Special Insight 4: Wisdom of Emptiness (6 March 2012)

0:06 So let's start by setting our motivation. You Report an error in the passage at 0:06 Highlight the passage at 0:06

0:15 don't look like Jessica. Report an error in the passage at 0:15 Highlight the passage at 0:15

0:26 So Report an error in the passage at 0:26 Highlight the passage at 0:26

0:46 we can think about how all these external accomplishments, Report an error in the passage at 0:46 Highlight the passage at 0:46

0:57 possessions, relationships, they Report an error in the passage at 0:57 Highlight the passage at 0:57

1:11 bring us some temporary satisfaction or temporary pleasure. They Report an error in the passage at 1:11 Highlight the passage at 1:11

1:31 can't last. I have to wear it. Report an error in the passage at 1:31 Highlight the passage at 1:31

· · · silence, 2 minutes

2:21 The tighter we hold on to them, the Report an error in the passage at 2:21 Highlight the passage at 2:21

2:27 more suffering we have. Report an error in the passage at 2:27 Highlight the passage at 2:27

· · · silence, 1 minute

3:07 A lasting happiness, lasting satisfaction may Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:18 come from the inside, Report an error in the passage at 3:18 Highlight the passage at 3:18

3:25 from changing our minds, Report an error in the passage at 3:25 Highlight the passage at 3:25

3:46 letting go of our grasping, letting Report an error in the passage at 3:46 Highlight the passage at 3:46

3:52 go of our disturbing emotions, and Report an error in the passage at 3:52 Highlight the passage at 3:52

4:07 keeping a good heart. Report an error in the passage at 4:07 Highlight the passage at 4:07

· · · silence, 1 minute

4:45 Developing a motivation to keep working on our minds, letting go of our disturbing emotions, not Report an error in the passage at 4:45 Highlight the passage at 4:45

5:03 just for our own benefit. Report an error in the passage at 5:03 Highlight the passage at 5:03

· · · silence, 1 minute

5:50 Let's start with a praise to Manjushri on the first page of the white book. Report an error in the passage at 5:50 Highlight the passage at 5:50

6:05 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 a sun unclouded by delusions or traces of ignorance, who teaches in 60 ways with the loving compassion of a father for his only son. Report an error in the passage at 6:05 Highlight the passage at 6:05

6:24 All creatures caught in the prison of saṃsāra, confused in the darkness of their ignorance, overwhelmed by their suffering. 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, hues suffering wherever its sprouts appear, clearing away the darkness of ignorance. Report an error in the passage at 6:24 Highlight the passage at 6:24

6:46 You, whose princely body is adorned with the 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 6:46 Highlight the passage at 6:46

7:07 With the brilliance 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. on my website, I'm website, I'm website, I'm website. Report an error in the passage at 7:07 Highlight the passage at 7:07

7:25 And then the Heart Sūtra and the Gold Book on page 76. And David? Report an error in the passage at 7:25 Highlight the passage at 7:25

7:44 I prostrate to the Arya triple gem. Thus did I hear at one time, the Bhagavan was dwelling on Mass Vulture's mountain in Rajgriya, together with a great community of monks and a great community of bodhisattvas. At that time, the Bhagavan was absorbed in the concentration on the categories of phenomena called profound perception. Report an error in the passage at 7:44 Highlight the passage at 7:44

8:03 Also at that time, the bodhisattva, mahasattva, Arya Avalokitesvara, looked upon the very practice of the profound perfection of wisdom and beheld those five aggregates also as empty of inherent nature. Then through the power of Buddha, the venerable Shariputra said this to the bodhisattva, mahasattva, Arya Avalokitesvara, How should any son of the lineage train who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom? Report an error in the passage at 8:03 Highlight the passage at 8:03

8:30 He said that and the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Arya Avalokiteshvara said this to the venerable Sharivadiputra. Sharivadiputra, any son of the lineage or daughter of the lineage who wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom should look upon it like this. Correctly and repeatedly beholding those five aggregates also is empty of inherent nature. Form is empty, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form. Report an error in the passage at 8:30 Highlight the passage at 8:30

8:56 Form is also not other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness are empty. Shariputra, likewise all phenomena are emptiness, without characteristic, unproduced, unceased, stainless, not without stain, not efficient, not fulfilled. Shariputra, therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no compositional factors, no consciousness, no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no visual form, no sound, no odor, no taste, no object of touch and no phenomenon. Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:35 There is no eye element and so on up to and including no mind element and no mental consciousness element. There is no ignorance. And so on, up to and including no aging and death and no extinction of aging and death. Similarly, there is no suffering, origination, cessation and path. There is no exalted wisdom, no attainment and also no non-attainment. Shariputra, therefore, because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on and dwell in the perfection of wisdom, the mind without obscuration and without fear. Report an error in the passage at 9:35 Highlight the passage at 9:35

10:09 Having completely passed beyond error, they reach the end point of nirvāṇa. All the Buddhas who dwell in the three times also manifestly, completely awaken to unsurpassable, perfect, complete enlightenment in reliance on the perfection of wisdom. Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to the unequaled, the mantra that thoroughly pacifies all suffering, should be known as truth since it is not false. Report an error in the passage at 10:09 Highlight the passage at 10:09

10:38 The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is declared. Tayata, Om Gata, Gata, Paragata, Parasam Gata, Bodhishoha. Shariputra, the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva should train the profound perfection of wisdom like that. Then the Bhagavan arose from that concentration and commended the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya Avalokiteshvara, saying, Well said, well said, son of the lineage. Report an error in the passage at 10:38 Highlight the passage at 10:38

11:02 It is like that. It is like that. One should practice the profound perfection of wisdom just as you have indicated. Even the Tadatakas rejoice, the Bhagavan having thus spoken, the venerable Sarivadiputra, the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, Arya, Avalokiteshvara, and the surrounding in their entirety, along with the world of gods, humans, asuras, and Gandharvas, were overjoyed and highly praised that spoken by the Bhagavan. Report an error in the passage at 11:02 Highlight the passage at 11:02

11:29 And then on the bottom of page 98 is Refuge and Bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 11:29 Highlight the passage at 11:29

11:43 I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly. By the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly. By the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 11:43 Highlight the passage at 11:43

12:07 I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly. By the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 12:07 Highlight the passage at 12:07

12:29 So many of us were blessed with Guy's presence over the weekend. Unfortunately, I only got to go to part of it, but he's just wonderful and we're so fortunate to have him. So you guys got to hear a lot about Lama Tsongkhapa over the weekend and His Holiness' take on Lama Tsongkhapa. Report an error in the passage at 12:29 Highlight the passage at 12:29

13:07 Should be. Should be. Yeah. Well. Report an error in the passage at 13:07 Highlight the passage at 13:07

13:17 And Report an error in the passage at 13:17 Highlight the passage at 13:17

13:22 a couple of years ago, Guy was here and spent the whole weekend on emptiness, right, which was just mind-blowing. So, you know, so I actually made a few copies. I mean, it's all online, but if people made, I mean, because I know Margaret wanted a CD, and so I made a copy. It's MP3, but if people want. Report an error in the passage at 13:22 Highlight the passage at 13:22

13:45 I'll copy the CD of the emptiness teachings last time. Just amazing. How many people want one? Oh gosh, like everybody. I mean, it was Friday night. It was five sessions, basically. It was Friday night, two sessions on Saturday, two sessions on Sunday. And it was just some of the clearest, most, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 13:45 Highlight the passage at 13:45

14:11 I mean, he just has an amazing way of... expressing himself and then he just knows it so deeply right all right so Report an error in the passage at 14:11 Highlight the passage at 14:11

14:25 He didn't get to talk that much about emptiness this weekend. Report an error in the passage at 14:25 Highlight the passage at 14:25

14:32 That's what I heard, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 14:32 Highlight the passage at 14:32

14:43 Well, you know, I was totally offended when you said that. Report an error in the passage at 14:43 Highlight the passage at 14:43

14:56 It was a teaching for me. I mean, it was the whole thing, but... Report an error in the passage at 14:56 Highlight the passage at 14:56

14:47 you might. Report an error in the passage at 14:47 Highlight the passage at 14:47

15:06 It doesn't matter. I get to see my object of refutation, though. Report an error in the passage at 15:06 Highlight the passage at 15:06

15:16 So we have been going through the middle length lamrim by Lama Tsongkhapa for, can you believe, almost four years. I know, I'm a little embarrassed by that. Report an error in the passage at 15:16 Highlight the passage at 15:16

15:37 I'm very slow. But we are... don't, I'm just... Report an error in the passage at 15:37 Highlight the passage at 15:37

