Mahayana Mind Transformation (18 May 2007)

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0:30 Okay, can people hear me now? Oh, I think that's working. Great, okay. Well, welcome everyone. It's been a while since we met. I see a few new faces. Report an error in the passage at 0:30 Highlight the passage at 0:30

0:48 So, we always start with just a silent meditation, a meditation on the breath. So, let's just sit with our spine straight and Report an error in the passage at 0:48 Highlight the passage at 0:48

1:05 just focus on our breath for a few minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:05 Highlight the passage at 1:05

1:12 Either the sensation of the breath coming in and out of the nostrils or Report an error in the passage at 1:12 Highlight the passage at 1:12

1:22 the breath. At our belly. And Report an error in the passage at 1:22 Highlight the passage at 1:22

1:32 just try to let go of the thoughts of the day and thoughts of the future. And just focus on the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:32 Highlight the passage at 1:32

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3:29 Thoughts arise. Don't get involved in them. Just bring the mind gently back to the breath. Report an error in the passage at 3:29 Highlight the passage at 3:29

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6:01 Let's try to develop a positive motivation. Report an error in the passage at 6:01 Highlight the passage at 6:01

6:10 Remembering the kindness of other sentient beings whom Report an error in the passage at 6:10 Highlight the passage at 6:10

6:21 we depend for everything. Our Report an error in the passage at 6:21 Highlight the passage at 6:21

6:27 food and our clothing, Report an error in the passage at 6:27 Highlight the passage at 6:27

6:42 our bodies and Report an error in the passage at 6:42 Highlight the passage at 6:42

6:47 our knowledge. Report an error in the passage at 6:47 Highlight the passage at 6:47

7:06 So all sentient beings want to be happy just like ourselves and want to be free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 7:06 Highlight the passage at 7:06

7:22 So let's try to develop a motivation not only for our own benefit, but to listen to this teaching for the benefit of all other sentient beings. I Report an error in the passage at 7:22 Highlight the passage at 7:22

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8:18 have to pray or Report an error in the passage at 8:18 Highlight the passage at 8:18

8:27 I'll bring it closer. Yeah, and if you can't hear me, just let me know when I start talking again. Can you hear me now? Yes, I think it's closer to Lama. Okay. But you just didn't want it on for the prayer, is that what you're saying? Yeah, I don't want it on for the prayer. Okay. Where are the copies of this? Report an error in the passage at 8:27 Highlight the passage at 8:27

8:50 Oh, they're behind the screen. Oh. Would you please somebody. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 8:50 Highlight the passage at 8:50

9:05 It's just difficult to get back behind the screen. But next time I can make sure we have to. As a part of your, would that be a possibility? Report an error in the passage at 9:05 Highlight the passage at 9:05

9:14 Let's just do it this way. I don't mean for sure, but in the future. Let me think about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to use the screen for all these classes, but if we do. Report an error in the passage at 9:14 Highlight the passage at 9:14

9:28 Next time I'll make sure I have more ounce. It is difficult to do the limbo. Report an error in the passage at 9:28 Highlight the passage at 9:28

9:39 Of essence to my guru, protector Manjushri, who holds to his heart a scriptural text symbolic of his seeing all things as they are, whose intelligence shines forth as the sun, unclouded by delusions or traces of ignorance, who teaches in sixty ways with the loving compassion of a father for his only son, all creatures caught in the prison of saṃsāra, confused in the darkness of their ignorance, overwhelmed by their suffering. Report an error in the passage at 9:39 Highlight the passage at 9:39

10:04 You, whose dragon thunder-like proclamation of Dharma arouses us from the stupor of our delusions and frees us from the iron chains of our karma, who wields the sword of wisdom hewing down suffering wherever its sprouts appear, clearing away the darkness of ignorance. You, whose princely body is adorned with 112 marks of a Buddha, who has completed the stages achieving the highest perfection of a Bodhisattva, who has been pure from the beginning, I bow down to you, O Manjushri. Report an error in the passage at 10:04 Highlight the passage at 10:04

10:32 Who obeys him to my guru and protector, Manjushri, who holds to his heart a scriptural text symbolic of us seeing all things as they are, whose intelligence shines forth as the sun, unclouded by delusions or traces of ignorance, who teaches in sixty ways with the love and compassion of a father for his only son, all creatures caught in the prison of saṃsāra, confused in the darkness of ignorance, overwhelmed by their suffering. Report an error in the passage at 10:32 Highlight the passage at 10:32

10:56 You, whose dragon thunder-like proclamation of Dharma arouses us from the stupor of our delusions and frees us from the iron chains of our karma, who wields the sword of wisdom hewing down suffering wherever its sprouts appear, clearing away the darkness of ignorance. You, whose princely body is adorned with 112 marks of a Buddha, who has completed the stages achieving the highest perfection of a bodhisattva, who has been pure from the beginning, I bow down to you, O Manjushri. Report an error in the passage at 10:56 Highlight the passage at 10:56

11:24 Obeisance to my guru and protector Manjushri, who holds to his heart a scriptural text symbolic of his saying all things as they are, whose intelligence shines forth as the sun, unclouded by delusions or trace of ignorance, who teaches in sixty ways with the loving compassion of a father for his only son, all creatures caught in the prison of saṃsāra, confused in the darkness of their ignorance, overwhelmed by their suffering. Report an error in the passage at 11:24 Highlight the passage at 11:24

11:48 You, whose dragon thunder-like proclamation of Dharma arouses us from the stupor of our delusions and frees us from the iron chains of our karma, who wields a sword of wisdom hewing down suffering wherever its sprouts appear, clearing away the darkness of ignorance. You, whose princely body is adorned with 112 wharves of a Buddha, who has completed the stages of achieving the highest perfection of a Bodhisattva, who has been pure from the beginning, I bow down to you, Manjushri. Report an error in the passage at 11:48 Highlight the passage at 11:48

12:25 of your wisdom, O compassionate one, illuminate the darkness in closing my mind, enlighten my intelligence and wisdom so that I may gain insight into Buddha's words and the texts that explain them. Report an error in the passage at 12:25 Highlight the passage at 12:25

12:47 thing to work Report an error in the passage at 12:47 Highlight the passage at 12:47

12:54 I also am going to pass around this sheet so that if people would put their name and email address on it and then I tend to send out things to the group. throughout the class, so, Report an error in the passage at 12:54 Highlight the passage at 12:54

13:18 So this class is called Mahāyāna Mind Training. And so basically, let's go to the next one. This is, within the basic program, there are these nine different topics. And so I just wanted to give you the context in which this class is set. And Geshe-la has actually taught all of these classes now. And so he's teaching number nine, Grounds and Paths of Secret Mantra, as well as number seven, the chapter four of the ornament. Report an error in the passage at 13:18 Highlight the passage at 13:18

13:54 The people who took the last class took the Minds and Mental Factors. So in the class number five, the Mind and Cognition, it had two parts, the Awarenesses and Knowers and the Minds and Mental Factors. So we just finished that. So we're jumping around. Report an error in the passage at 13:54 Highlight the passage at 13:54

14:11 And so now we're doing the Mahāyāna mind training. So as probably all of us know, all of the Buddhist teachings really are geared toward changing our minds, transforming our minds. Because actually all of our suffering, whether we realize it or not, originates in our mind. The root cause of all of our suffering is... Report an error in the passage at 14:11 Highlight the passage at 14:11

