Discovering Buddhism - Death and Rebirth (6 November 2007)

0:00 Our refuge generating the mind. Oh yeah, there's a couple in the chairs. Hopefully not under the cushion. There's one. Okay, there's one. Here, Tim. Are you found? No, there. Maybe you guys can. But you don't have it. Okay, there you go. I'm like trying to event manage. I've been doing that all weekend. If you could just start chopping things, we'll be fine. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:31 That's all right. Do you want one? Do you want your very own? No, this is good because then there's some bonding happening and it'll be all right. It'll be good. Okay, now how are we doing? Okay, so we're going to say the prayer to test it. Okay, this is much better than testing one, two, three. Okay, so we're going to say this three times and this will be our refuge in bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 0:31 Highlight the passage at 0:31

0:52 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 0:52 Highlight the passage at 0:52

1:23 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge. To Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach 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 1:23 Highlight the passage at 1:23

1:54 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. Report an error in the passage at 1:54 Highlight the passage at 1:54

2:23 And dispel the miseries of the world. Did we do it? Don, we just needed to bring His Holiness into it. Take care of these problems. All right, so now we're going to start with meditation. So are you comfortable without a mat? Because this little space, front and center is right. No, he's like, no way. There you go. Just be right up. Report an error in the passage at 2:23 Highlight the passage at 2:23

2:53 All right. So just try to find your posture on your cushion. If you need a different cushion, now is the moment to dash to the window seat and grab one, or sit in a chair. Report an error in the passage at 2:53 Highlight the passage at 2:53

3:14 I'm going to actually lead you guys quickly through the preliminaries too, so you can see that you don't have to take a long time to do the preliminary practices. Report an error in the passage at 3:14 Highlight the passage at 3:14

3:24 It may take a while at the beginning, but eventually you're just trying to get to a certain state of mind, so it's less about the words than it is about what your mind is doing. Report an error in the passage at 3:24 Highlight the passage at 3:24

3:39 Which is actually true for all of Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 3:39 Highlight the passage at 3:39

3:45 So first we just review the posture. So if you're, everybody's on a cushion. So the most important aspect of it is to keep your spine extended. You just can kind of imagine a cord going in front of your spinal column and then out the crown of your head. Report an error in the passage at 3:45 Highlight the passage at 3:45

4:10 And your legs should just be comfortable. So if you can sit in full posture, that's great. You don't need to. You can sit in half or you can just sit cross-legged. I like to sit in what's called Tara position with one leg sort of in front of the other so nothing is really crossed. Report an error in the passage at 4:10 Highlight the passage at 4:10

4:29 You can just decide what feels the most stable for you. And then have your shoulders back a little bit and level. Report an error in the passage at 4:29 Highlight the passage at 4:29

4:45 Your chin just slightly tucked under, which opens up the back of your neck. Report an error in the passage at 4:45 Highlight the passage at 4:45

5:01 Your eyes can be either gazing off the length of your nose but unfocused, maybe a couple of feet in front of you, or you can have them lightly closed. Report an error in the passage at 5:01 Highlight the passage at 5:01

5:18 Your tongue is on the roof of your mouth behind your front teeth but not touching, which keeps your mouth moist so you don't have to swallow so much. Report an error in the passage at 5:18 Highlight the passage at 5:18

5:34 And your hands, in this tradition usually we have our hands in our lap right over left, thumbs touching lightly just below your navel. So if you're not sitting in full Vajra posture, usually that just means that they're relaxed in your lap. If it feels more comfortable, you can also have your hands on your knees. Report an error in the passage at 5:34 Highlight the passage at 5:34

6:00 And the final point is to have your breathing just relaxed and normal the way you normally would breathe. We usually just begin with at least a round of 10 breaths, one in-breath and one out-breath being one. Just trying to keep your focus on the breath, your concentration on the breath. But you don't need to change your breathing in any way. And you can observe your breath from either the level of your belly or your chest or your nostril. Report an error in the passage at 6:00 Highlight the passage at 6:00

6:35 It's just the sensation of the air entering and leaving your body. And that's your object and everything else is not your object. So any distraction of sounds, any thoughts, feelings, plans, you just... Extricate your mind and place it right back onto the object. We'll just do that for one round. We'll Report an error in the passage at 6:35 Highlight the passage at 6:35

· · · silence, 1 minute

7:56 start with our motivation, which is also our motivation for this class tonight. That each of us is able to realize within this lifetime, this very short, precious lifetime, how very meaningful our lives can be. Report an error in the passage at 7:56 Highlight the passage at 7:56

8:19 And part of that realization comes from understanding that death can happen. And that death can happen at any time. Report an error in the passage at 8:19 Highlight the passage at 8:19

8:33 And so we do this meditation and this class to get closer to that understanding so that we can really get the most meaning out of our life. Report an error in the passage at 8:33 Highlight the passage at 8:33

8:58 And then we start with the preliminaries. So the first one is taking refuge. And an easy way to do this is just to think of one aspect of Buddhism that makes sense to you, even now at the beginning. Report an error in the passage at 8:58 Highlight the passage at 8:58

9:16 And to take refuge in that. Report an error in the passage at 9:16 Highlight the passage at 9:16

9:24 So it might be some understanding that you have of karma. It might be the idea that we all can become Buddhist. We all have that Buddha nature within our minds. It Report an error in the passage at 9:24 Highlight the passage at 9:24

9:46 might be a quality like compassion. Whatever it is, you just take refuge in that. Report an error in the passage at 9:46 Highlight the passage at 9:46

10:19 And then the next step is generating bodhicitta. And one way to get closer to this idea, this mind of bodhicitta is to think about somebody that you love so much that seeing their suffering is just unbearable to you. That you would basically do anything for that person if they were in pain to remove their pain. So often that might be your child, it might be a partner, it might be a parent. Report an error in the passage at 10:19 Highlight the passage at 10:19

10:55 experience that you've had of this mind. Of compassion, which is really wanting to remove the suffering of another being. And especially when it gets to the point that you really honestly would feel like you would take it upon yourself if you could. Report an error in the passage at 10:55 Highlight the passage at 10:55

11:15 The Buddha said that basically if we can experience this with one being, we can experience it with all beings. It just takes training. Report an error in the passage at 11:15 Highlight the passage at 11:15

11:27 And so this gives us a little taste of this mind of bodhicitta, which is basically feeling this for every living being without exception. Report an error in the passage at 11:27 Highlight the passage at 11:27

12:02 Then we do what's called the seven limb prayer and so to do that you imagine inviting in front of you a teacher. Maybe it's a teacher in this life or maybe it's somebody that you just honor like the Dalai Lama. Report an error in the passage at 12:02 Highlight the passage at 12:02

12:20 If you don't have anybody like that you can imagine the Buddha himself in any form. You can just imagine this teacher in the sky in front of you sitting on a throne and Report an error in the passage at 12:20 Highlight the passage at 12:20

12:37 the first step is just Kind of like how we started the class, thinking of some qualities that that teacher has that you honor and respect and bowing down to those qualities, which basically just means honoring them. Report an error in the passage at 12:37 Highlight the passage at 12:37

12:53 But with that little added aspect of wanting them to. Report an error in the passage at 12:53 Highlight the passage at 12:53

13:02 So maybe it's a quality of kindness, presence, wisdom, compassion, whatever. Just bow down to that quality. Report an error in the passage at 13:02 Highlight the passage at 13:02

13:38 And then the second limb is to make offerings. So you just imagine what would you offer to have that quality yourself. So we can just imagine anything that you find beautiful or valuable or precious. Report an error in the passage at 13:38 Highlight the passage at 13:38