15:40 At the very end. We have finished calm abiding. We have finished special insight. We just spent a year on special insight, right? So now we are at inclusion. Report an error in the passage at 15:40 Highlight the passage at 15:40

16:01 So if people have the text, I'm on page 323 where Lama Tsongkhapa says, now I shall present a short summary of topics of the general path. Report an error in the passage at 16:01 Highlight the passage at 16:01

16:16 And he says, before anything else. Okay, so the lamrim. The lamrim is the root of the entire path, right? I mean, we can't pass by the lamrim, we can't practice tantra without getting the lamrim. You know, the lamrim is it, right? It's the graduated path to enlightenment. You know, it's so important. And it's not something for us to just learn intellectually and then go on to the next thing, right? Report an error in the passage at 16:16 Highlight the passage at 16:16

16:44 It's something that... We need to work on forever, right? Like our whole lives. But forever, right? I mean, even His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that he's still working on the lamrim, right? So if he's working on it, you know, maybe we're not. Report an error in the passage at 16:44 Highlight the passage at 16:44

17:07 So it's, and I appreciate the lamrim so much. Like when we really reflect on the lamrim, it makes very clear. It's clear in our lives what is important, right? What's not important? Because it's so easy to get caught up with our day-to-day lives, right? With our jobs, with our relationships, getting the stuff done that we need to get done and, you know, the busyness of our day-to-day lives. And the lamrim helps us step back, right? Report an error in the passage at 17:07 Highlight the passage at 17:07

17:45 And get the perspective, okay, well what's really important? Remember, right? We're going to die. Remember. Remember. I mean, we don't like to hear that, right? But remember what is really important. Report an error in the passage at 17:45 Highlight the passage at 17:45

18:03 These external things can bring some temporary pleasure and we need them, right? At our level, we still need them. But they will never bring us the lasting satisfaction that we are seeking, right? The lasting happiness, right? So we can, you know, we need to do what we need to do. We need to make a living. We need to have shelter over our heads. We need to keep our minds happy. And at the same time, it's useful to strive for the longer term, right? Report an error in the passage at 18:03 Highlight the passage at 18:03

18:39 The real causes for happiness. And the real causes for happiness are not, right, the job and the relationships and the possessions, right, and the good meals and the... Good movies and all those kinds of things. Those are great, but if we want the lasting happiness, we need to make some time for our Dharma practice. Report an error in the passage at 18:39 Highlight the passage at 18:39

19:11 So then Lama Tsongkhapa gets into the root of the path. Before anything else, Tsongkhapa says, the root of the path meets back to the way you rely on a spiritual teacher. So you need to be clear and decisive about that. Report an error in the passage at 19:11 Highlight the passage at 19:11

19:28 So... The spiritual master, how important that is. I mean, if we want to get enlightened, if we want to get out of saṃsāra, we need someone who's going to help us get out of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 19:28 Highlight the passage at 19:28

19:44 If we're just looking for some temporary happiness, then it's not important. If we're looking for a good rebirth, it's not important either. We can just... Be kind to others and avoid non-virtue, and we don't need a spiritual master for that. But if we want to climb to the peak of Mount Everest, it's useful to have somebody who's done it before, right, who can help us along the path and warn us, okay, well that, if you go that way, you might, you know, you don't want to put your ice pick there because it may look like it's solid, but, you know. Report an error in the passage at 19:44 Highlight the passage at 19:44

20:29 You're going to fall into the crevasse if you do that, right? So finding a spiritual master, if we're serious about getting out of saṃsāra, finding a spiritual master who's done it, right? Who knows what they're doing, right? And can help us. Who has the wisdom and has the compassion, right? And who has the genuine wish to help us, right? Report an error in the passage at 20:29 Highlight the passage at 20:29

20:56 It's not for their own benefit, right? It's not... To make themselves feel good, right? But someone who's genuinely wanting to help, to get us out of saṃsāra, right? So a qualified spiritual master, right? Someone whose motivation is to help us and who has the wisdom, et cetera, right? So we check out the masters, right, until we're satisfied that they do have the qualities. And then it's useful to... Report an error in the passage at 20:56 Highlight the passage at 20:56

21:34 As we feel ready to entrust ourselves to that master, to start asking their advice, to try to follow their advice. Asking their advice isn't going to do much good if we don't follow it. So you know people like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, people like Gishidagpa, people like Chodin Rinpoche, in my opinion are all extremely qualified spiritual masters. Report an error in the passage at 21:34 Highlight the passage at 21:34

21:59 But we need to check it out for ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 21:59 Highlight the passage at 21:59

22:09 Well, actually essential if we want to get enlightened. And then just on a practical level, I think, you know, if we hang out with just other worldly beings, then that's what we focus on, right? We become an ordinary being, right? A worldly being. If you hang out with holy beings, we become a holy. Report an error in the passage at 22:09 Highlight the passage at 22:09

22:41 They're this living example. I remember when I first met Lama Zopa Rinpoche, he blew me away. I had no idea that beings like him existed. It blew my whole concept of reality and what's possible. It just blew me away that there was a being in this world, much less someone I met, Report an error in the passage at 22:41 Highlight the passage at 22:41

23:16 Every thought and every action is for the benefit of others, right, who has so much love and compassion. It just, I mean, it just made me cry just thinking about it. It's just amazing, right? And then you're around someone like that and you want to become like that, right? And that's also a proof that the path works, right? Report an error in the passage at 23:16 Highlight the passage at 23:16

23:39 It's like, okay, there are beings like that. Oh, how did they get to be like that? It's not like they were always like that. Oh, they got to be like that by practicing this path, the same path that we're trying to follow, right? So, so I say hang out with a holy being, you know? I mean, find what, you know, I mean, not, right, hang on to their coattails, but offer service to a llama. Report an error in the passage at 23:39 Highlight the passage at 23:39

24:17 It's just, it's amazing. Report an error in the passage at 24:17 Highlight the passage at 24:17

24:23 If Geshi Dogpa needs a ride somewhere, Janet's good at that. You know, I'm going to offer a ride. Yeah, no, he's got a car, so. But, you know, or offer him lunch or, you know, whatever. I mean, it's just, it's an amazing thing, right, to serve a Lama. It's like nothing else. Report an error in the passage at 24:23 Highlight the passage at 24:23

24:49 So, you know, in whatever way we can, with whatever talents we have, you know, to offer something. Report an error in the passage at 24:49 Highlight the passage at 24:49

25:02 A macrame plant hanger. Yeah. Like, wait, yeah. But, like, a good friend of mine, he's really good at building things, so build a stupa, right, for the Lama, right, or, you know, whatever, whatever. Report an error in the passage at 25:02 Highlight the passage at 25:02

25:26 So, Report an error in the passage at 25:26 Highlight the passage at 25:26

25:30 anyway, but, you know, we forget, I think if we just hang out with other worldly people, we forget that more is possible, but then you're around the Dalai Lama and you're... Mind is uplifted and you think, Report an error in the passage at 25:30 Highlight the passage at 25:30

25:50 God about that, right? So, anyway. Report an error in the passage at 25:50 Highlight the passage at 25:50

25:56 And then we practice, right, Guru Yoga. We practice appreciating the Lama's qualities. We practice remembering their kindness. And we need to practice that again and again and again and again, right? Because our ordinary mind is so used to finding faults with people. But, you know, once we take someone as our teacher, then it's... Report an error in the passage at 25:56 Highlight the passage at 25:56

26:17 Not productive to focus on their faults or their perceived faults. So we have to work on that. Report an error in the passage at 26:17 Highlight the passage at 26:17

26:30 Next, after relying on a spiritual teacher, Lama Tsongkhapa says, then if an uncontrived wish to take advantage of your leisure has arisen, it will urge you on to practice from within. So this is talking about the precious human rebirth, right? So if we really contemplate the precious human rebirth, Report an error in the passage at 26:30 Highlight the passage at 26:30

26:51 Pobongka Rinpoche says a sign that you've had the experience of that is that, what do you call it, you are overcome with joy. Report an error in the passage at 26:51 Highlight the passage at 26:51

27:02 It's like when we feel so grateful that we have this amazing life, right? Because, you know, because it's easy to lose perspective, right? But if we think about it, we are more fortunate than 99.99%. 9 % of the beings out there, right? If we just think about those poor people in Syria. Report an error in the passage at 27:02 Highlight the passage at 27:02

27:35 You know, I mean, all the people who are just struggling to survive or who just want some peace in their lives or who just want to be healthy or who just want to have a roof over their heads. Report an error in the passage at 27:35 Highlight the passage at 27:35

