Discovering Buddhism: How to Develop Bodhicitta - The Heart of the Buddhist Path (9 September 2010)

0:01 Yeah, and Sue Ann, she's not here yet, but she made brownies for everyone. There she is. They're not ready yet. They're still in the oven. And there's going to be a break about halfway between the end. And so those will be available. And there's tea out there if you guys have never been here. You can have drinks in here, obviously. And also, just to let you know, this Saturday, part of my job is to get people to come to these classes. Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:25 So I'm making an appeal. We have a workshop this Saturday called The Art of Prostration. And in Tibet, it's traditional to do prostrations, three prostrations before images of the Buddha. Basically, it doesn't mean you're bowing to these idols. It's more like you're bowing to your own potential. Anyways, Dr. Yangjen Kelsang, who's one of the most famous Tibetan doctors in the world, well, she's pretty famous. Report an error in the passage at 0:25 Highlight the passage at 0:25

0:48 She studied at the Menzi Kangen Plaza, which is the most prestigious Tibetan. A medical establishment that's been around for over a thousand years and she also studied with many other teachers. She's got like 40 degrees. She's amazing. So she's going to be teaching about prostration through the eyes of Tibetan medicine. And so prostration is a great physical practice. Just from like a, like you want to do your workout. Report an error in the passage at 0:48 Highlight the passage at 0:48

1:13 It's fantastic. It's the best way to lose weight. It's the best way to gain muscle mass. And according to Buddhism, it's also one of the best ways to gain merit or spiritual potential to reach enlightenment and all that. So that'll be from 10 to 12. If any of you want to come, because I don't know how many people are coming, that'd be great. And for the newcomers here, Seichen Ling is also, we have a teacher. Report an error in the passage at 1:13 Highlight the passage at 1:13

1:40 His name is Geshe Ngawang Jokpa. And he was classically educated in Tibet. He's one of the best teachers in our entire organization. So he's the same generation as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who I'm sure most of you have heard about. He's a spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. So he studied at Sera Monastery. He's extremely, I mean, what is he, guys? Report an error in the passage at 1:40 Highlight the passage at 1:40

2:04 What do you guys say? Amazing. He's just amazing. He's an amazing explainer of things. He really goes into detail. And he's very practical. He doesn't try to lose you at the meaning of the word. He really tries to take it deeper. So he teaches here on Wednesdays and Sundays. I'm going to finish soon, Chokyi. Report an error in the passage at 2:04 Highlight the passage at 2:04

2:27 So he teaches the Bodhisattva's way of life on Wednesdays. And on Sundays, he teaches just general Dharma talk. So this Sunday, he'll be teaching on the Heart Sūtra. And that's from 10 to 12 noon. So that's a seminal text that we studied, and it's recited before most of them teaching. But anyways, without further ado, Chichi is going to kind of teach you guys some stuff. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 2:27 Highlight the passage at 2:27

2:49 Yes, and we just recently, sorry, Chichi, you can come in now. Sorry. We haven't had a translator for about two months, a full-time translator, and one of the best Tibetan translators in the world probably, her name's Ziggy. Yeah, that's... I feel strongly about her qualifications. She decided to come to Seycheling to translate for Geshe-la. And so she's our full-time translator now. Report an error in the passage at 2:49 Highlight the passage at 2:49

3:14 And we're going to have a party for her Sunday afternoon, directly following the Heart Sūtra teaching. So it'll be around 12.15 and 12.30. You guys can come to that. We're talking so much. Great. Thanks for having me. Report an error in the passage at 3:14 Highlight the passage at 3:14

3:34 Start Report an error in the passage at 3:34 Highlight the passage at 3:34

· · · silence, 1 minute

4:08 with three frustrations. If people want to, they can join me. If not, you can just sit or you can stand or you can do... Can you leave the room? Report an error in the passage at 4:08 Highlight the passage at 4:08

4:19 When we prostrate, what prostration really is all about is honoring and respecting the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 4:19 Highlight the passage at 4:19

4:34 Prostration has this element of not just honoring and respecting, but also aspiration. I want what you have. I want those qualities. Report an error in the passage at 4:34 Highlight the passage at 4:34

4:46 So I'm going to do the prostration mantra, which multiplies it. If people know it, you can chant along. If not, it doesn't matter. Report an error in the passage at 4:46 Highlight the passage at 4:46

4:56 Namo Shriyei Namo Shriyei Namo Bhutama Shriyei Namo Report an error in the passage at 4:56 Highlight the passage at 4:56

5:08 Namo, Maju Shriyei Namo, Su Shriyei Namo, Bhutama Shriyei Sura. Report an error in the passage at 5:08 Highlight the passage at 5:08

5:20 Namo Namo Sushriye Namo Utama Shriye Soha What Report an error in the passage at 5:20 Highlight the passage at 5:20

5:55 do you see? It's like everybody's back there, and there's all these empty stuff except Anna. Thank you, Laura. Or else, yeah, move forward. Report an error in the passage at 5:55 Highlight the passage at 5:55

6:07 Thank you. That way I'm not so lonely. I feel bad. I saw Report an error in the passage at 6:07 Highlight the passage at 6:07

6:19 the volunteers. Yeah. They aren't quite as scared. Although maybe they should. Report an error in the passage at 6:19 Highlight the passage at 6:19

6:38 And actually, if anybody here is interested in volunteering at Se Chin Lay, we always have a place for you. I think it kind of goes this way. Yeah, it needs to go this way. All right. Report an error in the passage at 6:38 Highlight the passage at 6:38

6:55 If anybody else is interested or if you become interested as the course moves on, you can talk to Charles or me and I'll send you to Charles. Report an error in the passage at 6:55 Highlight the passage at 6:55

7:09 But it's a great thing to do. All right, we're going to start with meditation and then I'll introduce myself and at some point you can introduce yourselves to me and to each other as well. We're going to just start with the meditation. I usually like to start with the meditation. Most of us have been doing things all day and we're transitioning into something else. Report an error in the passage at 7:09 Highlight the passage at 7:09

7:32 So it's a good time for us to kind of let go of that day that we've just been having. Report an error in the passage at 7:32 Highlight the passage at 7:32

7:40 So I'll just start with reviewing the posture. Report an error in the passage at 7:40 Highlight the passage at 7:40

7:45 And if you're already familiar with this, you can just use the time to do some deep breathing and get into your own comfort zone or discomfort zone, as the case may be. Report an error in the passage at 7:45 Highlight the passage at 7:45

8:00 So you just start with extending your spine, really imagining, you know, feeling yourself in your hips and feeling your spine just shooting right up through the crown of your head. Report an error in the passage at 8:00 Highlight the passage at 8:00

8:21 Tibetan Buddhism. And this is what... Tibetan medicine is all about. There's a subtle body as well as a gross physical body. So inside, not necessarily that you can see, but it exists. And this posture is actually to align the subtle body, which helps us concentrate. Report an error in the passage at 8:21 Highlight the passage at 8:21

8:49 So one of the things you can do is to visualize this sort of core channel of light right in front of your spine. I'm just going right up Report an error in the passage at 8:49 Highlight the passage at 8:49

9:01 Where your seat meets the cushion, all the way through the crown of your head. Report an error in the passage at 9:01 Highlight the passage at 9:01

9:08 Shooting out the top of your head. Report an error in the passage at 9:08 Highlight the passage at 9:08

9:19 Chin is just slightly tucked forward. Not too much, or you can go into a drowse. But if the head is back too far, then it leads to mental excitement. Report an error in the passage at 9:19 Highlight the passage at 9:19

9:33 The shoulders are relaxed, but just slightly back and level. Sometimes we tend to keep one or the other up next to our ears. Report an error in the passage at 9:33 Highlight the passage at 9:33

9:50 In this tradition, the eyes are usually open. Just very, very lightly open but unfocused, gazing a few feet in front of you. And if that's too much in a crowded room, then just you can keep them lightly. Report an error in the passage at 9:50 Highlight the passage at 9:50

10:14 The tongue just rests lightly on the mouth, on the roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth but not touching. And the mouth is relaxed but closed. Report an error in the passage at 10:14 Highlight the passage at 10:14

10:37 The hands in this tradition are resting in the lap, right over left, thumbs touching lightly. They usually just rest right there. Sometimes people find it more comfortable to place the palms down on the knees. Report an error in the passage at 10:37 Highlight the passage at 10:37

10:59 And the legs, traditionally they would be in the same posture that we usually see, the images of the Buddha. So the feet are actually resting on the opposite thighs, which is a bit of a yogic posture. Most of us just try to find a comfortable cross-legged posture that works for you. And Report an error in the passage at 10:59 Highlight the passage at 10:59

11:23 sometimes we get into that posture slowly over time. The more we sit, the easier it is to sit, just like any other activity. Report an error in the passage at 11:23 Highlight the passage at 11:23

11:39 And then the final of the points of the posture is actually the breath. Allow your breathing to just relax. Report an error in the passage at 11:39 Highlight the passage at 11:39

11:49 In Tibetan Buddhism, it's taught that the mind rides on the breath. And it's kind of vice versa, too. So as we meditate, our breathing becomes more relaxed and deepens. Report an error in the passage at 11:49 Highlight the passage at 11:49

12:04 When we deepen and relax our breath, our mind becomes more relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 12:04 Highlight the passage at 12:04

12:12 But you don't need to force anything. Report an error in the passage at 12:12 Highlight the passage at 12:12

12:18 You just start with taking some nice deep belly breaths, just letting go of your day. Report an error in the passage at 12:18 Highlight the passage at 12:18

12:35 For some of us, this is the only time we take belly breaths, so it's good to take a few deep belly breaths per day. Report an error in the passage at 12:35 Highlight the passage at 12:35

12:50 You can just begin watching your breath a little bit, just watching it as it enters and leaves the body, almost like the tide. Report an error in the passage at 12:50 Highlight the passage at 12:50

· · · silence, 1 minute

13:34 When your mind begins to calm down a little bit, to start thinking about your motivation for being here tonight, for doing this class, either just dropping in or deciding to do the next two months, studying about bodhicitta, Report an error in the passage at 13:34 Highlight the passage at 13:34

13:53 learning what it is, learning how to develop it, learning the methods that so many yogis have used over the past two and a half thousand years to Report an error in the passage at 13:53 Highlight the passage at 13:53

14:09 become a bodhisattva, Report an error in the passage at 14:09 Highlight the passage at 14:09

14:14 developing that courage to live and work. For the sake of all living beings. Report an error in the passage at 14:14 Highlight the passage at 14:14

14:33 Start with imagining yourself surrounded by all living beings. You can start with people you know, like the members of your family, your parents, whether they're living or not, people that you love behind you, mostly because we would rather have them in front of us, but instead we place in front of us the people that we have difficulties with. Report an error in the passage at 14:33 Highlight the passage at 14:33

14:58 So you might think of a few people that you're currently challenged by. And place them nicely in front of you, Report an error in the passage at 14:58 Highlight the passage at 14:58

15:16 including people who have been mean to you, maybe harmed you in some way. Report an error in the passage at 15:16 Highlight the passage at 15:16

15:28 And imagine spreading out all around you, as far as your mind's eye can see, all other living beings, all in the form of humans for this. Report an error in the passage at 15:28 Highlight the passage at 15:28

15:51 It was like an ocean of living beings. Report an error in the passage at 15:51 Highlight the passage at 15:51

16:02 Start with thinking about your own pain and suffering, big and small. Report an error in the passage at 16:02 Highlight the passage at 16:02

16:15 Maybe you've lost your job or you're worried about money or health problems, also big and small, Report an error in the passage at 16:15 Highlight the passage at 16:15

16:24 relationship problems, anxiety, physical pain, mental pain, Report an error in the passage at 16:24 Highlight the passage at 16:24

16:37 whatever things cause you suffering. You Report an error in the passage at 16:37 Highlight the passage at 16:37

16:54 start spiraling out and thinking about our loved ones suffering. Maybe we have people in our lives who have some serious illness or maybe somebody's lost a job. Has been out of work for a couple of years or has problems with addiction, Report an error in the passage at 16:54 Highlight the passage at 16:54

17:24 people who have mental illness, Report an error in the passage at 17:24 Highlight the passage at 17:24

17:31 depression. Report an error in the passage at 17:31 Highlight the passage at 17:31

17:41 And then thinking about all those multitude of beings that we hear about, we read about, lives are shattered by war, famine, drought, flooding, earthquakes, Report an error in the passage at 17:41 Highlight the passage at 17:41

18:06 all those who are dying tonight. There's Report an error in the passage at 18:06 Highlight the passage at 18:06

18:23 a key word, how unbearable it is. To keep seeing this kind of suffering and experiencing this kind of suffering ourselves day after day, seeing it in ourselves, seeing it in our loved ones, seeing it in people we pass on the street, we read about, we hear about, and how much we wish that we could take away that suffering Report an error in the passage at 18:23 Highlight the passage at 18:23