14:42 From our minds and it's not all of these external circumstances that we tend to think are the cause of our suffering. So all of the Buddhist teachings are geared toward training the mind and currently our mind is under the control of the afflictions. So our anger and our attachment, our ignorance, our jealousy, our pride, etc. Report an error in the passage at 14:42 Highlight the passage at 14:42

15:07 cetera. Report an error in the passage at 15:07 Highlight the passage at 15:07

15:11 so... We are attached to pleasure, right? Our pleasurable experiences, good food, movies, our comfort, all of these things we become attached to. And then we become, we have aversion toward being harmed or uncomfortable situations, unpleasant situations, etc. We may become jealous or envious of... Those who have what we want and fearful of losing the things that we have or fearful of not getting what we want, fearful of getting sick, etc. Report an error in the passage at 15:11 Highlight the passage at 15:11

15:55 And the root cause of all of these afflictions is ignorance, right? The ignorance, primarily the ignorance that misconceives the nature of ourselves, right? We tend to think that we exist. In a more solid and independent way than we actually do. We have this self-image that's quite solid. I am a woman. I am an American or a Chinese American. I am an intelligent person. Report an error in the passage at 15:55 Highlight the passage at 15:55

16:32 We grasp onto this image. Report an error in the passage at 16:32 Highlight the passage at 16:32

16:38 And we cherish ourselves as being more important than others. We're more concerned about our own happiness than the happiness of others. And because of this, we suffer. We have to protect the things that we have. We have to protect our bodies. Report an error in the passage at 16:38 Highlight the passage at 16:38

17:01 And we may harm others if people threaten us, for example. Or if people threaten our possessions or our status or our self-image, we may speak harshly to others or defend ourselves physically or at least have mental afflictions about them. Report an error in the passage at 17:01 Highlight the passage at 17:01

17:29 And then due to these mental afflictions, then... I'm struggling with the microphone. I'll try it this way. Let me see if I can get used to this guy. Maybe my ear isn't the right size. So due to these... Okay. Report an error in the passage at 17:29 Highlight the passage at 17:29

18:14 Is that okay? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 18:14 Highlight the passage at 18:14

18:20 So then we cherish ourselves as being more important than others, right? And then we generate afflictions and we generate karma, which cause us to suffer again and again. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 18:20 Highlight the passage at 18:20

18:35 So all of our suffering has a root cause of these two things, this ignorance, grasping at a solid self, as well as the self-cherishing. Cherishing ourselves is more important than others. Report an error in the passage at 18:35 Highlight the passage at 18:35

18:54 So we've been doing this since beginningless time, right? Cherishing ourselves is more important than others. But others, you know, if we think about it, there are countless other beings. You know, there's, what, six billion people. On this planet. And then countless more insects and animals. As well as all the other beings that we can't even see. Report an error in the passage at 18:54 Highlight the passage at 18:54

19:22 So it doesn't make any sense to cherish ourselves as more important than others because all of us are the same. All of us are the same in wanting to be happy. All of us are the same in wanting to be free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 19:22 Highlight the passage at 19:22

19:42 None of us like to be insulted. None of us want to get sick. None of us want to be treated unfairly. Report an error in the passage at 19:42 Highlight the passage at 19:42

19:56 And all of us want. We value our friends. We want to have friends. We want to have a comfortable home. We like people to treat us with respect and kindness. Report an error in the passage at 19:56 Highlight the passage at 19:56

20:16 So we're all the same in that way. So it doesn't make any sense. To cherish ourselves as being more important than others. Report an error in the passage at 20:16 Highlight the passage at 20:16

20:28 And if we think about it, almost everything that we do is in order to secure happiness for ourselves. It's really quite scary if you think about it, or humbling. Report an error in the passage at 20:28 Highlight the passage at 20:28

20:44 You know, we go to work because we want to make enough money so that we can live in the lifestyle that... want, right? We want to have a comfortable home. We want to eat good food. We go to the grocery store. We all want to get in the shortest line at the grocery store. Report an error in the passage at 20:44 Highlight the passage at 20:44

21:26 We want to have a convenient life, right? Most of us don't carpool to work. You go down the street and most people are sitting by themselves in their cars. Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:42 So most of what we do, we want people to like us. We talk to our friends because they make us happy. So throughout the day, almost everything that we do has at least some element of self-cherishing in there. Report an error in the passage at 21:42 Highlight the passage at 21:42

22:00 Even if we're trying to help others, usually there's some element of, well, that makes me happy to do that, right? Or that will create causes of happiness for myself. And it's so rare to actually do something purely for somebody else. And I can see that, you know, if I do something for somebody else and they don't appreciate it, you know, then I can see, okay, well, I guess I had some self-cherishing there. Report an error in the passage at 22:00 Highlight the passage at 22:00

22:31 Or they mistreat you, after all I've done for this person and then they mistreat me, this solid me. So it's so hard to get out of that cycle. Report an error in the passage at 22:31 Highlight the passage at 22:31

22:46 But these particular mind training teachings are basically to help us do that, to give us some tools to exchange ourselves from. To develop bodhicitta and to cherish others is more important than ourselves. Easy to say, hard to do. Report an error in the passage at 22:46 Highlight the passage at 22:46

23:15 So this famous quote by Shantideva, he says, Whatever joy there is in the world all comes from desiring others to be happy. And whatever suffering there is in the world all comes from desiring myself to be happy. So all of our happiness comes from desiring others to be happy. And all of our suffering comes from wanting happiness for ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 23:15 Highlight the passage at 23:15

23:47 What need is there to say much more? The childish work for their own benefit, the Buddha's work for the benefit of others. Just look at the difference between them. So we ordinary beings work for our own benefit, and still we suffer again and again. Report an error in the passage at 23:47 Highlight the passage at 23:47

24:08 Whereas the Buddha's work for the benefit of others, and they never suffer. They're always happy. So maybe we're doing something wrong. And I think about the fact that I've been cherishing myself since beginningless time, you know, definitely all of this life, as well as all of previous lives. And look where I am. I'm still in saṃsāra. You know, I still suffer. So maybe I could at least try, you know, cherishing others. Report an error in the passage at 24:08 Highlight the passage at 24:08

24:43 Maybe that'll get me somewhere. Because obviously this cherishing myself hasn't gotten me out of this cycle of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 24:43 Highlight the passage at 24:43

25:02 So I was saying before that all of the Buddhist teachings are in order to train the mind. But then the mind training teachings are a specific genre of teachings within the Buddhists, the Buddha Dharma, that are particularly methods for cultivating bodhicitta. And especially through the practice of equalizing and exchanging ourselves with others. Seeing others as being equal in wanting happiness as well as wanting to avoid suffering. Report an error in the passage at 25:02 Highlight the passage at 25:02

25:38 And then gradually cherishing others as being even more important than ourselves. But at least we can try to cherish others as being just as important as ourselves. And then gradually, hopefully, definitely... We'll learn to cherish others as even more important than ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 25:38 Highlight the passage at 25:38

26:07 So I read this in this big, thick mind training book that recently came out that's translated by Thupten Jinpa that has basically all of the main mind training texts in it that he translated. And it's an amazing text. And he gave an etymology of this. This term lojong, which is the term for mind training in Tibetan, I thought it was interesting and thought I would share it with you. So lojong is mind training. Report an error in the passage at 26:07 Highlight the passage at 26:07

