Discovering Buddhism - Transforming Problems (13 February 2014)

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2:02 A little too Report an error in the passage at 2:02 Highlight the passage at 2:02

2:25 close for now. Report an error in the passage at 2:25 Highlight the passage at 2:25

2:30 So Report an error in the passage at 2:30 Highlight the passage at 2:30

2:43 we'll start again with a little meditation. For people that have been away, we've been doing a little bit different breathing technique for a few minutes every beginning of the class. Bring ourselves here, settle our minds, kind of let go of the activities of the day. Report an error in the passage at 2:43 Highlight the passage at 2:43

3:19 I've been changing them and moving them from a grosser kind of breathing where we actually inhaled and exhaled and counted the breath at the pause to breath in the abdomen. And so, as, as... The body becomes less and less involved, and the mind just watches subtler and subtler breath. Report an error in the passage at 3:19 Highlight the passage at 3:19

3:51 It's like a way to work into a more common, and it depends what level each person is at, what will work the best at any particular time. And that can change over time, too. As you get skilled in... Maybe counting or watching it to the abdomen, you might move it up to the nostrils or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 3:51 Highlight the passage at 3:51

4:19 So what we'll do tonight is we'll just take a few minutes to kind of look, you know, watch our breathing and get settled and watch the breathing. Just kind of feel the breath going in and out of the tips of the nostrils. So that's much more subtle than... Following it all the way through the body. So we'll do that for a little bit. You know, just first always getting yourself adjusted and upright, comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 4:19 Highlight the passage at 4:19

4:56 Taking a few deep breaths, just kind of let the body let go and relax. Report an error in the passage at 4:56 Highlight the passage at 4:56

5:05 And start the breathing, focusing at the little sensation of air moving in and out of the nostrils if you see your mind. Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:20 that means like you're following the sounds or or any other thing. Just gently bring yourself back that breath. Report an error in the passage at 5:20 Highlight the passage at 5:20

5:34 going to do that for a few minutes. Report an error in the passage at 5:34 Highlight the passage at 5:34

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11:00 yeah, what's that? For me, breathing deeply, and I notice if I do a deep breathing, In combination with watching the mind, that if my mind starts going farther off, if I check my breathing, I'm breathing more shallow. Report an error in the passage at 11:00 Highlight the passage at 11:00

11:25 So it's really interesting that like the differences like your breath and then watching different objects. So it's good, like part of what we're doing with the eight verses is learning to be. Mindful of our thoughts so that we don't engage in actions that are negative. And so by kind of sharpening our concentration and sharpening our ability to kind of stay on an object, we can stay on that mind that's thinking all the time and kind of watch it. Report an error in the passage at 11:25 Highlight the passage at 11:25

12:01 Most of the time we just forget. Well, most of the time I just forget. Report an error in the passage at 12:01 Highlight the passage at 12:01

12:08 But anyway, so. So I thought it would be kind of fun to try different ones through the different classes, and then you can pick one that kind of resonates with you. Report an error in the passage at 12:08 Highlight the passage at 12:08

12:24 And I also am going to change what beginning prayers we do, because I don't like to have the same thing all the time. And when you're all setting up a practice, it's really nice to... Sometimes change it, but also to personalize it. Find a prayer that will inspire you to be kind or to help others, like the four immeasurables we've been doing for three weeks and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 12:24 Highlight the passage at 12:24

13:03 We have a certain refuge prayer that we've been doing, one that starts out with the Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṅgha. The truth is that the Guru is the foundation of all of those. The Guru is the source of all of the Buddha Dharma and Saṅgha anyway. And so I thought it would be nice to be able to do a different refuge prayer, maybe do it twice in English and once in Tibetan, because I love the lot of times they have. Report an error in the passage at 13:03 Highlight the passage at 13:03

13:37 And then I have another prayer we can do, kind of like to generate bodhicitta. So in the goal book, And I'm not sure, it might be in the white book, but I just looked at the gold book. On page 24, Report an error in the passage at 13:37 Highlight the passage at 13:37

13:56 the refuge prayer, we can say it twice in English, and then we'll try the tune in Tibetan. Some of you may be familiar with it, maybe some of you not, but we'll try that. The guru is Buddha, the guru is Dharma, the guru is Saṅgha also. The guru is the creator of all happiness. To all the gurus I go for refuge. The guru is Buddha, the guru is Dharma, the guru is Saṅgha also. Report an error in the passage at 13:56 Highlight the passage at 13:56

14:31 The guru is the creator of all happiness. To all gurus I go for refuge. Lama Sanghe Lama Chodejin Lama Report an error in the passage at 14:31 Highlight the passage at 14:31

14:55 So Report an error in the passage at 14:55 Highlight the passage at 14:55

15:19 now we'll go to page 120, and I know that you've all probably read this before, but this is a really nice prayer, and we can read the editions that Lama Zopa put in, including the bold italicized at the bottom. Report an error in the passage at 15:19 Highlight the passage at 15:19

15:47 Lord Buddha, make me an instrument of your peace. Where is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where is there decored unity. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is error, truth. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is sadness, joy. Where there is darkness, light. A divine master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled. Report an error in the passage at 15:47 Highlight the passage at 15:47

16:19 Happiness for the ego. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying having practice that we are born to eternal life, from happiness to happiness up to full enlightenment. May all beings effortlessly attain the transcendent blissful state of omniscient buddhabila. Report an error in the passage at 16:19 Highlight the passage at 16:19

16:55 So this to me just really seemed to fit with the verses because this is itself is a mind training, mind training in developing, cherishing others and bodhicitta and transforming our own minds. Report an error in the passage at 16:55 Highlight the passage at 16:55

17:26 So let's read together. Did people bring the verses that I gave them? We'll read together the first three. By the time we get to the end of the day, we'll have like half an hour through before we finish all, you know, reading the verses and doing our prayers. But we'll read the first three together with the determination to achieve the highest aim for the benefit of all sentient beings which surpass even the rich fulfilling gem. Report an error in the passage at 17:26 Highlight the passage at 17:26

18:02 May I hold them dear at all times. Whenever I interact with someone, may I view myself as lowest amongst all and from the very depths of my heart, respectfully hold others as superior. In all my deeds, may I probe into my mind and as soon as a mental or emotional affliction arises, may I endanger myself and others. Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

18:28 May I strongly confront them and avert them. So just a quick review on those three. The key features of all of the verses, basically, you probably got really sick of hearing me say this, is to diminish self-cherishing and cherish others, to develop bodhicitta and that leads us to enlightenment. So it's to do all of those three things. Report an error in the passage at 18:28 Highlight the passage at 18:28

18:58 And so verse 1 basically helps us to overcome anger, it's related to patience. Verse 2 helps us to overcome pride, it's related to humility. Verse 3, to me, helps us to develop mindfulness and learn to apply the appropriate antidotes. Report an error in the passage at 18:58 Highlight the passage at 18:58

19:32 How did last week go? Anybody have anything they'd like to share about working with this one? That's a really meaty one. Report an error in the passage at 19:32 Highlight the passage at 19:32

19:45 Your entire life can be put into that one. You can spend the rest of your time just working on that one verse. It's just so full. Anybody want to share? Report an error in the passage at 19:45 Highlight the passage at 19:45

20:05 You want to do the stick? Report an error in the passage at 20:05 Highlight the passage at 20:05

20:13 to be patient with, not so much anger with people, but just Report an error in the passage at 20:13 Highlight the passage at 20:13

20:25 Why didn't you go to this hospital? Report an error in the passage at 20:25 Highlight the passage at 20:25

20:31 to this office, and you wouldn't have a job. I didn't say that, but I thought that. You're having a bad day. You're going to be patient with her. Report an error in the passage at 20:31 Highlight the passage at 20:31

20:44 Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 20:44 Highlight the passage at 20:44

20:49 that's... That's a big step. We need to do the little steps like that. Report an error in the passage at 20:49 Highlight the passage at 20:49

21:15 There's getting patience and all kinds of little things that come up all the time. Even at the house, why didn't the dishes get put away? Why do I have to always put away the dishes? Well, I mean, I definitely, I mean, you know. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:33 You know, I mean, Silly little things, you know, that I'd watch and I think, you know, we should help me to be able to do that. Oh, not to mention that I had two teeth pulled on Friday, last Friday. And I was like all puffed up and I was like really sore. Like even today before I left, my mouth was getting a little sore. Report an error in the passage at 21:33 Highlight the passage at 21:33

