Mahayana Mind Transformation (17 August 2007)

0:15 So, welcome back. So, another reminder that all of our problems have as their root causes the two inner enemies. The self-grasping ignorance, the ignorance misconceiving the nature of the self, thinking that the self exists more solidly and independently than it actually does. Report an error in the passage at 0:15 Highlight the passage at 0:15

0:43 And then cherishing ourselves as being more important than others, being concerned about our happiness as more important than the happiness of others. Report an error in the passage at 0:43 Highlight the passage at 0:43

0:56 And so from this ignorance and the self-cherishing arises all of our afflictions, all of our anger, our irritation, our jealousy, our attachment, etc., our pride. Report an error in the passage at 0:56 Highlight the passage at 0:56

1:14 And then due to that, then we create negative karma. Which creates the causes for suffering again and again. So all of our illnesses, all of our financial difficulties, relationship problems, etc. are all due to the ignorance, grasping at the self and the self-cherishing. So the more that we cherish others, the more happy our minds will be, the more stable our minds are. Report an error in the passage at 1:14 Highlight the passage at 1:14

1:51 The more courageous our minds are. And we see this in the bodhisattvas, in the Lama Zopa Rinpoches and the Geshe Dagpas who are concerned primarily about the happiness of others. Report an error in the passage at 1:51 Highlight the passage at 1:51

2:06 And they are, so they are always happy. They don't experience the ups and downs that we do. Report an error in the passage at 2:06 Highlight the passage at 2:06

2:17 So there's this little comic strip running around that is on this topic. Some Report an error in the passage at 2:17 Highlight the passage at 2:17

2:33 friends of mine, Gave it to me last week. Apparently it was in the paper the weekend before. I thought that was really appropriate. So, you know, we'll just pass it around so people can read it. Report an error in the passage at 2:33 Highlight the passage at 2:33

2:48 So, verse 90. No matter what I do, it is never done right. Everything I do is inappropriate. Roar and thunder on the head of the destroyer, false construction. Mortally strike at the heart of the butcher, the enemy ego. Report an error in the passage at 2:48 Highlight the passage at 2:48

3:07 That's suitable to do, we don't do in the least. All that is inappropriate to do, we do. Dance on the head of this ruinous conception. Slay the heart of this slaughtering enemy self. So this verse is basically saying that what we are supposed to do in order to create lasting happiness, we don't do. Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:37 the things that are going to create suffering for us is that what we tend to do. The things that will create happiness in the future are doing the practices, cultivating virtuous minds, cultivating compassion, bodhicitta, and ultimately practicing in a pure way without any self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 3:37 Highlight the passage at 3:37

4:14 the, the... There's one commentary by Geshe Choni from Amitabha Buddhist Center in Singapore. He says that the things that we should be doing are, that refers to the pure and correct path and the methods that will enable us to achieve the state of full enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 4:14 Highlight the passage at 4:14

4:39 So creating merit, purifying, keeping our vows. All of those things. Practicing the six perfections. And the things that are inappropriate to do that we do are creating the negative karma. So all of the afflictions that we have, the irritation, the jealousy, etc. And the negative speech we engage in, the killing, etc. Report an error in the passage at 4:39 Highlight the passage at 4:39

5:12 And that is because, once again, of the self-cherishing mind. Right? We have... Afflictions, we create negativities because of our self-cherishing mind. And the reason we don't engage in pure practices is because of our self-cherishing mind. We have a lot of attachment to our comforts in our current pleasures and then we don't practice as well as we could. Report an error in the passage at 5:12 Highlight the passage at 5:12

5:52 Verse 91. Aha! You whose strength is that of the ultimate body of the Sugata, who conquers the demon of the egotistic view, you wielder of the staff, the weapon of the wisdom of selflessness, turn it over your head three times without hesitation. So here we're talking about Yamantaka again. So, aha! Report an error in the passage at 5:52 Highlight the passage at 5:52

6:23 The commentaries say that that's an expression of bewilderment or marvel. So you whose strength is that of the ultimate body of the Sugata. Here they're talking about Yamantaka. Sugata refers to the Buddha in general. Sugata, Tathāgata, Buddha are all interchangeable terms. You whose strength is that of the ultimate body of the Sugata. Report an error in the passage at 6:23 Highlight the passage at 6:23

6:52 So the ultimate body here refers to the truth body or the Dharmakaya. are people familiar with the... Three or four bodies of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 6:52 Highlight the passage at 6:52

7:07 Okay, so I'll Report an error in the passage at 7:07 Highlight the passage at 7:07

7:13 go through the bodies quickly. And if you have anything in writing, because I must have read these definitions a million times, it seemed like, and nothing is sticking in this mind of mine, so I don't get the picture. Somewhat, and then all of a sudden it goes. Yeah. I had it in writing, so something I can read over and over again, not just a short little one sentence. Report an error in the passage at 7:13 Highlight the passage at 7:13

7:39 Do you really get a flavor? Okay. No, not just. I want, like, paragraphs. Not a book. Report an error in the passage at 7:39 Highlight the passage at 7:39

7:53 I'll see what I can do. And remind me. Okay. So this is actually quite an extensive and profound teaching on the bodies of the Buddha. So when we achieve Buddhahood... We simultaneously attain the four bodies of the Buddha. The truth body, which actually consists of two bodies, the wisdom truth body and the nature truth body. Report an error in the passage at 7:53 Highlight the passage at 7:53

8:27 And then there are the two form bodies, the sambhogakaya, or the enjoyment body, and the nirmanakaya, which is the emanation body. Report an error in the passage at 8:27 Highlight the passage at 8:27

8:40 it's said that, um, So the truth body is attained for the person's own welfare, or the being's own welfare, and the two form bodies are for the welfare of others. Report an error in the passage at 8:40 Highlight the passage at 8:40

8:58 So what does that mean? So the truth body, and particularly the wisdom truth body, the wisdom truth body is the omniscient mind of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 8:58 Highlight the passage at 8:58

9:09 So the wisdom truth body is the omniscient mind of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 9:09 Highlight the passage at 9:09

9:15 And then from that, the Buddha manifests in different forms in order to help others. Because just the omniscient mind can't benefit others. It can't benefit others unless the Buddha can manifest in different forms to help us. So the Buddha may manifest as the lamas, as teachers, as anything actually. Report an error in the passage at 9:15 Highlight the passage at 9:15

9:45 It could be a tree or it could be a car or it could be the neighbor who's really irritating. It could be a manifestation of the Buddha. So the Buddha manifests in whatever way will help our minds, help us along the path. So it may be the person who is really irritating that helps us to practice patience or it might be the person who helps us gain some insight. Report an error in the passage at 9:45 Highlight the passage at 9:45

10:18 So that's what the two form bodies are for, is to help others. The Buddha manifests in different ways to help others. The Sambhogakaya, or the complete enjoyment body, is a manifestation for bodhisattvas that have directly realized emptiness. So the complete enjoyment body teaches bodhisattvas who have already directly realized emptiness. So we don't, I mean unless we've directly realized emptiness, we don't have... Report an error in the passage at 10:18 Highlight the passage at 10:18

10:50 But even ordinary beings can see the nirmanakayas, the emanation body. Report an error in the passage at 10:50 Highlight the passage at 10:50

11:07 So our lamas, trees, etc., those are emanation bodies that the Buddha manifests for our benefit. Report an error in the passage at 11:07 Highlight the passage at 11:07