27:51 And those are people, right? Much less the animals. We are so... Incredibly fortunate, and we kind of know that intellectually maybe, but we don't necessarily feel that. And if we don't feel it, that means we haven't meditated on it enough. But when we meditate on the precious human rebirth, all of this incredible appreciation comes. It's amazing. Report an error in the passage at 27:51 Highlight the passage at 27:51

28:22 Oh my gosh, they're right. I'm so fortunate right now. Right? But that doesn't mean we're always going to be fortunate. We just have good circumstances right now. But it's not going to last if we don't keep creating the causes for it. Report an error in the passage at 28:22 Highlight the passage at 28:22

28:46 So when we reflect on the precious human rebirth enough, then we really feel inspired to use it well from within, right? It's not this kind of, oh, this person from the outside is telling me I should be grateful. But I'm so fortunate. I really want to practice. Report an error in the passage at 28:46 Highlight the passage at 28:46

29:13 Amazing. Report an error in the passage at 29:13 Highlight the passage at 29:13

29:19 So Lama Report an error in the passage at 29:19 Highlight the passage at 29:19

29:25 Tsongkhapa says, therefore, in order to generate it, right, this inspiration to practice, this joy to practice, you should meditate on the topics of leisure and endowments, right? The, what is it, the eight leisures and the ten endowments. Report an error in the passage at 29:25 Highlight the passage at 29:25

29:45 And it doesn't take very long, right? You can meditate on the precious human rebirth for a week, two weeks. It doesn't take very long to... Because it's obvious, right? It's obvious if we think about it that we're so fortunate. We just don't necessarily think about it. Report an error in the passage at 29:45 Highlight the passage at 29:45

30:08 Then Lama Tsongkhapa says, then if you do not turn around the attitude focused on this life, a serious endeavor for future lives will not arise. So this is talking about how it's so easy to just get caught up in this life, the busyness of this life, forgetting that, It's going to end. Of course, we don't want to think about it. And we all know intellectually that we're going to die, but we don't necessarily feel it. Report an error in the passage at 30:08 Highlight the passage at 30:08

30:46 We don't necessarily live from that understanding that Report an error in the passage at 30:46 Highlight the passage at 30:46

30:54 this incredible fortune that I have right now isn't going to last. Report an error in the passage at 30:54 Highlight the passage at 30:54

31:08 I remember Guy Newland, a couple of years ago, he was saying, you know, it's not that we're going around. Consciously thinking that people are immortal or that we're immortal, but then if someone close to us dies suddenly, we're surprised. Report an error in the passage at 31:08 Highlight the passage at 31:08

31:29 So that shows that on some level we were expecting things to keep going the way they are. Report an error in the passage at 31:29 Highlight the passage at 31:29

31:40 When somebody dies and we're surprised, that's a sign that we have this assumption. Some level of assumption, right? Report an error in the passage at 31:40 Highlight the passage at 31:40

31:55 So we need to meditate on it until we think about it, right? I mean, we think about it all the time. We're always aware of it, right? And we can live from that. I remember when I was in retreat in Spain and I was doing a lot of meditation on death. And one of the caretakers came to give me more wood or something for my wood stove. And he said something about, oh, well, you know, tomorrow. Report an error in the passage at 31:55 Highlight the passage at 31:55

32:26 Maybe I'll see you tomorrow. I said, well, if I'm alive tomorrow. And he just kind of looked at me like, what do you mean? What are you going to do? It was just something that was so foremost in my mind because I was meditating on it all the time. And it was just like this recognition that each day. Could be my last. And then, you know, I mean, it wasn't this heavy thing, but it was just to use this day well, right? And so, you know, I had that when I was meditating on it every day. Report an error in the passage at 32:26 Highlight the passage at 32:26

33:07 And, you know, now I'm back to thinking I'm immortal. But it's useful, right, to remember that. So then there's the nine-point death meditation, right, that are under the three headings. First of all, that death is definite, right? That one's pretty easy to get. The hard one is that the time of death is uncertain. Yeah, we all know we're going to die, but I think it's not going to happen for another 20 years. Report an error in the passage at 33:07 Highlight the passage at 33:07

33:46 Not to be depressing, but to help us use our time well. Report an error in the passage at 33:46 Highlight the passage at 33:46

34:01 Like Jeremy, right? Some time ago, right? He came into... and not, remember. Report an error in the passage at 34:01 Highlight the passage at 34:01

34:07 He was so shocked because his good friend was in a car accident and hit by a drunk driver. The legs were crushed and the pelvis was crushed and he was shaking and he thought, wow, I realize that this could happen to any of us. When you hear about it happening to somebody else, it doesn't really hit you, but when it happens to someone close to you, oh my gosh, that couldn't happen to any of us. Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:40 So, anyway, so it's useful to keep that in mind. Not to be in a constant sense of fear, right, but just a recognition, okay, let's use our life well. Right, because when people are close to death, their minds are very different, right? You don't, like, all of the garbage of life, you know, all of the unimportant things just fall away, right? Report an error in the passage at 34:40 Highlight the passage at 34:40

35:05 The things that we stress about, the things that we think are so important, just fall. It falls away. So when we remember death, we use our time well. And then the last point that we meditate on is how only Dharma will help at the time of death. So all of these things we work toward in our life, none of those are going to help, right? The money, our house, our friends and family, none of them are going to help us at the time of death. Report an error in the passage at 35:05 Highlight the passage at 35:05

35:39 What's going to help us at the time of death? The Dharma. Our llamas, right? Our llamas and whatever karma we've created in our life, that's what we bring to the next life, right? Our subtle mind stream and the karma that we've created. Nothing else. Everything else we lose. Everything else that we worked for, we get to leave behind. What kind of karma have we created? Report an error in the passage at 35:39 Highlight the passage at 35:39

36:19 What have we done with our minds in our life? Right? That's what we get to bring to the next life. And I remember, I remember when my father died. Well, actually, when he had a stroke. He had this, I mean, he was perfectly fine, right? I saw him two weeks before he had a stroke, and then he had this stroke, and it was a massive stroke, right? Report an error in the passage at 36:19 Highlight the passage at 36:19

36:47 And he was in Texas, and I had no idea what was going on. And I called, I think I called Venable Holly, and so the next thing I knew it, Lama Zopa Rinpoche's attendant was on the phone, and he hands the phone to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche talks me through this, right? And it was, it blew my mind. It blew my mind. You know, Rinpoche has how many students, right? Report an error in the passage at 36:47 Highlight the passage at 36:47

37:23 But when my father was in that condition, he talked to me for like 15 minutes on the phone. And he was, you know, he showed me, you know, he told me things like, oh, your father, he's more dead than alive now. And I had no idea what his condition was at that point. He's more dead than alive right now. This is what you need to do. These are the practices you need to do. This is what's going to help. You know, you need to focus on purification. Report an error in the passage at 37:23 Highlight the passage at 37:23

37:48 And I was just blown away, right? And he was right. You know, of course, he was right in terms of my father's condition and all of that. Report an error in the passage at 37:48 Highlight the passage at 37:48

37:58 The lamas can help, right? The Dharma and the lamas. Report an error in the passage at 37:58 Highlight the passage at 37:58

38:07 And then we meditate on impermanence and death. Report an error in the passage at 38:07 Highlight the passage at 38:07

38:15 So Lama Tsongkhapa says, therefore, apply yourself to meditation on impermanence. The fact that the body you have obtained will not last long and the way you will wander about in bad migrations after death. So the possibility, right, that the next life will not be as wonderful as this. And this is definitely something we don't like to think about. Report an error in the passage at 38:15 Highlight the passage at 38:15

38:41 We tend to think that the next life will be just a continuation of this one, right? We'll look the same. We'll still have like the same family and be in similar conditions, right? We don't think that the next life I could be this person on the street or that Dharma Report an error in the passage at 38:41 Highlight the passage at 38:41

39:07 center, right? Or the mosquito I just squashed, right? We don't think about that. But if Report an error in the passage at 39:07 Highlight the passage at 39:07

39:20 we're really honest, And think about, okay, what kind of karma have I created? We've all created a mixture of karma, right? We've created some really good karma. And we've all probably squashed a bug or two in our lives. We've all gotten angry or said something not very nice to somebody. Report an error in the passage at 39:20 Highlight the passage at 39:20

39:45 We've all created not just virtuous karma. So of course there's a possibility that our next life is not going to be. Report an error in the passage at 39:45 Highlight the passage at 39:45

40:00 Not in order to get down about it, but just to be realistic about it. So useful to do some purification, right? It motivates us to do a lot of purification. And to create the causes, right? To have a good rebirth next time. What's the cause? What are the causes to have a precious human rebirth? Well, what's the cause to have another human rebirth? Report an error in the passage at 40:00 Highlight the passage at 40:00