22:01 It took a couple of times and I was like, I don't know how happy I could be. About being in pain. Let's see, maybe we can work on that a little bit. But, you know, I mean, the verses in the practice isn't to beat ourselves off. I mean, it's obvious if you're in pain and you can take Tylenol or something to alleviate it, by all means, do it. Report an error in the passage at 22:01 Highlight the passage at 22:01

22:33 But it's just a way of working. Yeah, I think Report an error in the passage at 22:33 Highlight the passage at 22:33

22:45 so. date. Report an error in the passage at 22:45 Highlight the passage at 22:45

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22:53 Is it on? Report an error in the passage at 22:53 Highlight the passage at 22:53

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23:46 Well, exactly. The advice is be patient with yourself for a long time. But also, see now, it's always easier for me to maybe have a little more patience with myself when I screw up than if somebody else does, screws up. It's like I always tell people, you know, I really... I don't want to lend this because I know that I could be patient with myself if I break it, but I'm not sure about it. You break it. You know, so let's be safe. Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:23 You know, or something like that. But I mean, it is, you know, patience is something to work with. And start with the small ones, like the smaller annoyances, you know. And one of the things. The idea that will work for any of the smaller ones and bigger ones, although the bigger ones are still harder, is to use the idea of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 24:23 Highlight the passage at 24:23

24:51 It's like, look at yourself. Where is this eye or who is this eye that's getting annoyed? Trying to find where, if there was a real eye. It's getting annoyed. You should be able to find it somewhere. Report an error in the passage at 24:51 Highlight the passage at 24:51

25:15 You might say, well, here, maybe here, maybe here, I don't know, depends. It might be in your chest, it might be in your head, somewhere. But if you look, you just, you can't find this eye that's getting annoyed anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

25:36 And then also, another way is to look for who's annoying you. Report an error in the passage at 25:36 Highlight the passage at 25:36

25:48 You know, where is this? this person, this, you know, it's like. What part of that person is Sue? Where is Sue amongst those bits that I'm looking at? Report an error in the passage at 25:48 Highlight the passage at 25:48

26:05 Because they're the ones that are really bothered. Sue just kind of vanishes. With no Sue, what are you going to do? Or you can even look at the words. Report an error in the passage at 26:05 Highlight the passage at 26:05

26:23 Whatever it is, whatever the words are that trigger the, if it is words at all, trigger the emotion, you can look at the words and you can kind of start to break those down. So what is it in these words? This is just like if you think, well, let's see. It's like air coming out somebody's mouth and it's vibrating through space. Report an error in the passage at 26:23 Highlight the passage at 26:23

26:49 Vibrating little hairs in my ears, and it's coming in, and then I'm hearing this in a certain way, but what is it? What, you know, like, I'm hearing these words, so what is it? What word? What is it about that combination of words that's upsetting me? You know, when you start looking like that, you don't have time to be angry anymore. Report an error in the passage at 26:49 Highlight the passage at 26:49

27:13 It's like, oh, gee, is this this letter, you know? Is it that letter? You start breaking it apart, you know, which part, what of all of that is making me angry? It's kind of a funny little way to look at it. I love breaking apart stuff, like little words. Because I've got my, Report an error in the passage at 27:13 Highlight the passage at 27:13

27:42 well, I mean, are you still upset or are we not upset? Report an error in the passage at 27:42 Highlight the passage at 27:42

27:52 Well, I mean... Sometimes I just have to just let it sit. It depends. See, it's like with the smaller ones, it's easier. With the bigger ones, it's harder. And so it takes practice. Report an error in the passage at 27:52 Highlight the passage at 27:52

28:08 And, you know, then there's all the antidotes that are on the page, too, that I gave you last week for the homework. And I have one for you, Red. I don't know. Did that answer any? Did that? No. Okay. Those are things that weren't necessary. It was kind of put down on the sheets and all was like, you know, look at the emptiness of it. Report an error in the passage at 28:08 Highlight the passage at 28:08

28:40 Or depending arising. They're yelling at me now. Like sometime my friend would snap at me at home. Not joking. Somebody else. I just want to make it really clear. Report an error in the passage at 28:40 Highlight the passage at 28:40

29:01 In case somebody listens to the tape. This was before. But, you know, sometimes I would say something and I'd get this kind of like, it felt like a snappy answer back. And I'd like stand there and go, why are you snapping at me? And then like this little voice would pop up in my head. You know why? You know, because I've snapped at other people, whether I've snapped at her or anybody, I've snapped and so they're snapping back. Report an error in the passage at 29:01 Highlight the passage at 29:01

29:43 So we're going to talk about karma in the class today because I know it came up last week and so I wanted to go over the karma part again because it's really instrumental in the next few verses in terms of ways to look at it and ways to turn your mind. Report an error in the passage at 29:43 Highlight the passage at 29:43

30:04 the screen, but that's only, oh, test the mic to speak. Report an error in the passage at 30:04 Highlight the passage at 30:04

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30:44 One of the solutions is if you know that you get cranky when you get really tired then yeah go to bed earlier or take care of yourself so you don't get really tired. tired. Report an error in the passage at 30:44 Highlight the passage at 30:44

30:59 It's like if you get really cranky when you get a headache and you have a pill that you can take that'll stop the headache and then stop the crankiness because that just leads to more crankiness. And then if you're cranky at somebody else, they're going to be back at you in another life or this life or whatever. You know, you just do, you know, some of this stuff doesn't have to be all like mental. Report an error in the passage at 30:59 Highlight the passage at 30:59

31:24 It could be just like as easy as, you know, go to bed earlier. Report an error in the passage at 31:24 Highlight the passage at 31:24

31:30 So that you don't put yourself in a position where you would be creating negative karma. If you get cranky when you're hungry, don't let yourself get so starving that you're going to bite off some of the poor little waiter's head. Report an error in the passage at 31:30 Highlight the passage at 31:30

31:47 Have something to eat before that. So what you want to do is you want to pull the reins in on... On whatever is throwing you into these negative emotional states. Report an error in the passage at 31:47 Highlight the passage at 31:47

32:07 So some of it's just really practical stuff and some of it really takes a lot of mind training. Report an error in the passage at 32:07 Highlight the passage at 32:07

32:18 You could analyze about that too. You could work with your mind on the crankiness or getting a little upset with people or whatever it is. Report an error in the passage at 32:18 Highlight the passage at 32:18

32:39 Is that okay? Report an error in the passage at 32:39 Highlight the passage at 32:39

32:46 We need to do a whole combination of things. Report an error in the passage at 32:46 Highlight the passage at 32:46

32:53 Oh, yeah, absolutely. Report an error in the passage at 32:53 Highlight the passage at 32:53

33:00 Yeah, yeah. I remember back in the 70s, I was living in a big house and working in an office. It was kind of like a self-awareness kind of thing. There were some days that I would wake up and for, you know, No reason that I really knew. I would just feel like hitting anybody I saw. Report an error in the passage at 33:00 Highlight the passage at 33:00

33:30 And it was really kind of amusing to watch. I, of course, didn't act it out. Sometimes I'd tell my friends, I'd go, wow, it's really interesting today. But I just have this feeling like I just want to hit anybody on the mirror. Report an error in the passage at 33:30 Highlight the passage at 33:30

33:50 They go, oh, oh, oh. But no, you know. But, I mean, you know, sometimes these things just will pop up, you know, some kind of a karma that's ripening. Then we need to deal with it. So if you, you know, if you get really tired and you start to feel that emotion coming up, you can just acknowledge the emotion without... Report an error in the passage at 33:50 Highlight the passage at 33:50

33:54 just, you know. Report an error in the passage at 33:54 Highlight the passage at 33:54

34:20 acting on it. You can just let yourself feel it. Report an error in the passage at 34:20 Highlight the passage at 34:20

34:26 just kind of, you know, just see how it is. We don't always understand why something is coming up, and we don't need to. But what we do need to try to do is to look at it and learn to, in a sense, make friends with it. Report an error in the passage at 34:26 Highlight the passage at 34:26

34:54 Because if we're fighting ourselves, and we're fighting... The negative emotions, they're just going to be popping up stronger. Report an error in the passage at 34:54 Highlight the passage at 34:54

35:06 It's like I read a quote, I don't know if exactly it was from Abraham Lincoln, but basically what he said, in better words, was the way to rid yourself of enemies is to make them your friends. Report an error in the passage at 35:06 Highlight the passage at 35:06