26:40 So lo in Tibetan means the mind, sometimes translated as thought or attitudes. So sometimes lojong is translated as thought transformation and sometimes mind training. Report an error in the passage at 26:40 Highlight the passage at 26:40

26:56 And then jung has several different meanings that are interrelated. The first one is training, whereby one acquires a skill or masters a field of knowledge. So we're acquiring a skill of cherishing others. Report an error in the passage at 26:56 Highlight the passage at 26:56

27:19 And it also involves habituation or familiarization with specific ways of being and thinking. So here we're not only just training in cherishing others as more important than ourselves. But it requires a lot of habituation and familiarization over a long period of time. So this is something that will happen only gradually over many, many years. Report an error in the passage at 27:19 Highlight the passage at 27:19

27:53 And then there's the aspect of cultivating specific mental qualities such as universal compassion or bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 27:53 Highlight the passage at 27:53

28:06 So we're cultivating qualities and then cleansing or purifying such as purifying one's mind of Craving, hatred, delusion, ignorance, etc. of the afflictions. So it's very interesting, so Lojang has the connotations of all of these different things, right? Report an error in the passage at 28:06 Highlight the passage at 28:06

28:29 We're training our minds, we're habituating our minds, we're cultivating specific qualities, and we're cleansing our minds, right? We're cleansing our minds of self-cherishing and the afflictions. So all of these different meanings carry the idea of transformation. So transformation or training doesn't quite get you at all of the four connotations. Report an error in the passage at 28:29 Highlight the passage at 28:29

28:58 And I can send these slides out. I'm sorry I didn't send them out before I was doing this at the last minute. Report an error in the passage at 28:58 Highlight the passage at 28:58

29:10 So the text itself that we're studying is sometimes translated as the wheel of sharp weapons. But in this, the translation that we're using, It's the wheel weapon mind training. And did everyone get a copy of the text that needs one? Report an error in the passage at 29:10 Highlight the passage at 29:10

29:38 Yeah, and so we're using the translation that's in this book, The Peacock and the Poison Grove. So this text, this is the root text as well as a commentary by Gishisopa in Madison. And it's actually, there's two different texts in this book. There's the one that we're using as well as a book called, or a text called the... Report an error in the passage at 29:38 Highlight the passage at 29:38

30:01 Poison Destroying Peacock Mind Training. And so Gishisopa is always great. He always gives great commentaries. So I'd recommend this book. And the bookstore is supposed to get it in next week. So if you can wait until next week, you can purchase it from the bookstore here. Report an error in the passage at 30:01 Highlight the passage at 30:01

30:25 So the Wheel Weapon Mind Training. So it's a weapon that... Similarly, as physical weapons pierce the bodies of our enemies, similarly this mind training technique gets at our inner enemies, our self-grasping and our self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 30:25 Highlight the passage at 30:25

30:57 So these are methods for getting rid of our self-cherishing and getting rid of our self-grasping. And the author of this text is... The master Dharma Rakshita, who was the teacher of Atisha, right? It was Atisha who brought the teachings to Tibet. And so Atisha got these teachings from Dharma Rakshita. Report an error in the passage at 30:57 Highlight the passage at 30:57

31:48 So then the first lines of this text, if you want to follow in the text or up here, it's homage to the three jewels, the wheel weapon that strikes at the enemy's vital spot. Report an error in the passage at 31:48 Highlight the passage at 31:48

32:03 So the enemy's vital spot was the self-cherishing and the self-grasping. I bow down to the great wrathful one, Yamantaka. So Yamantaka is the wrathful form of Manjushri, and he's the great wrathful one who opposes the two negative attitudes, self-grasping and self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 32:03 Highlight the passage at 32:03

32:34 So we'll move into the text. Report an error in the passage at 32:34 Highlight the passage at 32:34

32:46 So when the peacocks roam the jungle of virulent poison, the flocks take no delight in gardens of medicinal plants. No matter how beautiful they may be, For peacocks thrive on the essence of virulent poison. Similarly, when the heroes roam the jungle of cyclic existence, they do not become attached to the garden of happiness and prosperity, no matter how beautiful it may be. Report an error in the passage at 32:46 Highlight the passage at 32:46

33:12 For heroes thrive in the jungle of suffering. Okay, so with verse 1, when peacocks roam the jungle of virulent poison, the flocks take no delight in gardens of medicinal plants. All right, so peacocks... Feed on poison. And the poison makes their feathers even more beautiful. And the colors more vibrant. Report an error in the passage at 33:12 Highlight the passage at 33:12

33:38 And peacocks become more healthy when they feed on poison. They don't take delight in the gardens of medicinal plants. Rather, they thrive on poison. So that's an analogy for what the bodhisattvas do. So the bodhisattvas... Are the heroes in verse 2. So when the bodhisattvas roam the jungle of cyclic existence, they do not become attached to the gardens of happiness and prosperity, no matter how beautiful it may be, for heroes thrive in the jungle of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 33:38 Highlight the passage at 33:38

34:18 So bodhisattvas are the opposite of us. So they're not constantly grasping to the pleasures of cyclic existence. The good food and the good movies and the comfort and the praise, the financial security, etc. that we tend to grasp onto. And rather than being attached to these quote-unquote pleasures of that cyclic existence, they see the shortcomings of these sensual pleasures, etc. Report an error in the passage at 34:18 Highlight the passage at 34:18

35:01 And they see that actually they imprison us in saṃsāra, right? These things that we think bring us pleasure are actually tying us, or they do bring us a certain amount of pleasure, right? But they don't bring us ultimate happiness, right? They don't bring us lasting happiness because they're unreliable, right? They're temporary. Report an error in the passage at 35:01 Highlight the passage at 35:01

35:24 So we'll enjoy a good meal, but then it's over, right? We may have these comfortable lives right now, but they will definitely end at some point. And then hopefully more good karma will ripen after that. But we can't be sure of that. As long as we're in cyclic existence, our happiness and our pleasure is temporary and it's unreliable. Report an error in the passage at 35:24 Highlight the passage at 35:24

35:58 So the more that we keep following after our attachments and the more we keep grasping, At these temporary pleasures, the more we bind ourselves into cyclic existence. The more we create negative karma, which creates more and more suffering. So the bodhisattvas see this. So the bodhisattvas aren't so attached to the happiness and pleasure of cyclic existence. Report an error in the passage at 35:58 Highlight the passage at 35:58

36:27 But rather they take on suffering. Voluntarily, right? They take on the suffering of others. Report an error in the passage at 36:27 Highlight the passage at 36:27

36:42 So we see this, like in the Jataka tales, there's a, in a previous life, right, Buddhishaki Muni in one of his lives, right, gave his body to a tiger, right? A tiger was hungry and the bodhisattva, or the, he was a bodhisattva at that time, had so much compassion for this tiger, he gave his body to the tiger to relieve that tiger's hunger. Report an error in the passage at 36:42 Highlight the passage at 36:42

37:10 So that's a very advanced practice. But bodhisattvas do this type of thing. You see Lama Zopa Rinpoche, everything that he does is for the benefit of others. And so he takes on all of our problems. He listens to all of our problems. He takes on this huge FPMT organization with all sorts of financial difficulties and other kinds of difficulties that I don't even know about. Report an error in the passage at 37:10 Highlight the passage at 37:10