11:23 So here, they're referring primarily to The wisdom truth body, this ultimate body, which is the omniscient mind of the Buddha. So you whose strength is that of the ultimate body of the Buddha. So Yamantaka whose strength is that of the omniscient mind of the Buddha who conquers the demon of the egotistic view. Report an error in the passage at 11:23 Highlight the passage at 11:23

11:55 So the demon of the egotistic view is the self-grasping ignorance, the ignorance that grasps it. This inherently existent self. So the wisdom truth body or the enlightened mind of the Buddha is what conquers the self-grasping ignorance. It's the antidote to ignorance because it's a direct realization of emptiness which overcomes our ignorance. Report an error in the passage at 11:55 Highlight the passage at 11:55

12:30 So that's what the first two lines are referring to. Yamantaka's, how Yamantaka's. Enlightened mind has conquered the demon of the self-grasping ignorance. Then the last two lines, you wielder of the staff, the weapon of the wisdom of selflessness, turn it over your head three times without hesitation. Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

12:58 So the staff in this instance is the weapon that destroys the self-grasping ignorance. And so that weapon is the wisdom realizing emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 12:58 Highlight the passage at 12:58

13:13 Turn it over your head three times without hesitation. The three times symbolizes the destroying of the three. First of all, the self-grasping ignorance that we've been talking about. Then the self-cherishing that arises from that self-grasping. Due to holding on to that inherently, solidly, independently existing self, then we cherish that. Report an error in the passage at 13:13 Highlight the passage at 13:13

13:44 And then the appropriated contaminated mental and physical aggregates produced by both of them. So we'll first talk about the contaminated aggregates. So all of, so the aggregates, there's five aggregates, right? The form aggregate, which is our body, and then the four aggregates of mind, right? Feeling, discrimination, compositional factors. Report an error in the passage at 13:44 Highlight the passage at 13:44

14:14 and consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 14:14 Highlight the passage at 14:14

14:18 For those of us who are still sentient beings, still in saṃsāra, our aggregates are contaminated. Our five aggregates that we appropriate upon rebirth is, I mean they're contaminated because they're created by karma and the afflictions. So the reason why we're reborn again and again is due to the karma that we've created. Report an error in the passage at 14:18 Highlight the passage at 14:18

14:45 And the afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 14:45 Highlight the passage at 14:45

14:53 And the appropriated aggregates are the aggregates that we've received upon rebirth. Because there's two presentations of the five aggregates. I don't know if we've talked about this before, but the five aggregates in the continuum of a person, which is what we just talked about, the form aggregate, etc. Report an error in the passage at 14:53 Highlight the passage at 14:53

15:14 Also you can talk about the five aggregates in general, which include all impermanent phenomena. Report an error in the passage at 15:14 Highlight the passage at 15:14

15:22 all forms. Forms are in general considered the form aggregate. So the wall, the floor, the screen, etc. are all considered the form aggregate. Report an error in the passage at 15:22 Highlight the passage at 15:22

15:36 So in this case, when we talk about the appropriated aggregates, we're talking about the aggregates in the continuum of a person. Not the aggregates in general, but the aggregates associated with a person. Report an error in the passage at 15:36 Highlight the passage at 15:36

15:53 So here, so we're trying to get rid of the ignorance of self-grasping. Then the self-cherishing that arises from that and then the aggregates, the appropriated aggregates that are produced by the former two. Report an error in the passage at 15:53 Highlight the passage at 15:53

16:13 Does that kind of make sense? Report an error in the passage at 16:13 Highlight the passage at 16:13

16:19 So in this presentation, in this context, they're talking about the ignorance as being a cause and the self-cherishing as being a result. So because of ignorance, we cherish ourselves. There's also another presentation that the self... Cherishing gives rise to the self-grasping ignorance. So it's like they help cause each other. Report an error in the passage at 16:19 Highlight the passage at 16:19

16:51 Yeah, the mic? Report an error in the passage at 16:51 Highlight the passage at 16:51

16:55 That sounds a little strange because I thought ignorance was the basis for much of this. Yeah, ignorance is the root of cyclic existence. Yeah, it's the cause of everything. Report an error in the passage at 16:55 Highlight the passage at 16:55

17:13 But it's said that... You know, ignorance causes self-cherishing. But then the more we cherish ourselves, the more that increases our ignorance as well. Report an error in the passage at 17:13 Highlight the passage at 17:13

17:29 And then the more ignorance we have, the more we cherish ourselves. And the more we cherish ourselves, the more ignorance we have. So they kind of go hand in hand. Report an error in the passage at 17:29 Highlight the passage at 17:29

17:50 Any other questions on that verse? Because I covered kind of a lot of material just on this verse. Are the four bodies... Do they kind of make sense, the four bodies of the Buddha? Actually, I only really talked about three of the four bodies, kind of on purpose. Report an error in the passage at 17:50 Highlight the passage at 17:50

18:12 So the Dharmakai has two, the wisdom truth body and the nature truth body. And so the wisdom truth, oh, in Sanskrit, Report an error in the passage at 18:12 Highlight the passage at 18:12

18:27 and then the two Dharmakais. So the two Dharmakais are the wisdom truth body and the nature truth body. The wisdom truth body being the omniscient mind of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 18:27 Highlight the passage at 18:27

18:40 And if I put it really simply, the nature truth body is the emptiness of the wisdom truth body, the emptiness of the enlightened mind of the Buddha that is actually pure from what they call adventitious stains and natural stains. Report an error in the passage at 18:40 Highlight the passage at 18:40

18:59 I don't know that I want to get into the nature truth body. Tonight that kind of gets off the topic a bit. But the main body that they're referring to in this verse is the wisdom truth body, the omniscient mind of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 18:59 Highlight the passage at 18:59

19:28 Wait, I have to go on the recording. So can you explain the difference between the nirmanakaya that can be seen by ordinary beings and the sambhogakaya, complete enjoyment body? Yeah, so the complete enjoyment body can only be seen... By bodhisattva, what they call bodhisattva superiors or arias who have directly realized emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 19:28 Highlight the passage at 19:28

20:02 Yeah, a bodhisattva that has attained the path of seeing. Report an error in the passage at 20:02 Highlight the passage at 20:02

20:08 So there's five paths. The path of accumulation, the path of preparation, the path of seeing, the path of meditation and the path of no more learning. Report an error in the passage at 20:08 Highlight the passage at 20:08

20:36 Yeah, so those are sequential. So a bodhisattva enters the Mahāyāna path of accumulation when he realizes bodhicitta spontaneously for the first time. So that bodhisattva hasn't directly realized emptiness yet. The bodhisattva may have realized emptiness conceptually but not directly yet. And then the bodhisattva progresses to the path of preparation. Report an error in the passage at 20:36 Highlight the passage at 20:36

21:06 And I won't go into the details there. But then the path of seeing, when the bodhisattva directly realizes emptiness. And then trains on the path of meditation. And then the path of no more learning is actually Buddhahood. So only the bodhisattvas that have attained the path of seeing or the path of meditation can see the sambhogakayas, the complete enjoyment bodies. Report an error in the passage at 21:06 Highlight the passage at 21:06

21:35 And they reside in a pure realm called Akanishda and they're taught by the Buddhas there. They Report an error in the passage at 21:35 Highlight the passage at 21:35

21:54 are in the path of seeing and they have a direct realization of emptiness. Is that something that's like a one-time permanent thing or is it something that they learn gradually like a lot of other skills? Report an error in the passage at 21:54 Highlight the passage at 21:54

22:13 Yeah, maybe we talk about this on the side. Thank you. It's a big topic. Report an error in the passage at 22:13 Highlight the passage at 22:13