35:32 So that doesn't mean that you say, oh boy, I could be angry as much as I want and it's okay. That's not what I'm saying. Report an error in the passage at 35:32 Highlight the passage at 35:32

35:45 But I'm saying recognize what's going on and do what you can to work with it in a positive way. Report an error in the passage at 35:45 Highlight the passage at 35:45

36:15 So did you work with trying to apply antidotes during the day or just maybe in meditations? try it during walking around trying to see if they can catch something and apply an antidote right on the spot. Report an error in the passage at 36:15 Highlight the passage at 36:15

36:43 Yeah, yeah, that's a good one you should. Report an error in the passage at 36:43 Highlight the passage at 36:43

36:55 Okay, well, so let's. look at the first My writing is horrible. It's a good thing you got it. Report an error in the passage at 36:55 Highlight the passage at 36:55

37:11 When I see beings of unpleasant character, oppressed by strong, and here strong is like I almost underlined it on the board, strong negativity and suffering. May I hold them dear, for they are rare to find, as if I have discovered a jeweled treasure. Report an error in the passage at 37:11 Highlight the passage at 37:11

37:38 So, again, let's break up into two Report an error in the passage at 37:38 Highlight the passage at 37:38

37:49 groups of three and one of four, and you can discuss. Just kind of discuss this one a little bit between yourselves and look at what might be a benefit or the benefits of working with this verse and what would possibly be difficult. Report an error in the passage at 37:49 Highlight the passage at 37:49

38:14 And then we'll have somebody from the group share kind of what we come up with. Report an error in the passage at 38:14 Highlight the passage at 38:14

38:26 Oh, it's on your page too. verses, and I'll give you to you, Ray. The verses that I gave you last week, the longer set that says from the book Transforming the Mind, those are the verses that we're using for the class. So you can use that. Report an error in the passage at 38:26 Highlight the passage at 38:26

39:10 So try to mix up your groups. through threes and one four and try to sit, you know, talk with different people. This is the verses that we've been using. This is kind of a simpler version. It's from FPNT website, just so you can kind of get an idea of the differences. And then this is all of the stuff about the antidotes. Report an error in the passage at 39:10 Highlight the passage at 39:10

39:50 Yeah, let's see. So it looks like we need, we need, we need one group of, we need two more groups, we got one group of four, so we need two groups of three. Report an error in the passage at 39:50 Highlight the passage at 39:50

40:02 Steve went to the restroom. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, yeah, no, Jage, Jage, yeah, Jage, Matt and Steve can, can, yeah, Report an error in the passage at 40:02 Highlight the passage at 40:02

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40:49 but strong, key, strong. Report an error in the passage at 40:49 Highlight the passage at 40:49

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48:29 So Report an error in the passage at 48:29 Highlight the passage at 48:29

48:41 does Steve want to start? He doesn't want, Steve doesn't, Steve says, thank you. A Report an error in the passage at 48:41 Highlight the passage at 48:41

48:58 jewel treasure. Report an error in the passage at 48:58 Highlight the passage at 48:58

49:03 Maybe J.J. is going to be appointed. Okay. Let's see, wait, let's use the talking stick. Let's see, I'm not sure. I think the red button is on. The red button is on. Oh, I think we missed it all through the whole part. Now I can hear it. I really relate to this verse personally. I've seen it expressed before and more simply as difficult people. People you have difficulty with are more valuable. Report an error in the passage at 49:03 Highlight the passage at 49:03

49:44 It's something I've been working on in my life. Report an error in the passage at 49:44 Highlight the passage at 49:44

49:50 My personal idea is what this is really saying is that, quote, difficulty isn't something that exists outside of yourself. It's something that you project to Report an error in the passage at 49:50 Highlight the passage at 49:50

50:05 the opportunity of yourself. Why do you define this situation? Report an error in the passage at 50:05 Highlight the passage at 50:05

50:17 I think we also read that these people aren't that rare. Report an error in the passage at 50:17 Highlight the passage at 50:17

50:33 Well, they're talking about, see, it's like oppressed by strong negativity. This doesn't mean your average Joe that, you know, that occasionally will get upset with you. But this is like, we're talking about somebody that is just a really bad disposition. Somebody that you would sooner not be with at all. Report an error in the passage at 50:33 Highlight the passage at 50:33

50:56 So that's why I said that really key is strong and almost underlying strong. This is one that's kind of out of control. Report an error in the passage at 50:56 Highlight the passage at 50:56

51:12 So there are fewer of them. Most of us, you know, but it is valid to start with those like what we're speaking of. That's included, but the verse is mainly speaking of like pushing our comfort zone to incorporate those that normally we would be pushing away. Report an error in the passage at 51:12 Highlight the passage at 51:12

51:46 So, a difficulty? Report an error in the passage at 51:46 Highlight the passage at 51:46

52:07 That our minds are so reactive and we tend to see these, that this difficulty is innate, Report an error in the passage at 52:07 Highlight the passage at 52:07

52:24 drawing it back, you know, Report an error in the passage at 52:24 Highlight the passage at 52:24

52:30 unfairly taken advantage of. It's hard to do. Yep. So, let's see, maybe we can just go right across the road to somebody on that. the other side there. Report an error in the passage at 52:30 Highlight the passage at 52:30

52:49 use this. Who's this spokesperson? Report an error in the passage at 52:49 Highlight the passage at 52:49

52:54 we also thought that is that is it on oh okay The part about where they are rare to find, Report an error in the passage at 52:54 Highlight the passage at 52:54

53:08 agreed that that's not very difficult. But what we were thinking about the benefits of this first is that kind of... Report an error in the passage at 53:08 Highlight the passage at 53:08

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53:51 The difficulty is that sometimes it's difficult for us. For example, for me, it just seems like something happened to you and you have a perspective about it. And then another person has experienced the same thing and they have a different perspective. Report an error in the passage at 53:51 Highlight the passage at 53:51

54:39 We sort of said the same thing. We were at a binder. We had some issues. We kind of felt the same thing, but then we read it over again and we kind of... I took apart some of the words and we thought, when I see beings, among plants of character, and we all immediately took it to assume that someone's doing something, but when I see beings, that doesn't mean that they're necessarily, so Report an error in the passage at 54:39 Highlight the passage at 54:39

55:04 that's, that kind of what, and then oppressed by strong negativity, the word pressed, and Sam talked about, you know, like that came to animals, that was a horrible situation where I'd lash out, and that, that would be Report an error in the passage at 55:04 Highlight the passage at 55:04

55:26 horrible to be. Like this. Report an error in the passage at 55:26 Highlight the passage at 55:26

55:35 So the biggest difficulty was finding the rarity of these people. That's really funny. Report an error in the passage at 55:35 Highlight the passage at 55:35

55:51 Is it still there? No, Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51

56:09 no, Report an error in the passage at 56:09 Highlight the passage at 56:09

56:39 no, that's good because then we can address that. That's why I really do these discussions first so if something comes up. anyway. Report an error in the passage at 56:39 Highlight the passage at 56:39

55:53 I didn't feel it all good. Report an error in the passage at 55:53 Highlight the passage at 55:53

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56:48 Then we can make sure that we dress it. Report an error in the passage at 56:48 Highlight the passage at 56:48

56:53 was like rejoice. Report an error in the passage at 56:53 Highlight the passage at 56:53

57:18 way we're making foods has to be cured. That was very insightful. We don't want to miss that insight. Somebody will just say, oh, what did he say? It just sounded like it was going to be so good and I can't hear. Report an error in the passage at 57:18 Highlight the passage at 57:18

57:37 All right, I'll try to remember it. Report an error in the passage at 57:37 Highlight the passage at 57:37

57:42 It's not that these people, we're supposed to be happy about finding these people or feel good about ourselves. It's that they're supposed to, their value is in inspiring us to look inside ourselves and understand our reaction to them. Report an error in the passage at 57:42 Highlight the passage at 57:42

58:02 They're going to continue to go with their karma and be who they are. It's not going to affect them at all. But, you know, we can hopefully affect ourselves in some way, and the whole world. Report an error in the passage at 58:02 Highlight the passage at 58:02

58:22 suffering. Those kind of reactions You may feel righteous, but you're still suffering. It's not enjoyable. Your blood pressure goes up. You find you're snapping at people around you. If something happens... you explode the wall and it hurts, you know, it's, it's not, it's, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 58:22 Highlight the passage at 58:22

58:53 big bill for fixing the law. Yes, sir. That's it. Report an error in the passage at 58:53 Highlight the passage at 58:53