37:41 He's trying to build this great Maitreya statue that has so many obstacles. But he's doing that for the welfare of us, right? Report an error in the passage at 37:41 Highlight the passage at 37:41

37:57 And so that's what bodhisattvas do, right? They're not afraid of suffering, right? They willingly take on suffering with their courageous attitude in order to benefit others. Report an error in the passage at 37:57 Highlight the passage at 37:57

38:13 So then bodhisattvas don't suffer, right? We tend to be... Afraid of things bad happening to us. And so then we worry. But since a bodhisattva isn't afraid of anything, the bodhisattva willingly takes on the suffering of others. He's not concerned about his own happiness, his or her own happiness. So there's no reason for a bodhisattva to be afraid. And Report an error in the passage at 38:13 Highlight the passage at 38:13

39:00 so this comes... For bodhisattvas, this comes out of their great love and compassion for sentient beings. Because the bodhisattva understands that we all want happiness and understands that we all don't want suffering. But again and again, we're creating causes of suffering. And so out of the bodhisattva's great compassion for us, the bodhisattva takes a vow to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 39:00 Highlight the passage at 39:00

39:37 So rather than seeking their own liberation, rather than just focusing on eliminating their own afflictions, they decide to stay in cyclic existence until reaching enlightenment so that they can benefit more beings. Report an error in the passage at 39:37 Highlight the passage at 39:37

40:01 Because if you focus on your own liberation, you can get rid of your own afflictions. And get out of cyclic existence, but then you're in this blissful state and you're not able to help anybody else. Report an error in the passage at 40:01 Highlight the passage at 40:01

40:19 But a Buddha, if you stay in cyclic existence until you attain Buddhahood, you attain omniscience and you're able to manifest all sorts of bodies. You don't remain in some solitary blissful state. You're able to help countless beings. In every moment. So the bodhisattva vows to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all beings. Report an error in the passage at 40:19 Highlight the passage at 40:19

40:57 And it's actually said in one teaching, in the Chandrakirtis, Supplement to the Middle Way, he talks about what happens on each of the ten bodhisattva grounds. And it's said that on the sixth bodhisattva ground, even if someone tortures the bodhisattva, Limb by limb, cutting his body limb by limb, that bodhisattva generates even more compassion for that being and doesn't suffer. Report an error in the passage at 40:57 Highlight the passage at 40:57

41:34 But the more that bodhisattva is tortured, the more compassion he or she develops for sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 41:34 Highlight the passage at 41:34

42:05 So similarly, although we may not be bodhisattvas yet, maybe some of us are. But we can at least try to train in this way, right, to willingly take on at least discomfort, you know, for the welfare of others, which I think most of us do, right? And just again and again, and then the more we train, the easier it gets, right, over time. Report an error in the passage at 42:05 Highlight the passage at 42:05

42:36 And, you know, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says again and again, recommends that we use... Every aspect of our lives, every moment of our lives to try to develop bodhicitta. So when we're eating, think that you're eating to maintain your body so that you can be more beneficial to sentient beings. Or you can visualize offering all of that food to all of the starving people in the world. Report an error in the passage at 42:36 Highlight the passage at 42:36

43:09 You walk through the door and you think that you're opening the door to enlightenment, etc., etc. So many of these different practices, as you're taking a shower, you're visualizing purifying all sentient beings, etc. So we can use every moment of our lives as a practice in bodhicitta and cherishing others. Report an error in the passage at 43:09 Highlight the passage at 43:09

43:40 The next verse says, Therefore it is due to cowardice. That persons avidly pursue their own happiness and come to suffer. And it's due to heroism that bodhisattvas willingly take the suffering of others onto themselves are always happy. Report an error in the passage at 43:40 Highlight the passage at 43:40

44:01 So we ordinary beings are always pursuing our own happiness because we don't have the courage to take on the sufferings, to voluntarily take on other sufferings. Report an error in the passage at 44:01 Highlight the passage at 44:01

44:18 And therefore, We suffer, which is so kind of counterintuitive. We're trying so hard to avoid suffering, but then we're constantly creating the causes to suffer. Report an error in the passage at 44:18 Highlight the passage at 44:18

44:33 So through avoiding suffering, we're constantly developing mental afflictions and we're hurting others and therefore creating causes to suffer. Report an error in the passage at 44:33 Highlight the passage at 44:33

44:48 And it's due to heroism or bodhicitta that bodhisattvas... Who willingly take the suffering of others onto themselves are always happy. So if you look at someone like Lama Zopa Rinpoche, he's always happy, he's always laughing and joking around. And he has all of these, you know, the weight of this entire organization on his shoulders and so much debt and so many difficulties. Report an error in the passage at 44:48 Highlight the passage at 44:48

45:13 And he's always laughing and he's always happy, right? So there's something to this kind of teaching, right? Robert. if it's really easy or different. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, I forgot about that. Report an error in the passage at 45:13 Highlight the passage at 45:13

45:35 have a very long board now. all the way out to the Report an error in the passage at 45:35 Highlight the passage at 45:35

45:52 Earth to Emily, Earth to Emily. like Report an error in the passage at 45:52 Highlight the passage at 45:52

45:58 okay I I I'm wondering if it really is so difficult because it talks about happiness in the end there. I think I heard from somewhere that the Dalai Lama used the term enlightened self-interest and it just seems to me like a different direction. If you are giving yourself to others, if you're helping others, even helping others out of tremendous suffering, it's ultimately going to make you happy. Report an error in the passage at 45:58 Highlight the passage at 45:58

46:26 The aim is different, but you want the ultimate happiness of the Buddhas. And so is that ultimately self-sacrifice or self-fulfillment? Report an error in the passage at 46:26 Highlight the passage at 46:26

46:40 Yeah, well, I mean, that's the whole point, right? Ultimately, this is the way to achieve lasting happiness, right? And His Holiness does say, if we're going to be selfish, we might as well be wisely selfish. And cherish others because that will bring us the ultimate happiness. But I think the difficulty is that we have to be willing to take all the hardships along the way. Report an error in the passage at 46:40 Highlight the passage at 46:40

47:05 So endure the current difficulties for the long-term benefit. And that's the hard part. I agree. And I've gone the wrong way before. And I'm glad to be here on the right path. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 47:05 Highlight the passage at 47:05

47:27 But I find with myself that I so easily fall back into my self-cherishing mind and thinking that's going to make me happy again and again and again because of my attachments, because of my afflictions. You know, I want... I want some pleasure in my life. You know, I'm not willing to give up my current pleasures and I still need to have my good food and I still need to go to movies and I still need to have chats with my friends, right? Report an error in the passage at 47:27 Highlight the passage at 47:27

47:58 Because if I don't have that, then my mind is just not strong enough to be happy all the time, right? So we all have to be realistic with where we are and try to cherish others as much as possible. But if we find that our minds aren't quite ready for that, you know, it's good to, you know, give ourselves little treats every once in a while, you know. Report an error in the passage at 47:58 Highlight the passage at 47:58

48:26 But that's just my kind of opinion on that. But, you know, I get so inspired by these mind training teachings and I think, oh, yeah, I'm going to go out and cherish others. And then, you know, and then somebody, you know, looks at me wrong or, you know, insults me and then I get all upset. So it's not quite as easy as I'd like. Right, exactly. Report an error in the passage at 48:26 Highlight the passage at 48:26