22:24 Yeah, I mean, when I was studying, we studied, you know, one text called the Abhisamaya Lamkara by Maitreya for two years, and that kind of covers the different paths in a lot of detail. So there's a lot of detail to be learned there, but we can talk about it. Report an error in the passage at 22:24 Highlight the passage at 22:24

22:47 Okay, verse 92. I pray you. Kill the enemy with your fierce wrath. I pray you subdue my evil thinking with your great wisdom. I pray you protect me from my evil actions with your great compassion. I pray you destroy this ego once and for all. Report an error in the passage at 22:47 Highlight the passage at 22:47

23:11 So here, Dharma Raksita, the author of this text, is beckoning and praying to Yamantaka once again to kill the enemy. With your fierce wrath. So the enemy, once again, is the self-grasping and the self-cherishing that we keep talking about. Subdue my evil thinking with your great wisdom. So the great wisdom refers in this context to the wisdom directly realizing emptiness. So through that wisdom directly realizing emptiness, we subdue our evil thinking or our wrong conceptions. Report an error in the passage at 23:11 Highlight the passage at 23:11

23:56 So this includes the self-cherishing, this includes all of our afflictions, etc., our wrong conceptions. And then I pray you protect me from my evil actions with your great compassion. So great compassion in general is the wish that all beings are free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 23:56 Highlight the passage at 23:56

24:19 And so great compassion is a prerequisite to getting bodhicitta. So sort of the progression. From great compassion to bodhicitta, people remember there's great compassion, wishing that all sentient beings be free from suffering. And then there's the exceptional resolve, deciding that I myself am responsible for freeing all beings from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 24:19 Highlight the passage at 24:19

24:46 And then bodhicitta, the desire to attain complete enlightenment for the welfare of others. Okay. And then the evil actions. Our negative karma. So we're praying to Yamataka to protect us from the results of our negative karma. Report an error in the passage at 24:46 Highlight the passage at 24:46

25:15 I pray you destroy this ego once and for all. So destroy, please destroy our self-grasping and our self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

25:25 So Yamataka can't actually do it for us, right? But here, making prayers for the Buddha to help us in whatever way that kind of our karma allows. Report an error in the passage at 25:25 Highlight the passage at 25:25

25:48 Do you have a question, Anna? Yeah, I just want a clarification. Self-grasping and self-cherishing here refers to the enemy, but it is also ego, right? That would be another word for it. Report an error in the passage at 25:48 Highlight the passage at 25:48

26:11 Yeah, and ego in the Dharma is different from the ego in Freudian psychology. So ego in the Dharma is generally referring to the self that does not exist, that inherently exists. Solidly, independently existing self. Report an error in the passage at 26:11 Highlight the passage at 26:11

26:44 Verse 93, however much suffering those in cyclic existence may endure, I pray you heap it surely upon ego clinging, however many of the five poisonous afflictions anyone may experience, I pray you heap them surely upon this ego clinging, which richly deserves them. Report an error in the passage at 26:44 Highlight the passage at 26:44

27:06 So this verse is talking about the practice of Tonglen. Right of taking and giving. So here we're wishing for that all of the suffering of the beings in cyclic existence be taken upon ourselves and specifically to destroy the self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 27:06 Highlight the passage at 27:06

27:34 And then however many of the five poisonous afflictions anyone may experiencing. May experience, once again, may we take that upon ourselves to destroy our self-grasping, self-cherishing. Mainly our self-cherishing in this verse. So this is the practice of the bodhisattva, right? Practicing Tonglen, taking on the suffering of others and giving away happiness. Report an error in the passage at 27:34 Highlight the passage at 27:34

28:00 Taking on the suffering and giving away happiness. So the five poisonous afflictions. I mean, generally, it's talked about with being the... The three poisons, the ignorance, attachment and anger, jealousy and pride. But I noticed in Geshe Sopa's book, he said instead of pride, he said miserliness. Report an error in the passage at 28:00 Highlight the passage at 28:00

28:26 So there's two different presentations there. Report an error in the passage at 28:26 Highlight the passage at 28:26

28:37 So I just wanted to talk a bit about the Tonglen practice, which has two parts. So Tonglen is a very powerful way to... Counteract our self-cherishing minds. And so Tonglen has the two parts, the taking on the suffering of others, which uses the power of the motivating vision of compassion. Taking on suffering through our compassion and giving away our happiness through our love. Our love wanting others to be happy, the compassion wanting others to be free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 28:37 Highlight the passage at 28:37

29:17 So the instruction on taking the suffering of others I got this instruction from Geshe Loden's book, Path to Enlightenment. That book tends to be a very, very reliable source. Report an error in the passage at 29:17 Highlight the passage at 29:17

29:36 So the first step when we take on the suffering of others is to contemplate the sufferings of sentient beings in the various realms. So in the six realms, the hell realms, the hungry ghost, etc. Report an error in the passage at 29:36 Highlight the passage at 29:36

29:50 So really trying to understand the suffering of others. So without really understanding the suffering of others, we can't really generate real compassion. It's only through understanding the suffering of others, and not just intellectually, but mostly on a feeling level. The more we can feel the suffering of others, the greater our compassion will be. So first we need to contemplate the sufferings. Report an error in the passage at 29:50 Highlight the passage at 29:50

30:22 Of sentient beings and generate compassion. Report an error in the passage at 30:22 Highlight the passage at 30:22

30:28 And oftentimes, you know, when we hear about suffering, it's like our minds kind of want to keep it on an intellectual level. Like the miners, you know, who are trapped and, you know, all of the earthquake victims and things. I mean, it's very painful to try to imagine what their circumstance actually is. Report an error in the passage at 30:28 Highlight the passage at 30:28

30:51 And in the news we see, you know. All the suffering again and again and we kind of become kind of immune to it in a way. But the more we can kind of open our hearts and actually feel the suffering, the more we'll generate compassion. Report an error in the passage at 30:51 Highlight the passage at 30:51

31:07 And the more we block ourselves, the more kind of the harder our heart becomes. Report an error in the passage at 31:07 Highlight the passage at 31:07

31:15 So first step is to contemplate the suffering. And then secondly, then we visualize taking away their suffering. And in this context, they're afflictions in the form of black smoke. So we're breathing in the suffering and the afflictions of others. Report an error in the passage at 31:15 Highlight the passage at 31:15

31:36 So the black smoke enters in through our nostrils and destroys the rock of self-cherishing at our hearts. So we're visualizing a rock at our hearts that represents the self-cherishing. And then the black smoke comes in and destroys the rock of self-cherishing at the heart. Report an error in the passage at 31:36 Highlight the passage at 31:36

31:57 So that's the taking on the suffering of others. And then we repeat that process every time we breathe in. So the Tonglen works with our breath. Every time we breathe in, we breathe in suffering. Every time we breathe out, we breathe out happiness. Report an error in the passage at 31:57 Highlight the passage at 31:57

32:18 So in this instruction, they're not specific about using one or two nostrils. I mean, Gishu Loden wasn't. A presentation about breathing in the black smoke, I think through the right nostril and breathing out the happiness through the left nostril. So those are just two different instructions. Report an error in the passage at 32:18 Highlight the passage at 32:18

32:45 And then the second half, giving away our happiness to others. So when we exhale, we visualize giving away all of our happiness, our good conditions, our realizations, our merit, etc. Anything in the form of white light. Which then emanates to beings in the six realms. The white light then is transformed into whatever is required by those beings. Report an error in the passage at 32:45 Highlight the passage at 32:45

33:15 So if it's a starving person, we can transform that into food. If it's someone in the hot hells, we can visualize it being some cooling rain or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 33:15 Highlight the passage at 33:15