18:48 and bring happiness to every one of those people, even if we find them difficult. Report an error in the passage at 18:48 Highlight the passage at 18:48

19:02 Wanting to remove another person's suffering is the meaning of compassion in Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 19:02 Highlight the passage at 19:02

19:12 Wanting to give someone happiness is the meaning of love in Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 19:12 Highlight the passage at 19:12

19:27 So just begin to explore that feeling a little bit of wanting to take away that suffering and wanting to give happiness to the beings that surround you now. Report an error in the passage at 19:27 Highlight the passage at 19:27

19:54 And then think about how amazing it would be to actually be able to do that. To help them take away their suffering, to help them find not just happiness, but limitless happiness. Happiness beyond our wildest dreams. Report an error in the passage at 19:54 Highlight the passage at 19:54

20:25 And then imagine this wish taking a physical form, a form of white light at your heart, Report an error in the passage at 20:25 Highlight the passage at 20:25

20:35 starting to fill you up in Report an error in the passage at 20:35 Highlight the passage at 20:35

20:41 the bottom all the way through the top. Every inch of you, every cell pervaded with this white glowing light. The way it feels warm in your arms, your eyes, your heart. Report an error in the passage at 20:41 Highlight the passage at 20:41

21:00 And imagine as it touches every part of you, it takes away all your pain and suffering forever and fills you up with deep, lasting bliss. And Report an error in the passage at 21:00 Highlight the passage at 21:00

21:26 then as it fills you up completely, it begins to pour out of you in all directions. And as it touches each of these beings, it begins to fill them up and takes away all their pain and suffering and worry and stress and fills them with deep and lasting bliss. Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:47 And on and Report an error in the passage at 21:47 Highlight the passage at 21:47

22:16 on. And just rest in that connection with every living being without exception. And see the relief in their eyes and their happiness. And Report an error in the passage at 22:16 Highlight the passage at 22:16

22:35 then gradually bring all that light back into your heart center. And Report an error in the passage at 22:35 Highlight the passage at 22:35

22:47 feel yourself coming back into your body, onto your cushion, into this class. Report an error in the passage at 22:47 Highlight the passage at 22:47

22:57 And feel real joy that we can be here again tonight. Report an error in the passage at 22:57 Highlight the passage at 22:57

23:04 Starting this class on developing bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 23:04 Highlight the passage at 23:04

23:12 Whatever we learn. Tonight and in any following classes become the seed to generating this mind in actuality, which is the direct cause of Buddhahood itself. Report an error in the passage at 23:12 Highlight the passage at 23:12

23:49 And may whatever we gain from just tonight, even the experience of this meditation, Report an error in the passage at 23:49 Highlight the passage at 23:49

23:58 become the direct cause for bodhicitta in our own heart, our own mind. A mind so strong, so vast, so powerful that it's hard to even get our minds around. And Report an error in the passage at 23:58 Highlight the passage at 23:58

24:21 you're ready. You can end your meditation in your own time. Report an error in the passage at 24:21 Highlight the passage at 24:21

24:49 We're going to start with a prayer that I like to start my classes with. It's on page 8 in the white book. We'll just do it once. Those of you who have done the classes before will know, but for anyone that's new. This is something that His Holiness the Dalai Lama uses when he... Gives bodhisattva vows actually and it's based on some phrases from Shantideva's guide to the bodhisattva's way of life, which is an incredible classic textbook for how to develop bodhicitta and strengthen it. Report an error in the passage at 24:49 Highlight the passage at 24:49

25:30 So it seems particularly apt. Report an error in the passage at 25:30 Highlight the passage at 25:30

25:37 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha. Until I reach full enlightenment, inspired by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 25:37 Highlight the passage at 25:37

26:14 So welcome. like I said, we're happy. Hey, and people snuck in. I don't know where these people came from. We'll have a little moment. I'll actually tell a little bit more about myself, too, as the class goes on, and then, of course, I'll hear from all of you, figuring out who you are and why you're here, even if you don't know. Report an error in the passage at 26:14 Highlight the passage at 26:14

26:40 I'm going to go through some logistics of the class tonight, and then we'll start talking a little bit about bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 26:40 Highlight the passage at 26:40

26:50 Some of you may know more than I do. Some of you may know more than each other. And that will all come into the weave that will be this class by the end. Each one of these classes. I want to say, particularly for me, this class is a sweet one. This is the very first class that I ever taught at Tsai Tsing Ling, developing bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 26:50 Highlight the passage at 26:50

27:11 I had four people. Peter was one. He's still there. That's kind of exciting. I didn't scare him away. One quarter. Well, Tim and Jess will come every once in a while, so yeah. Report an error in the passage at 27:11 Highlight the passage at 27:11

27:32 Yeah, so it's very dear to my heart. So my name is Chokyi. And if you have never tried, it's actually kind of difficult for Westerners to pronounce. It actually has a little bit more French sound to it. I usually am quite happy if people say something that sounds like cookie but puts a CH on it. That really works just fine. So just chokyi like cookie. It actually is more like chokyi, but it's all right. It's hard for Americans especially, I think. Report an error in the passage at 27:32 Highlight the passage at 27:32

28:03 The French have it a little better. I've been at Tse Chin Ling for about 10 years, I've been a nun for about 10 years, and I've been a Buddhist for about 15 years. And I've been teaching, I guess, about five years, I want to say. I don't know. Something like that. Yeah. Yeah. I looked at her with meaning, so she had to come up with an answer. Report an error in the passage at 28:03 Highlight the passage at 28:03

28:30 I'm a witness. Right. Can I get a witness? is If anybody's a witness, it's probably you. And I'll say a little bit more about me, including a little bit more about who my teachers are and so forth. It's sort of traditional. I like to start in a sort of traditional way when you go to hear somebody like His Holiness the Dalai Lama or Geshe-la or somebody. Report an error in the passage at 28:30 Highlight the passage at 28:30

28:56 They usually say who taught them about certain things, and then they'll also give you a little bit of that lineage of that teaching as well. I'll do a little of that too. I think it's useful. Some of these names, of course, won't mean a thing to you, and that's okay, too, because that's the way it always is. It's always like I'm trying to write it down with His Holiness, and you're like, what, Rinpoche? Report an error in the passage at 28:56 Highlight the passage at 28:56

29:15 What? What is it? Is it something Rinpoche? But it's still good to hear. So this class was supposed to happen in June, and it didn't happen in June, and at that point it was going to be a seven-week class, and now it's going to be an eight-week class. We added an extra one. We grew. Report an error in the passage at 29:15 Highlight the passage at 29:15

29:35 We cloned an extra day. And so the final, so the way I'm going to do it, and there are no, actually, for almost the first time in history, there's no interruptions on any of the days. In other words, there's no other visiting teachers, there's no special events or anything that interrupts it, which is nice. No trips, I don't think. Report an error in the passage at 29:35 Highlight the passage at 29:35

29:59 I guess I should make sure that's true. Until October 28th. The one thing that I'm doing differently this time, which I've told some of you who came that first time, I sent an email, so you're already on my list. Report an error in the passage at 29:59 Highlight the passage at 29:59

30:13 We normally do, or what I've normally done, is to do the retreat day. We usually do a Saturday, like a three-quarter retreat day. To end the class and I've decided to do it second to last class and then have the last class be an evening class because a lot of times people can't come to that and I always feel bad for those people that we all have this great little like meaningful you know bonding experience and then they're just sort of left. Report an error in the passage at 30:13 Highlight the passage at 30:13

30:39 So we're all going to come back together so even if you can't make that because you work or go to school or something on Saturdays then we'll all come back together so it'll be a Thursday night again and our final class will be a Thursday night. We'll do something celebratory I'm not sure what. But I'm sure it'll include something gluten-free. Report an error in the passage at 30:39 Highlight the passage at 30:39

31:00 Celebratory and gluten-free. Because we did that one time sort of by accident. I think it was the last class, and I thought it worked out nicer that way because then everybody was involved. Report an error in the passage at 31:00 Highlight the passage at 31:00

31:11 In this class, the content of this class, we're going to talk about what bodhicitta is. We'll define it. We'll actually define it tonight. How it functions, how you can develop it. Celebrate. Report an error in the passage at 31:11 Highlight the passage at 31:11

31:22 There are methods, which I love about Tibetan Buddhism. But my biggest aim is to sort of dispel a few myths, I think. Not quite urban myths, but getting there, that I think is true as Buddhism comes to the West and as bodhicitta comes to the West. I think we tend to dilute things a little bit, and it's such a non-dilutable thing, bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 31:22 Highlight the passage at 31:22

31:49 So we'll talk a little bit about that. It's also very, very practical. It's very useful now, even before we fully generate it. Report an error in the passage at 31:49 Highlight the passage at 31:49

31:59 One of my teachers, Reba Rinpoche, He said this one great quote that I actually like to read every morning. He's like, don't let the fire of bodhicitta ever go out. And what I like about that is it means you can actually have a little bit of that fire right now. So that means that all you need is a little tiny bit of bodhicitta and then it's sort of like you're trying to keep it going. Rather than thinking it's way out there, some lifetime far away from now and you know, I'll never get it and I'll never get there. Report an error in the passage at 31:59 Highlight the passage at 31:59

32:27 It's more like we just keep developing and developing and developing and developing. and developing and it gets stronger and stronger and in the text that rims at that Geshe-la I always give everybody a promotion that Geshe-la is teaching on Wednesday nights A lot of that text, it's all about what bodhicitta is and why we should develop it. Report an error in the passage at 32:27 Highlight the passage at 32:27

32:51 But then once you develop it, you have to strengthen it. So it's not like you just develop it one day, wake up and you... Suddenly have bodhicitta and then everything's great. That's more like the direct perception of emptiness, actually. That's more like that. That doesn't reverse, so that's kind of cool. Report an error in the passage at 32:51 Highlight the passage at 32:51

33:07 Unfortunately, bodhicitta does. So when we first... Gain the insights in our meditation. We have these great meditations. We're like, yeah, and then you get off the cushion, you go out and yell at your brother or something. It doesn't stick. It doesn't last. Our mind isn't fully shifted, and that's what we want. That's what I call a realization, when our mind is permanently shifted. Report an error in the passage at 33:07 Highlight the passage at 33:07

33:30 And so then everybody looks like your child to you. And I don't have that one yet, but I have tastes. And so we can all have tastes of it, and those tastes keep us going. So that's the practical aspect of these teachings right now, and they can totally change our lives. Report an error in the passage at 33:30 Highlight the passage at 33:30

33:48 So those are some of the things I want to try to cover in this class. The format of the class, we usually will start with meditation like that. If you come in from, you know, and everybody has different schedules and it's totally fine to come late. I've had a lot of people say, I didn't come because I knew I was going to be late. Don't do that. Just come. But just come in really quietly and find a seat, you know. Report an error in the passage at 33:48 Highlight the passage at 33:48

34:11 Even if you have to climb over somebody, just come in and sit down and that's fine. It's totally fine to come in late. It's even fine to come in an hour late. It's totally fine. I mean, you know, it's your mind. So you're coming and whatever you get out of it is great. I would rather have you come than not. Report an error in the passage at 34:11 Highlight the passage at 34:11

34:29 So just come, you know, just come. We all have busy lives and are held up at work or school or something. So just come. I would really rather have you come. Report an error in the passage at 34:29 Highlight the passage at 34:29

34:39 I will spend a certain amount of time presenting stuff. We'll also have some discussion stuff. We'll also have times where questions will definitely come up, both little questions like what was number three, you know, if I'm doing one of those lists. Report an error in the passage at 34:39 Highlight the passage at 34:39

34:57 Kara's the usual asker of them. What was number three? And actually if I do those lists, I'm going to try to do a flip chart just because it's so much easier and then you can always write it down on the break. Report an error in the passage at 34:57 Highlight the passage at 34:57

35:09 It's totally fine to ask questions, but what I would really prefer is to wait until I ask you if there's any questions. But if not and it's just burning and you really have to ask that question, then just wait until I call on you. And the only reason is because I have such a bad memory that I'll forget where I am and then I'll, you know, that's why I actually keep notes in front of me so I don't just like sit there for an hour and a half and you guys just watch me. Report an error in the passage at 35:09 Highlight the passage at 35:09

35:32 So that's what I would ask. The other thing about... That is that often it will be answered in the next breath. So even though it feels like a burning question to you, if you just wait a half a second, then you might actually find that it's answered in the material that evening. Report an error in the passage at 35:32 Highlight the passage at 35:32

35:49 There is also homework. A lot of people are shocked by that. I actually have found it to be quite useful for myself personally to have homework. It makes me engage with the subject during the week, and then I come back the next week, and it's not like, what the heck did she talk about? It also allows me to bring it a little bit more into my life outside of here. Report an error in the passage at 35:49 Highlight the passage at 35:49