13:54 It can be, you know, flowers, lights, your favorite food, your favorite drink. Report an error in the passage at 13:54 Highlight the passage at 13:54

14:10 But don't imagine just one cup of tea or one plate of food. Imagine an entire Clouds filled with this, an offer. Report an error in the passage at 14:10 Highlight the passage at 14:10

14:41 This is as much about opening our hearts as actually giving anything to the Buddhas who don't need anything. Report an error in the passage at 14:41 Highlight the passage at 14:41

14:55 And the next step is confession. And a lot of times people resist this step, but it actually has to do again with us being able to sort of free our own hearts so that we can expand them. And we have a hard time doing this if we feel bad for something that we've done. The Buddhas don't really care what we've done. They already know. But by coming up with something specific that you feel bad about, considering how karma works, and knowing that whenever we do a negative act, it just comes back to us, usually stronger than the act itself, because karma increases. Report an error in the passage at 14:55 Highlight the passage at 14:55

15:41 So with that kind of a mind, intelligent regret, not guilt, then you just come up with something that you've done that you regret. Report an error in the passage at 15:41 Highlight the passage at 15:41

16:12 And then rejoice. And this is the opposite. This is thinking about something that we've done well or something that we've done or even just showing up for class tonight. Report an error in the passage at 16:12 Highlight the passage at 16:12

16:26 Maybe you did your homework this week. Maybe you didn't get angry when somebody cut you off. So whatever it is, you can just rejoice. Report an error in the passage at 16:26 Highlight the passage at 16:26

16:37 It could also be about something that somebody else has done. But I think it's good to start with yourself. Report an error in the passage at 16:37 Highlight the passage at 16:37

17:09 And then steps five and six of the seven limb prayer are basically asking this teacher or the Buddha to stay and to teach. Report an error in the passage at 17:09 Highlight the passage at 17:09

17:25 They say that we have to request. And if we do request, then they have to say yes. Report an error in the passage at 17:25 Highlight the passage at 17:25

17:41 And then the final limb is dedication. So when we do these seven limbs, this prayer, these preliminary practices, then we take one moment to dedicate that little bit of merit. To maybe that person that you were thinking about earlier, that you would do anything to remove their suffering. Maybe you can dedicate it to their never having suffering again. Report an error in the passage at 17:41 Highlight the passage at 17:41

18:16 And then we're going to do the first point on this meditation with the three supporting points. And the first point is that death is certain. Report an error in the passage at 18:16 Highlight the passage at 18:16

18:37 We plan so many activities. We plan... Our days, we plan months, we often plan years in advance, but we never plan for our own death. And if the idea that I will die pops up, we usually try to distract ourselves or brush it away. Report an error in the passage at 18:37 Highlight the passage at 18:37

19:01 And yet this is the one thing that's definitely going to happen to each of us. And Report an error in the passage at 19:01 Highlight the passage at 19:01

19:17 if we don't think about it, it'll come as a shock and a surprise. And we'll just end up wasting a lot of time. Report an error in the passage at 19:17 Highlight the passage at 19:17

19:29 So the first point is that... No power in the universe can stop death. Everyone has to die. Report an error in the passage at 19:29 Highlight the passage at 19:29

19:40 And so for this one we can think about the fact that everyone we've ever heard of, like all the famous people of the last centuries and before, have all passed away. Report an error in the passage at 19:40 Highlight the passage at 19:40

19:54 And all the ordinary people have too. Report an error in the passage at 19:54 Highlight the passage at 19:54

20:07 Even people who have done amazing things had to pass. People who did amazing things. In social change or politics, even great masters and yogis, Report an error in the passage at 20:07 Highlight the passage at 20:07

20:24 even the Buddha himself. People Report an error in the passage at 20:24 Highlight the passage at 20:24

20:37 die doing good work, so doing good work isn't itself going to save you from dying. Report an error in the passage at 20:37 Highlight the passage at 20:37

20:50 People die in retreat. Report an error in the passage at 20:50 Highlight the passage at 20:50

20:58 Think about famous people like kings and rulers, saints, Report an error in the passage at 20:58 Highlight the passage at 20:58

21:08 and then all the ordinary people. People just like us in that they had dreams and thoughts and plans. They had relationships. They had losses. Report an error in the passage at 21:08 Highlight the passage at 21:08

21:22 Maybe their speech and clothes and belongings were different, but otherwise they were exactly like us. And then they had to die. Report an error in the passage at 21:22 Highlight the passage at 21:22

21:45 And think about how no one in this world has figured out a way to stop death, although many people have tried. Even the richest people, the most powerful people. Report an error in the passage at 21:45 Highlight the passage at 21:45

22:01 And even when that power was sort of super mundane, mundane. Nobody's been able to figure out how to death. A Report an error in the passage at 22:01 Highlight the passage at 22:01

22:18 lot of very wealthy people have tried having the most qualified doctors living in their homes with them, having entire wings of their homes made into small hospitals just for them. Report an error in the passage at 22:18 Highlight the passage at 22:18

22:38 And none of this has kept death away when that time has come. Report an error in the passage at 22:38 Highlight the passage at 22:38

22:47 Wealthy people may be able to buy more pain relief. They might be able to buy more doctors and nurses. But even that's not a guarantee because usually it's the state of mind that determines whether or not we have a peaceful death. Report an error in the passage at 22:47 Highlight the passage at 22:47

23:17 When our karma for this life is exhausted, that's called death. And nothing can stop it. Report an error in the passage at 23:17 Highlight the passage at 23:17

23:34 You can think about how people sometimes try to run away from death. But really there's no place you can go on this planet because your death is inside you. Report an error in the passage at 23:34 Highlight the passage at 23:34

23:50 People die when they're traveling. People die in other countries than their own. Report an error in the passage at 23:50 Highlight the passage at 23:50

23:58 So going someplace else isn't going to save you. Neither is staying. Report an error in the passage at 23:58 Highlight the passage at 23:58

24:15 I think about how everyone who is alive right now on this planet, except maybe the tiniest ones, will be gone in a hundred years. Report an error in the passage at 24:15 Highlight the passage at 24:15

24:32 There's never been anyone who's been able to beat death. So why do I think I'm different? Report an error in the passage at 24:32 Highlight the passage at 24:32

24:47 It's just basically my illogical ego thinking I'm somehow special. And I'm not. I'm just like everyone else. Report an error in the passage at 24:47 Highlight the passage at 24:47

25:07 The second point is that one can't add time to one's life. We get closer to death every minute. Report an error in the passage at 25:07 Highlight the passage at 25:07

25:23 Time doesn't stand still. It just continually moves. Report an error in the passage at 25:23 Highlight the passage at 25:23

25:29 You can think about how each moment, each minute, each second of this life leads us closer to death. And Report an error in the passage at 25:29 Highlight the passage at 25:29

25:43 we can never get them back once they're gone. We can't add back time. Report an error in the passage at 25:43 Highlight the passage at 25:43

25:52 The time that you've already spent today is already gone. Yesterday is gone. Report an error in the passage at 25:52 Highlight the passage at 25:52

26:05 It really is like sand moving through an hourglass. Report an error in the passage at 26:05 Highlight the passage at 26:05

26:15 We can think about how each one of our breaths brings us closer. Report an error in the passage at 26:15 Highlight the passage at 26:15

26:22 Each breath we've breathed out is gone. Report an error in the passage at 26:22 Highlight the passage at 26:22

26:31 Or every action we do could be the last time we do it, and one day it will be. So it's a way of training our minds to remember, to get it. Report an error in the passage at 26:31 Highlight the passage at 26:31