59:02 Yeah, those were good because... There's nothing in the verse that indicates that we should be ecstatic or so happy. that we found them, I mean. Report an error in the passage at 59:02 Highlight the passage at 59:02

59:23 It's like you realize how valuable that person is to you. And the fact that they're valuable can be like, you can be happy to be around them because you know that it pushes you, that you know that it will help you to develop that compassion. that gauges all through your mind. Report an error in the passage at 59:23 Highlight the passage at 59:23

59:55 that you can end it with that. As we get into the verses, you'll see that things will be coming at us. This one doesn't necessarily indicate things coming at us. Report an error in the passage at 59:55 Highlight the passage at 59:55

1:00:10 So let's look at the verse a bit. So basically in general, it covers three types of people. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:10 Highlight the passage at 1:00:10

1:00:28 One of those types are people who are overwhelmed by anger or greed or stupidity, meaning ignorance, total ignorance. Somebody who by nature is very cruel or rough or nasty or unpleasant. And when they say nature, it doesn't mean that's their true nature, but just the way that they express themselves in the world now is like cruel, rough, nasty, unpleasant. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:28 Highlight the passage at 1:00:28

1:01:00 Basically, the kind of person that you just will see leave over there, away. So another type of person is one who creates horrible negative actions. Some of the examples that they gave were like people that have taken vows and transgressed them in a big way. Some of the horrible negative deeds would be like... Report an error in the passage at 1:01:00 Highlight the passage at 1:01:00

1:01:31 killing or harming someone else. can have people that have taken vows we have vows like refuge vows not to steal but know or somebody's ordained and they take things that belongs to the spiritual community and uses it for their own personal use or for their own personal purposes or like a lay person who's Working for a center that's taking vows and not to steal, that takes things or money that was given to the center and uses it for their personal purposes. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31 Highlight the passage at 1:01:31

1:02:10 Well, no, I'm not saying that that happens at all. And I know that this doesn't happen at this center at all. But, I mean, those were examples particularly that they used in the tax that's on the mine train. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:10 Highlight the passage at 1:02:10

1:02:28 Huh? Yeah, yeah. There are places where those kinds of things happen. Or, you know, there's sometimes people take celibacy vows and then they're either having relationships or, you know, really presenting a really bad image. I mean, it's like really going seriously into negative behavior. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:28 Highlight the passage at 1:02:28

1:02:56 That kind of thing. And then there's also those that are suffering from terrible illnesses, terrible deformities or incurable or contagious diseases. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:56 Highlight the passage at 1:02:56

1:03:11 You know, just, you know, you hear the thing and the disease and it kind of puts you off. You know, sometimes you just don't want to be around certain types of people. Jesus, you know, and him. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:11 Highlight the passage at 1:03:11

1:03:26 And I'm not saying that that's all of you. Some of you, I'm sure, are fine with that. And some people, though, you know, if they hear, it's like when AIDS was kind of young in its time. You know, you found out, and sometimes in countries still, certain places, you find out somebody has AIDS and nobody wanted to be near them. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:26 Highlight the passage at 1:03:26

1:03:46 You know, things like that, you know, leprosy. You know, like Mother Teresa working with lepers, other people would just kind of keep their distance and not get too close. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:46 Highlight the passage at 1:03:46

1:04:03 So people that are suffering from these really severe illnesses or deformities, you know, some people don't want to be around somebody that, you know, has funny looking eyes poking in the wrong directions or all kinds of stuff like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:03 Highlight the passage at 1:04:03

1:04:22 Just kind of ignore them or just let them aside rather than embracing them and seeing how we can maybe help them or something like that. So those are basically three types of people. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:22 Highlight the passage at 1:04:22

1:04:44 So basically Report an error in the passage at 1:04:44 Highlight the passage at 1:04:44

1:04:53 I think the verse helps us to increase our equanimity because we've been working on Equanimity and wanting to be able to help people. Generally, we want to help people that we like or people that are pleasant. In this case, it makes us look at those people that generally we try to hold at arm's length and trying to equalize our desire to help them just as much as we help our friends. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:53 Highlight the passage at 1:04:53

1:05:36 So we all have to look at where we're at with this and kind of, you know, just watch and try to expand slowly. You know, you don't want to just jump in. It's like jumping into the 10-foot end of the pool and you haven't even learned to swim yet. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:36 Highlight the passage at 1:05:36

1:06:00 So we're going to start just, you know, getting the toe wet and working our way up. So it helps to increase equanimity. And it helps to develop stronger compassion, because, you know, compassion, you know, towards the people that are, you know, maybe some of our friends, and they get upset, and they can have some compassion, they're staying low, they're just having a rough day. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:00 Highlight the passage at 1:06:00

1:06:32 But you might get this really nasty person, and all you want to do is bash them. No compassion. It's like, just get over it. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:32 Highlight the passage at 1:06:32

1:06:44 So, you know, it helps us to do that. Geshe Chekhoa's commentary on the eight verses of mind training says, we should feel compassion toward them as though they are being led away by the king's execution. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:44 Highlight the passage at 1:06:44

1:07:03 So, why? Because their suffering is so great. And that's why it's wrong. Each one of those three types of people has a huge amount of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:03 Highlight the passage at 1:07:03

1:07:19 So like if you try to imagine the suffering if you were being led away to your execution, it would be pretty unbearable. You wouldn't be able to stop it. You know you're just going to get killed. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:19 Highlight the passage at 1:07:19

1:07:39 It's just a huge amount of suffering in that example. It's the kind of suffering that people that are rough or ill-behaved. Or really severely ill might be going through a similar type of suffering. Why? Because they're out of control. They have no control over it. Just like if you were being led to be executed. You have no control over it. Whether you want to do it or not, you'd be stuck. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:39 Highlight the passage at 1:07:39

1:08:15 And so it'll help us as we look at that, try to put ourselves into those places. Imagine how it would be to have a mind that's so distraught or disturbed that it would cause those kinds of reactions. And that is like all the time. Almost like those afflictions and that afflicted state of mind is just driving me. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:15 Highlight the passage at 1:08:15

1:08:55 They're just out of control. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:55 Highlight the passage at 1:08:55

1:09:04 Then this brings us also to the contemplation of karma and the afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:04 Highlight the passage at 1:09:04

1:09:13 So seeds were planted due to past actions and our habituations and tendencies from past lives arise in this life and they're strengthened by actions that we do in this life and they tend to grow. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:13 Highlight the passage at 1:09:13

1:09:42 If we look at the behavior that people are engaging in in this life, it will pretty much show us, and ourselves too, whatever we're doing now kind of gives us a little glimpse into what we may have done in the past. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:42 Highlight the passage at 1:09:42

1:10:07 And how we respond to it now will give us a glimpse of how we may be in the future. So these people... In the past have been driven by whatever affliction, could be anger, it could be detachments, it could be all kinds of things, any combination of them that is manifesting now as a really rude, insensitive, mean person. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:07 Highlight the passage at 1:10:07

1:10:38 Maybe they enjoy killing people. You have to figure that is a really distressed moment. That is just... Just so, so horrible. It's hard to try to imagine. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:38 Highlight the passage at 1:10:38

1:10:59 But they're kind of thrown by their karma, almost out of control. And it just will, we know that it will perpetuate itself in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:59 Highlight the passage at 1:10:59

1:11:15 So karma, you know, it helps us to really look at, well, this is their karma. And then the fact that we're seeing them. It's also our karma. There's no accidents that anybody is anywhere that anything happens that's random. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:15 Highlight the passage at 1:11:15

1:11:39 It's like it's all ripening karmas and everybody like we're all, you know, and I can't tell you why, but we're all here listening to a Dharma talk because of all these little karmic seeds that we all planted in the past that brought us all here to be interested in Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:39 Highlight the passage at 1:11:39

1:12:00 So, what I wanted to do was kind of just review very, very basics, and I know most of you go, I mean, you already know, I'm sure, but just the very basics about karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:00 Highlight the passage at 1:12:00

1:12:19 So, you know, what we do is the translation of karma from Sanskrit is action. It's also sometimes called habituation, cause and effect. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:19 Highlight the passage at 1:12:19

1:12:36 So, how is it created? Parma arises from the afflictions like anger, compassion, ignorance, Report an error in the passage at 1:12:36 Highlight the passage at 1:12:36

1:12:48 pride, negativeness, all of these, jealousy, any of the afflictions, and there's a whole bunch of them, maybe I'll see if I can put together all of the little list of afflictions, mental factors they call it. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:48 Highlight the passage at 1:12:48