36:12 Everyone says, oh, it's so wonderful. And it's like, so bring it home, you know. Dharma is what's in you. Dharma is your mind, you know. It's not necessarily words or book or text or class. So the homework allows you to take it to the next level. That being said, again, don't use the lack of the homework or the not doing the homework to not come to class. Report an error in the passage at 36:12 Highlight the passage at 36:12

36:37 Well, I didn't do the homework, so I didn't go, don't do that. It's so much better to just come. You will get so much more out of hearing what other people did in their homework or the questions that they have through osmosis than you will if you just stay at home. Report an error in the passage at 36:37 Highlight the passage at 36:37

36:53 However, if you have to miss, and I know some of you have already let me know that you are going to be missing, that's totally fine too. I mean, obviously, you'll get the most out of coming to every class and doing other homeworks and doing other readings. That being said. Life happens. Things change. People get sick. People have business trips. People have family trips and so forth. And so if you let me know, I can often send you homework long distance via email. Report an error in the passage at 36:53 Highlight the passage at 36:53

37:23 And I'm going to – oh, I did make a copy. I forgot what I did. I have to – did I give you that roster? Okay, yeah, well, on the – On the break, we'll pass around a roster and you guys can write down contact information, which is great for me sending stuff as well as like if I suddenly think of, oh, this is a great article, I want to send it out to everybody in the class. Report an error in the passage at 37:23 Highlight the passage at 37:23

37:44 Or if something should change and something, some emergency happens, we have to cancel class or something. It's like a quick way that everybody can be reached. Obviously, if you fill out a registration form, that's another way, but this has it all in one list that I can find or hand to Charles or something or Kara to call everyone. Report an error in the passage at 37:44 Highlight the passage at 37:44

38:02 Um, so So all of that, that's sort of the way that I tend to do the classes. I tend to start with a check-in about how the homework went for people. People have questions about the reading. That's sort of the way that I'll start. I'll start with the meditation, then we'll do the opening prayer and then we'll... Report an error in the passage at 38:02 Highlight the passage at 38:02

38:22 We'll check in and then we'll start with the material and then we'll have a break about two-thirds of the way through and then we'll end with something that wraps it up and then we'll dedicate and then everyone can take off. Or hang out. It's totally fine to hang out and chat too. We like it when you guys hang out and chat. That's really what it's all about. Does anyone have a question about just that sort of logistical part? Report an error in the passage at 38:22 Highlight the passage at 38:22

38:45 Does that all make sense? Oh, one other logistical thing. We record these classes and then we upload them to a website that's called archive.org. Report an error in the passage at 38:45 Highlight the passage at 38:45

39:00 And in fact, there's probably a couple of versions of this class on archive.org, one taught by Munlum and one, probably one by me, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 39:00 Highlight the passage at 39:00

39:11 Often, something in my class, one class will not be recorded and so then the whole thing doesn't go up, so I don't know. But anyway, when we go around, not necessarily when we go around and check in, but, you know, it's up to you. But when you ask a question, we really like it if you talk into the microphone. Part of it allows people in the back to hear you because we don't realize how quiet our little voices are. Report an error in the passage at 39:11 Highlight the passage at 39:11

39:37 Last night, people who might know Mary and, oh, there's a doggie. Pay no attention to that little dog behind the curtain. Report an error in the passage at 39:37 Highlight the passage at 39:37

39:49 But she was answering a question last night in class, and her voice is so soft. Nobody in the back could hear her, and she was actually holding the mic, but she was just sort of... Yeah, and we don't realize that, and for me it's quite useful just to amplify, but of course the main reason is if you're at home and you are listening, say you miss a class and you decide you're going to download it and listen to it, and then you miss the question, and you're like, you know, what did she say? Report an error in the passage at 39:49 Highlight the passage at 39:49

40:16 And everyone's like laughing or, you know, whatever, having some, you know, gasping or something, and you're like, what, what? And I've done that before, too. You just can't hear it, and you keep playing it over and over and stuff. So please speak in tone of the microphone. And if anyone notices that the mic isn't going around, if they can help me monitor that, that's really useful. Report an error in the passage at 40:16 Highlight the passage at 40:16

40:35 Most of you that have been in classes will be sort of the... The Mike Fascist. Chasing that person down and shoving it into their hand. A lot of people are like, oh, it's just a little question. And it's like, no, it has nothing to do with how little a question or how profound it is. You don't have to only ask profound questions either. This class is class 10 of the Discovering Buddhism program, which is a two-year program that we sort of offer in a cycle. Report an error in the passage at 40:35 Highlight the passage at 40:35

41:09 We just keep offering it again when the... Last one ends. We're expecting this one to end sometime next year. So it's kind of far along in that program, right? So it's kind of like, you know, anyone that's brand new is like, oh God, you know, I didn't do those ones. Am I going to be like, is she going to call on me? I don't know. Don't worry. Report an error in the passage at 41:09 Highlight the passage at 41:09

41:31 It's kind of, it's like, I'm going to talk a little bit about what the lamrim means, but the Discovering Buddhism program is completely about experiencing the lamrim. That's the approach of the Discovering Buddhism program. So it's more of a spiral. If you have taken them all in order, which very few people ever have, I think, then that's wonderful. Report an error in the passage at 41:31 Highlight the passage at 41:31

41:53 And that will allow you to understand teachings here and at any other Dharma center, especially Galupa, that you attend. You know, in the world. However, if you just drop in and take what's available when you can on the night you can or the subjects that interest you, you'll still get a lot out of it. Report an error in the passage at 41:53 Highlight the passage at 41:53

42:12 Because I assume, and I think most of the teachers who teach the Discovering Buddhism ones assume that this might be your first class and perhaps your only class, you know. So we try to give enough background so that everybody can get something out of it. Obviously, if you already know what some of these things mean. Report an error in the passage at 42:12 Highlight the passage at 42:12

42:30 It's not so overwhelming at first, but don't worry about it. And I am very happy to meet with you. If you start asking questions that seem a little basic for the content of the class tonight, I can meet with you outside of class or we can talk on the break or after class or something like that. So don't feel like, oh, I can't ask because I'm stupid and I didn't take the first, you know, ten classes. Don't worry about that. Report an error in the passage at 42:30 Highlight the passage at 42:30

43:01 The lineage of these teachings is obviously from the Buddha. And I want to tell you, you know, of course, the Buddha didn't start out to develop a religion. That wasn't his idea. He actually just wanted to get enlightened and get beyond suffering and death. He had a big goal, which... Which some of us also have. So he didn't really make up this doctrine. He didn't sit around and compile it into books and things and call it Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 43:01 Highlight the passage at 43:01

43:32 That was after his time. He simply, he simply, he got enlightened. And as he got enlightened, his observations are the core of what became Buddhism. What became known as Buddhism. So he just taught. What would allow us all to get enlightened too? So he didn't teach every single thing that he knew because he knows everything. That's one of the things that happens when you become a Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 43:32 Highlight the passage at 43:32

44:00 You actually become omniscient. Not omnipotent. But omniscient, which is different than God, right? So it's different. It's an important point. You do have a lot of really cool skills, though. But not all of them. In other words, he can't enlighten us, which is a big one that's really different from Christianity. He can't bestow enlightenment or Buddhahood upon us. Report an error in the passage at 44:00 Highlight the passage at 44:00

44:30 We have to do the work, unfortunately. So he didn't teach everything he knew. He just taught what he felt would benefit us, that would get us enlightened. And so all of these teachings that have come through, the Lama is basically the sūtra teachings. It's all just what was taught in the sutras. And it all can be taken as direct instruction in that way. It gets us enlightened too. Report an error in the passage at 44:30 Highlight the passage at 44:30

44:57 So it's very practical. It's a method. It's a method teaching. So a little bit about Buddhism. You know, the Buddha himself lived, Geshe-la always knows the exact amount, 2,644 years ago in India. And then after, at the time of his enlightenment onward, he lived quite a long life and he taught and he had quite a few followers. Report an error in the passage at 44:57 Highlight the passage at 44:57

45:25 And so Buddhism flourished quite a bit in India for about 1,500 years after. After which it began to die out partly through its own accord and partly it was of course suppressed by stronger religions. Fortunately before that time it moved into other neighboring countries, mostly in Asia, South Asia, East Asia. Report an error in the passage at 45:25 Highlight the passage at 45:25

45:48 And it spread to Tibet. And so it spread to Tibet about the 8th century through somebody named Padmasambhava who lived Those of you who like those direct numbers, 730 to 805. I had a teacher who was really big on doing this like... The way that we learn in the West, you know, where you would learn what the context was, which I find quite useful. It's like, oh, wow, what was happening at that time, you know, in the West? Report an error in the passage at 45:48 Highlight the passage at 45:48

46:19 Mostly we were fighting. Usually it's a war that was happening or something kind of depressing like that, you know, or like the Inquisition or something. You're like, oh, God, yeah. Or we were slaughtering somebody, you know. So when Pobasabhava... what I'm saying? Report an error in the passage at 46:19 Highlight the passage at 46:19

46:34 came to Tibet he brought about what was called the first flourishing of the Dharma in Tibet and that actually those teachings all became what's called the Nyingma school, the oldest school of Buddhism in Tibet. There are four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 46:34 Highlight the passage at 46:34

46:50 Unfortunately, following him a couple of centuries, there were some very, very strongly anti-Dharma kings, much like the Chinese currently, that destroyed monasteries, destroyed texts, destroyed teachings, people went underground, and things degenerated. Of course, remember, I'm telling this from the Galupa point of view. So then there's a great story, which I won't be able to tell you, but there is a particular Western king who, Basically gave up his life so that the Dharma could be reintroduced to Tibet. And so Master Atisha was sent for. Report an error in the passage at 46:50 Highlight the passage at 46:50

47:32 He was a great scholar in India, at a monastery in India. And he came to Western Tibet and he... He developed what was basically the first lamrim. He took a lot of the sūtra teachings, he put them together for the Tibetan mind. He considered the Tibetans rather a wild and unruly group, but I think we had a lot in common with the Tibetans, actually. Report an error in the passage at 47:32 Highlight the passage at 47:32

47:57 We need things to be spelled out very simply for us, and so the lamrim works very well for us. He wrote what was called the first lamrim, which was called the Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 47:57 Highlight the passage at 47:57

48:10 Based on that, quite a few following teachers have also written. and commented on those long rims. And that's basically the way we still learn it now. Tibetan Buddhism is really big on, you look at the main source, but then you also really spend a lot of time on commentaries. And often it's, you gain just as much from the commentaries as from the main source. And a lot of people are like, well, skip the commentary and go for the main source. And it's like, maybe when you're enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 48:10 Highlight the passage at 48:10

48:40 But if anybody's directly read, some of Jason Kappa's work is quite readable, his lamrim. But some of it is incredibly difficult to get. So it's maybe more useful to start with the commentaries and move inward. Following Lama Atisha, for a few centuries, there was a very strong tradition called the Kadam tradition, which was started by his main disciple, John Tupa, who Geshele mentioned in class last night. Report an error in the passage at 48:40 Highlight the passage at 48:40

49:09 And those were the Kadampa Geshe's. There's quite a few of them, and the mind training teachings came out of that time. That was in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries in Tibet. The eight verses of thought transformation and things like that. Very, very, this is like my heroes. These guys are my heroes. Report an error in the passage at 49:09 Highlight the passage at 49:09

49:32 They just basically, every teaching was a direct teaching to them. They threw their lives into the Dharma in these really outrageous, radical, crazy... Report an error in the passage at 49:32 Highlight the passage at 49:32

49:43 I still get goosebumps when I think about them. They're just so inspiring. So much devotion and so earnest. And that's what fed into and created Lama Tsongkhapa. Lama Tsongkhapa was a direct disciple of that tradition as well as the Sakya tradition, which had come about in the meantime. He founded the Galupa tradition, which is what we were a part of, the youngest, the baby of the four. Report an error in the passage at 49:43 Highlight the passage at 49:43

50:10 And Jason Kapa lived... 1357 to 1419, just before Columbus discovered America. So he created, again, he didn't call it the Galupa tradition. It happened after his lifetime that it was called that. He just did what he did. He became known as this great master and sort of created this tradition in hindsight. It's sort of like the Dalai Lamas. They didn't start with the first one, right? Suddenly there was a second one. Report an error in the passage at 50:10 Highlight the passage at 50:10

50:45 And then they all made somebody who had already died, the first one. He was a great yogi as well as a great scholar, Jason Kappa. And he actually has written 10,000 pages of commentary on the lamrim. He wrote what's called the Lamrim Chemo, the Great Lamrim. Lamrim just means graduated path to enlightenment. So it's just, you know, how to get there. It's a map. Report an error in the passage at 50:45 Highlight the passage at 50:45