26:45 This could be our last class, my last cup of tea. My last shower, Report an error in the passage at 26:45 Highlight the passage at 26:45

26:58 the last time I'm in the center, the last time I see a certain person or hear a certain song, at some point it will be our last time. And most of the time we don't know it. Report an error in the passage at 26:58 Highlight the passage at 26:58

27:22 So the point is to be really present with it, to really notice it. We tend to do things with distraction, to try to do several things at once. Report an error in the passage at 27:22 Highlight the passage at 27:22

27:39 But if you knew it was your last time, you'd probably give it your full attention. Report an error in the passage at 27:39 Highlight the passage at 27:39

27:53 And we can think about how even when we're asleep or distracted, we're moving closer to death. So it's not like we get time off. Report an error in the passage at 27:53 Highlight the passage at 27:53

28:08 Lama Zopa Rinpoche says that it's like we spend our entire lives running towards a cliff, running towards a cliff. And that cliff is death. Report an error in the passage at 28:08 Highlight the passage at 28:08

28:22 It's like a river moving towards a waterfall and then moving over. Report an error in the passage at 28:22 Highlight the passage at 28:22

28:41 Understanding this should help us realize how very, very precious our time is, how limited it is. Report an error in the passage at 28:41 Highlight the passage at 28:41

28:50 Do we really want to waste it on meaningless things? How do we want to spend this precious life? Report an error in the passage at 28:50 Highlight the passage at 28:50

29:03 We are all definitely dying right now. Report an error in the passage at 29:03 Highlight the passage at 29:03

29:16 And the final point is while still alive, our time for spiritual practice is extremely limited. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:25 So since we're getting closer and closer to death, what are we going to do to prepare for it? Report an error in the passage at 29:25 Highlight the passage at 29:25

29:34 Think about how little time we make for practice now. And by practice, I just mean working with the mind, trying to decrease. The negative states of mind like anger, jealousy, depression, impatience, intolerance, Report an error in the passage at 29:34 Highlight the passage at 29:34

29:55 and trying to cultivate positive minds like compassion and patience. Think Report an error in the passage at 29:55 Highlight the passage at 29:55

30:05 about how even when we take time to do practice or just sit and meditate, we hurry through it to do something else, read the paper, watch TV. Report an error in the passage at 30:05 Highlight the passage at 30:05

30:23 Think about how little retreat we do. Report an error in the passage at 30:23 Highlight the passage at 30:23

30:28 Think about how many years you may have left to practice. If you're fortunate, if you don't have any accidents, if you don't get any terminal diseases, Report an error in the passage at 30:28 Highlight the passage at 30:28

30:46 and assuming that you can't practice in the final years, at least not as well, Report an error in the passage at 30:46 Highlight the passage at 30:46

30:57 the number of years we have left are very few if we think about the fact that we have to lose some to necessities like sleep, eating, resting, showering, getting some exercise, and then we'll waste a few. Report an error in the passage at 30:57 Highlight the passage at 30:57

31:23 And arguing, apologizing, processing, being sick, working, taking vacations, Report an error in the passage at 31:23 Highlight the passage at 31:23

31:41 going to parties. Report an error in the passage at 31:41 Highlight the passage at 31:41

31:45 If we subtract out that, there isn't much time left. And even if we do take time to go on retreat, how much of that time is used for sleeping, eating, bathing, walking, resting, writing notes, cooking. Report an error in the passage at 31:45 Highlight the passage at 31:45

32:19 How much time do we honestly spend cultivating minds that might help others, or listening and caring about others? The Report an error in the passage at 32:19 Highlight the passage at 32:19

32:38 point is to really look at this window of opportunity we have and to use it. Report an error in the passage at 32:38 Highlight the passage at 32:38

32:46 People often die in the middle of something when they least expect it. Report an error in the passage at 32:46 Highlight the passage at 32:46

32:54 Our time for spiritual practice is so short, we can't think that we'll live forever. It doesn't do us any good to live in denial like this. When Report an error in the passage at 32:54 Highlight the passage at 32:54

33:11 we're young, we procrastinate. When we're older, we get too distracted by worldly things. And then when we get very old, we just look back with regret at our life wasted. Report an error in the passage at 33:11 Highlight the passage at 33:11

33:33 Lama Tsongkhapa said, and so all the good things of this life are like the happiness of one night's dream. You wake and then it's nothing more than a memory. Report an error in the passage at 33:33 Highlight the passage at 33:33

33:45 The time comes to die and every good you ever had lives only in a dim remembrance. Report an error in the passage at 33:45 Highlight the passage at 33:45

33:58 So knowing that we have to die, We can resolve to practice in whatever way we can. And so we can motivate tonight's class to this, that each of us is able to realize death and use our lives with a complete great purpose, the greatest purpose, so that we can learn to benefit others. Report an error in the passage at 33:58 Highlight the passage at 33:58

34:39 And then when you're ready in your own time, you can end your meditation. Perfect Report an error in the passage at 34:39 Highlight the passage at 34:39

35:07 timing, actually. We just ended the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 35:07 Highlight the passage at 35:07

35:16 Does anyone have any comments about either this meditation or the week or the weekend? Because we did the Dying Well weekend. I think, Angela, you were there for the first day. Paul was there for the first day. But I think you guys were the only ones. This is kind of a death-filled weekend here, too. We had the Dying Well weekend, and then we had a memorial service simultaneously in the bookstore. Report an error in the passage at 35:16 Highlight the passage at 35:16

35:46 A member's grandfather. And then we had a puja on Sunday for the same person. And then we had a memorial service for Paul's partner, John, Saturday night. Report an error in the passage at 35:46 Highlight the passage at 35:46

36:01 So death is in the air. Yes, I mean, Day of the Dead, yeah. So the teen group, actually, on Friday night, we talked about death as well. Report an error in the passage at 36:01 Highlight the passage at 36:01

36:17 Does anyone have any anything? Any anythings? Sandy. Report an error in the passage at 36:17 Highlight the passage at 36:17

36:31 In Report an error in the passage at 36:31 Highlight the passage at 36:31

36:36 your meditation you said that when you're dying your karma is exhausted. So when your consciousness, when it leaves the body... What karma goes with it? No, the karma for this life. I see. You have plenty more karma. So in other words, you haven't really exhausted all your karma. No, no, it's just the karma for having this body, this life, this identity, these friends, this family. And then you're carrying forth what you created in this life, as well as other past lives that hasn't ripened yet. Report an error in the passage at 36:36 Highlight the passage at 36:36

37:12 I have Report an error in the passage at 37:12 Highlight the passage at 37:12

37:19 a similar question to that end. In the first reading that we had, there was mention of untimely death, or I guess death that isn't brought about necessarily by the end of one's fruit of their karma. And so I'm just wondering if you could say something about that. Yeah, I don't really understand that so much. I think it's like an obstacle that can be removed, that isn't necessarily... Report an error in the passage at 37:19 Highlight the passage at 37:19

37:50 So there are two things that can cause death, as far as I can understand. The main one is usually that your karma for this life has ended. But then sometimes there are what's called an obstacle to your life, and that can sometimes be moved by doing a lot of practice, like creating a lot of merit. So, for example, I know somebody who's been a director. Report an error in the passage at 37:50 Highlight the passage at 37:50

38:14 For many centers, actually, for many, many years, probably 30 years or something, for Lama Tsongkhapa Rinpoche. And he contacted her. It wasn't even like she asked. She wasn't even experiencing any symptoms. But he contacted her and said there was an obstacle to her life and she should do this, this, and this, and this. Report an error in the passage at 38:14 Highlight the passage at 38:14