40:34 I'll have this at the top of your head. What's the cause to get another human rebirth? Report an error in the passage at 40:34 Highlight the passage at 40:34

40:47 Virtue. Yeah. I mean, that's ethics, pure ethics. They say pure ethics, right? Not just being nice all the time, you know, once in a while, right? But having pure ethics, right? Not so easy to have pure ethics. So that's just to have a human rebirth, much less a precious human rebirth takes even more than that. Report an error in the passage at 40:47 Highlight the passage at 40:47

41:11 It takes prayers and things like that too, right? So if we think, okay, well, do I have... Report an error in the passage at 41:11 Highlight the passage at 41:11

41:26 So let's try to have, right, practice virtue as much as possible and avoid non-virtue and to purify, right, when we do create non-virtue. Report an error in the passage at 41:26 Highlight the passage at 41:26

41:46 Just going back to the llamas, I had heard from someone whose parent had died and then this llama-like person had gone in there while this person was in the bardo. And kind of help guide this person. And I don't, I didn't know if that was, I don't know, true is the right word, but is that possible and that sort of thing? Report an error in the passage at 41:46 Highlight the passage at 41:46

42:16 I mean, have you heard of such things? The highly realized llamas can help a lot. I mean, how it all happens. But my partner, his father died a couple of years ago. And his llama told him, you don't have to worry about your father. I brought him to the Pure Land. Report an error in the passage at 42:16 Highlight the passage at 42:16

42:46 I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 42:46 Highlight the passage at 42:46

42:50 Does it matter? Right. And I know another friend of mine, he died of a heart attack. He'd been working for FPMT for years, you know, just really devoting himself to Lama Zopa. And after he died, Lama Zopa said, went to the Pure Land. Report an error in the passage at 42:50 Highlight the passage at 42:50

43:13 Went to the Pure Land. So I'm thinking. I don't know if it matters. Report an error in the passage at 43:13 Highlight the passage at 43:13

43:21 You know, it's good to serve the Lama, right? Yeah. So I'd say it's possible. Report an error in the passage at 43:21 Highlight the passage at 43:21

43:34 Another friend of mine, his daughter recently, his Lama, did lots and lots of prayers and practices for her. He told her. I mean, he told my friend. You don't have to worry about her. She's fine. Report an error in the passage at 43:34 Highlight the passage at 43:34

43:53 Mike, for Venerable Palmo. Report an error in the passage at 43:53 Highlight the passage at 43:53

44:02 But one of the things, though, I think that we all need to remember because I'd love to just like, you know, die and have some Lama take me to a pure land or, you know, with all the trumpets and all the other things that you hear about, flowers and bikinis and all that. But, you know, each one of those people that you mentioned also had the karma for that to happen. Report an error in the passage at 44:02 Highlight the passage at 44:02

44:28 We have to remember that like something doesn't happen from one side only. And that's like really, yeah. Good point. Exactly. Right, we have to create the causes for that. It's not just going to magically happen, right? I can do whatever I want and I'm just going to trust that the Lama will take care of me, right? But, yeah. Wait, Mike? Report an error in the passage at 44:28 Highlight the passage at 44:28

44:56 Mike. Janet's going to get on your case. it's just here, it's in here. Report an error in the passage at 44:56 Highlight the passage at 44:56

45:07 But even the people that aren't Buddhists, that weren't, like you said, your friend's father, had created some causes, maybe not even in his life, I mean, who knows? So it's really, I mean, it's fascinating, which kind of leads in almost to the next thing. Yeah, yeah, it's true. And they say, you know, the Buddhas or the Lamas can only help you if you have that karmic connection with that Lama. Report an error in the passage at 45:07 Highlight the passage at 45:07

45:37 as well, yeah, so. It's not just magic. And we don't have responsibility. Report an error in the passage at 45:37 Highlight the passage at 45:37

45:47 Buddhism is totally about personal responsibility. Everything that happens to us is because we've created the causes for it. If we don't create the cause for it, we're not going to experience the result. So yeah, that's a good point. Okay, so next. Responsibility, yeah. We have, we, I mean. Report an error in the passage at 45:47 Highlight the passage at 45:47

46:07 So once we've recognized that, okay, well, it's possible to not have such a wonderful life next time. Report an error in the passage at 46:07 Highlight the passage at 46:07

46:16 Lama Tsongkhapa says, at that time, a natural attitude of conscious fear will arise, so you should sincerely develop certainty about the positive qualities of the three refuges, abide by the vow of common refuge, and practice its trainings. Right, so... So then we think about, okay, well, what, who and what can actually help us to not be reborn in a suffering state next time? Report an error in the passage at 46:16 Highlight the passage at 46:16

46:47 So what's going to really help us? Is my job going to help me? Is my savings account going to help me? My retirement? My husband or wife? My best friend? My house? Report an error in the passage at 46:47 Highlight the passage at 46:47

47:07 What's going to help, right? So we really think about that. Oh, well, I guess I have to practice virtue. I have to practice Dharma, right? What's going to help? The Dharma, right? Practicing the Dharma. And the Buddha, right? And the Saṅgha, right? Or the Saṅgha in our community that will encourage us and help us, right? Then we take refuge from the heart, right? Report an error in the passage at 47:07 Highlight the passage at 47:07

47:39 When we see, okay, well. That's what's really going to help me. So really I'm going to take refuge in the three jewels. Ultimate refuge in the three jewels. It doesn't mean we can't take some Report an error in the passage at 47:39 Highlight the passage at 47:39

47:56 sort of worldly refuge in our savings account. We still need to have money. We still need to have a roof over our head. But ultimately knowing that our real refuge is the three jewels. Report an error in the passage at 47:56 Highlight the passage at 47:56

48:13 And who will help us? End our suffering forever, right? Who and what will help us end all of our problems forever? Report an error in the passage at 48:13 Highlight the passage at 48:13

48:28 Emptiness, right? What other than emptiness help us with that, right? We need emptiness to uproot the mental afflictions, right? Because as long as we have mental afflictions, we are going to have problems, right? We're going to have disturbed mind. We are going to create negative karma as long as we have mental afflictions, right? Report an error in the passage at 48:28 Highlight the passage at 48:28

48:51 So we just have to get rid of those mental afflictions. They are just troublemakers. And how do we get rid of mental afflictions? Report an error in the passage at 48:51 Highlight the passage at 48:51

49:06 None other than emptiness. No other path other than emptiness. To uproot the mental afflictions. We can always suppress the mental afflictions through concentration and things like that, but the only way to uproot them is to realize that the object of our mental affliction does not exist the way we think it does. Report an error in the passage at 49:06 Highlight the passage at 49:06

49:29 Oh, my mental affliction is dependent on a fantasized way of viewing things. It's a belief in a solid, concrete, real reality. Report an error in the passage at 49:29 Highlight the passage at 49:29

49:43 So we'll talk about, well, we've talked about that for a year, but we'll talk about that a little more. Then next. Then you should develop, from many angles, the faith of conviction in actions and their effects, right, in karma. The foundation of all white dharmas. Having made it firm, you should try hard to engage in virtue and counteract non-virtue, always entering the path of the four powers. So karma. Report an error in the passage at 49:43 Highlight the passage at 49:43

50:16 So really understanding, like really reflecting and really understanding that what is the cause of happiness? Report an error in the passage at 50:16 Highlight the passage at 50:16

50:26 Virtue, right? What is the cause of suffering? Non-virtue, without exception. If some problem is happening in our life, it's not... Really because of the external circumstance, right? That's, of course, a contributing factor. But we would not be experiencing that problem if we hadn't created the cause for that, if we hadn't created virtue, non-virtue, sorry. Report an error in the passage at 50:26 Highlight the passage at 50:26

50:54 I think that's really a hard place to get to, to really get there, to really, to have that instinctually, right, when a problem is happening, thinking, oh, well, that's... Because I created the cause for that, right? Instead of blaming the external, right? The person, the annoying person or the circumstance, right? Report an error in the passage at 50:54 Highlight the passage at 50:54

51:17 Really hard, right? But if we can really get there, you know, eventually we'll get there, right? Then there's no room for blame, right? There's no room to get angry. It's okay. That wouldn't be happening if I did the cause for that, right? Not in a, right, beating myself up way, but in a taking responsibility way, running to purify. Report an error in the passage at 51:17 Highlight the passage at 51:17

51:41 So remembering the four types of karma, the four laws of karma. What do you call those? The four characteristics of karma. The karma is definite in the sense of virtue always gives rise to happiness. Non-virtue always gives rise to suffering. No. Report an error in the passage at 51:41 Highlight the passage at 51:41