51:13 So the great lamrim is the basis of all the lamrim teachings that we study now in this tradition. All four traditions, all four schools have their own lamrims and they're all basically the same with slight variations on when they might introduce, you know, bodhicitta or death or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 51:13 Highlight the passage at 51:13

51:30 But they're all various topics that you sort of meditate on and study and then you move on to the next topic. And they lead you to enlightenment. They are not, and I always like to stress this, they are not the baby food that you get to graduate from and then do the really cool tantric things. It doesn't work like that. Report an error in the passage at 51:30 Highlight the passage at 51:30

51:48 Actually we stick with it and we just keep studying and reading the lamrim and meditating on the lamrim until we die. And then we do it again. Because that's what Buddhism is all about. You don't get out of it when you die. But the cool thing is that you create that propensity and then you want to do it a little sooner in the next life. Report an error in the passage at 51:48 Highlight the passage at 51:48

52:11 And the interesting thing, and I think the cool thing about the lamrim is that every time you meditate on it, it goes deeper. So you keep sort of going through it over and over. That's why the Discovering Buddhism... I like to use that idea of a spiral. The lamrim is a spiral. So some of us come into the lamrim because we're interested in bodhicitta, right? Report an error in the passage at 52:11 Highlight the passage at 52:11

52:35 Some of us come in because we're interested in the mind. Some because we're interested in death. Some because we're interested in suffering. Why do we have to suffer like this, you know? Some because we're interested in emptiness, you know? So actually wherever we come in is wherever we come in. And that's due to karma, which is also part of the lamrim. And a lot of people are interested in karma. So what happens is we just keep... Report an error in the passage at 52:35 Highlight the passage at 52:35

52:56 We start wherever we start. You know, as Payment Jitter said, start where you are. And then you just keep going and you keep going. And every time you meditate on these topics, because of whatever's happened in your life. Or your mind or whatever skills or qualities you developed or perhaps eliminated, then you go deeper and deeper and deeper into that subject. Report an error in the passage at 52:56 Highlight the passage at 52:56

53:20 So, for example, you might come into a class on death because you're interested in death or perhaps you've lost somebody. But then the next time you've had a brush with death or you've lost somebody really close to you or something. And so then you take that same material and you go really deep and then you have this really powerful. Report an error in the passage at 53:20 Highlight the passage at 53:20

53:37 You know, understanding of how impermanent life is. And then the next time you study it or meditate on it, something else has happened. You know, maybe some natural disaster where you live. So then things are even more profound. And you just keep going deeper and deeper and deeper into it. It's not like you intellectually get it. Report an error in the passage at 53:37 Highlight the passage at 53:37

53:55 And I think this is important to understand. We can intellectually get the entire lamrim without a whole lot of work, maybe emptiness. But it's all understandable. It's quite simple. To understand what Geshe-la always says at the end of the class is like, that makes sense, right? It's doing it. That's hard, right? Last night I was finishing up the patience chapter and it's like, yeah, we can all understand that we should respect all living beings at all time and not return harm for harm or criticism for criticism, but actually doing it, especially when somebody's kicking your head. Report an error in the passage at 53:55 Highlight the passage at 53:55

54:31 I love that one. And she kept saying, I thought she was saying, cooking your head, too. It was like, cooking your head. Right, yeah, yes, cake, yeah, cake, that was it. Cake in your head. Cake in your head. I was like, wow, really? Yeah, I mean, it's really, it's so we can understand it, but it doesn't mean that we have realized it to the point where it's completely, profoundly changed our life. Report an error in the passage at 54:31 Highlight the passage at 54:31

54:59 And that takes meditating on repeatedly. Year after year, you know. And that's really, there's no shortcut with that. What gets easier is just the more you do anything, the easier it gets, right? So the more that you play the piano, it gets easier. The more you run, it gets easier. The more you do anything, it gets easier. The more you cook a certain recipe, it gets easier. Report an error in the passage at 54:59 Highlight the passage at 54:59

55:22 It's the same. It's the same, you know. So studying this and meditating on it, that's how we get there. That's just how we get there. And it makes the now very good. Report an error in the passage at 55:22 Highlight the passage at 55:22

55:35 makes the now a lot this year. So, um... So basically the Galupa tradition became sort of the dominant tradition for a lot of not necessarily great reasons. It sort of became the most powerful and the most dominant in Tibet. In fact, was in power politically in power at the time of Tibet's fall in the 50s. Because the Galupa tradition is so monastery-based. Report an error in the passage at 55:35 Highlight the passage at 55:35

56:03 It was almost the simplest for them, more so than the other traditions, to simply cross the line into India, rebuild all the monasteries. They didn't waste any time. You hear stories in the refugee camps of people continuing to do the debate, the study, and at that point it was actually Lama Zopa Rinpoche was telling a story about how it was kind of cool because... Report an error in the passage at 56:03 Highlight the passage at 56:03

56:26 you had people from all the different schools and all the different monasteries which they never had in Tibet everybody was pretty separate you know if you went to Harvard you stayed with Harvard right now it was like all that they were all smashed into one little refugee camp so then they're out there you know whether they have food whether they have proper bedding they're still out there debating memorizing text you know they Most of the texts themselves have been destroyed so then they're... Report an error in the passage at 56:26 Highlight the passage at 56:26

56:53 They had this great memorization system. They just simply got a group of masters together. Then they wrote down and they debated the parts that they couldn't quite remember. And then that's how the texts were re-established. It's pretty amazing. I mean, if all of our libraries got destroyed, I'd hate to see what happened because I can barely remember what I'm supposed to say to you in the next minute or what I just said. Report an error in the passage at 56:53 Highlight the passage at 56:53

57:17 But they would remember an entire text and it's still there. When you talk to Geshe-la, that system of memorization is definitely changing, unfortunately, with the advent of literacy and computers, unfortunately. So the newer monks don't remember entire texts in the same way that the older monks do. But, you know, things change. So then in the 20th century, Pabanka Rinpoche wrote a, well, he actually did a teaching in Lhasa. Report an error in the passage at 57:17 Highlight the passage at 57:17

57:54 In 1921, it was a 24-day teaching that was giving commentary on the lamrim. That was written down by his main disciple, Trijong Rinpoche, and that became a bestseller in Tibet in the 20s, which shows a little bit about what Tibet was like in the 20s. Trijong Rinpoche was the junior tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Report an error in the passage at 57:54 Highlight the passage at 57:54

58:19 That just shows a little bit. And then, of course, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the guru of many, many, many of our teachers today, especially in this tradition. His Holiness tries to be very non-denominational when it comes to all of the traditions, but he definitely is coming from the Kalupa tradition. Report an error in the passage at 58:19 Highlight the passage at 58:19

58:41 So, just to show you a little bit about how the lineage of how it came from India into Tibet and then how those teachings have come back into India and then to us in the West. I mean, one of the only great things about the whole situation in Tibet is that it was sort of like this completely full pod of Dharma, wisdom and experience and knowledge that just got burst open. Report an error in the passage at 58:41 Highlight the passage at 58:41

59:07 Amazing masters came to the West that never would have come to the West if that hadn't happened. And even they will say that too. There's just no way to keep it alive. They were willing to come. And His Holiness the Dalai Lama would often direct, you go to Switzerland, you go to keep it alive. Report an error in the passage at 59:07 Highlight the passage at 59:07

59:28 And the same has been true to coming to America. Of course it's been quite... Recently in America so it'll be interesting to see how it changes over time because every culture that accepts it just like going into Japan and Thailand and Burma and so forth it always changes over time. Hopefully the core teachings don't change but how it's presented and so forth change over time. So my relationship with bodhicitta, the teachings that I've received Report an error in the passage at 59:28 Highlight the passage at 59:28

59:58 Mostly my main teachers, just so that you know, is Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who is this holy being right above Jen's head. He is the spiritual director of this center and the whole FPMT, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahāyāna Tradition, which is a, it changes constantly, but I think it's like 135 to 150 center, project, school, hospice. Report an error in the passage at 59:58 Highlight the passage at 59:58

1:00:26 unit organization worldwide. He and Lama Yeshe founded the FPMT in the 70s, I guess, or early 80s. So he's my main teacher. I received teachings on bodhicitta from many, many teachers, most of whom became my gurus at some point. Chodin Rinpoche, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kirti Senjap Rinpoche, Geshe Michael Roach, Thubten Dundrup, also known as Venerable Neil, Geshe La, of course. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:26 Highlight the passage at 1:00:26

1:01:04 I always do this because his room is still up there even though he doesn't live there now. He's in Daly City, so I guess that would be that way. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:04 Highlight the passage at 1:01:04

1:01:13 A number of teachers, large and small. But I would say of everyone, the one who influenced me the most on bodhicitta has been Riba Rinpoche. We're going to read some of his teachings that are going to be in your binder of readings that we'll get next week. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:13 Highlight the passage at 1:01:13

1:01:36 I, I sort of always, I joke and Jokingly, but I kind of call him Mr. Bodhicitta. He is bodhicitta personified. I mean, he's amazing. I'll bring his picture next. Is he here? Oh, there he is. Yeah, little one. Little one. Yeah, I'll bring a picture of him next week. He's great. He passed away a few years ago. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:36 Highlight the passage at 1:01:36

1:01:59 I don't even remember now at this point. But before he did, he actually spent quite a bit of time in the Bay Area teaching. And I actually met him originally in India, but he actually, it's just amazing that he was here so much in the early 2000s, actually 2000, 2001. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:59 Highlight the passage at 1:01:59

1:02:23 I, when I, I'm going to just a little bit about me. When I first came to Se Chin Ling, actually, as a staff person, I came as a bookkeeper. I had gotten ordained. 2001. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:23 Highlight the passage at 1:02:23

1:02:40 May of 2000 and Mumlum actually helped me out by I think creating the job so that I have some sort of something, some base It was announced that there was going to be this big study. It's called the compassion study. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:40 Highlight the passage at 1:02:40

1:03:08 A scientific study, and that certain of us were chosen to be in it. And I remember actually when I got an email and I was like, oh, there must be some other Chokyi. You must have the names wrong, you know, but it turned out to be me. But the interesting thing about this study is that you had to keep logs. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:08 Highlight the passage at 1:03:08

1:03:31 You had to meditate a certain amount per week, and then one day a week you had to do like a whole day of meditating. on bodhicitta. And I don't think anything actually ever came in that study. I never heard anything about it in the news, so we must not have done it right or something. But for me, it was incredibly powerful because, first of all, I had been just named director. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:31 Highlight the passage at 1:03:31

1:03:50 There's no way I would have taken all that time to meditate on bodhicitta. I actually still feel like... Rinpoche created the whole thing just skillfully and all those other people just faked it that they were part of this study. He would order us down to do five Nunez or he'd order us down to go to these teachings and we'd all just go. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:50 Highlight the passage at 1:03:50

1:04:09 Who would have taken that time? I wouldn't have taken that time. I had a center to run. But you just did it because you were part of the study. For me, it was quite profound to realize that you can do that. It doesn't matter how busy you are. You can make the time. And that making the time actually then pervades the rest of your life. And it's quite amazing to see. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:09 Highlight the passage at 1:04:09

1:04:33 That's been the most intensive time of studying bodhicitta and meditating on bodhicitta I've ever had in my life. But as a result of that, when I do go into these meditations, each method has a certain number of meditations that you do. As I go into them, it doesn't take as long to... To generate that mind again because you've had that experience so deeply. And that's really how the Lamrim works, you know. So it's like we have the experience through meditation and then we're able to enter that experience again and again and again. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:33 Highlight the passage at 1:04:33

1:05:08 And it becomes familiar, you know, just like anything that you're familiar with. When you get together with an old friend, you don't have to start over. It's comfortable. And that's very much like an old friend. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:08 Highlight the passage at 1:05:08

1:05:23 For me, bodhicitta is what fuels practice. Like, that's it. Bodhicitta is the juice. Bodhicitta is what shifts your mind in a way that nothing else really can. It's like when your mind is getting depressed or your mind is feeling overwhelmed or your mind is feeling dark or you're scared. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:23 Highlight the passage at 1:05:23

1:05:55 Whatever, all those big feelings that can just kind of smush us and hold us back, bodhicitta can break you out of it. And it's not to say that I have directly generated bodhicitta, this much I know, but I have used bodhicitta and I have used meditating on some of these meditations on the path to generating bodhicitta, developing this mind of bodhicitta, to pull me personally out of. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:55 Highlight the passage at 1:05:55

1:06:23 Those dark places, you know. And I used to think when you had those dark places that somehow your practice wasn't working. And now I realize that we all have to go through those dark places and we have to figure out how to get out. And that's part of testing our refuge and testing our bodhicitta and testing our practice. That's really it. And then we kind of see what's working, what's not working, and then we work on it a little bit more. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:23 Highlight the passage at 1:06:23

