But that's not giving up your bodhicitta unless you decide, okay, I'm going to go for my own liberation and I'm not going to go for enlightenment anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:04 Highlight the passage at 1:36:04

1:36:27 So then, just quickly before we end, is the four binding factors. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:27 Highlight the passage at 1:36:27

1:36:36 So with the exception of number nine, holding wrong views, and number 18, giving up your bodhicitta, in order to break the root downfall, commit the root downfall and lose our bodhisattva vows, we need all four binding factors to be complete. First of all, not seeing the action as detrimental. So let's say I praise myself or I criticize somebody else because I want people to like me more than that person. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:36 Highlight the passage at 1:36:36

1:37:06 So if I think there's nothing wrong with it, number two, I have no desire to stop the action. Not only do I not think there's anything wrong with it, I'm going to continue to do it. I have no desire to stop criticizing others. Number three, indulging in the action with great pleasure and delight. Criticizing others and being really happy about it, right? And then number four, lacking shame or conscience or like a self, like integrity, personal integrity and lacking a consideration for how my actions affect others. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:06 Highlight the passage at 1:37:06

1:37:53 So if we have all four of these binding factors complete, We don't think there's anything wrong with it. We have no desire to stop it. We do it with pleasure. And we don't have this sense of integrity or consideration for others. Then we've completely broken the vow and we've lost our bodhisattva vows. So, right, let's say I criticize others, you know, somebody else. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:53 Highlight the passage at 1:37:53

1:38:21 And then I think, ooh, I shouldn't have done that. I'm going to try to do better next time. We haven't broken the bodhisattva vow. Because the four binding factors aren't complete. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:21 Highlight the passage at 1:38:21

1:38:40 So it's not so easy to break the bodhisattva vows. We have to really not really care about wanting to improve. That's what Joe was saying before. We have to not really care about the negative action that we commit. We think it's fine and I'm going to continue to do it. With the exception of holding wrong views and giving up bodhicitta. Okay, so those are the root vows. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:40 Highlight the passage at 1:38:40

1:39:16 And the next time, well, we're not going to be able to finish the secondary vows, but we can go into at least start them. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:16 Highlight the passage at 1:39:16

1:39:33 So the secondary vows are much easier to break. But the main thing is they're good guidelines for... You know, since we want to be bodhisattvas, they're good guidelines for behaviors that we are trying to cultivate on the path. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:33 Highlight the passage at 1:39:33

1:39:57 So we'll end with Shantideva on page 246. May Report an error in the passage at 1:39:57 Highlight the passage at 1:39:57

1:40:18 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 the blind see forms and the deaf hear sounds may those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:18 Highlight the passage at 1:40:18

1:40:57 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. 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. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:57 Highlight the passage at 1:40:57

1:41:24 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 1:41:24 Highlight the passage at 1:41:24

1:41:53 Okay, so a couple of announcements. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:53 Highlight the passage at 1:41:53

1:42:15 Yeah, and just on that, RJ Rinpoche is a wonderful Lama, you know, really engaging, and he lived in, well, Tibet. I mean, he escaped from Tibet not that long ago, and I think he was the highest. Ranking Tibetan Lama that escaped Tibet before the Karmapa did. You know, he was a very high-level Lama, and so he wrote a book on his life, and his life is very fascinating. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:15 Highlight the passage at 1:42:15

1:42:44 So if you can make it this Thursday, it would be great. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:44 Highlight the passage at 1:42:44

1:43:15 And there was a question about whether or not you could do part of the weekend with Tens and Choki. You can. Any part is fine. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:15 Highlight the passage at 1:43:15

1:43:35 Okay. the details for that medication are here. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:35 Highlight the passage at 1:43:35

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:43:40 is going to be at 1 p.m. Yes. Saturday is going to be at 1 p.m. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:40 Highlight the passage at 1:43:40

1:43:48 right. Yeah, and if people don't know Tenzin Choki, you know, she's wonderful. She's done more than six years of solitary retreat. She's very energetic and fun and wonderful, wonderful teacher. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:48 Highlight the passage at 1:43:48

1:44:04 We're very fortunate to have her here. She's only in the Bay Area part of the year, so she doesn't get to make it here very often. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:04 Highlight the passage at 1:44:04

1:44:14 Okay, that's it. We'll see you next week. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:14 Highlight the passage at 1:44:14

1:44:27 You know, Effie, I'm going up north today. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:27 Highlight the passage at 1:44:27

1:44:37 I used to live up in Marin, and I'm going to go and spend the night up there with friends. Yeah, with Jack and Judith. Go see them. Go see some other friends. Yeah, yeah. When I come up here, I get to go all over the place. Everybody can see a ride to the Hague. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:37 Highlight the passage at 1:44:37

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:44:59 Yeah, so I think you're only going to miss one class, because next week will be a last class, and then we have two weeks off after that, and then we'll start the last Tuesday of April, again on the 27th or something like that. So I think you're only going to miss one class. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:59 Highlight the passage at 1:44:59

1:45:22 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:22 Highlight the passage at 1:45:22