52:07 So even if it seems that the non-virtuous action, that lying led to my making more money, That lying actually wasn't the cause of making money. We wouldn't have made that money if we hadn't created virtue in the past. We hadn't practiced that generosity in the past. But that's hard, right? It's hard to really believe. So I think we just have to experiment in our own lives. Report an error in the passage at 52:07 Highlight the passage at 52:07

52:41 If we create more and more virtue, what happens in our life? I remember I was hanging out with my brother a few weeks ago. I have a brother who's pretty grumpy, you know, and he has a really good heart, but he's just so critical of others all the time, you know. He's just, he has a lot of anger, right? And so it was just very interesting to step into his world that day, and he was talking about how people are always out to get him, right? Report an error in the passage at 52:41 Highlight the passage at 52:41

53:22 And so we, so, you know. I'm like, what are you doing? He's like, I don't do anything. You know, I'm riding my bike down the street and somebody tries to, deliberately tries to run me over or yells at me or, you know, whatever. And so we went to this bike shop and there was this guy standing outside the bike shop and he just made some rude comment to my brother. Report an error in the passage at 53:22 Highlight the passage at 53:22

53:46 You know, we're just, we weren't doing anything. We just walk, I'm walking with my brother, you know, and this person makes a rude comment to him, right? Report an error in the passage at 53:46 Highlight the passage at 53:46

53:59 And then it was something else where we were walking in the parking lot and some guy in a truck makes some comment to him. It was really weird, right? You know, he really didn't do anything. But, you know, he created the karma for all this stuff to happen. And so he was telling me, he's like, yeah, this stuff always happens to me. Does that happen to you? Report an error in the passage at 53:59 Highlight the passage at 53:59

54:29 You know? Report an error in the passage at 54:29 Highlight the passage at 54:29

54:33 You know, so... So it's just interesting to see how, you know, different people have different karma for things. Report an error in the passage at 54:33 Highlight the passage at 54:33

54:45 Nicer to me now than it used to be, you know. Report an error in the passage at 54:45 Highlight the passage at 54:45

55:08 Do you have to wait until the light goes on? Report an error in the passage at 55:08 Highlight the passage at 55:08

55:14 I think I may be too clever about getting out of those situations where I start thinking immediately, okay, so I've got this karma and I guess it's here so I can do something about it. Report an error in the passage at 55:14 Highlight the passage at 55:14

55:34 You know, thinking immediately, like, what does your brother need to do? I can't think of any other way to deal with that sort of thing. Well, I mean, that's the point, right? We can't do anything about the karma we've already created except try to purify it, right? I mean, blaming ourselves isn't going to do any good. Report an error in the passage at 55:34 Highlight the passage at 55:34

55:55 But then, okay, well, what? What can I do now, right? Sort of, that's an opportunity almost. Yeah, yeah. It's like, first of all, what can I do to not... most. Yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 55:55 Highlight the passage at 55:55

56:06 Create more of the same karma. So the instinctual reaction would be to get angry. When someone's rude to you, to get angry. And that's exactly the karma, the action that will create more of the same. So we have to go against the grain. Practice patience. Don't say anything rude. Try to develop at least a neutral mind. Report an error in the passage at 56:06 Highlight the passage at 56:06

56:39 A compassionate mind would be even better, but that's not so easy, right? And to really stop creating the cause for that. Report an error in the passage at 56:39 Highlight the passage at 56:39

56:50 Like if we have a problem with Report an error in the passage at 56:50 Highlight the passage at 56:50

56:57 people always being rude to us, we need to be really careful about our karma. Okay, well what's the karmic cause of that? Oh, well, probably being rude to others. So it's good for us to be really careful not to be rude to others. To purify it and then be careful really to not be rude to others. Or if we have a lot of sickness, not harming others, right? Report an error in the passage at 56:57 Highlight the passage at 56:57

57:27 Not harming others and then like oftentimes we're advised to save lives, right? Liberate animals if we have a lot of health issues. So things like that. And the result isn't going to happen overnight, right? But that's how we stop that kind of karma, right? Stop perpetuating that kind of karma. I feel like, I keep thinking this, a couple of days ago, there's this one block that I walk my dog around and it's the only block in the neighborhood that seems to always have problems going on. Report an error in the passage at 57:27 Highlight the passage at 57:27

58:03 Somebody came up to me a couple of days ago and said, oh, these people are robbed and that's because these two kids were standing there and it's like all this kind of negative stuff going on. Report an error in the passage at 58:03 Highlight the passage at 58:03

58:16 And I think, oh, this block is... I find myself thinking, well, every time you park your car there, somebody who lives there is going to have a toad. They just find a way to get a toad. Report an error in the passage at 58:16 Highlight the passage at 58:16

58:29 And I'm always thinking, well, why is this in my world or whatever? For me, the only way I can understand the karma is, what is my part in it? Report an error in the passage at 58:29 Highlight the passage at 58:29

58:44 Because otherwise it gets very abstract and I don't seem to do anything about it. Yeah, karma is not abstract at all, right? We need to make it practical and real for us. What I noticed is, because I didn't like this block at all, a couple of times I'd be walking my dog and he'd be doing his thing and I didn't have a bag with me and I just let it there. Report an error in the passage at 58:44 Highlight the passage at 58:44

59:07 And usually I'd go back and I'd pick it up and I thought, you know, I'm contributing to this. This block, I've already decided that it's a bad block, so I'm treating it badly. And it was like not until I kind of saw that that did it click. But it's kind of like I had to see what I was doing in the moment. Isn't there usually something in the moment that's going on that some part that you find yourself caught up in that tells you what the karma is in some way? Report an error in the passage at 59:07 Highlight the passage at 59:07

59:20 Right. Right. Report an error in the passage at 59:20 Highlight the passage at 59:20

59:44 Well, karma is one of those extremely subtle phenomena that we don't know, right, exactly what the karmic cause is. But in the Lamrim, it tells, you know, in general, right, if, you know, and actually in Wheel of Sharp Weapons, if this is a problem in your life, then this is the cause, right? Sickness is from harming others, right? If, you know, whatever. You know, I mean... Report an error in the passage at 59:44 Highlight the passage at 59:44

1:00:10 So going to the Lum Rim, going to Wheel of Sharp Weapons, it'll tell you. We won't always know, but that will give us a general guideline. And then we just do the opposite. I mean, that's just a good general rule, is just do the opposite. And whenever you do, try not to create more negative karma. Just, you know, because we can so, when difficult things happen, we can so easily justify. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:10 Highlight the passage at 1:00:10

1:00:39 Not caring, we can so easily justify being rude, but that's just going to perpetuate the karma. So we just need to not do it, as best as we can, just not do it. Even if we can think of a lot of reasons where it would be perfectly fine in our own minds, perfectly fine in society to punish that person. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:39 Highlight the passage at 1:00:39

1:01:10 Doesn't do any good in the end. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:10 Highlight the passage at 1:01:10

1:01:15 So that's all I can say about that, right? When you go to the... I need to move on. Okay. But we can always talk about that more. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:15 Highlight the passage at 1:01:15

1:01:26 So the definite characteristic of karma, expandable, right? So a small cause can give a rise to a huge result, right? Like the oak, right? The acorn that can give rise to this huge oak tree. So not just ignoring just a small non-virtue that we've done, or a small virtue, right? Thinking, oh, it doesn't matter. You know, a very small result, or cause can give rise to a huge result, like in the story of the boy at the time of Buddha who offered sand, right, to the Buddha, but it visualized gold, right, and wished, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:26 Highlight the passage at 1:01:26

1:02:11 And so apparently, you know, as the story goes, that person... Attained our hotship, right? Largely because of that karma. Well, of course. And also with small non-virtue, right? There's also the story in the alarm room of, right, with somebody calling somebody, I don't remember exactly what it was, a monkey? And then being born 500 times as a monkey? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:11 Highlight the passage at 1:02:11

1:02:36 So, you know, not to ignore those negative karmas. Purify, purify, purify. Of course we're going to keep creating negative karma as long as we have mental afflictions, right? That's just a given, right? We'll just try not to as much as possible. And the negative karma we do create, purify, purify, right? Regret, purify. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:36 Highlight the passage at 1:02:36

1:03:03 So, and then we won't experience a result that we haven't created the cause for. And then the causes we create are never lost, right? It's not like, well, nobody saw. So maybe I'll get away with it, right? Karma doesn't work that way, right? So we need to purify it, right? It doesn't get lost by itself. Of course, we can purify anything though, right? That's the great thing is that we can purify any negative action, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:03 Highlight the passage at 1:03:03