33:38 And then when the white light reaches each realm, it purifies all beings' negative karma and their afflictions. It eliminates their suffering and gives them unimaginable happiness and bliss. So it's always good when we practice Tonglen to actually visualize that being really happy and free from suffering. Report an error in the passage at 33:38 Highlight the passage at 33:38

33:59 And Report an error in the passage at 33:59 Highlight the passage at 33:59

34:04 then we repeat that process each time we breathe out. Report an error in the passage at 34:04 Highlight the passage at 34:04

34:18 And then it's said... If we're not ready to practice this right away, that we can start on ourselves, breathing in, let's say, our present suffering, our future suffering, and then breathing out happiness. So we can start with ourselves, and then we can move to our mother and our father, the people that are close to us, and then expand that out to others gradually. Report an error in the passage at 34:18 Highlight the passage at 34:18

35:06 So when we talk about taking on the suffering of others, so does that mean that we actually, we experience it and they don't have to experience it? Well, that's our wish, right? Yeah, in our minds, we're wishing that we experience the suffering rather than them, right? Report an error in the passage at 35:06 Highlight the passage at 35:06

35:27 Which, you know, our self-cherishing has a lot of resistance to that, right? We don't want to experience any suffering. And that's why the Tonglen practice is... So effective if we actually do genuinely wish that we are taking on the suffering for them so that they can be free from the suffering. Report an error in the passage at 35:27 Highlight the passage at 35:27

35:48 So this is a very advanced practice and we do it gradually. It helps a lot too if we already are experiencing some level of suffering, illness or whatever it is, difficulty in relationship. Sort of to imagine that we're experiencing that for all other sentient beings, so nobody else has to experience it. Report an error in the passage at 35:48 Highlight the passage at 35:48

36:16 That can be a really powerful practice because we're already experiencing the suffering, so we're not taking on even more. But Report an error in the passage at 36:16 Highlight the passage at 36:16

36:28 yeah, so this is just a gradual kind of a process. Report an error in the passage at 36:28 Highlight the passage at 36:28

36:35 So people sometimes ask then, you know, and are afraid, well does that mean the suffering actually will come on me? Report an error in the passage at 36:35 Highlight the passage at 36:35

36:46 And generally the answer is no, we can't actually take on the suffering of others. But then at the same time it can help others on a certain level, maybe on a subtle level. Doing prayers for others, doing practices for others is said to be able to help others on some level that is hard to understand. Report an error in the passage at 36:46 Highlight the passage at 36:46

37:14 what, know, like, so say. We imagine somebody going through a car accident or something, or in the hospital, and we imagine that we're in the hospital and said that they don't have to be in the hospital. So something like that. Because suffering is just kind of vague. Yeah, exactly. So that's where it's important to actually try to feel what their suffering is like. Report an error in the passage at 37:14 Highlight the passage at 37:14

37:40 So actually taking on that suffering. What is it like? To have cancer or what is it like to be in a car accident instead of just keeping it on the level of the head. Report an error in the passage at 37:40 Highlight the passage at 37:40

38:00 Does that kind of answer your question? David? You know what was a real object lesson in this for me was this movie Winged Migration because when you're with the birds for two hours and you see what they go through, It's almost all suffering and work and they work all day long and they suffer and they're so vulnerable and it's so precarious and it's just disaster everywhere all the time. Report an error in the passage at 38:00 Highlight the passage at 38:00

38:26 And I felt like it made me a better Buddhist or a better person or something because, you know, when I felt their suffering, I felt compassion for them. And I used to think birds were funny because they're so serious and I thought, what's the big deal, you know? But when I saw the movie, I realized that. Report an error in the passage at 38:26 Highlight the passage at 38:26

38:43 I didn't know what they Yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 38:43 Highlight the passage at 38:43

38:55 Yeah, so this is a documentary about the birds migrating and all of the difficulties they go through and how so many of them die. Report an error in the passage at 38:55 Highlight the passage at 38:55

39:09 Yeah, so that's such a good point, right? When we really know what it's like to be this other being. Then we can really generate compassion. But oftentimes we just don't bother. We don't bother to imagine what it's like to be this other being. Or we don't want to because it's really uncomfortable. So the more we do that, the more we try to put ourselves into the other being's position, imagine what it's like, try to feel what it's like, the better Buddhist we become, as you said, the more compassion we have. Report an error in the passage at 39:09 Highlight the passage at 39:09

39:55 I mean, that's like so many movies, right? We identify with the characters and then we get involved with them. Rather than if we just read a little newspaper blurb about, you know, someone being killed, we don't necessarily have a feeling. But then the more we know about that person, the stronger our feeling becomes. Yeah, Anna. I went to see a concert or hear a concert with Nancy Wilson, and she has a song, and I think it was a song about a mother. Report an error in the passage at 39:55 Highlight the passage at 39:55

40:26 Wanting to experience all the pain that her children would experience naturally as growing up. And I remember, oh, I was crying so much. But I think for people, I guess for mothers, you know, myself, I have a child. I know Betty does too. It's kind of easier for us to relate to that. Because actually, gladly, I would take on the suffering of my child if I could. Report an error in the passage at 40:26 Highlight the passage at 40:26

40:55 Now I guess it's a matter of expanding that wish. Exactly. But that's a great place to start, right? And then you can imagine all sentient beings are your children and then it makes it easier. Report an error in the passage at 40:55 Highlight the passage at 40:55

41:13 Maybe at this point we take a break and then we'll come back in 10 minutes or so. Report an error in the passage at 41:13 Highlight the passage at 41:13

41:25 Okay, verse 94. Although through reasoning I have identified without a doubt all the roots of evil, if you judge that I am still abetting them, I pray you to destroy the holder himself. Or if, although by logical reason we have recognized, without any doubt and without exception, the root of all such faults, we continue to assist it and argue about it, please annihilate the very one who grasps to a self. Report an error in the passage at 41:25 Highlight the passage at 41:25

41:57 right, so here it. Report an error in the passage at 41:57 Highlight the passage at 41:57

42:07 through logical reasoning, we recognize that The root of all of our suffering is the self-cherishing and the self-grasping. Report an error in the passage at 42:07 Highlight the passage at 42:07

42:21 Without a doubt, if we recognize this without doubt through reasoning, if you judge that I'm still abetting them, so if I'm still kind of hanging on to the self-cherishing, arguing in its favor, thinking that trying to... To still grasp onto our self-cherishing. Here we're praying to destroy the holder himself. Report an error in the passage at 42:21 Highlight the passage at 42:21

42:54 And this is kind of a... Report an error in the passage at 42:54 Highlight the passage at 42:54

43:01 And this one's a little bit puzzling to me. So here we are, we've recognized that the self-cherishing, the self-grasping is the root of all of our suffering. We've identified this. but Report an error in the passage at 43:01 Highlight the passage at 43:01

43:18 Through reasoning, without a doubt, and yet we're still holding on to that self-cherishing and not trying to abandon it. Then I pray you to destroy the holder himself. And the commentaries say that this holder is our appropriated contaminated aggregates, our five aggregates. So we're praying to destroy our aggregates. And I can't really say that I understand. Report an error in the passage at 43:18 Highlight the passage at 43:18

43:47 The subtle meaning behind that. Report an error in the passage at 43:47 Highlight the passage at 43:47

43:52 And none of the commentaries gets into it. I Report an error in the passage at 43:52 Highlight the passage at 43:52

44:05 can speculate, but maybe it's better not to. Report an error in the passage at 44:05 Highlight the passage at 44:05