38:33 So she did. So I think sometimes beings who have clairvoyance... Can see this and can tell you what would be beneficial in removing it. I think it always just has a potential. It's not like they can say this will remove it. I think it has the potential. What does it depend on? Your sincerity in the practice probably, I would assume. Just like with our Vajrasapha and our purification. Report an error in the passage at 38:33 Highlight the passage at 38:33

39:04 But they can tell you, they can guide you in the right direction and whether or not, again. You're able to do it. It'll be up to you. Okay. Thank you. That's interesting. Yeah. The way it's worded, especially in the second paragraph here, it's really confusing. Yeah. And the more we think about karma, the more confused we get, to be honest. We can gain just enough of a foothold and then we sort of lose it again because it's so complex and there are so many different conditions and things to think about. Report an error in the passage at 39:04 Highlight the passage at 39:04

39:29 But I think, yeah, you start getting some ideas and sort of does make sense. And also just the more experience you have. Kind of seeing certain things like this arise. When I see that, and it actually comes up a lot where Geshe-la will do certain pujas and stuff. Usually people come to him and ask because they are already experiencing problems or something. And then he'll have them do this, this, and this, and this, you know, and try to remove that obstacle. Report an error in the passage at 39:29 Highlight the passage at 39:29

39:57 It doesn't always work. I know. So this is all I know. I guess the main thing is I just, I was thinking that it would be something like... Somebody else, let's just say you get killed somehow by somebody in a car accident or something, and that wouldn't be necessarily a result of your own karma running out, but rather that drunk driver's decision to be drunk and run into you. Report an error in the passage at 39:57 Highlight the passage at 39:57

40:23 Well, it always has to do with your karma. Yeah, it always has to do with your karma, but I think it is possible. For example, especially when somebody dies very young in a car accident, that it could be an obstacle that might have been removed had the conditions been in place for somebody to know that or to even know to ask. Report an error in the passage at 40:23 Highlight the passage at 40:23

40:44 And I'm thinking, for example, that friend of mine who I mentioned, Laurel, who died in the car accident when she was 27. But, you know, I don't really know. If that was an obstacle that ended her life or if it was just simply that karma for this life had ended because maybe she had killing karma in a past life and so then therefore had a shorter lifespan, you know, as a result, karmic result. Report an error in the passage at 40:44 Highlight the passage at 40:44

41:09 So we can't know necessarily, which is why we go to people like Lama Zopa Rinpoche and ask them because they have wisdom, I mean, I believe. That they have wisdom that is able to see beyond this personality, this body, this life. And they can kind of give you ideas on how you might move that obstacle. Report an error in the passage at 41:09 Highlight the passage at 41:09

41:28 Because it would look the same to us. We wouldn't necessarily know. That's a good question though. Yeah, I had the same one the first time that I... And I was like, well, then why do we do these pujas? If it's their time, they're time. They just get used to it. Of course, I'd be really different if it was my time. And it's hard for us to ever know. Report an error in the passage at 41:28 Highlight the passage at 41:28

41:50 We just don't know. But they say that there's only so many of those that you can kind of remove. And then it's just your time. And even the great lamas. I have known, when Riba Rinpoche manifested dying years and years ago, like maybe... Maybe 25 or 30 years ago, there's a story of His Holiness. He was manifesting dying in the compound at Namgill Monastery in Dharamsala, and His Holiness ran out of his rooms across this empty courtyard in the middle of the night and knocked on this door and entered the room and said, you must stay. Report an error in the passage at 41:50 Highlight the passage at 41:50

42:32 I need you to stay, and made him stay. day. And then just two years ago he did pass away. But he stayed that much time and he actually wrote a lot of the history of Tibet that he knew because of course he was one of His Holiness' teachers and so he was quite elderly and knew all the people, the places and things. Report an error in the passage at 42:32 Highlight the passage at 42:32

42:58 So he wrote that up and he passed it to His Holiness to Czech and everything like that. And then he basically said, okay, now I really do have to go. And then he did. So, yeah, so, you know, I don't know. Most of us probably wouldn't get that. One can hope. But we also don't have the karma to decide when it's most beneficial for us to leave and what form we take rebirth in. Report an error in the passage at 42:58 Highlight the passage at 42:58

43:29 Most of us don't have that. Report an error in the passage at 43:29 Highlight the passage at 43:29

43:33 Other questions, other comments? Report an error in the passage at 43:33 Highlight the passage at 43:33

43:49 This isn't on this week's readings, but it was from Venerable Rubina's reading on purification. I didn't understand it. Could you say something about purification? We will actually have some time in the final class to do the four opponent powers and to learn how to purify negative karma. I was really happy. I was looking ahead tonight in the sort of class plan that I created myself a year ago and totally forgot what I included. I was like, I want to make sure we include the five powers. Report an error in the passage at 43:49 Highlight the passage at 43:49

44:21 And it is all in there. So I actually was more intelligent than I gave myself credit for. Yeah, usually anytime you start learning about karma, you've got to teach people how to purify it. So it's really, really useful because once you know that you're creating this, it's like, how do you get rid of it? So we will spend some time in that final class. Report an error in the passage at 44:21 Highlight the passage at 44:21

44:40 And then, of course, in the karma class, we spend more time on it. And then right around the end of the year, I think on the final Sunday of the year, I'm going to teach on it too. So there are lots of ways in case you miss it or you just want to get double, have it really go in well. So if we notice our mind of something. Report an error in the passage at 44:40 Highlight the passage at 44:40

45:02 Going in a negative way, for example. I no longer am thinking it's out there. I think it's... Which is great. That's a huge step. Especially if you can remember it all the time. We're trying to change that. That's purification? Or is that actually a different kind of practice? I mean, you don't have to go into detail now. I don't want to derail the class. No, it's not really purification at that point. But what it is, is keeping, you know, that's your reacting. Report an error in the passage at 45:02 Highlight the passage at 45:02

45:30 The way karma works is like a negative. That experience is going to come to me because I created some cause for it in a past life usually. And so I don't have a whole lot of control right now if I haven't already purified it. I don't have a lot of control over what's going to happen to me. But I do have control on how I react to it. And that's what you're talking about is how you react. Report an error in the passage at 45:30 Highlight the passage at 45:30

45:55 So if somebody's yelling at you, you do have some choice, especially with wisdom to understand, okay, this is my karma coming back. How can I respond? Even if all I do is don't yell back, that's a huge step in not creating more karma, more negative karma to have to purify later. Then you do think of those as two separate things. Yeah, because in every moment we're not only creating negative karma, or creating karma, hopefully not negative, creating karma, but we're also using karma. Report an error in the passage at 45:55 Highlight the passage at 45:55

46:27 So it's just this constant, which is why karma is such a complicated thing. Because it's just all the time, every moment, every process through all of our senses, all this stuff is happening and we're responding or not responding. So that's a huge step in like unrooting your next round of negative karma. And in that moment you're exhausting the negative karma of having that person yell at you. Report an error in the passage at 46:27 Highlight the passage at 46:27

46:55 So actually you can rejoice in that moment that this one's done, great. It doesn't mean he's not going to yell at you again tomorrow. But that is the end of that particular karma. So that's good to remember, especially if it's a hard thing. It's like, okay, that one's done. I think I might have mentioned Judith, who Jack and Judith run the study group up in Marin. Their house burned down, did I tell you guys this story? Report an error in the passage at 46:55 Highlight the passage at 46:55

47:23 I think, Chad, you might have heard it in a different class, yeah, because I just think it's so impressive. Both of them are long-time practitioners, Judith especially, I think, even knew Lama Yeshe. But their house burned down, and Judith was with us, actually, because we had all gone down to the... Report an error in the passage at 47:23 Highlight the passage at 47:23