1:06:46 And then the next wave that hits. We test again and we see how things are going. So, yeah, it's not failure. That's just that's how practice works. That's how practice works. And bodhicitta, if you're feeling anything big and like you can't get out from under it, bodhicitta will get you out from under it. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:46 Highlight the passage at 1:06:46

1:07:08 That's what can get you out from under it. Grief, despair, anything. So I actually I think a lot of times the word that gets used. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:08 Highlight the passage at 1:07:08

1:07:18 In the West for bodhicitta is compassion. In fact, a lot of times people teach this class and will call it compassion or teach a class on bodhicitta and call it compassion. I actually think a better word is courage. I think courage is actually what comes out of bodhicitta because it's like such a huge mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:18 Highlight the passage at 1:07:18

1:07:39 It's like your heart just busts open. To work for the sake of all living beings without exception, it's this enormous... It's this enormously powerful mind. So it creates this mind of courage and that courage, of course, is what busts through the depression and the despair and the sadness and the bleakness and all that other stuff. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:39 Highlight the passage at 1:07:39

1:08:02 So that's actually one of the misconceptions I want to blast through in here is it's not some sort of wishy-washy little like be nice thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:02 Highlight the passage at 1:08:02

1:08:15 Sometimes, either is compassion, actually. I think a lot of times compassion is, people kind of see it as codependency in the West. Unfortunately, I don't think that's true. That's why I like to start with that definition. In Buddhism, it's really strongly and clearly worded that compassion is wanting to remove the suffering of others. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:15 Highlight the passage at 1:08:15

1:08:37 Maybe my wanting to remove your suffering means stopping you from drinking. It doesn't mean I'm going to be nice to you necessarily. Maybe my wanting you to stop suffering means I have to make you listen, not drive that car or whatever. It doesn't always mean being nice, but it does mean keeping your suffering in the forefront of my heart, wanting to get you out of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:37 Highlight the passage at 1:08:37

1:09:09 And loving you means... Wanting you to be happy, whether you like me or not. And that's also really different than the way we see love. I love you as long as you're nice to me and you love me. But if you stop loving me, it's really hard for me to want you to be happy. Especially if you're going to be with that person. And I don't like that person. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:09 Highlight the passage at 1:09:09

1:09:36 Or maybe I did and now I don't. Yeah, so it's really different than the way we see love. It's really clearly wanting somebody else's happiness. It's this kind of bigger sense. And then you get into things like great compassion, which is wanting the happiness, which is wanting to remove the suffering of all beings, which is already getting, as Benerobino would say, insane, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:36 Highlight the passage at 1:09:36

1:09:58 It's already getting to be totally out of control. And then great love or jampo or... Loving kindness, it's often translated, wanting the happiness of every living thing without exception, including, people would often say, George Bush. Wanting the happiness of all living beings. Wanting the happiness of every flea. You know, it's like, it really is insane. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:58 Highlight the passage at 1:09:58

1:10:25 I mean, actually, Fenora Rubina was spot on. It's a hugely radical mind. It's much more than making nice. And it's not nice sometimes. It's definitely not nice sometimes. So it's like a 180 from, especially in the West, what we think of as love and compassion. Or even normal. You know, it actually is, it's like you cross the line with bodhicitta. It's something bigger than we can actually imagine. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:25 Highlight the passage at 1:10:25

1:11:03 So part of what we'll do in this course is even just to take, like this week actually, your assignment is actually just imagine what this mind would feel like. Just imagine, you know, it's almost beyond what we can even imagine. But what we have to imagine it, because otherwise how do we get there? How do we begin to foster or generate that mind or cultivate that mind? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:03 Highlight the passage at 1:11:03

1:11:30 So that's that. So why don't we take a minute to just go around and you guys can introduce yourselves. And especially I want to hear if you have, you know, just a little bit about your background. And see there, he was listening. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:30 Highlight the passage at 1:11:30

1:11:50 Nice little star. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:50 Highlight the passage at 1:11:50

1:11:55 Yeah, a little bit about if you've done, if you've attended any classes here or anywhere in Buddhism and also if you have any, something about bodhicitta, like what drew you to bodhicitta. It doesn't have to be profound, don't make that face. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:55 Highlight the passage at 1:11:55

1:12:14 Just something. And if it was just because it's Thursday night, that's okay too. You started in your back? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:14 Highlight the passage at 1:12:14

1:12:18 It doesn't have to be any bigger than that. But if you do have a reason and you've heard of it or maybe you had some relationship to it at some point, then I'd like to hear that. Who would like to start? See, it doesn't have to start with you. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:18 Highlight the passage at 1:12:18

1:12:34 I'll start. There you go. He's got his mic voice on here. Welcome. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:34 Highlight the passage at 1:12:34

1:12:43 Hello. Oh, there's a lot of people here. So my name is David and I'm a Buddhist. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:43 Highlight the passage at 1:12:43

1:12:59 So I'm here because it's part of my practice. I think that it's important not only to practice at home, but I think the community provides such a tremendous support and insight. And so I don't know. I don't have quite unlike me. I don't have a lot of words at the moment. What? So you're next. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:59 Highlight the passage at 1:12:59

1:13:32 I will say that, you know, in terms of practice of bodhicitta, there's two things that happen to me a lot that's sort of part of my practices. One is if I'm in the store or driving my car or something, I always kind of look at all these human beings, you know, bopping around, you know, and part of me thinks that, you know, here's all these different people that have all these different life experiences and they all sort of think that they're looking at the world like, this is my world view. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:32 Highlight the passage at 1:13:32

1:14:00 Yet there is a commonality among all of us. And like the Dalai Lama says, you know, His Holiness will say, you know, everybody wants to be happy. You know, I mean, we have these very, very profound commonalities. And so I sort of do that a lot, just looking at strangers, and then really struggle that with people that have, like, either really made me mad or, you know, I feel like done myself wrong or other people. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:00 Highlight the passage at 1:14:00

1:14:23 And just, it is such a, it's a great lesson. It's such a struggle, but that's why we call it practice. So, anyway, and Thursday nights, you know, Wednesday mornings, I mean, it's just, it's our lives, you know, and it's the time, and you make the time. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:23 Highlight the passage at 1:14:23

1:14:41 Thank you. Okay, that's a hard act to follow. Since I'm next to you, okay. I'm Jessica, and hi. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:41 Highlight the passage at 1:14:41

1:14:54 I've been coming to the center for about two years since I moved to San Francisco, but more in the last, I don't know, maybe 10 months than I did the first year, which is really awesome. I kind of tried to make a dedication to do that. About a year ago, kind of be more active in my practice and it's been really exciting. So now I'm a volunteer also, which is fantastic and fun in case anyone is interested. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:54 Highlight the passage at 1:14:54

1:15:18 And bodhicitta, why bodhicitta? I think actually when I, I think bodhicitta, the concept, I didn't know what it was really, but that's what actually drew me I think to Buddhism in the first place. The last stanza of the prayer that we said. Today the modified Dalai Lama prayer is something that I found in one of his books when I was many moons ago and that last part, you know, for as long as space endures. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:18 Highlight the passage at 1:15:18

1:15:44 And I would actually at one point I found that and I found it so profound and I was so drawn to it that I would say it every morning when I woke up. And I didn't know really at that time the meaning, the depth, you know, and I think but I was so drawn to it in terms of like something that made sense for me and the way that I viewed the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:44 Highlight the passage at 1:15:44

1:16:02 And I think at that point I still had a lot of wrong views about how to do it. But and I still do, I'm sure. But, you know. It was before I really understood the teachings, but I was definitely drawn to it at a point before I even went to ever a Buddhist class. And so I think I'm just here to deepen that, to kind of go deeper. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:02 Highlight the passage at 1:16:02

1:16:23 that's it yeah To me, I would say that's past life in print, so that might be what we're shooting for. To go, what is this? Yay me, last life. Yeah, no, one of my teachers used to always say, he like named his previous life and he would just thank him all the time. He'd be like, thanks, Joe, you know? Like every good thing that happened, it was like, wow, thanks. Karen? I have that thought too. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:23 Highlight the passage at 1:16:23

1:16:50 Yeah. Yeah, I do. My name is Karen. Hi Karen. Thank you. And I'm a Buddhist. I've been coming to Sei Chin Ling since April 2003. I know that because it was written somewhere recently and so I'm like I'm going to remember that date. I've taken all the Discovering Buddhism classes except I think I took like a couple classes in emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:50 Highlight the passage at 1:16:50

1:17:17 Didn't continue with emptiness. Maybe you needed bodhicitta before you could do your emptiness. But I never took bodhicitta. I took everything else and I didn't take the concluding class. In order to complete the Discovering Buddhism series. She is our model here. The model for slowly, slowly. That model too. I really like the levels the mic is on right now. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:17 Highlight the passage at 1:17:17

1:17:36 yeah, yeah. I know. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:36 Highlight the passage at 1:17:36

1:17:49 It makes you kind of want to sing it. People do get a lot of power when they hold on to their mic. Somebody take that mic. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:49 Highlight the passage at 1:17:49

1:18:02 I'm a student at the California Institute of Integral Studies and I'm working on my dissertation on Tara. Overcoming fear through chanting Tara's mantras. And I lead the Tara Pujas here. The next one is next week, Wednesday, 2.30, September 15th, if anybody wants to come. Nice plug. Oh, I'm sorry. Well, you're next to me. Go ahead. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:02 Highlight the passage at 1:18:02

1:18:32 She's going into fetal position, I'd say. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:32 Highlight the passage at 1:18:32

1:18:38 Hi, my name is Mai Khoi. I'm actually visiting from Hong Kong, but I wanted to... I grew up with Buddhism around me, my relatives, and I've been given books to read, but it's only when I read The Art of Happiness a few years back, and I really felt a profound change in the way I viewed things and difficulties. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:38 Highlight the passage at 1:18:38

1:19:06 But that was a few years ago and I realized that you can't just read it once and have this realization and then that's it. And I've definitely regressed. And now I'm trying to get back to that place because I've had the taste that you've mentioned. And so, you know, I'm here to just explore it again. How long are you here for? I was, this is my third week so I'm leaving on Sunday. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:06 Highlight the passage at 1:19:06

1:19:35 But, you know, it's something that I do want to continue and explore on my own, wherever I am. Feel free to download, you know, the teachings from archive.org. You just come to our website and it'll direct you to it. Great, thank you. Is there an FPMG center in Hong Kong? Report an error in the passage at 1:19:35 Highlight the passage at 1:19:35

1:19:57 Yeah, Roberta. I think there is an FPMG center in Hong Kong, actually. I was going to say, I remember she went to Hong Report an error in the passage at 1:19:57 Highlight the passage at 1:19:57

1:20:04 Yeah, you go on the fpmt.org website and then go to Dharma Centers, I think, and then it'll give you like a map of the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:04 Highlight the passage at 1:20:04

1:20:19 But welcome, I'm glad you came tonight. Sandra, do you want to go yet or do you want to wait until the end? Just say your name, that's okay, you don't have to do like something long. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:19 Highlight the passage at 1:20:19

1:20:34 I'll do one for you. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:34 Highlight the passage at 1:20:34

1:20:38 My name is Sandra. I'm spiritual, and I'm here because I really like this center. I've been to other centers before, but I really like this one. And I think I have been to one of your classes. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:38 Highlight the passage at 1:20:38

1:20:51 That's good. It had a memorable effect on it. Yeah. And you know, Sandra is like the only person that came from my exciting Dharma film series, so yay! Report an error in the passage at 1:20:51 Highlight the passage at 1:20:51

1:21:03 Nobody else really came. It was like, you know, four of us and Sandra. Sandra Kay stayed. Cool. And Sandra is also a volunteer. Yeah. Hi, my name is Danielle. My first time. Oh, welcome. Thanks for coming. Yeah, and I want to learn this. Cool. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:03 Highlight the passage at 1:21:03

1:21:27 Hi, my name is Christine. I've been coming to the center for just shy of two years and I've been taking all the DB classes one by one. So this is the next one, mostly why I'm here. I have a very simple Tonglen practice that's part of my daily practice, so I'm hoping to make it a much fuller practice with the other half of the bodhicitta method. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:27 Highlight the passage at 1:21:27

1:21:53 We'll talk about Tonglen, so if people are not familiar, that comes up in meditations. Hi, I'm Jason, and I moved... To the neighborhood in August and I'm always driving by being like, oh, there's that place. I've got to go in. And so I started coming in last week and I've come in for several events. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:53 Highlight the passage at 1:21:53

1:22:13 My Buddhism in my life, I've sort of cycled in and out of it, starting in the 80s, taking up Zazen and meditating. And I'm just sort of branching out and seeing other traditions now. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:13 Highlight the passage at 1:22:13