44:14 But in Gishin Nangwang Darge's commentary in The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, he says that still, if we are inclined to uphold this thought, right, hanging on to the self-cherishing, please quell it and our support of it. Report an error in the passage at 44:14 Highlight the passage at 44:14

44:33 So here, you know, he's saying that we're praying to... Help us let go of our self-cherishing and our support of the self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 44:33 Highlight the passage at 44:33

44:50 Gishisopa says, through studying the Buddhist teachings, we come to recognize without any uncertainty that the root of all evil is the view of a real personal identity and self-cherishing. But even though you've done that, you may still side with the enemy and try to argue in its favor. If that is so, then you should also destroy the physical holder of these views. Report an error in the passage at 44:50 Highlight the passage at 44:50

45:20 So, Report an error in the passage at 45:20 Highlight the passage at 45:20

45:31 what that actually means, I'm not so sure. Report an error in the passage at 45:31 Highlight the passage at 45:31

45:36 But I think this is an interesting point, and we've talked about that before, is that we study that the self-cherishing and the self-grasping are the cause of all of our problems, and yet there's a part of our mind that doesn't want to believe it, right? That still... It sinks into our self-cherishing again and again that still is concerned about our happiness foremost and less about others' happiness. Report an error in the passage at 45:36 Highlight the passage at 45:36

46:10 It's like our mind still, our self-cherishing mind still wants to justify itself. So we want to preserve self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 46:10 Highlight the passage at 46:10

46:23 Yeah, Anna. Report an error in the passage at 46:23 Highlight the passage at 46:23

46:27 But isn't this exactly the struggle that we are going through? Exactly. Because if we really check in our minds, I mean we've heard week after week after week in this class about how the self-cherishing, the self-grasping is the cause of all our problems. But how many of us believe that 100 %? Report an error in the passage at 46:27 Highlight the passage at 46:27

46:55 Right, it's hard to get out of it. But first we have to really believe it first and want to get out of it. And I think that many of us don't even want to believe it. Report an error in the passage at 46:55 Highlight the passage at 46:55

47:23 Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a habit, yeah. And I think it's because of our self-cherishing. You know, our self-cherishing doesn't want to believe it because the self-cherishing doesn't want to let go of itself. We don't want to let go of our temporary happiness that's focused only on ourselves, right? Report an error in the passage at 47:23 Highlight the passage at 47:23

47:51 Because we do experience. Pleasures and happiness when we cherish only ourselves. We go spoil ourselves and go for a massage and there's something very pleasant about that. Report an error in the passage at 47:51 Highlight the passage at 47:51

48:09 And if we're doing it only for our own benefit, then it's self-cherishing. If we're doing it for the benefit of others as well, then it's not just self-cherishing. But we do a lot of things just for our own benefit. Report an error in the passage at 48:09 Highlight the passage at 48:09

48:25 Because we experience a lot of pleasure. Report an error in the passage at 48:25 Highlight the passage at 48:25

48:33 Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, there's sort of a fear of letting those things go because who would we be, you know? And that really, you know, if you really think about it, it's like all your identity is tied up with this. So it's like, boom, it's like the floor getting taken out from under you. Who would I be? What do I have to cling to? Report an error in the passage at 48:33 Highlight the passage at 48:33

49:05 And sometimes you get little glimpses that that feels good, but a lot of times not. I had a dream once of jumping out of an airplane and I'm deathly afraid of doing something like that. And anyway, it was that same kind of feeling, exhilarating and terrifying at once. Report an error in the passage at 49:05 Highlight the passage at 49:05

49:30 David. Welcome to addiction. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 49:30 Highlight the passage at 49:30

49:43 I think that's the exact, that's exactly why it's stated over and over that ignorance is the root of our problems because it's our ignorance of that non-existence of that self that we convince ourselves and we say, oh my, if this goes away, there's nothing. You know, that's it. If the self goes away and that right there, that's it. That's our ignorance. It's the lack of understanding of which the way that self is existing that keeps us from doing that. Report an error in the passage at 49:43 Highlight the passage at 49:43

50:17 Two things. A thought arises that, you know, if you really went with it, then you might seem a little unusual, like in society, that people would, you know, you might like, yeah, I don't know if it's necessarily even a reputation, but if you just really got into it that, I don't know, people might think you were strange or like, you know, to the point that it would be difficult for you to interact. Report an error in the passage at 50:17 Highlight the passage at 50:17

50:48 And then the second thing I was wondering is when they mention in verse 94, you know, if you, although through reasoning I have identified without a doubt all of the roots of evil, if you judge that I am still abetting them, I pray you to destroy the holder himself. So in order for anyone to be able to do that, they would have to find the holder. So they would have to do a search for the holder, right? Report an error in the passage at 50:48 Highlight the passage at 50:48

51:24 And then I don't know that they would find anything. Report an error in the passage at 51:24 Highlight the passage at 51:24

51:30 Yeah. I mean, intuitively, if I didn't read the commentaries, I would think that the holder would be the inherently existent self, the self that doesn't actually exist, that we're trying to destroy the conception of that. But the commentaries are talking about the holder being either the physical body or our five aggregates. Report an error in the passage at 51:30 Highlight the passage at 51:30

51:57 And as Jay was saying, we're praying. To Yamataka to help us destroy that. So that's going to just be a question mark in my mind. Maybe I can ask Ashidakpo when I see him next. Report an error in the passage at 51:57 Highlight the passage at 51:57

52:13 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 52:13 Highlight the passage at 52:13

52:22 Okay. Verse 95. Now drive all blame onto one thing. I shall cultivate gratitude toward all beings. Take into my mind what others abhor and turn over the roots of my virtue to all beings. The other translation. Now I shall place all blame on this one. I shall meditate on the great kindness of other beings. I shall take on in my continuum the unwanted experience of others. Report an error in the passage at 52:22 Highlight the passage at 52:22

52:51 I shall dedicate my root of virtue to all migrators. Okay, so drive all blame into one thing once again. The self-cherishing. Sometimes the commentaries say that... We're talking about just the self-cherishing and other times it's talking about the self-grasping and the self-cherishing. But here it's primarily the self-cherishing in this verse and also the self-grasping which contributes to the self-cherishing. Report an error in the passage at 52:51 Highlight the passage at 52:51

53:24 Then I shall cultivate gratitude toward all beings. So this is a prerequisite to developing compassion and bodhicitta is remembering the kindness of others. Report an error in the passage at 53:24 Highlight the passage at 53:24

53:41 We tend to think of ourselves as being very independent. I'm successful, I'm a self-made person kind of a thing. But when we really think about it, we're dependent on countless other beings. Who we are, everything that we know is dependent on so many others. Who built the highways, who built our houses, who built our cars. Report an error in the passage at 53:41 Highlight the passage at 53:41

53:44 dependent, you know. Report an error in the passage at 53:44 Highlight the passage at 53:44

54:09 Grew our food, etc. And the more we think about that, the more gratitude we develop. And then we want to actually repay the kindness of others. Report an error in the passage at 54:09 Highlight the passage at 54:09

54:23 And so gratitude is such a wonderful state of mind. Because there's a lot of, you know, it's very uplifting. There's a lot of humility in it. It's good, I think, for helping destroy our pride. Because our pride oftentimes is what's preventing us from developing gratitude. I've done it all myself kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 54:23 Highlight the passage at 54:23

54:53 So there's some great meditations on gratitude in the lamrim, remembering the kindness of our mother. And a lot of people have resistance to remembering the kindness of mother. But if we actually do that meditation and kind of overcome our... I'm, I'm... Report an error in the passage at 54:53 Highlight the passage at 54:53