47:43 Atlanta Medicine Buddha and Lama Zopa Rinpoche was giving an oral transmission of the Diamond Cutter Sūtra, which is a bit of a tip-off. It's a really powerful sūtra that when you study it or do much with it at all, it can really ripen a lot of negative karma quickly. So just be careful with that one. I had a teacher who said, never, never listen to it in the car. Report an error in the passage at 47:43 Highlight the passage at 47:43

48:07 Um, um. I've had personal experience with that one. So anyway, so she had gone to that and then had come back and actually spent the night. We at one point had a nun's house. She had spent the night at the nun's house. Her husband couldn't reach her, couldn't find her, didn't know where she was because the house burned down. Their house burned down and her car was still out front. Report an error in the passage at 48:07 Highlight the passage at 48:07

48:28 So everyone was concerned that she was in the house. He was in San Diego. So they were trying desperately to find her and find her, and they didn't know, they just didn't even have a thought that she'd be with us. She hadn't told anybody. And so they found her one block from where her house would have been, and my roommate was driving her. Report an error in the passage at 48:28 Highlight the passage at 48:28

48:49 They managed to get a hold of her and she stopped the car and then they drove that final block knowing that the house would be down. But of course knowing it intellectually and seeing your house of how many years and all your belongings from everywhere they'd ever lived burned and their animals. They had a dog and a cat who died. And they pulled up and saw what was left of the house and she turned to Aliki and she said she's British and she said, well, as Lama would say, that karma's finished. Report an error in the passage at 48:49 Highlight the passage at 48:49

49:17 And they both just sat there and Eliki was just floored and then she turned to her and said, Dear, I think I'm in shock. But really the way they handled it and the way they still talk about it, it's so amazing. It just shows you what you can get to with many, many years of practice, whether we get there or not. But that karma's finished, dear. Report an error in the passage at 49:17 Highlight the passage at 49:17

49:41 Okay, if nobody has anything else, we're going to start with tonight because tonight we get to... The exciting part two of this, it has three parts, remember this meditation, it's called the nine point death meditation or nine part death meditation because ultimately you will have nine parts or nine points but you have three main sections and then each of those sections has three supporting arguments so to speak. Report an error in the passage at 49:41 Highlight the passage at 49:41

50:09 So now we're on part two which is The really big one, the time of death is uncertain. And normally, of course, we would contemplate the first point for months and months and months until we really get it, right? We're just kind of rushing the game so I can give you parts two and three. You can have a toolkit to take with you when this class ends. Report an error in the passage at 50:09 Highlight the passage at 50:09

50:35 So when we're meditating on the first one, in some ways it's easier to get, but there's still this part of us that's like, yeah, but it's a long way off. I don't really have to think about it. I'm young. I'm healthy. I don't really have to think about it. Or it still may not happen to me. There's still this denial that goes on. So this point is like, no, basically, the one thing in life that is certain is that death is certain. Report an error in the passage at 50:35 Highlight the passage at 50:35

51:05 But the time of death is completely uncertain. Completely uncertain. There is absolutely no way that any of us know when we're going to die. Like we just can't even know. Even if we all have some sort of terminal disease, we have no idea. Like we just have no idea at all. And yet we are in complete denial about that. We just constantly are living in this state of thinking. Report an error in the passage at 51:05 Highlight the passage at 51:05

51:36 Even if I understand that death is possible, people still say things like, if I should die, and you're like, no, honey, it's when, you know? I mean, we do that. We just say that. There's still this thought that somehow there's a loophole for me, right? And it's based on nothing logical. It's just based on this thought that somehow I'm special and that there's going to be some other way out, you know? Report an error in the passage at 51:36 Highlight the passage at 51:36

52:02 And this is really the one that will get you that aha moment. in your meditation and when you get any taste of an insight of this one because really is a shock But the reality is, is that honestly, we have... No idea who will be here in this group tomorrow. We don't. We don't have any idea. We have no guarantees. Report an error in the passage at 52:02 Highlight the passage at 52:02

52:45 There's no guarantee given to any of us. Report an error in the passage at 52:45 Highlight the passage at 52:45

52:50 And I have one example, actually a couple examples, and I think we all have examples in our life, but this one was, I think, one of the most shocking. This guy that lived at Vajrapani for many, many years, Ashley. Report an error in the passage at 52:50 Highlight the passage at 52:50

53:05 Who helped build it, really. Vajrapani is a retreat center that's connected with us down in the Santa Cruz Mountains. And he was very young, actually. I think he was only like 44. And of course very healthy and outdoorsy and all that stuff. He and his wife and daughter had decided to leave Vajrapani and go build a house in Hawaii. Report an error in the passage at 53:05 Highlight the passage at 53:05

53:26 So they bought the land and they were building the house. He was like literally hammering on the roof. Lost his balance, fell, which would have been bad enough, but landed, a nail landed and went straight through his jugular. He was gone in like five seconds. And the most amazing thing is that his wife was there, his daughter there too, but his wife ran to him and immediately... Report an error in the passage at 53:26 Highlight the passage at 53:26

53:51 Started doing mantras and doing his practice with him and he died saying his own practice, which is pretty amazing that she had the presence of mind to do that. But she's also one of the ones who was with Lama when he passed, with Lama Yeshe when he passed. So she also was an amazing practitioner. But he had no idea, having his breakfast that morning, he had no idea that would be his final day. Report an error in the passage at 53:51 Highlight the passage at 53:51

54:15 And that kind of thing happens all the time. And yet... It might be interesting to read in the newspaper, and then we quickly turn the page. We don't think, that could happen to me. This could be my last breakfast. And the point isn't to freak us out, but rather to just get that we just don't know, and so to be ready to prepare our minds to think about how we use this time that we have, because we really can't know when our time is up. Report an error in the passage at 54:15 Highlight the passage at 54:15

54:45 So the three supporting points are... The lifespan in our time and realm is uncertain. And that sounds funny. The wording of that sounds funny. But they say it's taught that there are other realms where the lifespan is longer for everyone. Like they all have a certain amount of years and it's all a long, long, long time. But we don't. You know, I mean, people die in the womb before they're even born in our realm. Report an error in the passage at 54:45 Highlight the passage at 54:45

55:13 You know, people die as little kids. We all know experiences of people who have miscarried or people who have babies that die. People who die as, you know, as toddlers, people die in adolescence. Report an error in the passage at 55:13 Highlight the passage at 55:13

55:28 I had a couple good friends in my neighborhood actually who died. One in a car accident and one fell off a tractor. Report an error in the passage at 55:28 Highlight the passage at 55:28

55:39 You know, and they were both like just in their teens. People die in their 20s all the time, you know, and at every age. I mean, the point is at every age, like it doesn't matter how old you are. So there's this part of us when we're in our 20s, right, where we think nothing's going to happen to us, you know, nothing's going to happen to me. Report an error in the passage at 55:39 Highlight the passage at 55:39

55:58 And then, um, Well, actually, I was just thinking. There was this one guy that was in my group at Copan the second time that I went. When you go to Copan Monastery, if you've had any Dharma classes whatsoever, then Ani Fran decides that you should run the discussion groups. So she finds you, like, the first day, and she makes you run a discussion group, even if you didn't want to. So she actually tried to do that to me the first year I went, and I refused, and then the second year I couldn't refuse, so at least I was prepared mentally. Report an error in the passage at 55:58 Highlight the passage at 55:58

56:31 So in my group, you know, it's people from all around the world. It's actually a really cool experience because you have, you know, we had people from Holland and we had Canadians and we had people from Israel. Report an error in the passage at 56:31 Highlight the passage at 56:31