1:13:08 So and then the afflictions arise from self-cherishing and self-cherishing arises from self-grasping. So the root of all the afflictions or delusions is self-grasping. So this is, we've talked about that, that's misunderstanding our true nature and the true nature of reality. And that's grasping at an inherently existing something. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:08 Highlight the passage at 1:13:08

1:13:43 It doesn't seem like we're doing it, but we've been doing it so long it just comes up so spontaneously we don't even most of the time notice that that's happening. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:43 Highlight the passage at 1:13:43

1:13:58 Like you could say, well I really don't think Ray is inherently distant, Report an error in the passage at 1:13:58 Highlight the passage at 1:13:58

1:14:07 but you know it's like we're just so habituated to wrong thinking that it takes time to begin to turn our minds around. So often it's easier to start with the attachments and afflictions and then work to the self-cherishing and work our way up to self-grasping. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:07 Highlight the passage at 1:14:07

1:14:37 So there's a lot of afflictions, multitude of afflictions. There's the root delusions, there's a bunch of non-virtuous, what they call mental factors. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:37 Highlight the passage at 1:14:37

1:14:53 The arisal of these afflictions we create what they call contaminated karma. And this would be both virtuous and non-virtuous karma. And the reason they call it contaminated is because it's contaminated by strong grasping at true existence, which is just our mind, Lama works right now. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:53 Highlight the passage at 1:14:53

1:15:21 And this is what keeps us stuck in saṃsāra and keeps us and everyone else suffering. So all these people that are totally overwhelmed by their negativity and suffering are all stuck here because of misperceiving their true nature, just like us. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:21 Highlight the passage at 1:15:21

1:15:49 So basically the qualities of karma, there's four qualities of karma, and this is basically from the Lamrim Chemo. which we have, I think, some volumes on the shelf, Islamists on Kappa's original text. They say karma is definite. Sometimes karma is fixed. There's a number of ways to say it. The transmission of the Vinaya says whatever karma is created will bring a corresponding result. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:49 Highlight the passage at 1:15:49

1:16:27 So that means that negative actions produce suffering, positive actions. and so it's impossible for it to be any other way. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:27 Highlight the passage at 1:16:27

1:16:39 usually use, like, you know, maybe one. A nice fruit tree is going to produce fruit. You don't get a hot pepper a fruit tree just like you don't get a sweet fruit from a peppercorn tree. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:39 Highlight the passage at 1:16:39

1:16:55 So, you know, kind of like that. So we create these karmas so there's four ways that they can appear. One is called Ripening Result, which determines what realm you're born in. This is super simplified. There are books that they can get on karma. This is the super short version. You get the ripened result. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:55 Highlight the passage at 1:16:55

1:17:31 That determines the realm you're born in. Let's say we have a really nasty person here that we're encountering. But they're born as a human. Well, the fact that they were born as a human means that there was some good karma there to have a human rebirth, because human rebirth is a pretty good life compared to the lower realm. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:31 Highlight the passage at 1:17:31

1:17:56 So then there's the experience congruent to the cause. So that means that if you killed in the past, Then you'll be killed. So you'll experience something similar. So like meeting a really unruly person, for them, they're the unruly. They have their own karma going on. So experiencing that means we must have been really unruly in the past. So that's an experience congruent with the cause. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:56 Highlight the passage at 1:17:56

1:18:38 So for killing, you know, if you were killed. In the past you will be healed or you will have a short life, something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:38 Highlight the passage at 1:18:38

1:18:52 You think about it like I was watching, I like to watch, I kind of do the news. Watching the news is a really good way to work on your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:52 Highlight the passage at 1:18:52

1:19:04 And they had a story about this one woman whose son was a doctor and he volunteered to go to... where they're having all of the fighting and all the hell He was there for two days trying to help these poor people that were all injured. And they take him and he disappears. And for a long period it passed by and then she went over there and she searched and went to all crisis. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:04 Highlight the passage at 1:19:04

1:19:30 Anyway, long and short they found him. He was all beat up and tortured. orchard was like and very skinny and they were going to do it. They were supposed to let him go, and the day that he's supposed to be released, she goes to the place to pick him up, to bring him back here to the U.S. home. And they say, oh, we're sorry, you know, he committed suicide last night. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:30 Highlight the passage at 1:19:30

1:19:58 And so you think, oh, this poor guy, you know, he's just, you know, and you look at how bad all these other people are and how poor... This guy, you know, he just went over there to help. He was such a nice guy and got killed. He was young. He wasn't old. So this is having a short life. This is being tortured. It doesn't justify what happened to him at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:58 Highlight the passage at 1:19:58

1:20:26 So don't misunderstand that. But it is, you know, there is that karma that's constantly working. And this is why it's so important and why we're sitting here trying to train our minds so we can avoid that. And so we can try to begin to help others avoid that. It was a lot of work. Anyway, so then you have actions congruent with the cause, which means you repeat the action that you've been habituated to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:26 Highlight the passage at 1:20:26

1:21:04 So if you're in the habit of killing, you'll come back into this life and you'll keep killing. So it could be as a person, it could be as an animal, killing other animals to keep eating, and then you keep coming back and you keep doing it. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:04 Highlight the passage at 1:21:04

1:21:25 Because you're doing it, you end up being born an animal again, then you do it again, and then it's like you can begin to see, if you watch it, how it is sick and how it does kind of keep going in a circle. Kill, kill, kill. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:25 Highlight the passage at 1:21:25

1:21:45 You've got to get out of that. You've got to get off this wheel. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:45 Highlight the passage at 1:21:45

1:21:50 And then the last one is environmental karma, and that relates to medicines, food, water, weather, all kinds of things. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:50 Highlight the passage at 1:21:50

1:22:08 And that, you know, like they say that, this is one I can't remember, if you... If you've engaged in sexual misconduct, you'll be born in a place that's kind of stinky and disgusting. Or you'll encounter smelly and disgusting. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:08 Highlight the passage at 1:22:08

1:22:32 Maybe it'll be the kind of guy that uses one of those old suckers to suck up all the toy parties or something. You know, some kind of job like that. Who knows? Maybe it's like a little bit of something like that mixed in. But that one kind of stuck in my mind. much. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:32 Highlight the passage at 1:22:32

1:23:03 Well, maybe, you know, if we're walking up to him, we probably did it too. Anyway, so then karmic increases. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:03 Highlight the passage at 1:23:03

1:23:17 So internal causes produce much greater effects than external causes. And Lama Tsongkhapa says, Internal causation seems to involve a magnification that's not found in external causation. And I thought about it, and Report an error in the passage at 1:23:17 Highlight the passage at 1:23:17

1:23:40 sometimes it's a little bit hard to figure why that would be, but basically I think that when we engage in a particular thought process, or if that leads to inaction, that plant... One seed. Like if we get angry once, then it makes it a little bit easier to get angry again. And it can grow and expand. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:40 Highlight the passage at 1:23:40

1:24:17 And some of the examples that they use, which are kind of funny because they're all external examples, are like a small amount of poison can do a huge amount of harm. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:17 Highlight the passage at 1:24:17

1:24:33 Or like they say, a small peach pit. When you plant it, it can produce a huge tree that yields thousands and thousands of leaves and fruit every year. So it's not that it just happens once, it happens over and over again. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:33 Highlight the passage at 1:24:33

1:24:57 And then, you know, when you read these books on karma, there's all just hundreds of examples of how somebody just thought. There was this one monk, they were building a stupa, he looked at the stupa and thought, oh this is just a small peony little stupa. And then he realized he made a big mistake by poo-pooing this little stupa with the little building. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:57 Highlight the passage at 1:24:57

1:25:27 And so he felt deep regret and so he went and made these beautiful offerings to the stupa and tried to make amends. And so then he was born. As this little runt, really ugly little runt, with a beautiful voice. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:27 Highlight the passage at 1:25:27

1:25:48 So because he had disparaged the stupa, he had the karma to be born as this horrible little runty person. But because he made amends and he made all these offerings, he had this beautiful voice. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:48 Highlight the passage at 1:25:48

1:26:02 You know, I don't get it. Bye. Bye. But the thing is, in general, if you harm someone, you'll be harmed. If you steal, you'll get stolen from them. If you yell, they'll yell at you. Or you'll have the habit to keep yelling. And that's the super simplified version. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:02 Highlight the passage at 1:26:02