1:22:29 I appreciate you all being here. Thanks. Thanks for being here. I saw you last night. Well, hi. My name is Sue Ann Powers. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:29 Highlight the passage at 1:22:29

1:22:45 What can I say? I've been here since 2003 and I'm a student of Geshe Dakpa, Venerable Rubina Korten, Chodron Rinpoche. guess it was her. Yes, it was her. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:45 Highlight the passage at 1:22:45

1:22:58 And I'm back through the bodhicitta, the great embracing bodhicitta of this center. I'm here. And that's all I can say. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:58 Highlight the passage at 1:22:58

1:23:12 I think it's that one in the back. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:12 Highlight the passage at 1:23:12

1:23:18 Oh, come on. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:18 Highlight the passage at 1:23:18

1:23:24 My name is Kara. I've been in the center almost two years. Yeah. Kara Kara, I say answer. And I'm also the Thursday night volunteer, which means I'm always in class. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:24 Highlight the passage at 1:23:24

1:23:44 Well, I'm John, and I've been coming to Tse Chin Ling for a little over a year, probably about a year and two months or so. And I've been actively studying Buddhism. for about that time at least this time around for about that time uh Report an error in the passage at 1:23:44 Highlight the passage at 1:23:44

1:24:10 you moved in and i moved in i'm right over there some people take it really seriously it makes going home from class quite easy Report an error in the passage at 1:24:10 Highlight the passage at 1:24:10

1:24:23 yeah we'll all come to your room morning and so And so... Bodhicitta Well, what I've found is that when I was a little kid, I loved animals, and I believe I really like people, too. But there were a number of things. things throughout the years that kind of caused me to have my heart hardened up quite a bit in regards to to to people in general and and I feel in my heart that that's not the way it needs to be. The little bit that I have done practice-wise around bodhicitta, I have noticed that there has been a softening of the heart. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:23 Highlight the passage at 1:24:23

1:25:21 and and know More love, and it's like, I like you, that sort of thing having grown and blossomed. And I'm really excited to take your course, because you were one of the, yeah, you were actually the first teacher that I met here, really. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:21 Highlight the passage at 1:25:21

1:25:40 You and Tenzin Chokyi. And I just want to learn more about bodhicitta and how to have it... And use it to go and foster that which I know is within me because, you know, I'm pretty sure that, you know, if I really put the work into it, you know, I can make some decent progress up the ladder, so to speak. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:40 Highlight the passage at 1:25:40

1:26:09 And I'm done hogging up. So that's your turn. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:09 Highlight the passage at 1:26:09

1:26:19 Hi, I'm Steve and I was introduced to the center through Lee's group and I came off and on and I've struggled with addiction issues and meditation has really helped me. I've been doing it probably well off and on. This last six months or so I've been doing it every day for like 20 minutes to 30 minutes and it's really helped me be in my body and Report an error in the passage at 1:26:19 Highlight the passage at 1:26:19

1:26:51 It just calmed me. It's just been very helpful in a lot of ways. So I'm excited about this to learn more. One of the things that's difficult, though, is I do do it every day, but I don't do it at a certain time. And also I tend to... that I Report an error in the passage at 1:26:51 Highlight the passage at 1:26:51

1:27:14 I tend to count my breath and then I have this mantra and then I zigzag all over. One of the things that Lee, he's done some readings and stuff and it's interesting. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:14 Highlight the passage at 1:27:14

1:27:29 Looking forward to the class. Cool, welcome. Steve, you said, right? Yep. We'll talk more about meditation next week, actually. That's great. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:29 Highlight the passage at 1:27:29

1:27:40 My name is Jen. Hi, Jen. I'm happy to be here. Oh, come on. A little more than that. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:40 Highlight the passage at 1:27:40

1:27:54 Hi, I'm Leslie, and I've come three times now to the Center for Drop-In Meditation. It's been a very moving experience for me. I'll just stop there at that part. I'm a real sensitive person, so... Nice job. No, no, leave it at that. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:54 Highlight the passage at 1:27:54

1:28:13 You're, yeah, you're a Hmong, I have a great sense of humor too. We have a few of those in here. I'm here because I've had a really bad experience with religion all my life. And when I found out that there was life after death, I felt free. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:13 Highlight the passage at 1:28:13

1:28:38 So, sorry. No, don't be. Yeah. And I found out that there was something inside of me that naturally understood compassion and love, but I didn't know how to use it in a secular religion. So I'm here to know how to use what I feel comes somewhat natural, but I want to learn how to really take it out into the world and deal with it at the grocery store or with my parents. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:38 Highlight the passage at 1:28:38

1:29:10 Right, right. So this is really exciting for me because I've never wanted to be anywhere where there was any kind of temple or church or anything that I could study at all because I had no heart for it. and so So it was funny that my drop-in meditations led me to this, but someone gave me a book called No Self, No Problem. And I just finished reading it for the fifth time. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:10 Highlight the passage at 1:29:10

1:29:43 And it's great. So I don't know anything. Oh, yes, you do. But I'm here and I want to learn from everyone and everything. So I hope I'll... Be here for all the years that many of you have been. And I hope to be touched by every one of you here too. I have a background in hospice. So I saw that you had a Tara Center. So I'll talk to you about that because I do have time to help people in their last parts of their days. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:43 Highlight the passage at 1:29:43

1:30:25 I find that very comforting for me. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:25 Highlight the passage at 1:30:25

1:30:37 me so my name is this has come up Report an error in the passage at 1:30:37 Highlight the passage at 1:30:37

1:30:49 So I've been coming here for maybe four years and Chukyi is actually my first formal Dharma teacher. And I'm very grateful to her because she was so kind when I first came and so welcoming. And she's always been that way, extremely kind and a wonderful teacher, wonderful role model. And I'm very grateful to her. You're turning red. No, it's just the robes. I've taken a couple of classes from her and so I'm looking forward to this. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:49 Highlight the passage at 1:30:49

1:31:27 And also Venerable Tenzin Chokyi is doing a retreat at Vajrapani on bodhicitta in October. Yeah, that's right, that's right. What are the dates? I think it's the 8th through the 11th. It's that weekend. So I was thinking, oh, this would be a great class to get me, you know, to that place. Yeah, that'd be great. And come back and give a little talk about it. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:27 Highlight the passage at 1:31:27

1:31:52 Yeah, and we'll mention those dates again and also tell you guys, those who might not know, what Vajrapani is. It's a little sister center to the south in the Santa Cruz Mountains, our retreat center. So why don't you guys take a break? Is this a good time for a break? I know, startling, huh? Usually it's like five minutes before the end of the class. I try to do better. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:52 Highlight the passage at 1:31:52

1:32:14 And there is a roster. Just start sending it around if people, you know, can just write their names. Email, phone number. Email, phone number. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:14 Highlight the passage at 1:32:14

1:32:28 Yeah, just put yes, no, those things. Oh, Report an error in the passage at 1:32:28 Highlight the passage at 1:32:28

1:32:40 well done, so we don't need, yeah, we decided to, we started doing that, I started doing this a while ago, but wait until the second class to do the binders, because that way we know exactly how many people are really committing to it, and some people actually prefer it electronically, so, and I think, you know, less paper. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:40 Highlight the passage at 1:32:40

1:32:25 meditation document email Report an error in the passage at 1:32:25 Highlight the passage at 1:32:25

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:32:57 Hey, come on up. Hi, welcome. I have a concern and it's kind of stupid. Oh no, nothing is. And this happened with Lee's group. When we start meditating and then you can do the same thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:57 Highlight the passage at 1:32:57

1:33:11 It's okay for like after a while I just get really irritated. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How do you suggest that? I don't know what it is if it's like... Report an error in the passage at 1:33:11 Highlight the passage at 1:33:11

1:33:26 I don't know. That's an interesting one probably for you to explore. It's probably a different style. You're probably just used to, you know, just watching your breath or something like that. And we definitely do a tradition of both. We do watching the breath, but then we also do what's called analytical meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:26 Highlight the passage at 1:33:26

1:33:47 So it's like using your analysis to understand something, become familiar with something. So there often is. That guided thing. However, for your homework, no one will be there guiding you. And that's, you know, I usually will start the class with that kind of a thing. And that just basically is a way for you to let go of your day and set your motivation. But it won't be very long. Which is, yeah, if you feel that coming up, I would just kind of like maybe just, I mean, the main point is to set your motivation for the class. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:47 Highlight the passage at 1:33:47

1:34:22 So it's kind of like if it would help you. To set your motivation for the class in another way, then just come in a little bit later, or else just focus on your breath and then just set your own motivation. That's okay. You don't even have to listen. I don't know if it's because outside, that doesn't, you know, and I don't mind, like, it doesn't bother me, like, for a few minutes or, but, like, I don't know, and the only thing I think of is, like, I've always been this way when I'm asleep, if somebody wakes me up before I'm supposed to wake up, I'm just irritable. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:22 Highlight the passage at 1:34:22

1:34:53 Oh, interesting. Yeah, yeah. I don't know. This is something I have to work through. Right. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. I think it might be a good thing to explore. I don't know. Yeah. Okay. But just to look at it as a guide, help me set my intention. Yeah, that's it. You're just setting your intention. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:53 Highlight the passage at 1:34:53

1:35:13 And if it doesn't work for you, then you just go ahead and set your own intentions. So maybe just think about, okay, then I want to take this class for whatever your reason is, you know, to help me develop my love and compassion, help me help others, to help me, you know, like that. And then just focus on your own. Yeah, no, don't worry about it. No, that's fine. And just, you know, if I get irritated to love it, have compassion for my irritation? Report an error in the passage at 1:35:13 Highlight the passage at 1:35:13

1:35:35 Well, just notice that aversion. in little bit. Is what keeps us really limited, you know, to have aversion towards others and it keeps us from connecting. So it's sort of like, and it's probably actually, we'll refer to this thing called self-cherishing mind or self-absorption and that's, it comes from that. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:35 Highlight the passage at 1:35:35

1:36:00 It sprung from that. So that itself, this mind, we'll talk about it a little bit more in the second half and then definitely in the rest of the class, or course, but it's called self-cherishing mind and that self-cherishing mind is the mind that sort of cherishes myself more than others and coming from that mind are all these other deluded states of mind, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:00 Highlight the passage at 1:36:00

1:36:23 I want you, I don't like you, you know, all of that kind of stuff. So all those kind of aversion and attachment and obsession and all that stuff all comes from that mind. So it'll actually become part of your meditation later in the class, so don't worry about it. All right, that helps. Yeah, yeah. All right, thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:23 Highlight the passage at 1:36:23

1:36:44 I'm okay. It's so good to see you. Good to see you, too. How are you? You went on your little cruise thing. Oh, yeah. Well, you know, I'm six months into my treatment. Right, right. Oh, yeah, the cruise is great. Are you still doing your treatment? Yeah, I've got three more months to go. Oh, sure. It really affects cognizance. So sitting is really hard for me because it's just... Report an error in the passage at 1:36:44 Highlight the passage at 1:36:44

1:37:13 Yeah, there's a lot of, these things have a lot of cognitive effects, but yeah, I'm working, trying. Right, right. You know, we started doing the language group on Saturdays. Oh, good, you're doing that. Oh, good, yeah. I've tried, I've started several times, different times, different places, different people, and then things happened or they left. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:13 Highlight the passage at 1:37:13

1:37:35 So it's really fun because it just, you know, it sort of changes everything. Oh, good. Yeah, yeah. Well, we're hoping, of course, that Ziggy will be up for teaching, you know, some Tibetan classes. Yeah, yeah. It's kind of funny, but it's just that, because it just, and it enjoys it so much. Oh, good, good. It's like Tibetan had a lifetime anyway, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:35 Highlight the passage at 1:37:35

1:38:01 Right, right, right. It's like, oh, yeah, you know. But you know just like it's sort of starting to work through I think the thing I want to start doing now is just start working through the refuge period, you know, one at a time and keep writing it down. So you can sort of really own it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's kind of cool to start recognizing things. Yeah, yeah. But other than that, you know, it's remarkable to have such a good attitude of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:01 Highlight the passage at 1:38:01

1:38:28 It's been, sometimes physically, it's just... It just rings out. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I get short of breath walking up. Walk up out, you know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So what'd you end up doing? Or don't help me. She had a positive. It's just sort of, yeah, it's just kind of that, yeah, maybe we'll talk after. Later, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:28 Highlight the passage at 1:38:28

1:39:00 But anyway, so I've been, you know, I have a It's funny because I really worked hard after we did the daily practice class. really working with my meditation space, and so it's really nice, you know, and then, and there are some days, I was realizing recently, you know, it's like, you know, sometimes, like, it was like, I couldn't do frustrations, you know, I couldn't do frustrations, yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, and so, you visualize them, though, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:00 Highlight the passage at 1:39:00