55:10 Stuff around our mother. It's a very, very powerful meditation because we wouldn't be alive without our mothers. We wouldn't have a body. We were helpless little infants completely dependent on our mothers for our survival. So we tend to forget that we were once these helpless little beings that couldn't have survived without somebody taking care of us. Report an error in the passage at 55:10 Highlight the passage at 55:10

55:42 But when we do remember that then there's a lot of gratitude that can come up. And I think that's why it's such a powerful meditation. Like there's other meditations on cultivating gratitude, like I said, you know, for the people who grew our food, etc. But there's a special one. I mean, it's a very special one toward our mother because we wouldn't even be alive without our mothers. Report an error in the passage at 55:42 Highlight the passage at 55:42

56:16 And then the last two lines are talking about Tonglen. I shall take on in my continuum the unwanted experience of others. So breathing in the suffering of others and then dedicate my roots of virtue to all my graders. So dedicate my roots of virtue and the cause of all my happiness to others. Report an error in the passage at 56:16 Highlight the passage at 56:16

56:48 So here this verse is talking about the... Bodhisattva activity, remembering the kindness of others, taking on the suffering of others and giving away our happiness and causes of happiness. Report an error in the passage at 56:48 Highlight the passage at 56:48

57:26 Okay, I already talked about that. Verse 96. Just as the patterns of colors in a peacock's feather is due to poison, may the afflictions be transformed into the aids to enlightenment by my taking on the physical, verbal and mental deeds of other living beings, past, present and future. Report an error in the passage at 57:26 Highlight the passage at 57:26

57:48 So here, just as the patterns of colors in a peacock's feather is due to poison. So we talked about this at the beginning of the text, how other birds would be destroyed by poison, but a peacock actually thrives on poison, and the poison actually enhances the color of the peacock's feathers. So similarly, the afflictions can destroy lesser beings, but bodhisattvas... Report an error in the passage at 57:48 Highlight the passage at 57:48

58:17 And can use the afflictions along the path to help others. Report an error in the passage at 58:17 Highlight the passage at 58:17

58:25 So may the afflictions be transformed into the aids of enlightenment by my taking on the physical, verbal and mental deeds of other living beings, past, present and future. So here this is Tom Lennigan taking upon ourselves all the negative actions of sentient beings. So the negative actions of body, speech and mind are the physical, verbal and mental deeds. Report an error in the passage at 58:25 Highlight the passage at 58:25

58:50 So the... Negative actions of body, such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct. The negative actions of speech, which are lying, harsh speech, divisive speech and idle gossip. And then the mental negative actions, which include covetousness and malice, wrong view, etc. And most of the other afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 58:50 Highlight the passage at 58:50

59:27 And so we're taking on... The three types of actions of others as well as the afflictions that are performed, or the afflictions of the three times, the afflictions and the negative actions of the three times, of the past, present and future. Report an error in the passage at 59:27 Highlight the passage at 59:27

59:59 Verse 97, I give the roots of my virtue to living beings so that they may be cured as a poisoned crow is healed by medicine. I dedicate my life to the liberation of all beings so they may quickly achieve the Buddhahood of the Sugata. By giving our roots of virtue to migrating beings, just as a crow that has eaten poison is cured by medicine, may we uphold the life of liberation of all beings, and then may they quickly attain the Buddhahood of a Sugata. Report an error in the passage at 59:59 Highlight the passage at 59:59

1:00:32 So here in the previous verse, verse 96, we are taking on The negative actions and the afflictions of others. So in 97, now we're giving away our happiness, our roots of virtue, our causes of happiness to others so that they may be cured of their self-cherishing and their self-grasping. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:32 Highlight the passage at 1:00:32

1:00:58 Just as a poisoned crow is healed by medicine. So when we do practices and then we dedicate our virtue, For others, for the benefit of others, and ultimately for others to attain complete enlightenment themselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:58 Highlight the passage at 1:00:58

1:01:21 That actually does help sentient beings when we do dedications for them. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:21 Highlight the passage at 1:01:21

1:01:33 So that's what this verse is referring to, dedicating our roots of virtue for the benefit of others and for them to attain enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:33 Highlight the passage at 1:01:33

1:01:48 So Geshe Sopa says, themselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:48 Highlight the passage at 1:01:48

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:01:54 Living beings can be freed from their afflictions and suffering by receiving the benefit of our virtuous activities that we dedicate to them. Thus they can be saved, not from ordinary physical death, but from the spiritual death of losing their chance for emancipation. Through this type of powerful prayer, our minds generate a highly meritorious attitude. We should hold firmly this. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:54 Highlight the passage at 1:01:54

1:02:26 Oops, we should hold firmly this most essential aspiration in life, which is wishing that all beings be liberated and attain perfect Buddhahood. There is no better or higher type of prayer than this. If you go to temples or other religious sites, don't pray for long life, wealth or other things for yourself. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:26 Highlight the passage at 1:02:26

1:02:49 Your main prayer should be to benefit sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:49 Highlight the passage at 1:02:49

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:03:23 Okay, then verse 98. Until I and those who have been my parents have attained enlightenment in the highest realm, may we support each other with a single thought, even when wandering about in the six states of existence owing to our actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:23 Highlight the passage at 1:03:23

1:03:42 As long as we and those who have been our parents, without attaining enlightenment in the abode of Akanishita, due to our actions, wander in the six migrations, may we support one another with a single mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:42 Highlight the passage at 1:03:42

1:03:56 So here we're continuing our prayer that until myself and those who have been my parents, right, so this refers to all sentient beings, right, all sentient beings have been our parents. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:56 Highlight the passage at 1:03:56

1:04:11 So until all sentient beings have attained enlightenment in the highest realm, and the highest realm refers to the pure land of Akanishda. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:11 Highlight the passage at 1:04:11

1:04:24 This is when we were talking about the enjoyment body before. All the enjoyment bodies reside in Akanishda. And it's said that sentient beings attain enlightenment from Akanishda. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:24 Highlight the passage at 1:04:24

1:04:35 So here, until I and all those who have been my parents have attained enlightenment in the highest realm, or Akanishda, may we support each other with a single thought, even when wandering about in the six states of existence, owing to our actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:35 Highlight the passage at 1:04:35

1:04:53 So may we support each other with a single thought, Geshe Chani says that this means that we're not entertaining any feelings of anger or aversion toward one another and to be able to support one another in accomplishing the great bodhisattva deeds. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:53 Highlight the passage at 1:04:53

1:05:17 So here we're supporting each other with a single thought. So we're supporting each other in the bodhisattva deeds, the bodhisattva activities, without falling into anger, jealousy. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:17 Highlight the passage at 1:05:17

1:05:40 Even when wandering about in the six states of existence going to our actions. So here due to our karma we're wandering about in the six realms of the desire realm. The hell realm, the hungry ghost realm. The god, demigod, human, animal, hungry ghost and the hell realms. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:40 Highlight the passage at 1:05:40

1:06:08 So again and again we're being reborn in these six realms through the force of our karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:08 Highlight the passage at 1:06:08

1:06:27 Verse 99. When I enter the three wretched states of existence for the sake of even one living being, may I save him or her from the suffering of that wretched destiny without compromising a great being's way of life. At this time, even for the purpose of one migrator, I shall enter the three lower migrations. Without decline of the conduct of great abode... Report an error in the passage at 1:06:27 Highlight the passage at 1:06:27

1:06:53 I think I have a typo here. Without decline of the conduct... Of a great bodhisattva, may I lead others from the suffering of lower migrations. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:53 Highlight the passage at 1:06:53