56:43 And so, you know, and every day you're talking about what's being taught and, you know, you get really close to all these people. So there was one guy in our group, this guy named Doug, who was, I think, again, the Magic 27. Report an error in the passage at 56:43 Highlight the passage at 56:43

56:56 um he He was a former partner of a really good friend of mine who ended up getting ordained, Elizabeth. And he ended up, it was very odd, he took refuge at that particular Copan. And he had been traveling for years, actually, probably a year and a half in India, like in actually pretty dangerous situations and nothing had happened to him. Report an error in the passage at 56:56 Highlight the passage at 56:56

57:21 He went to Australia for his brother's wedding, and the day of the wedding went for a stroll, not even a hike. And fell from a cliff onto a train track in front of an oncoming train. Just like that. Like just bizarre karma ripening. And it was so horrifying for all of us that knew him because he was just like the sweetest, like kindest, most gentle person. Report an error in the passage at 57:21 Highlight the passage at 57:21

57:50 And couldn't have known that morning at all. So it was a real wake-up call for all of us, and I remember, especially for Elizabeth, who had already decided to become a nun. She was ordained actually within a month, I think. It was just like, boom, she kind of, you know, I mean, she really got it that, oh my God, anything can happen. I really need to use this time really well. Report an error in the passage at 57:50 Highlight the passage at 57:50

58:17 Yeah, little things like that, those kind of stories, especially when it's somebody that you know and that you can meditate on it. And I think we all have had, we at least know friends of friends if we don't know people well. But you can also just read about it in the paper. There are amazing stories in the paper on the news that you're just like, wow, you know. Think about everyone who died in 9-1-1. Report an error in the passage at 58:17 Highlight the passage at 58:17

58:42 None of those people had any idea. There was this gorgeous day in September, you know, and they all had a million plans. They all had sometimes huge life plans like weddings and new houses and babies on the way and just had no idea that that was going to be their final day when they left their houses. Report an error in the passage at 58:42 Highlight the passage at 58:42

59:02 So, you know, they say to really meditate on the fact that everyone who was born the same time as me, the same year as me. Many of those people are already gone, especially those of us that are older. Many, many of those people are already gone. But even those of us that are still young, if you think really of all the people that were born on the planet in the same day as you, many of those people are gone. Report an error in the passage at 59:02 Highlight the passage at 59:02

59:33 Age is no guarantee. Those children often die before their parents. Health is no guarantee. That was certainly true for... Report an error in the passage at 59:33 Highlight the passage at 59:33

59:45 You know, my friend Laurel, who I was talking about, she was completely healthy. Ashley, who I was just talking about. Doug was pretty healthy. He had probably had giardia from traveling in India for a billion years, but he was pretty healthy. And he certainly didn't die from the giardia. But we often will label, like, you know, when people get a diagnosis, a terminal diagnosis, and we go to visit them, we see them as the dying person. Report an error in the passage at 59:45 Highlight the passage at 59:45

1:00:12 We do this in our minds. I'm going to visit. So-and-so, and she's dying like I'm not, you know? And it's just this trick that we do so that we can really kind of brush it away and not be the dying person. But it's quite common, especially when we're able to take a really long time to die. Rubina tells the story of this prisoner who was on death row, I think, too. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:12 Highlight the passage at 1:00:12

1:00:37 And he started dying of cancer. And so his ex-wife came back to care for him and everything. And so she gave up everything and she began to care for him. And it just took so long to die that finally they started fighting again and she left him again. But I mean, you know, sometimes the dying people actually don't end up dying, at least not before all the people that visited them have died. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:37 Highlight the passage at 1:00:37

1:00:57 no, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:57 Highlight the passage at 1:00:57

1:01:12 Has anyone here ever read the book The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion? That was quite popular last year, I think. I read it because I was house-sitting and somebody had it. It was really quite good. It's actually a very, very good book about grief and the grieving process, which is not so written about in our lives. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:12 Highlight the passage at 1:01:12

1:01:31 She's a good writer. But her situation was that she and her husband had gone to visit their daughter in ICU. So she was the sick one, possibly the dying one, and then came back, and this happens in the first chapter, so I'm not giving anything away, and then came back for dinner, and while they were eating dinner and having a conversation, her husband died. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31 Highlight the passage at 1:01:31

1:01:54 Just like that. And this is somebody who was really like a soulmate, you know, somebody who, they had, they both had writing careers, both lived the New York life, and really had spent like almost every moment together. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:54 Highlight the passage at 1:01:54

1:02:08 So it's actually, It's one of those interesting things. I mean, he literally died like in the middle of a thought kind of thing, you know, which is how we die, you know. I mean, we die when we least expect it. We die when we're living. But you can also think about people like, you know, John F. Kennedy Jr., who is, of course, quite healthy. Nothing wrong with his body. Rubina is always talking about Princess Diana, you know, how she spent billions on that beautiful body of hers. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:08 Highlight the passage at 1:02:08

1:02:39 And, you know, in the end... It wasn't enough to protect her from the damage of a car. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:39 Highlight the passage at 1:02:39

1:02:48 It doesn't matter what kind of health we have, it doesn't matter our age, and it doesn't matter what kind of future plans we have or whether we still have emails in our inbox or plans that we're going to do for the summer or even really amazing plans. So none of Report an error in the passage at 1:02:48 Highlight the passage at 1:02:48

1:03:08 To benefit others, it doesn't matter when that time is up. Then it can't be changed. And the reality is that none of us really know if we're dying today. Like we just don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:08 Highlight the passage at 1:03:08

1:03:25 So that's the first point. And then the second point is that the things that kill us are many and the things that keep us alive are few. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:25 Highlight the passage at 1:03:25

1:03:35 And so for this part of the meditation, you are thinking about... The fact that there are so many different kinds of ways that we can die, actually. So, I mean, we can have accidents or we can have earthquakes. I'll try not to have one happen this time. Last week we had a big earthquake while we were talking about impermanence. It's kind of creative, but I'll try not to scare you guys. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:35 Highlight the passage at 1:03:35

1:04:04 But it floods, fires, robberies, you know. sorry. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:04 Highlight the passage at 1:04:04

1:04:09 Car crashes, which a number of the people here just had a car accident last Monday coming back from a meeting. Unfortunately, so far they're okay, just a little bruised up. Weird things like sort of poisonous plants or poisonous animals, you know, which of course happen a lot more in places like India and Nepal, but it's not like we don't have them. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:09 Highlight the passage at 1:04:09

1:04:38 Insect bites are just a reaction to like a normal thing. You know, so like sometimes, you know, a mosquito can cause problems or like I know my dad and I have to some extent, but my dad was really allergic to yellow jackets and anything in that family, you know. And so just what would for most of us be kind of an annoying thing would have literally brought on his death. And then internal conditions. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:38 Highlight the passage at 1:04:38

1:05:04 So all the kind of weird illnesses and diseases and syndromes and... Malfunctioning organs and organ damage or things that we don't even know. We could have organ damage right now and none of us know. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:04 Highlight the passage at 1:05:04

1:05:23 And sometimes it's sort of like you're just operating assuming that you're healthy and you're not healthy. Sometimes doctors even tell you you're healthy. And then you still die. I mean, I'm not laughing because it's just this weird thought that somehow somebody can guarantee. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:23 Highlight the passage at 1:05:23

1:05:43 And they can't. I mean, I know a number of cases where people have gotten a clean bill of health and then literally died the next day. My old boss's dad went into the bathroom to wash his hands for lunch and just dropped dead of a heart attack. Just like that. And the woman that had given him a clean bill of health, the doctor was so shocked she had to come and do the autopsy because she just couldn't believe that he had died that quickly and that tragically. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:43 Highlight the passage at 1:05:43