1:39:30 I try to do it in the morning, but every night I'll do prostrations and refuge. you very much. I just kind of do it over and over again. The other thing that was really funny was at one point... I don't remember talking a long time ago about it. Talking to my wife about being a Tibetan Buddhist and she was like, oh no, you're not. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:30 Highlight the passage at 1:39:30

1:40:03 She came to the refuge. And it was like a real change. Suddenly everything was so much different and kind of more real for her. Yeah, of course. Because here you come over her all the time. It's just like, and then we become people. Yeah, and you know, I've been doing Wednesday nights, and then, but, you know, I'm on for the summer, and last Wednesday, next Wednesday, I've got some stuff. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:03 Highlight the passage at 1:40:03

1:40:31 Oh, right, yeah. But then I'll be back on Wednesdays. Yeah, well, he actually did, you heard, right, that he just finished Patience last night. Yeah. He didn't start Joyful Ever. Yeah. And then, but it was funny, so then I was talking to Susan, I was saying, I was like, oh, Shukyi's back, so we start on Thursdays again, you know, and we're doing language on Saturdays. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:31 Highlight the passage at 1:40:31

1:40:49 And she was like, and then she was like, well, so, you know, you get educational on Wednesdays and you do classes on Thursdays. And then, you know, you do the language on Saturdays. And then she looked at me and said, you know, this will work out really well because I'm teaching and, you know, I need to do my work and stuff, you know, and I was talking. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:49 Highlight the passage at 1:40:49

1:41:09 You know, for all the stuff that's going on, all I've ever wanted to do is just be able to sort of, like, get one, so I could just sort of, like, do that. Yeah, so sort of coming together. Yeah, you know, and unlike, you know, in sort of our lives at this point, when she looks at that, it was just like, she can wrap her head around that. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:09 Highlight the passage at 1:41:09

1:41:29 Right. Where, like, even a few years ago, if I said, what are you going to do when you retire? I was like, well, I'm going to be a boost. Sorry. I was like, well, you can't do that. Right. And now it's like, It's like, yeah. Well, it's so cool that she's really supportive, too. I thought you were going to say, she was like, wait a second, you got Wednesday night, you got Thursday night, you got Saturday. Because I definitely see that in some couples, that if one is not involved and the other one is, it's like... Report an error in the passage at 1:41:29 Highlight the passage at 1:41:29

1:41:55 You're not working. It either works or it doesn't. Yeah, but I mean, physically, I'm not working. Right, right. Yeah. And then when I'm done with all this stuff, I'm going to retire anyway. Yeah. So we could, you know, we have more time together than those couples. Right. No, it's true. It's true. It's true. So it's been, you know, anyway, I'm so happy that you're back. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:55 Highlight the passage at 1:41:55

1:42:18 I'm happy to be back too, yeah. It's nice to be able to teach again. I mean, it just feels like forever because it's certainly been a... A huge experience this whole summer. Yeah. It's really kind of funny. It's like, you don't take this summer. Because I was doing classes and then the Wednesdays stopped and then we... Report an error in the passage at 1:42:18 Highlight the passage at 1:42:18

1:42:43 started doing the language and stuff, but it was almost like, it takes some semesters in Buddhism. I know, I know. You can't take this summer off. Which I've never done, you know, I've never just been, I just like withdrew from the whole center. I mean I just didn't do anything. It was like I lived here but I didn't do anything. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:43 Highlight the passage at 1:42:43

1:43:02 at the center at all, so it's interesting. Well, yeah. I mean, I just, I don't know. I feel like I can read and retain stuff, so it's interesting. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:02 Highlight the passage at 1:43:02

1:43:17 You know, it's all part of that. It's just another one of those lessons. The other thing that was really cool was when I was telling her about... it's Sunday at Ziggy's. People could start finding their seats. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:17 Highlight the passage at 1:43:17

1:43:42 Didn't mean to cut you off, but I thought I'd better start getting them back in here. Oh, you could do, you could take this one. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:42 Highlight the passage at 1:43:42

1:43:45 be in here. Thank you. It's nice because it's so calming, I think. It's not like annoying. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:45 Highlight the passage at 1:43:45

1:44:12 I don't know if it was supposed to, but I figured that out one time. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:12 Highlight the passage at 1:44:12

1:44:23 It's better than flashing the lights. I would love some just hot water. Just in a different, yeah, you want to just dump this and put it in there? Yeah, because I don't really need any more green tea. You know what, I'll just do that. I'll just do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:23 Highlight the passage at 1:44:23

1:44:34 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:34 Highlight the passage at 1:44:34

1:44:43 Excitement. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:43 Highlight the passage at 1:44:43

1:44:47 So I just want to get going a little bit because we have a little material to cover before we break and we have 17 minutes and 37 seconds. And when that done or that, but now we're going to just make it all. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:47 Highlight the passage at 1:44:47

1:44:44 Yeah. Where's the Bazaar? Where's the Bazaar? Report an error in the passage at 1:44:44 Highlight the passage at 1:44:44

1:44:59 So I'm going to be a good galupa and I'm going to start with a definition, another definition, a definition of bodhicitta. No, not yet, not yet. In about two seconds we'll get to enlightenment that has a list. But bodhicitta is basically described as, sometimes people call it, well bodhicitta actually translates, it's a Sanskrit word. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:59 Highlight the passage at 1:44:59

1:45:25 So chitta is mind. And bodhi is? Report an error in the passage at 1:45:25 Highlight the passage at 1:45:25

1:45:33 What do we want to be kids? Enlightened. Enlightened. So sometimes it's called the mind. That's right. Sapa's actually warrior. So yeah, but that gets into a whole different thing. Thank you, sweetie. We've been here so long. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:33 Highlight the passage at 1:45:33

1:45:54 I'm sure this is going to inspire the newer students. Yeah. Oh, that's so funny. It's just Report an error in the passage at 1:45:54 Highlight the passage at 1:45:54

1:46:01 Thanks, thanks. So sometimes people call it the mind of enlightenment, but it doesn't mean a Buddha's mind. It doesn't mean that you're already enlightened. It's the mind that wants to get enlightened. It's the mind that wants to get enlightened for the sake, and you have to finish the sentence, for the sake of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:01 Highlight the passage at 1:46:01

1:46:21 So it has to have those two parts. It's not just wanting to become a Buddha. For some other reason, maybe you really like the outfit or the color or the number of heads or the thing that they're holding or whatever, or the way they wear their hair. You want to become a Buddha so that you can help all sentient beings. Is it want or wish? Report an error in the passage at 1:46:21 Highlight the passage at 1:46:21

1:46:45 Often it's described as the wish. I actually feel like it's stronger to say something like resolve or determination because I think wish becomes a little bit weak. Yeah, it's like, oh, I wish I could be a Buddha, but I will. It's literally, no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult it is, no matter who opposes me, whether they love me or hate me, I want to help every living being without exception, and I will do so. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:45 Highlight the passage at 1:46:45

1:47:16 So it's strong, you know, it's like a really powerful mind. It's not like, gosh, I wish, but I can't, so okay, you know. It's really, really, really powerful mind. But it is important to remember those two parts because your real goal is compassion. Your real goal is to help others and their suffering. The best method or means is enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:16 Highlight the passage at 1:47:16

1:47:42 That's why we want to become. So that we can help others, you know, it's the how. So we want to get enlightened so that we can, so we have the best skill set, so we have the best powers, so that we have the best abilities or capacity to help others. And so that's the whole goal. So then we have to go, okay, well, what is being a Buddha? What is enlightenment? Report an error in the passage at 1:47:42 Highlight the passage at 1:47:42

1:48:14 Enlightenment is a mind that is free of all negativity and has or has developed all or perfected all positivity. You could say it in those two ways. Again, two ways. It's completely free of everything that is negative in the mind. Anger, hatred, resentment, criticism, obsessive attachment, addiction. Everything that's harmful in the mind. And this is a list. You could have that as a point or two. Negative. And negative in the sense of Buddhism is anything that would cause harm to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:14 Highlight the passage at 1:48:14

1:48:55 So it's not like some external thing that's saying that's a bad mind. It's more any kind of state of mind that is harmful to oneself or others, I should say. To oneself or other. So depression might not hurt anyone, most likely if it gets... Pretty strongly developed, it will hurt others around you, but it definitely hurts you, right? So any kind of harmful mind, any kind of negative mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:55 Highlight the passage at 1:48:55

1:49:20 And any mind that is, they're completely free of any mind that's disturbed by afflictions, these mental afflictions. These little guys, we're going to talk about these a lot. They come up in all the classes because they are the main source of all of our suffering in this thing called saṃsāra. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:20 Highlight the passage at 1:49:20

1:49:38 Klesha in Sanskrit, mental affliction, sometimes His Holiness calls it disturbing emotions, I think. Basically any mind that disturbs the mind or any thought that disturbs the mind. So anger, hatred, depression, irritation. So it doesn't have to be a huge mind. It doesn't have to be rage. It can also just be like, God, I hate her voice. It can be little minds, too, that just begin to disturb what would otherwise be a peaceful or happy mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:38 Highlight the passage at 1:49:38

1:50:12 Jealousy is another good one. Guilt. Depression. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:12 Highlight the passage at 1:50:12

1:50:20 So when one becomes enlightened, They are completely free of all those states of mind. And there is a complete path to this, which is part of the Four Noble Truths. There is a way to attain such a mind to eliminate all those states. At the same time, they have completely developed or perfected all the positive so that it cannot be developed anymore. So their love is like huger than any love that we can imagine because it's completely perfect love, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:20 Highlight the passage at 1:50:20

1:50:52 We can have blips of love. We can have blips of compassion. We can develop our wisdom. But Buddhas have it to the point of complete, perfect wisdom. They often will use that word perfect, meaning it can't be developed any more perfectly. So all those positive states of mind are completely developed and all the negative states of mind are completely eliminated. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:52 Highlight the passage at 1:50:52

1:51:17 And that's what Buddhahood is. So I like to say the simple definition of Buddhahood is just simply perfect mind. It's the mind we have now but perfected. So it's not like we get another mind, you know. We get other things. We get other bodies. We have the capacity to create other bodies. But the mind that we have now can be perfected to the point where it becomes Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:17 Highlight the passage at 1:51:17

1:51:42 That's all Buddha means, fully awakened. So bodhicitta is wanting to do this with all your heart. You want this, you know, because you can see that if I had perfect mind, then I could help you because I'd be able to really not only be able to know through my wisdom and compassion exactly what to do in this minute, but I would also have... Report an error in the passage at 1:51:42 Highlight the passage at 1:51:42

1:52:08 The wisdom to be able to see your past lives and what worked and what didn't work. I would also know exactly who you have connections with in this room and who might be able to help you. I would know what practices you might have an affinity for. I would have all of that kind of wisdom because my mind would be perfected. And I wouldn't get irritated with you if you didn't do anything I told you to, which a really good teacher, of course, doesn't. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:08 Highlight the passage at 1:52:08

1:52:32 Geshe-la is always so patient even if we ask the same question over and over. He always acts like it's the f***. You know, he's like, oh, and he always acts like it's the wisest thing he's ever heard, too, so nobody ever feels dumb, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:32 Highlight the passage at 1:52:32

1:52:47 He always answers it, no matter, even if the question's asked really, like, out there, he always somehow pulls this kernel of incredible wisdom out of it, and then that person feels like, oh, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:47 Highlight the passage at 1:52:47

1:53:01 Yeah, you all laughed, but yeah, see. So a Buddha, a Buddha, Is able to do that too. Because then we have those skills. And fortunately, one of the basic teachings of Buddhism that we don't have so much in the West and part of why the lamrim, at least in the Galupa tradition, starts with it is the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:01 Highlight the passage at 1:53:01

1:53:25 Our idea of mind is brain, usually. We have this idea that the physical organ, I guess you can say is brain an organ. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:25 Highlight the passage at 1:53:25

1:53:36 We think of that as our mind, even though I think we separate the two, but we're scientific culture, and so we often think that that's it. But we also have this idea of myself, and we tend to think that I'm not so changeable, but actually mind is... Purely changeable, thankfully. And also not thankfully. It does rapidly switch around. Anybody who's tried to meditate for a second can tell you that. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:36 Highlight the passage at 1:53:36

1:54:02 That's actually one of the, I think, huge gifts of meditation is to show us what our mind is like all the time. The good thing is that we can aim our mind towards this mind of bodhicitta. And even before we get there, it begins to cut through our laziness. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:02 Highlight the passage at 1:54:02

1:54:19 Our anger, our irritation, our greediness, and so forth. And it helps us reduce all those negative states of mind. Ultimately, what's going to cut through those states of mind, those delusions? Any guesses from anybody who's done any other classes? What's the one thing that's going to slice through Anna? All of our negative states of mind and all of our ignorance. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:19 Highlight the passage at 1:54:19