48:54 Exactly, it's easy on the cushion. It's easier on the cushion to really cherish others and have a lot of love and compassion for others. But as soon as we go out and encounter people who are rude to us, etc. cetera. Right. Exactly. It's not so easy. Report an error in the passage at 48:54 Highlight the passage at 48:54

49:25 So slowly, slowly, we train our minds and we're able to take on more and more suffering. It doesn't bother us so much when people don't treat us the way we think we should be treated. Report an error in the passage at 49:25 Highlight the passage at 49:25

49:38 Sickness doesn't bother our minds as much because our minds get stronger and stronger and develop more and more compassion, love and compassion for others. And I think that that's what ends up sustaining the bodhisattvas. They have so much inner happiness from all of their love and compassion that it doesn't really matter what's happening on the outside. Report an error in the passage at 49:38 Highlight the passage at 49:38

50:03 So, okay, Report an error in the passage at 50:03 Highlight the passage at 50:03

50:07 other questions? Report an error in the passage at 50:07 Highlight the passage at 50:07

50:11 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 50:11 Highlight the passage at 50:11

50:16 So here in this verse, therefore it is due to cowardice that persons avidly pursue their own happiness and come to suffer. So the cowardice, the root cause of the cowardice is our self-cherishing and our self-grasping minds. Because we have that self-grasping and that self-cherishing, we value our own happiness as more important than others. So when others don't treat us well, then we become upset. Report an error in the passage at 50:16 Highlight the passage at 50:16

50:45 Rather than thinking, well, may that person be happy. We kind of automatically have this reaction, that person mistreated me. And even though intellectually we can think, oh, well, but... I don't really exist as solidly as I think. And intellectually we may think the source of all happiness is to cherish that other person. Report an error in the passage at 50:45 Highlight the passage at 50:45

51:14 But to actually feel that is something else. And actually I'd like to do a meditation at the end of this class on equalizing self and others. Report an error in the passage at 51:14 Highlight the passage at 51:14

51:49 So the next two verses. Now here. Desire is like a jungle of virulent poison. The hero, like the peacock, masters it. The coward, like the crow, perishes. Report an error in the passage at 51:49 Highlight the passage at 51:49

52:04 How can persons concerned only with their own desires master this poison? If they involve themselves in the other afflictions as well, it will cost them their chance for emancipation, just like the crow. Report an error in the passage at 52:04 Highlight the passage at 52:04

52:18 So now here, desire is like a jungle of virulent poison. The hero, like the peacock, masters it. So the hero, the bodhisattva, due to having trained their Report an error in the passage at 52:18 Highlight the passage at 52:18

52:35 minds in the lower and medium scopes of the Lamrim, as well as the higher scope, strengthens their mind, lets go of a lot of their attachments. Report an error in the passage at 52:35 Highlight the passage at 52:35

52:51 In the small scope, lets go of their attachment to the happiness of this life. In the medium scope, letting go of a lot of their attachment to the pleasures of cyclic existence and is seeking to get out of cyclic existence. So through that strong mind, then the bodhisattva can transform this desire and use desire in the path. Report an error in the passage at 52:51 Highlight the passage at 52:51

53:18 Whereas those of us who haven't developed those lower scope... realizations who are still concerned with our own happiness in this life as well as future life. Report an error in the passage at 53:18 Highlight the passage at 53:18

53:32 if we try to use desire in the path, we may perish, we may fail. It won't become a cause So it's said Report an error in the passage at 53:32 Highlight the passage at 53:32

54:03 that the bodhisattvas can use their afflictions, and particularly their... Desire or attachment as part of the path. So the bodhisattva has not, I mean until the eighth ground, the bodhisattva hasn't eliminated all of their afflictions yet. But the bodhisattvas aren't controlled by their afflictions the way that we are. So the bodhisattvas can use their attachment as part of the path. Report an error in the passage at 54:03 Highlight the passage at 54:03

54:38 So in the sūtra as well as tantra, and we won't talk about how they do it in the tantra, but in sūtra the bodhisattva, for example, may still be attached to their bodies and attached to getting enough sleep. So the bodhisattva may use that attachment to sleep, thinking may I sleep and refresh my body so that I can be more beneficial to others. Report an error in the passage at 54:38 Highlight the passage at 54:38

55:08 Eat this food so that I may strengthen my body so I may be more beneficial to others, etc. Whereas if we try to do that, we may get caught in our attachments. Report an error in the passage at 55:08 Highlight the passage at 55:08

55:28 So how can persons concerned with only their own desires master this poison? If they involve themselves in the other afflictions as well, it will cost them their chance for emancipation, just like the crow. Report an error in the passage at 55:28 Highlight the passage at 55:28

55:43 So we can perhaps deceive ourselves in thinking, okay, well, I'm going to use my attachments in the path, right, and just indulge in our attachments and not really truly be doing it for the benefit of others, right? And so that will tie us even stronger to cyclic existence, right? So we need to be careful about that. Report an error in the passage at 55:43 Highlight the passage at 55:43

56:15 Actually, before we go on, why don't we take a break, like a 10-minute break? And then we'll come back and do some more verses and then do a meditation. I'd Report an error in the passage at 56:15 Highlight the passage at 56:15

56:33 like to work. Report an error in the passage at 56:33 Highlight the passage at 56:33

56:46 Oh yeah, Report an error in the passage at 56:46 Highlight the passage at 56:46

56:53 thanks. Report an error in the passage at 56:53 Highlight the passage at 56:53

57:05 Maybe I lost the clamp. Good one. thought that maybe we could do this. Report an error in the passage at 57:05 Highlight the passage at 57:05

56:46 All right. Report an error in the passage at 56:46 Highlight the passage at 56:46

57:11 Did you just like walk away? I don't know what happened to her. We'll find it after class. So, anyway. Report an error in the passage at 57:11 Highlight the passage at 57:11

57:29 So, I thought that we could just cover a couple more verses and then do a meditation. And I'm hoping in this class to do a lot more meditation than the previous classes, because this stuff is not so much about intellectual understanding, but much more about transforming our minds. Report an error in the passage at 57:29 Highlight the passage at 57:29

57:55 The bodhicitta meditations, there's so many steps to them, like the seven steps and the five steps of exchanging self and others. So I'm hoping to try to do all of them in the course of this class. We'll kind of experiment and see how that goes. I'm kind of excited about doing that. Okay then, verse 6 is, Thus the bodhisattva roams like the peacock in the forest of cyclic existence, converting the afflictions, which are like a jungle of virulent poisons, into an elixir. Report an error in the passage at 57:55 Highlight the passage at 57:55

58:32 Willingly embracing the afflictions, the hero shall conquer the poison. So I think we've basically already talked about this, right? The bodhisattva roams in the forest of cyclic existence, converting the afflictions, the mental afflictions, the poisons, into an elixir, into the path to enlightenment, right? Report an error in the passage at 58:32 Highlight the passage at 58:32

58:55 Converting the afflictions into the path and willingly embracing the afflictions, the bodhisattvas then conquer them. Report an error in the passage at 58:55 Highlight the passage at 58:55

59:17 Then verse 7 says, The ego clinging of the helpless wanderer in cyclic existence is the messenger of the devil. Distance yourself from the savor of selfishness and hedonism and willingly embrace hardship for the sake of others. So the ego clinging or the self-grasping is the messenger of the devil, is the root of all of our suffering. Report an error in the passage at 59:17 Highlight the passage at 59:17