1:06:18 My dad was the same, actually. My dad was actually pretty healthy, or we all thought he was. And then he had an aneurysm, which, of course, is one of those things that just pops up and nobody really knows. I suppose if you had an aneurysm while you were hooked up, they could probably find it. But he just went into the bathroom to take a shower, just like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:18 Highlight the passage at 1:06:18

1:06:40 My grandmother, actually, my mom's mom, was getting ready for a trip and had just had a doctor's appointment the day before, the same, had her breakfast, and then started feeling kind of bad. So she laid down, her friend went out to get a paper and came back and she was dead. Just like that. So again, this idea that somehow that if you go to the doctors and they say that you're fine, that you really are fine and that you won't die, at least for one day. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:40 Highlight the passage at 1:06:40

1:07:10 But the reality is that especially, I mean, Western science, but probably it's true for all, they can only kind of take a reading, kind of a gauge of where you are, but there's no guarantees, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:10 Highlight the passage at 1:07:10

1:07:25 And then... So we're thinking about the external, we're thinking about the internal, and then even those things that normally can sustain life can become a condition for death. And that's sort of like, you know, you could have an allergy to something that you're eating or drinking, or you could choke. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:25 Highlight the passage at 1:07:25

1:07:42 You know, there's, I think, wasn't it, those of us of a certain age remember a group called Mamas and the Papas and Cass Elliot choked on a sandwich and died. I mean, how many of us have eaten sandwiches in bed, too? It's not like a poor thing, you know. And then, you know, the house could collapse. A friend of a friend's had that happen in Pacifica, I think it was, during a really, really bad rainy season and the house came down. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:42 Highlight the passage at 1:07:42

1:08:15 Medicine you could have a reaction to. So something that you're thinking is actually going to help you get over something, it can cause an allergic reaction that sometimes could be fatal. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:15 Highlight the passage at 1:08:15

1:08:27 Or you can just have allergy to something in the house, you know, or Tibetan incense or something and you don't know, suddenly it causes some reaction. And a lot of times people will, you know, decide that they don't want to leave the house or they don't want to go traveling or something because it'll be safer at home. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:27 Highlight the passage at 1:08:27

1:08:44 Like you're not going to die at home. Like you're not going to fall or you're not going to go into the bathroom and have a heart attack or something. Like somehow there's this idea that if we stay at home that we'll be safer. But probably, I don't know if there have been studies done, but probably most people or many, many people anyway do die at home. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:44 Highlight the passage at 1:08:44

1:09:08 So that's the second point. And then the third is that this body is extremely fragile. And is itself impermanent. And I think, you know, it's interesting. Every single time I've ever gotten injured, I'm shocked. You know, like I'm not supposed to get injured or that it's somehow not the way things should be, that I should twist my ankle or bruise my knee or hurt my shoulder or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:08 Highlight the passage at 1:09:08

1:09:40 And the reality is it's actually shocking that I've made it this far without any major injuries, you know. I mean, that's... That's the reality. It's actually shocking. When you think about how fragile, if you just look at your hands and your wrist, it's actually amazing that you don't slam them in more things and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:40 Highlight the passage at 1:09:40

1:09:55 So if we think about our human bodies compared to, say, houses, which we already have talked about, the impermanence of houses, or even cities, entire cities, entire civilizations, the Romans and the Greeks and all these civilizations that have... Completely disintegrated. Or even planets. Entire planets can disappear. So if those things can disappear, or if you go to some place like the Grand Canyon and you see all the changes that have happened to the Grand Canyon or just huge physical changes over time, if we can see that and still think that somehow my body... Report an error in the passage at 1:09:55 Highlight the passage at 1:09:55

1:10:41 Isn't fragile or I'm not going to die because it's me. It's just completely denying reality. Because the reality is that we may feel incredibly strong and then some little thing can come along and end it. So our bodies are actually incredibly fragile because all it takes is some tiny little virus or parasite. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:41 Highlight the passage at 1:10:41

1:11:07 um, parasite or. Maybe a nail that's rusty or something like that that I step on. Some little tiny thing can cause a certain illness that can lead to my death. Our bodies can't last forever. They're created, so they're called what's called compounded phenomena, which I think we talked about a little bit in the first class. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:07 Highlight the passage at 1:11:07

1:11:32 But basically it just means something that has come about. Due to causes and conditions. And so if I think about my body, the causes and conditions are basically the egg and sperm of my parents and then my karma. And the conditions are everything else. So the conditions are... The food that my mother ate while she was pregnant with me, whether or not she drank alcohol, whether or not she lived in a house and had heat, because not all people do, whether or not she had medical care, whether or not she took certain drugs, whether or not she had other kids, whether or not she had to work, like all those things that would affect this body and how it would turn out, whether or not she had to work in a mine or in a field or something. So those are all the conditions. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:32 Highlight the passage at 1:11:32

1:12:29 So anything, the Buddha taught that anything that is a compounded phenomenon, which is anything that came about due to causes and conditions is impermanent, is necessarily impermanent. So basically that's everything, right? It's like all of these things and it's definitely all of our bodies. So just by nature, our bodies are impermanent. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:29 Highlight the passage at 1:12:29

1:12:58 And that actually, and I think it's the Sakya version of this meditation, that is the third point. You know, just that our bodies themselves are impermanent because they are causes and conditions. Here it's just part of the third point. So the resolution that you get to when you meditate on this is basically knowing that I can die at any time, that I just make this resolution to practice now. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:58 Highlight the passage at 1:12:58

1:13:27 And the point is to just stop procrastinating, to stop thinking that, yeah, it's great to have a spiritual practice, but I don't have time right now. You know, which is, of course, what we all do, right? And I'm admitting it as much as everybody else. To actually get this, that we don't know that we don't have any time left when we don't have any time left. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:27 Highlight the passage at 1:13:27

1:13:49 It's a surprise to us as well. So we have to remember that we could go at any time and that... If we have a chance to practice, we kind of grab it and make it meaningful because it could be your last chance. We just have to keep chipping away at this little mind that thinks that basically I'm somehow different than the rest of humanity. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:49 Highlight the passage at 1:13:49

1:14:13 I'm somehow special. This doesn't pertain to me. The rest of you guys might die, but I don't have to. And so basically, that's the mind that we're chipping away with all these little points of logic. It's like, no, wait a second. This is completely illogical thinking. And yet we keep following it. And we have to sort of chip away at that. And you can use a lot of things that happen to you to remind yourself of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:13 Highlight the passage at 1:14:13

1:14:43 You know, like if you hear about anyone who's died in these ways, you can meditate. Bring that into your meditation. The ways that I was just talking about with the different friends and things like that. When you're sick, you can think, well, what would I do actually if this was it? Especially if it's something, it's a little harder when it's a cold, but you never know. I actually knew this guy. I'm becoming like Lama Tsongkhapa. Lama Tsongkhapa sort of collects these stories of people who die in kind of weird ways. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:43 Highlight the passage at 1:14:43

1:15:17 Just because sometimes it's just like the karma is so bizarre. But in this case, this guy worked in the cafeteria at this place that I worked. And, you know, you always chat with the cafeteria people and we were sort of pals. And he clearly had sort of a tough life. I could see he had like those sort of prison or the gangsta kind of tattoos on his fingers and stuff like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:17 Highlight the passage at 1:15:17