1:03:41 Not that that means that we can do whatever we want because we can purify it, right? Because it's never going to be... It's not the same. If you create the negative action and you purify it, or if you don't do it at all, it's not the same. It's like the whole thing with the broken leg. You can break your leg and it will heal, but it's never going to be the same as it would have been if you never broke your leg. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:41 Highlight the passage at 1:03:41

1:04:13 So you can purify it, but it's never going to be the same. As if you hadn't created that action at all. So we still need to be careful about our actions. But when we do create a negative action, purify it. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:13 Highlight the passage at 1:04:13

1:04:40 So that's the initial scope. Are you needing a break yet? We'll go on to the intermediate scope. So the initial scope, we contemplate impermanence and death. We contemplate lower realms. We contemplate refuge and karma to help us. Think beyond this life, right? To help us think, okay, well, what? Oh, yeah, I'm going to die. Let's make sure or at least try to create causes so that next time around I'll have a good life too, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:40 Highlight the passage at 1:04:40

1:05:16 Even if we don't necessarily believe in future lives, but if we think there's a possibility, then we might as well try to create causes, try to create causes for a good life next time around. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:16 Highlight the passage at 1:05:16

1:05:31 Intermediate scope. All right, so it's not good enough just to have a good life next time around because guess what? That won't last either, right? So then we think, okay, well, we're stuck in this thing called saṃsāra, right? And as long as we're in saṃsāra, there are always going to be problems, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:05:31 Highlight the passage at 1:05:31

1:05:57 So then we, I think this is when we have to contemplate a lot, the disadvantages of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:57 Highlight the passage at 1:05:57

1:06:12 One of the disadvantages of saṃsāra is whatever Report an error in the passage at 1:06:12 Highlight the passage at 1:06:12

1:06:19 samsaric pleasures we experience, they will never last. Never last. It's insatiable, right? We have a good meal, and then we want another one, and then we want another one, and then we want another one. We have a good time, and then we want to have a good time again, and then again, and again. And there's never a time where we can say, okay, that was enough, you know. I had, that good meal was so good that I never have to have another good meal again. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:19 Highlight the passage at 1:06:19

1:07:01 Right? Right? You know. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:01 Highlight the passage at 1:07:01

1:07:13 So it's endless, right? So this, this. Like For you to even say that, it's like, ooh, it's so Report an error in the passage at 1:07:13 Highlight the passage at 1:07:13

1:07:19 This belief that samsaric pleasures will bring us satisfaction is an illusion, right? It can bring us some temporary pleasure and it causes us problems when we become attached to them, right? The samsaric pleasures aren't a problem in and of themselves unless we're creating negative karma, right, to experience them, right? The good meal doesn't create a problem unless we have attachment, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:07:19 Highlight the passage at 1:07:19

1:07:49 And then we have it again and again and again. Or if we get irritated because the meal was supposed to be hot and it came cold, right? Or, you know, if we have an attachment, then it becomes a problem. So some sarc pleasures are like drinking salt water to quench your thirst. You drink it and then it just makes you more thirsty. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:49 Highlight the passage at 1:07:49

1:08:18 So becoming attached to some sarc pleasures is insatiable. We'll never get to the point where we've... We're completely satisfied. So there's this quote by Lama Zopa. He says, how much we follow objects of desire, well, however much we follow objects of desire, we expect to have satisfaction, but the result is dissatisfaction. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:18 Highlight the passage at 1:08:18

1:08:48 We hope for satisfaction, so we try one more time. I'll do it again. To have an end to desire, to fulfill the desire, I'll do it again. I'll try again. Then you expect satisfaction, but in reality the result is only dissatisfaction. Again, we want more. So I think, you know, the Super Bowl was not that long ago. And I think about that in terms of that, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:48 Highlight the passage at 1:08:48

1:09:21 Like the team that wins, they're so happy, right? They won. And how long are they happy? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:21 Highlight the passage at 1:09:21

1:09:34 Maybe a week. And then the pressure begins to win again. Right? And then they, you know, and maybe they'll win again. And then, that's not enough, right? Then you have to win again and again and again. And it's the same thing for us, right? The samsar, right? The accomplishments, the, right? Maybe we get praise from somebody. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:34 Highlight the passage at 1:09:34

1:10:05 And then we want, and we feel really good, and then we want it again, right? And then we feel good, and then we want it again, and again. And then we feel maybe unhappy because we're unappreciated, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:05 Highlight the passage at 1:10:05

1:10:27 A job, right? You get a promotion, you get a raise, and you feel happy about that for a little while. And then you want another one, and then you want another one. And it's never enough. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:27 Highlight the passage at 1:10:27

1:10:43 And I told this story before about what Lawrence Olivier, apparently there was this time when he had this amazing transcendental stage performance in London. It was just a performance beyond all performances. It was just magical. And then someone came to him backstage afterwards to congratulate him. And he was distraught. And this person couldn't understand, what? It's the problem. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:43 Highlight the passage at 1:10:43

1:11:22 You just gave the performance of a lifetime, right? And that was the problem, right? That was the problem because he couldn't, you know, he couldn't repeat it. And that's the thing with samsaric pleasures. It's that it will bring you satisfaction and there's the pressure to do it again. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:22 Highlight the passage at 1:11:22

1:11:48 And we get caught up, like, in our lifestyle, right? We're attached to... A certain lifestyle, a certain level of comfort. And that limits us, right? I remember when I was in the business world, I was making good money and I was so busy trying to keep that job, right? And spending all this time doing things I didn't want to do because I was attached to making that money, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:48 Highlight the passage at 1:11:48

1:12:23 I was attached to that lifestyle. I was attached to the respect that I got from people. And so I'd spend all of this time, well I had to keep up because I was a consultant, so I had to read all these magazines and I had to read these newspapers and doing all of the stuff that was so not important and so not fulfilling because I was attached to that lifestyle. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:23 Highlight the passage at 1:12:23

1:12:50 So our attachments limit us, right? Limits us. Like from experiencing infinite. There's this, like we're so attached to saṃsāra, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:50 Highlight the passage at 1:12:50

1:13:10 Our lives, our comfort, our enjoyments, our entertainment, our friends, our family, we're so attached to that. Not realizing that's limiting us from experiencing something that's far greater, right? From being something like his Chodun Rinpoche, right? Who's... In my mind, in a pure land all the time, right? We all have that possibility. We all have that potential. But, well, I'd rather make sure I have enough money in my savings account and have a good meal. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:10 Highlight the passage at 1:13:10

1:13:55 So our attachments really limit us. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:55 Highlight the passage at 1:13:55

1:14:03 So we contemplate the disadvantages of saṃsāra. How, okay, we are working. We're constantly working for what? I mean, of course we need to make a living and all of that kind of stuff, but what are we really going for? Are we really going for more and more samsaric pleasures? Or are we trying to get out of saṃsāra? Because saṃsāra will never bring us lasting satisfaction. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:03 Highlight the passage at 1:14:03

1:14:35 And if we believe in beginningless lives, they say we've experienced it all countless times. We've had all the success. We've been rich many times. We've had wonderful relationships many times. We've had everything countless times. There's nothing new in saṃsāra. So we've experienced all of that countless times. And where are we now? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:35 Highlight the passage at 1:14:35

1:15:04 Where has that gotten us? Report an error in the passage at 1:15:04 Highlight the passage at 1:15:04

1:15:09 Well, we're at the Dharma Center, so that's pretty good. But anyway, so there's nothing new in saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:09 Highlight the passage at 1:15:09

1:15:23 Let's take a break. Next week's our last class. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:23 Highlight the passage at 1:15:23

1:15:32 last, last class. Yeah, last middle-length moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:32 Highlight the passage at 1:15:32

1:15:57 And now I get up, I'm like, oh! Report an error in the passage at 1:15:57 Highlight the passage at 1:15:57

1:16:01 I'm going to make an announcement before I forget. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:01 Highlight the passage at 1:16:01

1:16:13 you give a little update on you Oh, okay. A couple things. Reminder, you know, we're in that period between Losar and the Day of Miracles, right? Every day is a merit-multiplying day. We are, we're Report an error in the passage at 1:16:13 Highlight the passage at 1:16:13

1:16:37 in Dharma class, that's pretty good. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:37 Highlight the passage at 1:16:37

1:16:43 So, you know, so Thursday is the Day of Miracles, right? So that's the last day of these, you know. Incredible merit-multiplying days. And there's a 16 Arhat Pooja here on Thursday, 7 o 'clock. 7 o 'clock with Gishidagpa. So Gishidagpa's back. Very fun from its own side. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:43 Highlight the passage at 1:16:43

1:17:15 But Report an error in the passage at 1:17:15 Highlight the passage at 1:17:15