1:26:35 And they say that to really understand fully the workings of karma, you have to be a Buddha. Even the higher bodhisattvas will have a pretty good idea, but they won't see the full scope of the karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:35 Highlight the passage at 1:26:35

1:26:53 So karma multiplies, is basically what they say. So that applies to good karma, too. Like if we do a small good action, it'll come back with big rewards, just like a small negative action comes back with big suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:53 Highlight the passage at 1:26:53

1:27:15 Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:15 Highlight the passage at 1:27:15

1:27:21 You Report an error in the passage at 1:27:21 Highlight the passage at 1:27:21

1:27:29 were talking about karma, maybe environmental karma, and something that I was thinking about earlier today that I didn't really understand was like, you know, I was fortunate enough to be born in a country where I am also born in a country that built up nuclear Report an error in the passage at 1:27:29 Highlight the passage at 1:27:29

1:27:57 war, Report an error in the passage at 1:27:57 Highlight the passage at 1:27:57

1:28:02 and I just, Report an error in the passage at 1:28:02 Highlight the passage at 1:28:02

1:28:06 that Report an error in the passage at 1:28:06 Highlight the passage at 1:28:06

1:28:17 being born in this very country. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:17 Highlight the passage at 1:28:17

1:28:24 mean, of, I mean, just, you know, the really simple answer is like. A lot of it depends, first of all, in watching all of these things happening, your mindset around them. How do you think about them? How do you feel about them? I mean, we've done in the past everything possible anyway. And so sometimes it's like a way that we can see the damages. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:24 Highlight the passage at 1:28:24

1:28:56 That could be caused by really strong self-cherish. Sometimes it can be used to help us. I don't know all the reasons why these things happen. The fact that we're not right in the middle of being bombed and killed means that we haven't done that. And then if we're rejoicing that... Look at how many people rejoiced when Osama bin Laden was here. So then that way you would be creating the same negative karma as if you were the guy in there shooting. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:56 Highlight the passage at 1:28:56

1:29:50 So a lot of it depends on how you look at it and how you use it. And why? It's like we continually are creating the karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:50 Highlight the passage at 1:29:50

1:30:12 And there's going to be suffering and there's going to be the mean, horrible people that most of the time they don't want to be around. It doesn't mean that all of a sudden we change our mind and they're going to be beautiful and kind. No, not at all. They'll still be mean and horrible. We would just want to be upset by them. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:12 Highlight the passage at 1:30:12

1:30:35 You know, I didn't think the main thing is not to try to figure out why am I born in this horrible world where everybody's killing each other, but just to work with our minds and relationship to all of the things that are going on around us. I mean, that's the beginning. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:35 Highlight the passage at 1:30:35

1:30:53 Because I don't understand why. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:53 Highlight the passage at 1:30:53

1:31:05 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:05 Highlight the passage at 1:31:05

1:31:17 Well, Tibet was a really, they had like these warlords and, you know, little groups that were fighting each other all the time. You know, you figure, if you look at karma and the way that it works, there were people doing a lot of harm to a lot of people. They may be born as a person, and it may not be from this life, it might have been from the crusades, or from Custer's last dam, or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:17 Highlight the passage at 1:31:17

1:31:51 And now they're being born where they're going to be born. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:51 Highlight the passage at 1:31:51

1:31:58 It's like this cycle, and I think each one of us individually, like the Dalai Lama said, if you want to bring peace in the world, you need to bring peace in yourself. So this is like our job, is to work on ourselves, and then allow it to expand out as much as possible. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:58 Highlight the passage at 1:31:58

1:32:30 Let's do this thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:30 Highlight the passage at 1:32:30

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:33:15 Along with the environmental karmes, it's like all of these, like people that are in those groups, it's like it's all karmic. There's no accidents. It's hard to understand that it's not to justify that anything of those things is right. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:15 Highlight the passage at 1:33:15

1:33:35 But because of behavior in the past, it's put them into that place now. That might be hard because what we do a lot of times, we always look for a cause outside until we really start to work first with ourselves. It's hard to understand this big, huge picture like that, like what you're saying. But if you start to work with yourself first... Report an error in the passage at 1:33:35 Highlight the passage at 1:33:35

1:34:12 And start to take total responsibility for yourself and your life and what you're experiencing. Then you can begin to kind of understand better the workings of cause and effect. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:12 Highlight the passage at 1:34:12

1:34:33 And you might be able to actually help some of these people to take them out of that space. It's like the Dalai Lama. He says, I heard him say at least once that how grateful he is to the Chinese for having invaded Tibet. Because he said if the Chinese hadn't invaded Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism would still be in Tibet and it wouldn't have spread around the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:33 Highlight the passage at 1:34:33

1:35:12 And he could see how great the benefit was of Tibetan Buddhism spreading around the world, how much more beneficial it was. That he was actually outside being able to travel and do all this amazing work. So, you know, it's like, be puzzled, but try to bring it a little closer to home first. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:12 Highlight the passage at 1:35:12

1:35:39 Because, you know, it's really difficult. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:39 Highlight the passage at 1:35:39

1:35:48 But the thing to remember, too, is the people that are setting up those structures or people that are behaving in ways that are... Maybe not beneficial to others, that might be carming others, are going to be the ones that are not related. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:48 Highlight the passage at 1:35:48

1:36:12 It's horrible. I mean, it just keeps going in the circle. And that's how karma works. It just keeps going in the circle. Until somebody says, okay, I'm tired of being this little hamster on the treadmill. I'm getting off. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:12 Highlight the passage at 1:36:12

1:36:30 And that's what we're all doing, hopefully sitting here saying, I'm tired of being this little hamster in this treadmill, I'm getting off. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:30 Highlight the passage at 1:36:30

1:36:42 And the more of us to get off, the easier it is for all the other people, all the other little hamsters to get off. Because we go, hey look, they did it, well maybe we could do it. And then we can, not only that, but you can say, well look, here's what you do, stop running so fast and the wheel slows down, then you can jump off easy. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:42 Highlight the passage at 1:36:42

1:37:02 So we can actually help. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:02 Highlight the passage at 1:37:02

1:37:09 So no good answer. Just a lot of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, the good news now. Oh, wait, did we do this? Oh, karma. We didn't do karma. Oh, we have huge results. Okay, so one doesn't meet with karma that they haven't, with something that they haven't created the karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:09 Highlight the passage at 1:37:09

1:37:41 Four. So that just means that everything we experience, good or bad, whether it's happiness or suffering, is because of our own past actions. And this happens moment by moment by moment. And you can't experience someone else's karma, and they can't experience yours. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:41 Highlight the passage at 1:37:41

1:38:08 So everything we experience is a result of our previous actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:08 Highlight the passage at 1:38:08

1:38:18 So even these ideas about karma are kind of radical because it's like really better, I shouldn't say better, it's not better, but what we do is we prefer to take what we think is the easy way out and blame somebody else for all the stuff that goes on with us. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:18 Highlight the passage at 1:38:18

1:38:37 And that's what we've been doing lifetime after lifetime after lifetime that's keeping us stuck in this real. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:37 Highlight the passage at 1:38:37

1:38:52 Anyway, so then actions that we've done. Do not perish. Now that's the way that Lama Tsongkhapa said it in his book. Actions you've done in the past do not perish. Now Pabonga Rinpoche says once karma is created it will not disappear of its own accord. Which is a little bit softer but a little bit more accurate in the sense that Report an error in the passage at 1:38:52 Highlight the passage at 1:38:52

1:39:29 We can purify our negative karmas. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:29 Highlight the passage at 1:39:29

1:39:41 So karma doesn't get stale after a long time. It doesn't lessen or disappear by itself. If we just ignore it, sooner or later it will arrive into itself. And it could be from something you've done in a previous life, it could be something in this life, it could be something from a number of lives before. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:41 Highlight the passage at 1:39:41

1:40:10 So the good news is that karma can be purified. Our negative karma can be purified. All these negative seeds that we've planted in our mental continuums, that ripen moment by moment, can be purified. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:10 Highlight the passage at 1:40:10

1:40:33 And basically it's using the four opponent powers as regret. So this would be regretting actions that we've done in this life that are negative. And in previous lives, like if you have somebody that's particularly difficult for you to deal with and you don't like their behavior, then you can regret you doing that in a previous life. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:33 Highlight the passage at 1:40:33

1:41:02 Because see, karma, I mean, part of karma, one of the ways that it manifests is like what we said, there's four ways you, you know, you feel. They'll steal from you. So if you have a particular friend that kind of helps themselves do things and you don't want them around, that's a clue. So then when you're doing your regrets, when you're thinking about what you might regret, you can put that on the list. Regret how many stole them. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:02 Highlight the passage at 1:41:02