1:07:05 So here as aspiring bodhisattvas, we're making the prayer to enter the three lower realms, the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm, the animal realm, even for the sake of one being, Report an error in the passage at 1:07:05 Highlight the passage at 1:07:05

1:07:29 without declining. Or the decrease of our bodhisattva conduct without decreasing our bodhicitta. So a great bodhisattva is willing to be reborn in any realm, even in the hell realms, for the sake of even one being. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:29 Highlight the passage at 1:07:29

1:07:49 Even for eons to stay in the hells, for eons, for the sake of just one being. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:49 Highlight the passage at 1:07:49

1:08:03 And for that great bodhisattva, the bodhicitta doesn't decline, it doesn't diminish. Even after being tortured and abused for eons. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:03 Highlight the passage at 1:08:03

1:08:31 So Geshe Sopa says, this verse especially encourages us to engage in bodhisattva conduct. You have to enter into the three lower realms, even for the sake of one sentient being, and suffer for a long time without losing the attitude and the conduct proper to a great bodhisattva. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:31 Highlight the passage at 1:08:31

1:08:50 We pray to free living beings from the sufferings of bad migrations. Here, not only are we taking responsibility for all sentient beings, but in addition, we are willing to sacrifice ourselves in order to liberate even one. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:50 Highlight the passage at 1:08:50

1:09:08 This represents the perfection of the bodhisattvas' qualities of patience and diligence. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:08 Highlight the passage at 1:09:08

1:09:33 And then Shantideva said that even if bodhisattvas have to remain in the Avicii hell for eons, for the sake of a single sentient being, their compassion will not be shaken. They will not be sorrowful and they will joyfully work towards supreme enlightenment. Shantideva also said that the joy that comes from making others happy is the best kind of happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:33 Highlight the passage at 1:09:33

1:10:03 So the bodhisattva who's willing to enter the lower realms for the sake of just one being doesn't have a sorrowful mind. The bodhisattva still has a joyful mind because they're doing it out of their great love and compassion. For that being. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:03 Highlight the passage at 1:10:03

1:10:32 And then verse 100 says, at that very instant the guardians of hell will realize that I am a guru and their weapons will turn into a rain of flowers. May peace flourish unharmed. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:32 Highlight the passage at 1:10:32

1:10:51 Another translation, may the guardians of hell immediately develop the discrimination of us as lamas. May their weapons also transform into a rain of flowers and free from harm. May they be refreshed by peace and happiness. So this is once again a prayer, a bodhisattva prayer, where we've been reborn in hells for the sake of one sentient being. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:51 Highlight the passage at 1:10:51

1:11:16 And may the guardians of hell immediately develop discrimination of us as lamas. So here we're praying that when the hell guardians see us, their anger would be immediately subdued. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:16 Highlight the passage at 1:11:16

1:11:40 They would see us as their guru. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:40 Highlight the passage at 1:11:40

1:11:47 May their weapons also transform into a rain of flowers. So their weapons, instead of harming others, they turn into a rain of flowers. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:47 Highlight the passage at 1:11:47

1:11:59 And also, like the beings of the hell, the hot hells, may the flowers turn into cooling rays for them. And those in the cold hells, may the flowers turn into warm. warming rays for them. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:59 Highlight the passage at 1:11:59

1:12:22 free from harm, may they be refreshed by peace and happiness. So Report an error in the passage at 1:12:22 Highlight the passage at 1:12:22

1:12:31 may their continuum be thoroughly refreshed by the final coolness, which is peace, the happiness of the mind, of unsurpassed enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:31 Highlight the passage at 1:12:31

1:12:49 I rushed through those verses thinking we didn't have that much time, and then now here we are, finished. Anna, you have a question? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:49 Highlight the passage at 1:12:49

1:12:59 Yeah, I think I was confused by these last two verses. Looking at this one, my understanding was, and I think I read this from Lama Yeshe, that the hell realms are not a place. They're a karmic manifestation for that particular person with that particular karma. So how is it that a bodhisattva or guru is going to go to that place of hell? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:59 Highlight the passage at 1:12:59

1:13:32 it's not a place, se. It's just so esoteric for me, I can't imagine. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:32 Highlight the passage at 1:13:32

1:13:42 The Report an error in the passage at 1:13:42 Highlight the passage at 1:13:42

1:13:52 main point here is that we're willing to experience the most horrific suffering for the benefit of even one being. So we can be reborn in the hells. And the hells aren't so much a physical place as, like you were saying, really your own experience based on your karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:52 Highlight the passage at 1:13:52

1:14:23 But the hell realms aren't just like psychological states. I mean, as taught by the Buddha, they are actual realms where we can be reborn. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:23 Highlight the passage at 1:14:23

1:14:35 But His Holiness, like the Dalai Lama and some of the other lamas say that it can be helpful to think about them in terms of being. Psychological states, if we have a resistance to thinking of them as being actual realms. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:35 Highlight the passage at 1:14:35

1:14:52 So how would a bodhisattva be reborn there? Well, you know, there's this one story about Shakyamuni Buddha in a previous life, you know, who had clairvoyance. He was on a ship, right? And he, so he could see that there was, you know, one sailor who was about to kill, you know, all of the other 500 men. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:52 Highlight the passage at 1:14:52

1:15:14 And so... He killed that sailor instead to prevent him from killing all of those men. And it's said that Shakyamuni did create the karma to be reborn in hell. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:14 Highlight the passage at 1:15:14

1:15:32 But they said that he was reborn in hell and immediately kind of bounced out. He's like, you're too pure. Right, so that's one way of thinking about how a bodhisattva could be reborn in hell, would be to commit, you know, a negative action for the benefit of others. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:32 Highlight the passage at 1:15:32

1:16:04 I haven't heard that there were Arya names. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:04 Highlight the passage at 1:16:04

1:16:12 I don't remember hearing that. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:12 Highlight the passage at 1:16:12

1:16:17 Microphone? Yeah, yeah, so, exactly. So that was benefiting not only the 500 that were not killed, But the sailor who didn't commit that negative action, which is actually more beneficial, right, to the sailor who was going to commit that negative action because he would have encountered, you know, created the causes for eons and eons and eons of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:17 Highlight the passage at 1:16:17

1:16:49 This reminds me of, I think, a story in Liberation of the Palmier Hand, I think. And it's about one of the, where did I read it? I'm not sure, but anyway, one of... It's about a Lama who's dying and he's prayed to go to the hell realms and he's saying, it's not working, it's not working because he's having pure visions as he's dying. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:49 Highlight the passage at 1:16:49

1:17:13 But it reminds me now too, it seems to me that there's a real specific correlation to Tonglen here because of saying that we can't necessarily take on the sufferings of others, but you can clearly see the benefit of... Praying for that to happen. I mean, the benefit of the dissolving of our own self-grasping. So it's just very interesting that no matter how hard you try to suffer for other beings, it seems to be somewhat of an implication that you're just going to get happier and happier and happier by trying to do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:13 Highlight the passage at 1:17:13

1:17:45 I mean, it seems like a... Sometimes I just think the llamas are playing a great big joke on us, you know what I mean? Like, eat this, it's poison. And then it's like, you're fine. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:45 Highlight the passage at 1:17:45

1:18:02 Yeah, you know, and if you'll just take the poison and believe you, I have faith Report an error in the passage at 1:18:02 Highlight the passage at 1:18:02

1:18:21 It's true, the more we pray to take on the suffering of others, the more pure the karma is that we're creating. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:21 Highlight the passage at 1:18:21