1:17:23 how wonderful to have Gishidagpa back for that. So Thursday. Thursday, two days from now at 7 o 'clock. So back Report an error in the passage at 1:17:23 Highlight the passage at 1:17:23

1:17:37 to... just, just, it's awesome. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:37 Highlight the passage at 1:17:37

1:17:39 The disadvantages of saṃsāra. Her situation Report an error in the passage at 1:17:39 Highlight the passage at 1:17:39

1:17:51 is an example, right? You know, her world was rocked, right? I mean, one day you think you're fine and the next day you go see the doctor and it's Report an error in the passage at 1:17:51 Highlight the passage at 1:17:51

1:18:08 not. So that's the other thing. So saṃsāra, saṃsāra pleasures will never bring us any lasting satisfaction. And the other thing, it's not very fun to hear, but anything can happen anytime. Our good conditions aren't going to last forever. Anything. Because we're controlled by two things, right? Karma and mental afflictions. Whatever happens is because of our karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:08 Highlight the passage at 1:18:08

1:18:38 And who knows what karma is going to ripen. So anything can happen anytime. So good to use our life well. And then mental afflictions. We've talked about the mental afflictions. The nature, right, of them is to disturb the peace of the mind. To disturb the mind, right? Attachment, right? We can have a wonderful time and as soon as attachment arises, Report an error in the passage at 1:18:38 Highlight the passage at 1:18:38

1:19:10 fear arises, right? Fear kind of goes along with attachment, right? Fear that I'm going to lose it. Fear it's not going to happen again. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:10 Highlight the passage at 1:19:10

1:19:22 We can have this wonderful, spacious, happy, joyful mind, but as soon as attachment comes, it tightens us, right? Our minds become tight. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:22 Highlight the passage at 1:19:22

1:19:32 So mental afflictions, they just disturb our happiness, disturb the peace of our minds, so we just have to get rid of them, the cause of all our problems. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:32 Highlight the passage at 1:19:32

1:19:50 So once we've meditated on this again and again and again, then we start wanting to get out of saṃsāra, right? And how do we get out of saṃsāra? Well, if we just want to get out of saṃsāra, we need to practice the three higher trainings. Ethics, concentration and wisdom. Ethics, concentration and wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:50 Highlight the passage at 1:19:50

1:20:15 Then we move to the great scope. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:15 Highlight the passage at 1:20:15

1:20:21 Oh, sorry, I forgot to read Lama Tsongkhapa. So Lama Tsongkhapa says, once you have thus internalized the cycle of teachings of lesser beings, you should think about the general and specific disadvantages of cyclic existence a lot. And turn your mind away as much as you can from cyclic existence in general. Then identify the causes from which cyclic existence arises, actions and mental afflictions, and develop the uncontrived desire to abandon them. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:21 Highlight the passage at 1:20:21

1:20:54 Apply yourself to the three trainings in general, the path of liberation from cyclic existence, and in particular to the vow of an individual liberation. Right, the prati moksha vows, you know, the lay vows, or, you know, monastic vows if we have them, but, you know, the not killing, stealing, lying, etc. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:54 Highlight the passage at 1:20:54

1:21:15 I actually have this interview that was, many of you know Venerable Rene, right? So he did a retreat for two and a half years, quite some years ago, you know. Anyway, so I came across this interview that was done with him just after his retreat. And I thought to read a little bit about this. Where? Yeah, did you read this? Report an error in the passage at 1:21:15 Highlight the passage at 1:21:15

1:21:48 So about the middling scope. So, right, this intermediate scope that we just talked about. So he was saying, I think the two main ones, right, so the two main points, right, the disadvantages of saṃsāra, for me were the unsatisfactory nature of samsaric pleasure and the uncertainty of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:48 Highlight the passage at 1:21:48

1:22:11 Contemplating those, you see that things keep on changing and that you have no control over what's going to happen. That as long as you're in saṃsāra, anything can happen at any moment. There's no certainty at all. And that no matter how much you have of anything, you never reach a point where you say, I've had enough of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:11 Highlight the passage at 1:22:11

1:22:35 I can stop that experience. These two I found very powerful for my mind. They're very simple intellectually. You don't need to think much. They're very easy to verify within one's own life. There's no way out of that. As long as we're in saṃsāra, wherever you are, you're always going to have those two. You're never sure of what's going to happen. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:35 Highlight the passage at 1:22:35

1:23:05 So there's always fear in part of the mind. If you don't have what you want, this is craving. And if you have what you want, If you do have what you want, then you have the fear of losing it because there's no certainty. So these two were very, very powerful. But Report an error in the passage at 1:23:05 Highlight the passage at 1:23:05

1:23:35 the fortunate thing is there's a way out and Report an error in the passage at 1:23:35 Highlight the passage at 1:23:35

1:23:42 we have it, right? We have it in the palm of our hand, right? Ethics, concentration and wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:42 Highlight the passage at 1:23:42

1:23:56 So based on that, okay, well there's no, as Tenzin Choki says, saṃsāra is a broken realm. It's fundamentally broken. We expect to get lasting happiness and we just can't, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:23:56 Highlight the passage at 1:23:56

1:24:20 She has a way with words. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:20 Highlight the passage at 1:24:20

1:24:27 Broken realm. Or as Guy calls it, the train wreck of saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:27 Highlight the passage at 1:24:27

1:24:36 Anyway, okay, so once we get that, you know, saṃsāra is just never, never going to bring us the lasting happiness that we want. Then we turn. To other sentient beings, I think they are in the same boat. So then we try to develop bodhicitta. How do we develop bodhicitta? Report an error in the passage at 1:24:36 Highlight the passage at 1:24:36

1:25:06 Starting with equanimity. Developing equanimity. Trying to eliminate the attachment and aversion for others. And seeing the kindness of others. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:06 Highlight the passage at 1:25:06

1:25:21 Developing the appreciation. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:21 Highlight the passage at 1:25:21

1:25:27 All sentient beings have been our mothers, etc. So the two methods for developing bodhicitta, the sevenfold cause and effect and the exchanging self and others. Seeing that actually all of our happiness really comes from cherishing others, from loving others, from giving to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:27 Highlight the passage at 1:25:27

1:25:49 And any kind of Report an error in the passage at 1:25:49 Highlight the passage at 1:25:49

1:25:55 selfish... Pleasure that we have, you know, pleasure for just myself or the success for myself, it doesn't bring deep satisfaction, right? There's like some temporary sense of accomplishment, but it's not very deep, right? But when we do something actually selflessly for somebody else, it's so much deeper, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:25:55 Highlight the passage at 1:25:55

1:26:25 Serving your Lama or... Doing something for your friend or doing something completely for them brings so much more of a deeper sense of fulfillment, right? A deeper sense of, wow, I'm doing something useful with my life, right? And then we see, okay, well, that's what brings more and more happiness, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:26:25 Highlight the passage at 1:26:25

1:26:52 Is giving up this ego, self-cherishing mind, which... Causing all my problems, right? That wanting appreciation for me or wanting recognition for me or wanting others to respect me or wanting comfort for me. We think that that's the cause of happiness, but we've been doing that since beginningless time. If that worked, we would be incredibly happy because we have a lot of practice with that one. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:52 Highlight the passage at 1:26:52

1:27:34 But counterintuitively, the more we cherish others, the more we have love and compassion for others and give up that self-cherishing, that need for something for me, then actually a much greater sense of happiness arises. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:34 Highlight the passage at 1:27:34

1:27:55 But of course, developing bodhicitta is not easy. It takes a lot of work, right? The desire to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:55 Highlight the passage at 1:27:55

1:28:10 Eventually, cherishing others is more important than ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:10 Highlight the passage at 1:28:10

1:28:20 So I have another quote from Lama Zopa about how emptiness helps with that. Because it's really hard to truly cherish others more than ourselves without figuring Report an error in the passage at 1:28:20 Highlight the passage at 1:28:20

1:28:47 out how to do this. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:47 Highlight the passage at 1:28:47

1:28:54 So, to bring it back to emptiness. Rinpoche says, All existent things exist as merely labeled by the mind. Because everything is just believed in by the mind, everything is completely empty of existing from its own side. The I is empty. Actions are empty. Objects are empty. Saṃsāra is empty. Happiness is empty. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:54 Highlight the passage at 1:28:54

1:29:23 Virtue is empty. Non-virtue is empty. Even enlightenment is empty. Hell is empty. Everything is empty. Because of this reason, emptiness, there is no basis to arise the concept of true existence, nor the minds of anger, nor the dissatisfied mind of desire. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:23 Highlight the passage at 1:29:23

1:29:48 So this also becomes the reason to renounce self and to cherish other sentient beings more than oneself. In this way it becomes a great support for the generation of the mind of bodhicitta, which involves renouncing oneself and cherishing others. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:48 Highlight the passage at 1:29:48