59:44 So we need to distance ourselves from the selfishness and hedonism and try as much as we can to willingly embrace hardship for the sake of others. Report an error in the passage at 59:44 Highlight the passage at 59:44

59:58 So this verse Report an error in the passage at 59:58 Highlight the passage at 59:58

1:00:09 starts getting at the Tonglen practice, the taking and giving. So the practice of... You know, kind of coordinating with our breathing, right, taking on the sufferings of others and giving up happiness, right? So, you know, if we see somebody who's suffering, you know, breathing in their suffering, breathing in their illness or breathing in their mental suffering and breathing out happiness or a healthy body or whatever it is that they need, food, shelter. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:09 Highlight the passage at 1:00:09

1:00:47 You know, we have so many homeless people in this. We can at least mentally try to take on their suffering and give them happiness and prosperity and comfort, etc. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:47 Highlight the passage at 1:00:47

1:01:02 So we can do that mentally and then as we're ready we can actually try to actually help people physically as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:02 Highlight the passage at 1:01:02

1:01:15 Robert? Mike? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:15 Highlight the passage at 1:01:15

1:01:21 What's the devil doing in here? This is not... Trying to think that this is not a Christian or Muslim text, and it's not even Hindu. I mean, the closest thing would be like Māra or something like that. Is that a reference to anything, or is that just kind of a figure of speech that the author picked up from the Christians? Yeah, I'm thinking that it's just a figure of speech. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:21 Highlight the passage at 1:01:21

1:01:50 Yeah, yeah. and the other is so steam I don't think that there's a Tibetan word for devil, actually. Is that a mistranslation, do you think? Yeah, that's just this translation. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:50 Highlight the passage at 1:01:50

1:02:03 So Report an error in the passage at 1:02:03 Highlight the passage at 1:02:03

1:02:08 it's Report an error in the passage at 1:02:08 Highlight the passage at 1:02:08

1:02:25 breathing in, suffering, breathing out, happiness. Breathing in, suffering, breathing out, happiness. Which is the opposite of what we want, right? Breathing in, happiness. We want happiness and we want to avoid suffering. So this is turning that on its head. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:25 Highlight the passage at 1:02:25

1:02:46 And some of the... I think was the... Report an error in the passage at 1:02:46 Highlight the passage at 1:02:46

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:02:49 Instructions on this meditation is to breathe in to your heart, right, the suffering into your heart and destroying the self-cherishing at your heart and then breathing out happiness. I've also read that sometimes it's like breathing in, let's say, that person's leg pain and so breathing it into your leg and breathing out the happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:49 Highlight the passage at 1:02:49

1:03:12 I personally have difficulty breathing in and focusing, visualizing at the heart. That kind of messes up my... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:12 Highlight the passage at 1:03:12

1:03:21 So we have to kind of experiment and see if that works for us. I like to keep it away from my heart as much as possible. Okay, then verse 8. May the suffering of all beings who, like myself, are driven by their karma and habituation to the afflictions, be heaped upon me, the hedonist. So here's more of the Tom Len, right? Wishing all the suffering of sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:21 Highlight the passage at 1:03:21

1:03:51 Ripen on me and then giving away their happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:51 Highlight the passage at 1:03:51

1:03:58 Giving away my happiness, right? A little Freudian slip there. Giving my happiness, giving them happiness, right? Right, so all sentient beings here are driven by their karma and their habituation to the afflictions, right? So due to our self-grasping, then all of the other afflictions arise and we create karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:58 Highlight the passage at 1:03:58

1:04:23 And so in the... In the Four Noble Truths, the teaching on the Four Noble Truths, the second one is true origins. True origins are the karma and the afflictions. Due to our afflictions, we are constantly creating karma, which continues the cycle of suffering again and again. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:23 Highlight the passage at 1:04:23

1:04:51 When we truly understand that all of us are under the control of karma and afflictions, Then we can more easily develop compassion for others, right? So all of the mischievous things that people do, all the things that people do to harm others, all of the silly things that people do, it's because they're all wanting to be happy, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:51 Highlight the passage at 1:04:51

1:05:20 And because they're driven by their afflictions, then they... In a way are being controlled by those afflictions, right? So it's not that they're free to do whatever they want to do. And the only reason why people harm each other is because they're under the control of their afflictions, right? If we have happy mind, if we don't have afflictions, we don't hurt each other, right? It's only when we're under the control of anger and attachment and jealousy that we say those snide remarks and we do things that we wouldn't normally do. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:20 Highlight the passage at 1:05:20

1:05:56 But with a happy mind we want everybody else to be happy and we're kind to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:56 Highlight the passage at 1:05:56

1:06:05 So the more and more we think about the condition of other sentient beings, put ourselves into their shoes, then the easier it is to develop compassion. And the more we separate ourselves from others and think I'm out here and they're over there and they're not the same as me, the easier it is. To dislike them or to judge them, etc. And that's what we do with the enemies. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:05 Highlight the passage at 1:06:05

1:06:40 We kind of depersonalize them and they're that bad person out there. Osama bin Laden, he's that bad person out there and he's bad from his own side and he doesn't have any redeeming qualities, etc. And we don't think, oh, well, he's just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:40 Highlight the passage at 1:06:40

1:06:59 He's under the control of his ignorance and his afflictions, his attachments and his anger. He's just trying to be happy. And he's creating a lot of causes for suffering. He's creating tremendous causes to suffer in the future. And he must be suffering a lot right now to be able to do the things that he's doing. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:59 Highlight the passage at 1:06:59

1:07:27 So slowly, slowly to develop that attitude. Kind of from our very core, right? Not just on an intellectual basis, but to really see other beings as being just like ourselves and hold them in our hearts and really cherish them the way we cherish our friends. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:27 Highlight the passage at 1:07:27

1:08:04 Last verse. When I become enmeshed in selfishness, I will offer my own happiness to living beings so as to counteract it. In the same way, should a companion be ungrateful to me, I will be content in knowing that this is in retribution for my own inconstancy. So when I become immersed in my own selfishness, I will offer my own happiness to living beings so as to counteract it. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:04 Highlight the passage at 1:08:04

1:08:32 So it's good when we see our attachments, if I see my attachment to chocolate, it's good to mentally at least offer it to others. It's good even better if we can... Physically offer it to others. But at least to try to mentally offer it to others to try to loosen that grasping. Or if I'm very attached to my house, to mentally offer it to others and try to loosen our minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:32 Highlight the passage at 1:08:32

1:09:00 Because that attachment creates fear in our minds. It creates a tightness in our minds. So there's some level of unhappiness associated with our attachment, whether or not we see it. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:00 Highlight the passage at 1:09:00

1:09:15 And the more we can let go of that attachment and offer it to others, the lighter we'll feel, the more free that we'll feel. We can still have a house, but we don't need to be so attached to it. And then we wouldn't be so unhappy when we lose the house, because sooner or later we will lose the house when we die, if not before. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:15 Highlight the passage at 1:09:15

1:09:55 So in the same way, should a companion be ungrateful to me, I will be content in knowing that this is in retribution for my own inconstancy. So this is starting to get into karma. And the next verses are really getting more into specific karmic causes for specific karmic results. And we'll get into those next time. But so whenever somebody... Report an error in the passage at 1:09:55 Highlight the passage at 1:09:55