1:18:33 Exactly. The more happiness we have to experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:33 Highlight the passage at 1:18:33

1:18:40 Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:18:40 Highlight the passage at 1:18:40

1:18:45 it's like the... Three kinds of bodhisattvas, like the king-like bodhisattva, the boatman-like bodhisattva, and the shepherd-like bodhisattva. Have you heard this before? So the king-like bodhisattva who's wanting to attain enlightenment first so he can bring all sentient beings along with him. And then the boatman-like bodhisattva who's wanting to attain enlightenment along with all sentient beings at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:45 Highlight the passage at 1:18:45

1:19:18 And then the shepherd-like bodhisattva who's praying to bring all sentient beings to enlightenment first and then becoming enlightened last. And so it's the shepherd-like bodhisattva, the one who's praying for everybody else to be enlightened first, who is actually going to get enlightened first. He's creating the causes. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:18 Highlight the passage at 1:19:18

1:19:40 His bodhicitta, his or her bodhicitta is so strong. Also known as the Owl Be The Door. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:40 Highlight the passage at 1:19:40

1:19:54 Yeah. Alright. Okay. Any other questions in general or on these verses? Betty. Robin Williams rescues his wife. She is in hell. And he goes down there loving compassion. And he's willing to stay down there with her. He will not leave without her. So I thought he was a true buddy. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:54 Highlight the passage at 1:19:54

1:20:34 I don't know, I can't express this very well. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:34 Highlight the passage at 1:20:34

1:20:39 happens to people, right? That's my I mean, Report an error in the passage at 1:20:39 Highlight the passage at 1:20:39

1:20:47 there's this kind of parallel to, it seems, to our realm and the Buddha because... be talking at all um mean Report an error in the passage at 1:20:47 Highlight the passage at 1:20:47

1:21:03 You know, there's an argument about whether this realm exists either. So it's whether it's a conventional level or ultimate level or something. But it seems as if you consider that this place we are now exists, then the hell beings could exist as well in a similar way. And that the Buddha is able to identify in some way that we don't understand, you know, what we're experiencing even though... Report an error in the passage at 1:21:03 Highlight the passage at 1:21:03

1:21:35 He doesn't experience it that way. And in the same way, the bodhisattvas, I guess, are a similar way, can benefit hell beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:35 Highlight the passage at 1:21:35

1:21:53 Because, you know, I've heard both ways, too, about whether it actually exists. I've heard a number of lamas say, you better believe it does. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:21:53 Highlight the passage at 1:21:53

1:22:06 and the Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha himself taught that the... Those lower realms actually do exist. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:06 Highlight the passage at 1:22:06

1:22:23 Well, there are hells here on earth. I mean, living homeless out there in the street with nothing to eat and no water, no shelter, no nothing is like hell. It is. Yeah, I mean, it's a tremendous amount of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:23 Highlight the passage at 1:22:23

1:22:43 And contemplating that is really helpful, particularly for people who can't accept the existence of hell realms. Yeah. But we can see tremendous, tremendous, tremendous suffering just in the human realm. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:43 Highlight the passage at 1:22:43

1:23:09 Anything else? Report an error in the passage at 1:23:09 Highlight the passage at 1:23:09

1:23:19 So, I Report an error in the passage at 1:23:19 Highlight the passage at 1:23:19

1:23:24 never know how to word these things. Can a bodhisattva or a Buddha be in more than one realm at the same time? Or could they be in a physical body realm, kind of like here with us, but be able to see other realms and then... What would they do with that? How do they learn how to help the other realms? I don't know, I guess the general comments. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:24 Highlight the passage at 1:23:24

1:24:00 There Report an error in the passage at 1:24:00 Highlight the passage at 1:24:00

1:24:05 are a few different questions you asked there. Can the bodies of the bodhisattvas and the buddhas... Be in different realms at the same time. And Buddhists can manifest in countless different forms. So Buddhists can manifest in all of the different realms at the same time. Bodhisattvas who, now I'm not remembering. If it's bodhisattvas who directly realize emptiness, or any bodhisattva can manifest as well, a certain number of forms, depending on their level. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:05 Highlight the passage at 1:24:05

1:24:51 So the answer would be yes. The bodhisattvas and the bhumis can manifest forms in different realms at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:51 Highlight the passage at 1:24:51

1:25:03 And then can they see the minds of others? Buddhas definitely, right? So the Buddhas have the omniscient mind, and so the Buddhas can, I mean, and they do, it's said they do perceive everything in every single moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:03 Highlight the passage at 1:25:03

1:25:24 And that's how the Buddhas, Can help us. They can see our minds. They can see our karma. They can see the karma that's about to ripen. They can see where our minds are and the best way to help us. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:24 Highlight the passage at 1:25:24

1:25:42 So that's why we need to attain complete enlightenment in order to be of the most benefit to others. Because whatever we do now to benefit others is very limited. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:42 Highlight the passage at 1:25:42

1:25:56 And then the bodhisattvas can also develop clairvoyances where they can read others' minds, etc. But they don't have omniscience, so they're also limited. They can't see our karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:56 Highlight the passage at 1:25:56

1:26:11 And then the last part of your question, I'm not sure I understood, or I don't know if I answered it. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:11 Highlight the passage at 1:26:11

1:26:32 Feel or think, or whatever you want to call it, that they have direct experience into other realms. and have beings that are there see them I guess, would probably be yes. What was the last part? The beings in the other realms, could they see them as well? Report an error in the passage at 1:26:32 Highlight the passage at 1:26:32

1:27:01 Them as a being, let's see. Yeah, yeah. So the answer, I mean in general, would be yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:01 Highlight the passage at 1:27:01

1:27:29 I did read in the Buddhist. that particular Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:29 Highlight the passage at 1:27:29

1:27:31 In the text of the Buddha's teaching that there are these realms and they do exist, at first it was kind of hard for me to believe and then I got to thinking it would be a little naive to think that, even self-cherishing to think that this is the only realm of existence. It's like thinking we're the only one and if there can be one there must be others. It would be like saying there couldn't be any other life forms anywhere in the universe. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:31 Highlight the passage at 1:27:31

1:27:56 So there must be multi-dimensions of life, some of which... Could well be hells. Why would they not be? Yeah. Yeah, and if we consider the negative actions that beings create, and if we believe in karma, then there must be incredibly suffering realms. It's really not so hard to believe, but it is hard to believe. But I mean, it really isn't quite so hard to believe, because if you can be 5 years old and 25 years old and then 119 years old all in the same life, You know what I mean? Like, you can be those three things. So why could you not be... So I could live in that sort of realm that is my 25-year-old life versus my 5-year-old life and the things I understood then. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:56 Highlight the passage at 1:27:56

1:28:46 And when you really sort of think about it like that, you know, and I don't have access to my 5-year-old life at this time, but I could just as easily... I'm sure there are many other facets of existence, you know, that I can't access right now. When you think about it, I mean, it's no more mystical or science fiction-y than that, really. I Report an error in the passage at 1:28:46 Highlight the passage at 1:28:46

1:29:22 think we can finish there. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:22 Highlight the passage at 1:29:22

1:29:31 So page six, the dedication prayers. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:31 Highlight the passage at 1:29:31

1:29:49 English. We'll do the first two and then the long life prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 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. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:49 Highlight the passage at 1:29:49

1:30:15 And may that which has risen not diminish, but increase more and more. In the land encircled by snow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and good. All-powerful Chinrizi, Tenzin Gyatso, please remain until saṃsāra ends. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:15 Highlight the passage at 1:30:15