1:30:06 Once the real, unlabeled, independent I, which we normally apprehend as true and cherish on that basis, is realized to be empty, we automatically have the opportunity to reduce the strong selfish mind. It no longer appears as the most precious one amongst all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:06 Highlight the passage at 1:30:06

1:30:34 Realization of the emptiness of the self eliminates having a very gross selfish mind, Holding oneself is so precious and so important. Realization of emptiness makes it easy to see the benefits of cherishing others while acknowledging cherishing oneself as the source of only shortcomings. In other words, it helps us perform the practice of exchanging self for others. Additionally, by realizing emptiness, you're able to see the suffering of sentient beings more strongly. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:34 Highlight the passage at 1:30:34

1:31:09 This is because you realize the reason they are suffering is because they are clinging with ignorance to the existence of the I as existing from its own side. You realize that due to not having realized the emptiness of the I, action and object, it is easy for them to generate attachment, anger as well as all the delusions. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:09 Highlight the passage at 1:31:09

1:31:40 So, right, all of this suffering that we experience is unnecessary. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:40 Highlight the passage at 1:31:40

1:31:51 Realization of emptiness also leads to strong renunciation because you don't see any reasons to generate attachment. Then Report an error in the passage at 1:31:51 Highlight the passage at 1:31:51

1:32:03 by seeing how other beings are suffering unnecessarily due to ignorance, compassion arises. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:03 Highlight the passage at 1:32:03

1:32:11 So because we realize that the I that one cherishes so much is merely imputed, you can give it up because it has just been made up by labeling. I that exists. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:11 Highlight the passage at 1:32:11

1:32:31 What is the I that exists, right? The I that exists, the I that we're always trying to make happy, Report an error in the passage at 1:32:31 Highlight the passage at 1:32:31

1:32:43 findable, anywhere. There is no I locatable. There's no I that is real. There's no I that is solid. No I that is concrete. Anywhere. We always feel like there's an I in here somewhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:43 Highlight the passage at 1:32:43

1:33:06 And there, right, as Lama Tsongkhapa says. Our favorite quote, right? You the self. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:06 Highlight the passage at 1:33:06

1:33:19 I love that every time, right? That means, right? The real I, the inherently existent I, is nowhere. That also means the merely imputed I. Even the existent I is not findable anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:19 Highlight the passage at 1:33:19

1:33:42 What is it? Report an error in the passage at 1:33:42 Highlight the passage at 1:33:42

1:33:47 Something, it's a concept that we made up. It's completely a mental fabrication Report an error in the passage at 1:33:47 Highlight the passage at 1:33:47

1:34:00 relating to the body and mind. It's just a label referring to the body and mind, the constantly changing body and mind. It's just a label, just like the label here and there. There's no here from its own side or there from its own side. It's all dependent on where you're sitting. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:00 Highlight the passage at 1:34:00

1:34:25 This table is here from my perspective and is there from all of your perspectives. It's just a label depending on your perspective. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:25 Highlight the passage at 1:34:25

1:34:37 The eye is just something made up by the mind. And based on that, then we distinguish, right? Separate ourselves from others and take care of ourselves and, you know, neglect others. I mean, not so much like that, but right? We take better care of this. Body and mind that we label I than those that we label other, especially if we label them annoying or something, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:37 Highlight the passage at 1:34:37

1:35:14 But there is no I, there's no me findable, locatable anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:14 Highlight the passage at 1:35:14

1:35:29 And it exists. It functions. That's the tricky part, right? The middle way. Constantly changing body, constantly changing mind. And a label referring to that. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:29 Highlight the passage at 1:35:29

1:35:45 That's all it is, a label referring to that. And what you do matters, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:35:45 Highlight the passage at 1:35:45

1:35:58 The I does exist in that very subtle way as being just labeled independence on the body and mind. But there's no real essence of me, right? There's no real me. And I always like to go back to that example of the storm, right? Causes and conditions, wind, rain. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:58 Highlight the passage at 1:35:58

1:36:21 Starting over the Atlantic Ocean and then it moves, it reaches land and then becomes a hurricane. Constantly changing causes and conditions that we label storm. There's no real essence of storm. It's just constantly changing causes and conditions that we label storm. There's no real storm there. There's no thread through. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:21 Highlight the passage at 1:36:21

1:36:53 That is a storm. It's just a label on constantly changing causes and conditions. Same with the me. Same with the I. Constantly changing causes and conditions. And I am just a label referring to those constantly changing causes and conditions. No real essence of me. No substantial me. No real me. No permanent me. No unchanging me. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:53 Highlight the passage at 1:36:53

1:37:23 None of that. It's just a label referring to those constantly changing causes and conditions. And when we see that, right, there's no reason to cherish the constantly changing causes and conditions that we label I as more important than the constantly changing causes and conditions that I label you or other or something else, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:37:23 Highlight the passage at 1:37:23

1:37:51 There's nothing. So Rinpoche, Rinpoche, oh, I'm sorry, we're out of time. He says, right, in the case of ordinary labeling, we declare ourselves the most precious and the most important, even without depending on valid reasons. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:51 Highlight the passage at 1:37:51

1:38:15 In fact, there is not one single logical reason why you might be more precious and more important, but Report an error in the passage at 1:38:15 Highlight the passage at 1:38:15

1:38:27 there are infinite reasons for cherishing others. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:27 Highlight the passage at 1:38:27

1:38:34 so just lastly. Lastly, he says, Report an error in the passage at 1:38:34 Highlight the passage at 1:38:34

1:38:44 so there's not a single reason establishing that you're the most important one. Actually, if you do think up a reason, it becomes very funny. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:44 Highlight the passage at 1:38:44

1:38:56 Because usually you are happy to operate without one. He says, usually, whether or not our reason is right or wrong, it doesn't really matter because your self-cherishing is like... It is money. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:56 Highlight the passage at 1:38:56

1:39:11 A crazy mind, one not listening to reason. It doesn't depend on reasons. It is so stubborn, thick-skulled. He says, why do we do this? He says, just through the force or power of thinking, I want this or I want that. He says, that's all. If a reason is established, it is not real or valid, but just a joke. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:11 Highlight the passage at 1:39:11

1:39:58 Yeah, well that's good if you can, right? I mean it is, I mean if you think about it, it's really, right? It's really kind of ridiculous. Why would I be more important than everybody else? But that's the way we act, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:39:58 Highlight the passage at 1:39:58

1:40:17 I mean not all the time, but that's our instinct, most of us, right? Okay, there are only 7 billion other people on this planet, but who's the most important one? know Report an error in the passage at 1:40:17 Highlight the passage at 1:40:17

1:40:29 I'm a friend. I'm a friend. I'm a Precious and important one, right? Precious all the animals and all of that. Okay, so next week we'll finish the text and we'll talk a little bit about how to get realizations. Almost Report an error in the passage at 1:40:29 Highlight the passage at 1:40:29

1:40:51 four years, I think it was May of... I'm sorry. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:51 Highlight the passage at 1:40:51

1:41:06 So, Shantideva, page 246. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:06 Highlight the passage at 1:41:06

1:41:26 May all beings everywhere. Plague by sufferings of body and mind, obtain an ocean of happiness and joy by virtue of my merits. May no living creature suffer, commit evil or ever fall ill. May no one be afraid or belittled with a mind weighed down by depression. May the blind see forms and the deaf hear sounds. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:26 Highlight the passage at 1:41:26

1:41:47 May those whose bodies are worn with toil be restored on finding repose. May the naked find clothing, the hungry find food. May the thirsty find water and delicious drinks. May the poor find wealth, those weak with sorrow find joy. May the forlorn find hope, constant happiness and prosperity. May there be timely rains and bountiful harvests. May all medicines be effective and wholesome prayers bear fruit. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:47 Highlight the passage at 1:41:47

1:42:15 May all who are sick and ill quickly be freed from their ailments, whatever diseases there are in the world. May they never occur again. May the frightened cease to be afraid and those bound be freed. May the powerless find power and may people think of benefiting each other for as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:15 Highlight the passage at 1:42:15

1:42:36 Until then, may I too remain to dispel the miseries of the world. Let's Report an error in the passage at 1:42:36 Highlight the passage at 1:42:36

1:42:46 also dedicate for the complete recovery and full health of Chucky. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:46 Highlight the passage at 1:42:46

1:43:20 As well as Lama Tsongkhapa Rinpoche and Report an error in the passage at 1:43:20 Highlight the passage at 1:43:20

1:43:39 His long life, the long life of Geshe-Dogpa, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all our spiritual masters. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:39 Highlight the passage at 1:43:39