1:10:22 Is ungrateful to me, that's a karmic result of having been, you know, responded to other people's kindness in a negative way or an unkind way and not being grateful to them. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:22 Highlight the passage at 1:10:22

1:10:39 Right, so this is really, you know, a really good practice, right, for us. You know, when people, when somebody's, when I'm very kind to somebody, if I help them out and... They react to me in an ungrateful way instead of getting annoyed at that person and thinking, you know, I can't believe their ingratitude or, you know, and instead of thinking, well, I'm not going to help this person anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:39 Highlight the passage at 1:10:39

1:11:05 I'm just thinking that, okay, well, this is a result of my own karma, right? I created this karma in the past. And the way to perpetuate it is to have afflictions about it, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:05 Highlight the passage at 1:11:05

1:11:21 If we continue, if we get annoyed at that person and we stop helping that person, we're creating more causes for suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:21 Highlight the passage at 1:11:21

1:11:32 But if we try to turn it on its head and think, oh, well, thank you for letting me see my own mind and seeing this person as my teacher and continuing to be kind and helpful to that person, we're creating more and more causes for happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:32 Highlight the passage at 1:11:32

1:11:55 Easy to say, hard to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:55 Highlight the passage at 1:11:55

1:12:05 So I want to stop here with the text and get into a meditation on equalizing self and others. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:05 Highlight the passage at 1:12:05

1:12:16 So as we talked about before, Report an error in the passage at 1:12:16 Highlight the passage at 1:12:16

1:12:25 all beings are the same in wanting happiness and wanting to avoid suffering. And we hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the other teachers say this again and again. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:25 Highlight the passage at 1:12:25

1:12:39 And it may stay on an intellectual level. Okay, you want happiness, you don't want suffering. So this meditation is really about orienting this belief around feeling. It's not just intellectually knowing that people want happiness and want to avoid suffering, but feeling that just as I want happiness, I want to avoid suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:39 Highlight the passage at 1:12:39

1:13:09 Into our own feelings about it. Really understanding how much we are driven by wanting happiness and wanting to avoid suffering. Other people, other beings are exactly the same way. The insects and animals as well are exactly the same way. So let me just talk a little bit about this meditation and then we'll actually sit down and do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:09 Highlight the passage at 1:13:09

1:13:47 So here we're trying to equalize ourselves with others. So rather than cherishing ourselves as being more important than others, rather than being concerned with our own happiness more so than the happiness of others, we're trying to equalize and be equally concerned with the happiness of all beings, which takes, obviously, a lot of time and a lot of effort. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:47 Highlight the passage at 1:13:47

1:14:19 But so currently, you know, with our friends, we tend to be happy when things go well for them. And when things don't go well for them, then we feel bad for them. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:19 Highlight the passage at 1:14:19

1:14:32 But with then, like, strangers or people that we don't really know, we may become indifferent, right, to their happiness and their suffering. When we read the obituaries in the newspaper, we may not feel anything. Oh yeah, that person died, and that person died, and that person died. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:32 Highlight the passage at 1:14:32

1:14:54 But we wouldn't feel the same way about them dying as if it was one of our friends or our relatives. And then with the people we don't like, the people who have hurt us, or as they call it, the enemies, if something bad happens to them, we may even be a little bit happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:54 Highlight the passage at 1:14:54

1:15:16 And when things go really well for them, we may feel a bit unhappy. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:16 Highlight the passage at 1:15:16

1:15:29 But in order to generate bodhicitta, we need to generate great compassion. In order to generate great compassion, we need to, at a starting point, equalize ourselves with others. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:29 Highlight the passage at 1:15:29

1:15:44 Otherwise we may develop a lot of compassion for our friends and still remain indifferent from the strangers and still dislike our enemies. So this is the very basis of all the bodhicitta meditations is doing kind of an equanimity kind of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:44 Highlight the passage at 1:15:44

1:16:08 So Report an error in the passage at 1:16:08 Highlight the passage at 1:16:08

1:16:15 Jeffrey Hopkins has an excellent, excellent book on these meditations called Cultivating Compassion. And he emphasizes something that I think is... That I haven't heard from many teachers, but he emphasizes the importance of meditating on specific beings when we're doing our compassion meditation, as opposed to all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:15 Highlight the passage at 1:16:15

1:16:41 I wish all sentient beings to have happiness and be free from suffering. Because then there's not that much power in it. We may have a lot of compassion while we sit on the cushion, but then as soon as we walk out the door and somebody cuts us off, as we drive down the street, we may get irritated at that person. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:41 Highlight the passage at 1:16:41

1:16:59 Because we haven't connected all sentient beings to these individual beings. So we'll do a meditation thinking about particular beings. Okay, so let's just get in meditation posture. I'll Report an error in the passage at 1:16:59 Highlight the passage at 1:16:59

1:17:44 just take a minute to renew our motivation. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:44 Highlight the passage at 1:17:44

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:18:23 So first we'll start with ourselves and get in touch with our own desire to be happy and to avoid suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:23 Highlight the passage at 1:18:23

1:18:39 And so try to feel this as opposed to keeping it on an intellectual level. So feel how I want to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:39 Highlight the passage at 1:18:39

1:18:55 I want to have a peaceful mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:55 Highlight the passage at 1:18:55

1:19:19 I want to have good friends. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:19 Highlight the passage at 1:19:19

1:19:50 I want people to treat me with kindness and respect. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:50 Highlight the passage at 1:19:50

1:20:14 I think, may I be happy. And Report an error in the passage at 1:20:14 Highlight the passage at 1:20:14

1:20:23 we can repeat that again and again, may I be happy. And without forcing a feeling, just gently repeating, may I be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:23 Highlight the passage at 1:20:23

1:20:38 May I be at peace. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:38 Highlight the passage at 1:20:38

· · · silence, 2 minutes

1:23:03 Similarly, I don't want to suffer. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:03 Highlight the passage at 1:23:03

1:23:09 Feel that. I don't want to get sick. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:09 Highlight the passage at 1:23:09

1:23:19 I don't want. To get cancer, Report an error in the passage at 1:23:19 Highlight the passage at 1:23:19

1:23:37 to be rejected, Report an error in the passage at 1:23:37 Highlight the passage at 1:23:37

1:24:01 want to be killed, Report an error in the passage at 1:24:01 Highlight the passage at 1:24:01

1:24:27 to live in a war zone. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:27 Highlight the passage at 1:24:27

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:25:04 So similarly our friends, just like ourselves, they want to be happy and want to be free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:04 Highlight the passage at 1:25:04

1:25:18 So let's think about one of our friends, a particular person, and Report an error in the passage at 1:25:18 Highlight the passage at 1:25:18

1:25:31 put ourselves in their shoes and think how that person, our friend, wants to be happy just like ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:31 Highlight the passage at 1:25:31

1:25:54 That person wants to have a peaceful mind and Report an error in the passage at 1:25:54 Highlight the passage at 1:25:54

1:26:04 a comfortable home and Report an error in the passage at 1:26:04 Highlight the passage at 1:26:04

1:26:14 good friends. That Report an error in the passage at 1:26:14 Highlight the passage at 1:26:14

1:26:23 person wants to be treated with kindness and respect, just like ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:23 Highlight the passage at 1:26:23

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:27:08 And similarly, that person wants to be free from suffering, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:08 Highlight the passage at 1:27:08