1:41:36 Because I think I've done everything in this box. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:36 Highlight the passage at 1:41:36

1:41:41 Serious killing, but I've definitely killed insects and things and lots of fish. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:41 Highlight the passage at 1:41:41

1:41:50 Speech is a big one. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:50 Highlight the passage at 1:41:50

1:42:03 So regret is the first thing. And that's important because if we don't recognize it as a fault, there's no hope in stopping. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:03 Highlight the passage at 1:42:03

1:42:18 Reliance. So reliance is basically taking refuge and developing bodhicitta. And so this can be included as a part of the prayers in your purification practices. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:18 Highlight the passage at 1:42:18

1:42:37 And the best is to go for refuge in the Dharma in your everyday life. But you also need a qualified teacher and a support for your practice so you can... Purification of apples. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:37 Highlight the passage at 1:42:37

1:42:52 You know, you can acknowledge that and acknowledge the bodhicitta and actually rely on the teacher, the teachings and the support community to help you to get through these things. So you can put this into your clothes. And then there's the remedy. So remedy, there's a lot of remedies. You can do frustrations for the 35 Buddhas. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:52 Highlight the passage at 1:42:52

1:43:19 You can do bodhisattva mantras. They say if you receive oral transmissions of sutras and you contemplate them, understand the meaning, read them, that that will be a purification. Interest in emptiness because as you break down this solid misunderstanding and begin to understand selflessness, that in and of itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:19 Highlight the passage at 1:43:19

1:43:52 Will help to diminish the karmic results of the experience. Understanding that the mind is primarily making offerings, because by virtue of the object, the Buddha, the images of the Buddha, stupas, are... You create virtue, you purify negativities just by their object. You don't even have to have the right motivation, just the fact that you're doing it because of the potency of the object that helps to purify. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:52 Highlight the passage at 1:43:52

1:44:34 And it could be a visualized, like a lot of times you visualize, you can visualize lots and lots of Buddhas and bodhisattvas and you can offer them all of the wonderful food and clothes. Perfume and all this great stuff. Anything you like. It's beautiful and wonderful. And then also they say making satsas or drawings of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:34 Highlight the passage at 1:44:34

1:45:01 Of course this is after you study it so that you know how to draw it properly. Or you know doing those kinds of things is also a way of doing it. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:01 Highlight the passage at 1:45:01

1:45:14 And then the last one is resolve. And that's like say if you're doing a Vajrasad for a frustration practice. much. At the end, you just make the determination not to engage in the action again. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:14 Highlight the passage at 1:45:14

1:45:31 Because I kill a whole bunch of trees and worms and all these different kinds of things, I would put chilean into my practice and at the end, because there's a really big chance it's not something small, like if I put, well let's do the chilean balance. I know that I won't do it again in this life, and I resolve it, and I never harm any being intentionally again. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:31 Highlight the passage at 1:45:31

1:46:06 So that's big. Now, if it's my anger that's included, and I have many regrets, so one of them is anger, whatever it is. I might, like I used to do, I won't do it until... Report an error in the passage at 1:46:06 Highlight the passage at 1:46:06

1:46:28 I won't do it till, I won't be, I won't feel angry like this person until 12 noon tomorrow. So I give you the morning because you want to make it realistic. You don't want to make it so impossible that you're going to fail because what you want to do is you want to build up this feeling and this idea. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:28 Highlight the passage at 1:46:28

1:46:55 Yeah, I can do it. Okay. So I, wow, this is great. I went through 12. Maybe I can go to one, you know, and then two. So we're starting small and we're building. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:55 Highlight the passage at 1:46:55

1:47:07 We're building. So to me, the most important parts of this are the regret. So we recognize that we've made these mistakes. And then resolving, what are we going to resolve? And then the other parts. They're important, but I think those two, to me, and that's just my own personal opinion, are really strong. So there's different degrees of karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:07 Highlight the passage at 1:47:07

1:47:37 So there's the power of action, and it depends on the basis, intention, emotional state. So how powerful, like maybe if the basis is a person compared to... If you kill a spider, then it's going to be a more powerful negative action if you kill a person than it is killing a spider. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:37 Highlight the passage at 1:47:37

1:48:10 And they have a lot of reasons, like, you know, because a person has a disability and how much harder to become this. You know, there's a lot of reasons. But basically, there's different degrees, the type of action. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:10 Highlight the passage at 1:48:10

1:48:28 Is it done with a wrong or perverted view? Like, you know, some people may kill... animals for sacrifice they think that's going to you know like even like say let's say the suicide bombers think that that brings them straight into heaven but they do that's why they do Report an error in the passage at 1:48:28 Highlight the passage at 1:48:28

1:48:57 That's a really stronger kind of action because it's based in a huge, huge misconception. this interpretation, I think. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:57 Highlight the passage at 1:48:57

1:49:10 So there's the power and then the intention, too. Somebody that just goes and kills an animal just for fun, versus somebody who might think, oh, you know, this animal is suffering so much, maybe I should put it out of the museum, so that there's more compassion mixed with the killing. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:10 Highlight the passage at 1:49:10

1:49:40 So, you know, the one that just goes out for sport and just enjoys it because it's always a great form, you know, versus the one that has, you know, some more of a compassion motivation is going to be stronger than this other one. So there's varying degrees. And then whether or not the karma is complete. So there's four things that have to happen for our karma to be complete. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:40 Highlight the passage at 1:49:40

1:50:13 So like if you were using killing, the first is you have to have a basis. So that would be like a person. Then you have to have the intention. And the intention has three parts. You recognize it as a person. Your motive is to kill them. And the delusion could be any of them. It could be anger, attachment, ignorance. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:13 Highlight the passage at 1:50:13

1:50:43 Probably let's say it's anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:43 Highlight the passage at 1:50:43

1:50:48 And then there's the action, which is killing them yourself, having them, choking them in the way you can kill them, or having someone else do it for you. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:48 Highlight the passage at 1:50:48

1:51:01 In fact, having someone else do it for you is even worse because you're asking them and getting them involved in creating negative energy, besides your own. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:01 Highlight the passage at 1:51:01

1:51:18 And then the last is the completion and that's the person dies before you do. So let's say you kill somebody, maybe you're really upset with them, Report an error in the passage at 1:51:18 Highlight the passage at 1:51:18

1:51:30 you know that they're a person, you've got the basis, you've got the motivation, you're really angry and you kill them, you shoot them and somebody shoots you and you die before they do. It's not complete karma because... They didn't die before you. So in order to be complete, the person has to die before you. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:30 Highlight the passage at 1:51:30

1:52:00 It's kind of weird, but that's what they say. Anyway, so basically that's really nutshell version. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:00 Highlight the passage at 1:52:00

1:52:14 I thought it was important to kind of go over because what we're going to start doing in this particular verse is to look at the karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:14 Highlight the passage at 1:52:14

1:52:27 And you'll see that it's on the meditation or some of the meditation points for this verse. So just back to this verse, when we see beings of unpleasant character oppressed by strong negativity and suffering. So oppressed is kind of a helpless, almost out of control sense, really strong. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:27 Highlight the passage at 1:52:27

1:52:56 We need to look at that and try to understand where this person is coming from, what might be, how horrible it would be for that type of negativity and suffering. We can look at it in terms of karma, we can look at it from the terms of just their own mental state of mind right now. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:56 Highlight the passage at 1:52:56

1:53:26 you know, how could this person even have, you know? It's not to be feeling sorry for the person, as Marlowe said earlier, but to have compassion, because the person isn't really a bad person. They're just confused. Really, really confused. A lot of strong attachment. A lot of strong ignorance, a lot of strong anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:26 Highlight the passage at 1:53:26

1:54:03 So, may I hold them dear, for they are rare to find. So, the rare to find, aren't they, I think they put this in, it's not, maybe they were all, you know, in the monastery and everybody was well behaved. I kind of doubt that. I kind of doubt that. But, of course, there weren't very many people when you were wandering around in Tibet either. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:03 Highlight the passage at 1:54:03

1:54:30 But rare to find, we're talking about the really raunchy people, really bad people. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:30 Highlight the passage at 1:54:30

1:54:42 But you know, there are the ones that bother us, definitely in our lives. And some of you may know somebody that's just totally out of control. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:42 Highlight the passage at 1:54:42