1:54:46 Where's that mic? Oh, it's right next to you. How convenient. I think it would have to be the direct perception of emptiness. That's it. That's it. That's it. And that's what that knife, that's what that sword that Mandrushri is holding is all about. It's slicing that ignorance. So bodhicitta is going to do a lot to help us. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:46 Highlight the passage at 1:54:46

1:55:12 Purify all those negative states of mind. It's going to help us turn them around because it's going to give us a reason to, right? We don't want to be kicking in the heads of somebody that we ultimately love. So if we want to develop this mind of bodhicitta, we do begin seeing everyone as either our mothers or our children. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:12 Highlight the passage at 1:55:12

1:55:32 That's one of our goals. So then it's easier to not hate them. Or if we catch ourselves hating them, we at least can see that, as one of my teachers said, at least it becomes your favorite enemy. That's a step in the right direction. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:32 Highlight the passage at 1:55:32

1:55:48 So there are a lot of benefits of bodhicitta. Actually, one of the biggest benefits of bodhicitta is that, and this is actually my favorite benefit of bodhicitta, it creates merit night and day. Merit is simply really, really good karma. It's good karma earmarked for enlightenment. It's like not just for happiness in this life or the next. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:48 Highlight the passage at 1:55:48

1:56:09 It's like really to get to become a Buddha. So they say that when you generate, really truly generate this mind of bodhicitta, night and day, whether you're attentive, whether you're distracted, whether you're watching a movie, whether you're sleeping, you're constantly creating positive karma all the time. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:09 Highlight the passage at 1:56:09

1:56:29 All the time. So, you know, you can be just spaced out looking into space and you're still creating positive karma. And the reason is because this mind of bodhicitta has as its focus the happiness of all living beings without exception, right? That insanely wide focus. It's the biggest mind, most powerful mind that we can possibly generate. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:29 Highlight the passage at 1:56:29

1:56:55 Because that. Mind is so huge because we aren't just saying, oh, this one needy guy in front of me, I'll take care of him. Or even most, most of the time it's for, right, that one needy guy here, this one needy guy. But then it might be that one needy guy who happens to be my husband or my brother or my, you know, daughter or the dog or something like that. And most of us can have that towards one being. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:55 Highlight the passage at 1:56:55

1:57:19 Actually, Lama Yeshe says that's perfect proof that we can actually have it for all living beings. We can have it for one little needy guy, whether it's ourselves or somebody else, to the point that we would do anything for that person, even take on their suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:19 Highlight the passage at 1:57:19

1:57:35 And those of you who have spent time with people who are dying, or somebody that you love who's dying, or somebody you love who's very, very sick, you know, and you literally do have that feeling of, oh, I would take this on for you. I don't want to see you suffering like that. That's... Lamia, she says, that's proof. All you have to do now is expand that to all sentient beings. But to even have that for one person or one living being for one moment is proof. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:35 Highlight the passage at 1:57:35

1:58:07 Then we just build it, strengthening. That's all we have to do is just build it and strengthen it. That's it. Which when I read that, I actually found that quite comforting. It's not that we have to create some mind that we've never experienced before, because most of us have had that for at least a second. Even in a movie. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:07 Highlight the passage at 1:58:07

1:58:23 You know, to see somebody suffering like that. But usually I think it ends up being somebody that we really, really, really care about. You know, a parent, a child, a lover, a loved one, husband, wife, pet, something like that. That you would take away that suffering onto yourself if you could take it from that person or that living being. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:23 Highlight the passage at 1:58:23

1:58:50 So they say... Another benefit of bodhicitta is that it allows us to become enlightened. In fact, it's the only thing. We actually can't become enlightened without bodhicitta. There's no shortcut. We actually have to attain enlightenment. I mean, we have to generate bodhicitta. It's the direct cause of enlightenment. Compassion and love are the direct cause of bodhicitta. And likewise, bodhicitta is the direct cause of enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:50 Highlight the passage at 1:58:50

1:59:24 They say you become a child of the Buddhas. A lot of times this sort of code word is used in the sutras. They'll say son of the Buddha or child of the Buddha and they're talking about bodhisattvas, these beings who have generated bodhicitta. And we'll talk about bodhisattvas in another class. But yeah, someone who has generated actual bodhicitta and there are levels of bodhicitta, those beings are called bodhisattvas. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:24 Highlight the passage at 1:59:24

1:59:53 Enlightenment warriors is how that actually translates. Bodhisattva. Every action you do becomes a cause for enlightenment. So even little actions, even feeding the birds, right? Because you're doing it with this mind of, you know, may I do that as I was cleaning today. yeah. Bodhi. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:53 Highlight the passage at 1:59:53

2:00:15 I took a minute and Lama Zopa Rinpoche is always saying that. Stop before you do even mundane activities and motivate that you're doing it for the benefit of all beings. So even something that seems thoroughly unrelated, right? So cleaning, I'm cleaning this place and I'm... Report an error in the passage at 2:00:15 Highlight the passage at 2:00:15

2:00:32 Thinking that I'm doing it in order to get enlightened. How is that working? As I'm cleaning, I'm thinking about it. Cleaning this mirror, that's my mind. I'm cleaning my mind. I'm going to have to clean my mind so that it's completely this transparent. That's how I'm going to get enlightened. As I'm vacuuming. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:32 Highlight the passage at 2:00:32

2:00:49 So you're doing it with each thing. So all those little things are all permeated with this mind of bodhicitta. So then everything creates all this merit. Then you create just like... Buckets of merit. And why do we need all this merit? Because we needed to have that direct perception of emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:49 Highlight the passage at 2:00:49

2:01:12 We need a lot of good karma to have a direct perception of emptiness. And that's another story, but the nature of reality, as the Buddha observed it to be as he got enlightened, is that things don't exist the way they... The way we think that they exist. In other words, they're empty of existing that way. So when we talk about emptiness, that's really what we're talking about. We'll talk a little bit more about it. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:12 Highlight the passage at 2:01:12

2:01:35 It's not really the scope of this class, but everything, of course, is interrelated. We can't have that experience unless we have a lot of that direct experience of it. We can have some understanding. We can develop an intellectual understanding of emptiness, but we can't have that touch. That direct taste of emptiness that will profoundly change us forever from two sides of the coin, the ordinary being, the being who has not had this experience to forever that one that has, the Arya being, the so-called superior being. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:35 Highlight the passage at 2:01:35

2:02:16 and so And Buddhas are superior beings, and so are Arhats, and so are, you know, Arya Bodhisattvas. So in order to have that experience, we can study, we can do all these other things, but unless we have the merit, we'll never have it. And then the only way to get that much merit over that much amount of time, in the fastest amount of time, so that Geshe-la says it's very profitable. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:16 Highlight the passage at 2:02:16

2:02:43 To have bodhicitta because we create a lot of merit in a relatively short amount of time so that we can have that experience. So it's really, there's a practical aspect of it too. It's like, you know, it's like I want to get enlightened so I need to create a lot of good karma. Yeah, they say when you go through the bodhic, getting ready to take the bodhisattva vows and you're... Report an error in the passage at 2:02:43 Highlight the passage at 2:02:43

2:03:10 You're studying them and so forth. It's like they say that you actually enter the family of the Buddhas. They say that actually when anyone generates bodhicitta or even takes the bodhisattva vows, it's like there's a little earthquake. So every time I feel an earthquake, I always wonder, it's like, oh, somebody generated bodhicitta. It's like that little, you know, the little thing with that movie, you know, every time that you hear a bell, yeah, an angel got it. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:10 Highlight the passage at 2:03:10

2:03:38 We have our version, you know. Man, I wonder what happened in New Zealand, right? We've got a couple of centers there. Wow. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah, so we're going to end with, I just wanted to mention, there are two main methods. We'll start with this. One of them is called the seven-point cause and effect, and that one was taught by Asanga. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:38 Highlight the passage at 2:03:38

2:04:05 It was actually taught to him directly by Maitreya Buddha. And then the other one is what's called exchange of self and others. And that one comes from Shantideva specifically, but also Nargajuna. And that's the one that has this meditation that somebody just referred to, Tonglen. Oh, Christine. Yeah. That is incredibly powerful, but somewhat simple to learn. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:05 Highlight the passage at 2:04:05

2:04:35 And of the two, His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that the exchange of self and others is often the best for our Western mind. What we're going to use is what's kind of a third. It's a combination of these two that Lama Tsongkhapa pulled together in 11 points. So we'll go through the 11 points that cover all of the points of both sets. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:35 Highlight the passage at 2:04:35

2:04:55 All of them, if we spent time with any of these methods, And really meditated on them and spent time diligently with them, we would generate bodhicitta. It's been done, it's proven that it will get there. If it hasn't happened, it just means we haven't put in the time. Oh, sorry, did you want to ask a quick question? No, you've got to use the mic, young lady. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:55 Highlight the passage at 2:04:55

2:05:23 The seven-point cause and effect, is it related to karma when you say cause and effect? Yeah, there are seven points and then the effect is... Bodhicitta. That's it, yeah. Yeah, yeah, you will. We'll start with that one, actually. We'll start with that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, that's just where that method comes from. I mean, he's the one who sort of taught it the most. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:23 Highlight the passage at 2:05:23

2:05:51 They all, of course, come from the Buddha. you'll you're like that's the right you know the Report an error in the passage at 2:05:51 Highlight the passage at 2:05:51

2:05:53 Um... Yeah, and then we'll also spend some time next class talking about, we'll start actually talking a little bit about meditation, what it is and if people need instruction. So that's actually what that was on the roster. Did everybody sign up on the roster? Everybody? Okay. I mean, anyone who's going to continue with the class. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:53 Highlight the passage at 2:05:53

2:06:13 If you're not going to continue with the class, that's okay. um but um That's what that meant with that meditation document. If people, especially if people don't know what meditation is or perhaps not in this tradition or they just, even if you have or you lost the other one that I sent you, I can send it or I can bring copies next week. Report an error in the passage at 2:06:13 Highlight the passage at 2:06:13

2:06:33 So if you signed that or if you want to, if you didn't realize what that meant and you want to go back there and sign it, I can email it to you. And it's just short. It's just kind of a little something about meditation. And then there was also a column on there that said if you wanted a binder, and there's two ways to do that too. Report an error in the passage at 2:06:33 Highlight the passage at 2:06:33

2:06:51 We can create a binder, which is what we were planning to do. But there's sometimes people would prefer electronic version. They just don't want the paper. If you want an electronic version, somehow mark that. Put an E next to your name. You still have it with you right now? It's on the desk. On your way out, if you would prefer an electronic version of the binder, just go and write an E next to your name. Report an error in the passage at 2:06:51 Highlight the passage at 2:06:51

2:07:16 I'll just call you and be like, what the heck is this E? That's what that's for. Any questions? Then we'll end with just a dedication. Report an error in the passage at 2:07:16 Highlight the passage at 2:07:16

2:07:32 Completely blew you guys out of the water. Alright, so let's just take one minute to just sit and just kind of let all this stuff percolate down and just relax. And Report an error in the passage at 2:07:32 Highlight the passage at 2:07:32

2:07:52 just imagine having this mind and what that might feel like in this mind, the mind that you have right now, just imagine it transforming into this mind of thinking about others. Just give yourself one minute to feel that mind. Report an error in the passage at 2:07:52 Highlight the passage at 2:07:52

· · · silence, 1 minute

2:08:42 So I wanted to end with the dedication in the gold book, but we'll just end next week with that one. Since we've gone a little bit over, we'll just wait. So I just dedicated the merit of tonight's class to actual and irreversible, genuine bodhicitta taking root in all of our minds so that we can truly benefit every living being without exception. Report an error in the passage at 2:08:42 Highlight the passage at 2:08:42

2:09:12 Thanks so much. And of course you have homework. Report an error in the passage at 2:09:12 Highlight the passage at 2:09:12

2:09:18 Who would like to help me pass this out? I also have a syllabus. And of course I only made 10 because I had no idea how many people were going to come. Report an error in the passage at 2:09:18 Highlight the passage at 2:09:18

2:09:28 If people are okay getting an electronic version of this, come up and tell me that. And then don't take an actual sheet. We'll see if we have... Report an error in the passage at 2:09:28 Highlight the passage at 2:09:28

2:09:45 Thank you. Okay. Let's see. Yeah, let's see. I Report an error in the passage at 2:09:45 Highlight the passage at 2:09:45

2:10:03 hope anybody can help cleaning up. That's great. Yeah, taking up the cushions. Report an error in the passage at 2:10:03 Highlight the passage at 2:10:03

· · · silence, 1 minute

2:11:01 We've been working in the first seven years. Report an error in the passage at 2:11:01 Highlight the passage at 2:11:01

2:11:16 She's balancing out going there. Report an error in the passage at 2:11:16 Highlight the passage at 2:11:16