1:27:18 free from illness, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:18 Highlight the passage at 1:27:18

1:27:27 free from violence. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:27 Highlight the passage at 1:27:27

1:27:39 That person doesn't want to be treated unfairly, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:39 Highlight the passage at 1:27:39

1:27:45 just like ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:45 Highlight the passage at 1:27:45

1:27:57 And try to keep this on a feeling level, putting yourself in that person's shoes. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:57 Highlight the passage at 1:27:57

1:28:11 May they be happy. May they be happy. May they be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:11 Highlight the passage at 1:28:11

1:28:26 Just keep lightly repeating that. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:26 Highlight the passage at 1:28:26

1:28:46 You know, and oftentimes our heart is not open. It's like a rock and we can't feel it. But we can just keep repeating it. And slowly, slowly, it will open. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:46 Highlight the passage at 1:28:46

1:29:05 This meditation really works if we just keep doing it and not forcing anything. May Report an error in the passage at 1:29:05 Highlight the passage at 1:29:05

1:29:22 they be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:22 Highlight the passage at 1:29:22

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:30:42 And if we feel ready, we can move on to another friend, a specific friend, making the same thing just as I want to be happy and be free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:42 Highlight the passage at 1:30:42

1:30:58 This other friend wants to be happy, to be free from suffering, putting ourselves into their shoes. And Report an error in the passage at 1:30:58 Highlight the passage at 1:30:58

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:32:24 once again, may they be happy, may they have peace, may they be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:24 Highlight the passage at 1:32:24

1:32:55 And try to have a lot of gentleness in this meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:55 Highlight the passage at 1:32:55

1:33:03 Not beating ourselves up if we can't feel it, but just do it. May they be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:03 Highlight the passage at 1:33:03

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:34:20 Just to move on to the category of strangers. So think about a person that you encounter but you don't really know. Maybe it's someone, the checkout girl at the grocery store or the guy at the post office or the mailman. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:20 Highlight the passage at 1:34:20

1:34:53 And just as I want to be happy, I want to be free from suffering, Similarly, this person, this stranger, wants happiness, to be free from suffering, Report an error in the passage at 1:34:53 Highlight the passage at 1:34:53

1:35:14 putting ourselves into their shoes. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:14 Highlight the passage at 1:35:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:36:28 May they be happy. May they have peace. May they be happy. May they have peace. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:28 Highlight the passage at 1:36:28

· · · silence, 3 minutes

1:40:12 Feel ready we can move on to another stranger and do the same thing, thinking that they just want happiness, want to be free from suffering, just like ourselves. And Report an error in the passage at 1:40:12 Highlight the passage at 1:40:12

1:40:40 the more we do this meditation and the more we genuinely feel that we want others to have happiness and to be free from suffering, the more joy we feel they Report an error in the passage at 1:40:40 Highlight the passage at 1:40:40

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

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:42:21 then finally we'll move on to the category of enemies, which obviously is the most difficult category. So maybe we think about somebody who we don't like or who has harmed us, but not someone that we strongly dislike. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:21 Highlight the passage at 1:42:21

1:42:43 Someone who has hurt us a little bit or who we don't like a little bit. It Report an error in the passage at 1:42:43 Highlight the passage at 1:42:43

1:42:56 could be someone we know or it could be a politician that we don't agree with. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:56 Highlight the passage at 1:42:56

1:43:14 And just as I want happiness and want to be free from suffering, Report an error in the passage at 1:43:14 Highlight the passage at 1:43:14

1:43:24 similarly this person wants happiness, wants to be free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:24 Highlight the passage at 1:43:24

1:43:35 Try to put ourselves in their shoes. Think Report an error in the passage at 1:43:35 Highlight the passage at 1:43:35

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:44:31 may they have happiness. May they have happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:31 Highlight the passage at 1:44:31

1:44:40 Or may they be happy, whatever works for us. May they be free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:40 Highlight the passage at 1:44:40

1:44:51 And these enemies in particular, it's really hard to really feel. May they be happy. It's like we have a rock at our hearts. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:51 Highlight the passage at 1:44:51

1:45:05 But if we keep doing it, slowly that rock dissolves. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:05 Highlight the passage at 1:45:05

1:45:23 May they be happy. How Report an error in the passage at 1:45:23 Highlight the passage at 1:45:23

· · · silence, 2 minutes

1:47:06 was that for people? How was that for people? Could you hear me when I was... I'm sorry. really. you have to raise the volume Report an error in the passage at 1:47:06 Highlight the passage at 1:47:06

1:47:22 hard to hear could you hear anything? I'll work on it next time. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah, because I tend to really lower my voice when I lead meditations and I need to... Report an error in the passage at 1:47:22 Highlight the passage at 1:47:22

1:47:41 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:41 Highlight the passage at 1:47:41

1:47:45 Yeah, that's a good idea. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:45 Highlight the passage at 1:47:45

1:47:53 Okay. So let's try a combination of those. I'll try to raise my voice next time. and we can raise the bit. Yeah, try all of these. Okay. Y 'all gently. Okay, okay. But you weren't giving mean there wasn't a lot Report an error in the passage at 1:47:53 Highlight the passage at 1:47:53

1:48:16 set it up you weren't talking constantly, if anybody thinks Report an error in the passage at 1:48:16 Highlight the passage at 1:48:16

1:48:29 Actually, I heard you fine. Okay. All right. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:29 Highlight the passage at 1:48:29

1:48:37 We'll dedicate. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:37 Highlight the passage at 1:48:37

1:48:46 We'll Report an error in the passage at 1:48:46 Highlight the passage at 1:48:46

1:48:51 do the first two and then the one for His Holiness and Lama. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:51 Highlight the passage at 1:48:51

1:49:00 Through the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. May the supreme jewel bodhicitta that has not arisen arise and grow and may that which has arisen not diminish but increase more and more. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:00 Highlight the passage at 1:49:00

1:49:22 In the land encircled by snow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and good. All-powerful Chandrazi Tensen Gyatso, please remain until Saṃsāra ends. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:22 Highlight the passage at 1:49:22

1:49:42 Oh, and just really quickly, I forgot to go through the slide, but just the supporting readings. All right, so the root text is the one that I handed out, and it's also in the Peacock in a Poison Grove. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:42 Highlight the passage at 1:49:42

1:49:56 The Peacock in a Poison Grove. Is this book right here. It has a commentary by Geshe Sopa and should be in the bookstore next week here. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:56 Highlight the passage at 1:49:56

1:50:08 There's also an oral commentary, a transcript by the Geshe that used to be at Lusong Drakpa Center in Malaysia. His name is Samlo Geshe Kelsang. And I emailed that out to people who I knew were coming to the class. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:08 Highlight the passage at 1:50:08

1:50:29 And if you put your email address on here, I can email that out to the rest of you. I don't know if people want hard copies of it. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:29 Highlight the passage at 1:50:29

1:50:40 Okay. And just let me know or Choki know if people do want hard copies. And then there's this book that's published in India by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. I think it's difficult to get it in this country, but this is... Oh, yeah? Well, you might have it. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:40 Highlight the passage at 1:50:40

1:51:06 Okay. Okay. And so this is a commentary by Geshe Darge at the library. And this is quite good as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:06 Highlight the passage at 1:51:06

1:51:16 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:16 Highlight the passage at 1:51:16