1:54:56 Maybe we were out of control before we came to the Dalai Lama. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:56 Highlight the passage at 1:54:56

1:55:06 As if we've discovered a dual treasure, basically it's saying don't throw that person away. Do what you can to try to work with your mind to be able to understand the person, the circumstances, maybe eventually see if you can help them in some way. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:06 Highlight the passage at 1:55:06

1:55:39 A lot of the distress can be solved by some very simple things, maybe not, but basically it would be like if you went on a boat to an island and walked into this cave and there was this huge treasure, Report an error in the passage at 1:55:39 Highlight the passage at 1:55:39

1:56:02 all these jewels and everything, and you go, oh wow, look at all the jewels. And then you just turned around and came back and just left it. I mean, you know, it's like, you know, you want to be able to use that for something, you know, and to be able to hold that. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:02 Highlight the passage at 1:56:02

1:56:24 And so it's not an easy one. I started out with, you know, people that were like small things, like the people that were, that were sometimes really annoying me. We'll stay in here with you. That's not close. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:24 Highlight the passage at 1:56:24

1:56:54 And also, as these feelings like annoyance, anger, or whatever feelings come up, they're just feelings. It's not who we are. That's really important to remember. It's not who we are. They're just feelings that come up. go down and you know just the same as all the love and compassion comes up and goes down so what we want to do is we want to train love and compassion and kindness to come up more the anger attachment and all of those other things to come up less we're going to be working on that. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:54 Highlight the passage at 1:56:54

1:57:39 Any questions? A lot of stuff. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:39 Highlight the passage at 1:57:39

1:57:51 Please, no. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:51 Highlight the passage at 1:57:51

1:57:55 Yeah. Wait, wait. Let's get this thick. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:55 Highlight the passage at 1:57:55

1:58:08 Well, they're not inherently existing. You know, they're more in line with our true nature. Our minds are clear in knowing. And all of these things are like waves on an ocean. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:08 Highlight the passage at 1:58:08

1:58:31 Compassion can rise and fall. Anger can rise and fall. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:31 Highlight the passage at 1:58:31

1:58:40 And so what we want to do is we want to develop our minds to have the positive things come up Report an error in the passage at 1:58:40 Highlight the passage at 1:58:40

1:58:55 rather than the negative. That's what we really have to think about is how can I expand the kindness or how can I expand the compassion. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:55 Highlight the passage at 1:58:55

1:59:17 But nothing is really real, actually. Nothing inherently exists. Happiness, you know, kindness, suffering. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:17 Highlight the passage at 1:59:17

1:59:34 Well, the point is really simple. Do you prefer to be happy or do you prefer to suffer? Report an error in the passage at 1:59:34 Highlight the passage at 1:59:34

1:59:46 Because inherently exist doesn't mean that it doesn't exist conventionally. Conventionally, you can be happy. Or we can suffer. So we get to choose. It's our mind. And so we can work with that. And we can choose whether we want to keep going in circles and hoping that maybe next time might be better but it could very well be much worse. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:46 Highlight the passage at 1:59:46

2:00:19 Or if we want to try to make an effort to ensure that it's going to be better and eventually maybe even get out. Slow down the wheel enough so we can step up. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:19 Highlight the passage at 2:00:19

2:00:49 So even emptiness itself is empty. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:49 Highlight the passage at 2:00:49

2:00:59 If emptiness is empty, happiness and love must be empty. But those are the things that conventionally produce results. Karma produces results. We have a bunch of seeds and we can do purifications. And the purification practices is like shining sunlight on the seeds. Eventually the seeds will shrivel up and dry. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:59 Highlight the passage at 2:00:59

2:01:28 But if we don't take care of the afflictions, even if all the seeds we've accumulated from the past all shriveled up and dried, if we still are stalking ignorance, not understanding. The true nature of things, and the anger and the passion and all those things come up, will continually be making new seeds. So it doesn't matter how many old seeds we can dry up, we're just still making new seeds. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:28 Highlight the passage at 2:01:28

2:02:00 So we have to start to work on that first. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:00 Highlight the passage at 2:02:00

2:02:07 Could be. Can you find it? I don't think there's anything that's not empty. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:07 Highlight the passage at 2:02:07

2:02:19 It's empty of inherent existence. See, when we say empty, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist or anything like that. It's just empty of inherent existence. That it exists in and of itself separate, without causes and conditions. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:19 Highlight the passage at 2:02:19

2:02:40 The old Report an error in the passage at 2:02:40 Highlight the passage at 2:02:40

2:02:54 seeds, you will make new ones. And, know, in order for, well, yeah, that's fine. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:54 Highlight the passage at 2:02:54

2:02:57 And, you know... I don't know how long it takes. I don't know exactly how it works. I think the main thing that these purification practices do is that it makes us cognizant of those things and it keeps us from doing it in the future. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:57 Highlight the passage at 2:02:57

2:03:25 And changing our minds could actually change a lot of things. I got a boss, I always thought it was really horrible, it was so stingy and nice and Report an error in the passage at 2:03:25 Highlight the passage at 2:03:25

2:03:41 this negative stuff going on and then i thought i've just been really negative about this person maybe i should just know change my mind i'll be i'll look for something good like how grateful i am that he gave me a job and that i can food and wonderful it And without any expectation of anything changing except my mind, all of a sudden he's like, oh no. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:41 Highlight the passage at 2:03:41

2:04:13 But anyway, Report an error in the passage at 2:04:13 Highlight the passage at 2:04:13

2:04:19 so for homework, there's verse 4, read verse 4 in the required reading, which is like two sentences of a verse and one paragraph at the top of the next page. So that reading is very short. And then you could read the part When Problems Come by Lama Zopa. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:19 Highlight the passage at 2:04:19

2:04:48 And you don't have to read the whole thing, but as you read these required readings, it's nice to be able to think about the points that Lama Zopa is making. So, you know, read as much as you can kind of hold. You know, think about the points that he brings up. See if you can relate to any of them in your life. Look at those that you might feel would be useful. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:48 Highlight the passage at 2:04:48

2:05:19 And look at the ones that you might have. If there's something in there that you have resistance to, check those. Because a lot of times the ones we have resistance to are the ones that we need to work on the most. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:19 Highlight the passage at 2:05:19

2:05:36 I have found a really good quote when I was over in India. One of the books I was reading was a quote from Rinpoche's book, It's Up To You. And this Matthew Rickard, who's a monk who's been at least 35 years, studied with some great masters and teachers, and he said, the points that bother us are often precisely those we need to work on because they address the deepest cause of our suffering. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:36 Highlight the passage at 2:05:36

2:06:18 So, have you noticed resistance to a particular idea or something? know, sit with a cup of tea, because, you know, think and look at it. I Report an error in the passage at 2:06:18 Highlight the passage at 2:06:18

2:06:37 try to make this shorter. I guess I talk too much. Report an error in the passage at 2:06:37 Highlight the passage at 2:06:37

2:06:49 So is there any other questions? It is a little bit after the clock and I know people need to get home. I'll pass out, or somebody can pass out. Report an error in the passage at 2:06:49 Highlight the passage at 2:06:49

2:07:02 Homeworks are also doing the meditation. When you have time, hopefully you'll have some time. It's on verse 4. Report an error in the passage at 2:07:02 Highlight the passage at 2:07:02

2:07:20 And you can work with any of the verses. You can work with some of the antidotes, whatever you want. Report an error in the passage at 2:07:20 Highlight the passage at 2:07:20

2:07:41 So we'll just do the, Report an error in the passage at 2:07:41 Highlight the passage at 2:07:41

2:07:47 whoops, page 6. These are the first two verses to dedicate all the parents that we created by being here together. We'll do the first two verses of that. 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. Report an error in the passage at 2:07:47 Highlight the passage at 2:07:47

2:08:15 May the supreme jewel bodhicitta that has not arisen arise in growth and may that which has arisen not diminish but increase more and more. Report an error in the passage at 2:08:15 Highlight the passage at 2:08:15

2:08:29 Let's just do the last verse of this one. As long as space remains, as long as scenting beans remain, until then may I too remain to dispel the miseries of the world. So this week we'll start to dispel the miseries. Report an error in the passage at 2:08:29 Highlight the passage at 2:08:29

2:08:51 Go! Go team, go! Let's start dispeling miseries. We can start with our own and then we can just let them expand out. Report an error in the passage at 2:08:51 Highlight the passage at 2:08:51

2:09:20 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 2:09:20 Highlight the passage at 2:09:20