1:15:40 But I don't know, I really liked him a lot. Well, he got a cold and it just changed into pneumonia and he was like dead in a week. And we're all like, well, where's, you know, blah, blah. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:40 Highlight the passage at 1:15:40

1:15:50 And he was dead. And we were just kind of like, wow. And it probably, he had other health things that contributed, were contributing factors. But as far as the rest of us were concerned, it just seemed like he went straight from cold to death, like rapid fire. Actually, the former office manager here, that happened to too. She had been a smoker for a billion years. And clearly that contributed. But she went from just kind of a cold to suddenly she was in the hospital to suddenly she was dead. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:50 Highlight the passage at 1:15:50

1:16:17 And it was like, you know, just shocking. So you can experiment with that, play with it in your mind, because that really is how you begin to prepare for it, because it could be. Why are we so different that it's definitely not? There's no way to say that it definitely isn't. During the weekend, actually, one of the first meditations, my second meditation, I think, that Lenny and Tenzin Chokyi led, Report an error in the passage at 1:16:17 Highlight the passage at 1:16:17

1:16:52 Lenny led this one, actually, where you imagine the whole scenario of facing your own death. And part of it was just imagining that, you know, you're receiving this diagnosis and so forth. Well, I've had like a lot of medical tests this week. I had been at Kaiser. I was at Kaiser three times this week trying to get some understanding of what's going on with this chronic condition that I have. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:52 Highlight the passage at 1:16:52

1:17:17 So I could imagine it all. I was using those experiences to kind of beef up this meditation and it made it much more real because I had just seen all those doctors who might be saying this to me. So it's a good thing to do because it's like a way of sort of preparing our mind for when it does happen because it can happen at any time. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:17 Highlight the passage at 1:17:17

1:17:44 you know, Why don't we talk about some questions? What's going on with you guys? I can't tell what's happening in your faces. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:44 Highlight the passage at 1:17:44

1:17:56 What's coming up while we're talking about this? Nicole, pass her the talking stick. The thoughts that we have about death, if we're imagining that we're facing our own death, can those thoughts manifest? Report an error in the passage at 1:17:56 Highlight the passage at 1:17:56

1:18:14 Like? Those actions? If we concentrate on that thing, Will it help to manifest that to come or that to happen? For us to think about our own death, will it cause us to die? Is that the question? Yeah, will we attract it? Not according to the Buddhist teaching. No, it's just basically that sort of a same question of like, if I write a will, does that mean I'm going to die? Report an error in the passage at 1:18:14 Highlight the passage at 1:18:14

1:18:42 It's just a way of preparing for it in a sort of practical sense, but in this sense, it's a spiritual sense of preparing for it. So your karma is already there. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:42 Highlight the passage at 1:18:42

1:18:54 Whether or not your karma to end this life, it's already been created, basically. It can change. There are things you can do to change your karma, increase the good things and decrease the negative and so forth. But it's sort of like... For the most part, it's already been created. It's like your life is like a movie that was created in your last life. And now you're sort of responding to it and creating the movie for your next life. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:54 Highlight the passage at 1:18:54

1:19:22 So preparing your mind by thinking about death and thinking about the possibility of death and how I want to live my life knowing this, which is the underlying reason for meditating on death in Buddhism. It's not just to creep yourself out repeatedly. It's to actually get to this bottom line of like, wow, I have such a limited amount of time. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:22 Highlight the passage at 1:19:22

1:19:47 I really want to use this time well. So how can I use this time? But also, of course, to be aware that, yeah, I am going to die and what will I do? How can I prepare my mind now to have a peaceful death? Which just means basically working on... Your afflicted states of mind and trying to decrease them and working on your positive states of mind. Because the only, and we'll get to this in the final point, is basically the only thing that's really going to help you at that moment is how stable your mind is. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:47 Highlight the passage at 1:19:47

1:20:18 Which is of course going to help you in life too, right? So if you have a stable mind. So that's the point, is sort of like to use your life. But a lot of us get lazy. And we don't use our life. And so just sort of reminding us of impermanence is turning up the heat a little bit to remind us that, wait, you don't have that much time. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:18 Highlight the passage at 1:20:18

1:20:39 Like, even if you're young, you don't have that much time. Like, use it, use it, use it. You know, it's kind of like somebody's whispering in your ear, come on, go take that retreat, go do that class. You know, like, whatever it is, if you've ever seen somebody who has a terminal illness and they're kind of just going for it. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:39 Highlight the passage at 1:20:39

1:20:58 That's what this meditation should do for us. We should just go for it. Like if we ever thought, well, I can't do that retreat because it's three weeks. So this is like, I'm going to do it. I'm just going to talk to my boss and take it unpaid. I'm just going to do it. So it just kind of gives you that kind of oomph that we tend to lose over time. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:58 Highlight the passage at 1:20:58

1:21:21 So that's really where it's supposed to get you. Anybody else? None? sure. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21:21

1:21:33 So why don't you guys go take a break? I don't think we have, Solitaire's not here, right? So, no one's here. I'm here. So if you guys want, if anybody wants anything from the, I don't know how to make coffee drinks, but I could get you guys, I could be the barista again. So if you guys would like teas or sandwiches or something like that, and then you just have to pay for it next time you come. I mean, unless you have exact change. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:33 Highlight the passage at 1:21:33

1:22:02 But I'm happy to do that because, yeah, I don't know. Anyway, we're working on the Tuesday night thing. Okay, so you and I hit the button, and then I'll go put on an apron. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:02 Highlight the passage at 1:22:02

1:22:17 Does anybody want to copy? Report an error in the passage at 1:22:17 Highlight the passage at 1:22:17

1:22:26 I'm missing. Missing one. Ding, ding, ding. Ding, ding, ding, ding. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:26 Highlight the passage at 1:22:26

1:22:39 Back there. That's too difficult. So I'm just acting it out. So do we have any questions that came up for people on the break while you were mulling over what kind of tea to have or whether or not to get a sandwich? Report an error in the passage at 1:22:39 Highlight the passage at 1:22:39

1:22:56 I wanted to just read, there is a quote, of course you know me and my quotes. Kirti Sencha Rinpoche, who was one of my teachers, manifested having cancer of the liver last year and passed away about December I think it was actually, something like that. And during the process of his diagnosis and then his dying, there would be these emails that would come out from people in his entourage. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:56 Highlight the passage at 1:22:56

1:23:27 He had a translator who was a Greek woman, Bula, who was an amazing translator, who traveled with him. So she would mostly be the one sending out these emails. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:27 Highlight the passage at 1:23:27

1:23:38 So I just found these incredibly inspiring because he was talking a lot about impermanence and his own impermanence and using that experience of having liver cancer to practice. Now, I actually already think he was a Buddha, but I think he was putting on a good show for us. And so this was one particular email that we got at the time of his diagnosis. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:38 Highlight the passage at 1:23:38

1:24:05 I am fully aware of the fact that the disease, especially at this stage, is incurable, but I am not sad or disappointed in any way. When the professor informed me of the presence of a tumor in my liver, I thought immediately that he was so very, very kind. He was extremely kind to me. We all practice Tonglen, which is a particular kind of meditation of taking on the suffering of one and giving back happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:05 Highlight the passage at 1:24:05

1:24:31 We all practice Tonglen with a specific aim to prolong the life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Of course, I have recited certain verses from Lama Tsopa many times, and thus, compassionate gurus, we seek your blessings that all karmic debts, obstacles and sufferings of other beings may without exception ripen upon us right now, and that we may give our happiness and virtue to others and thereby invest all beings in bliss. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:31 Highlight the passage at 1:24:31

1:24:57 As well as, in order to rescue all beings from the vast seas of existence, we seek your blessings to become adept in bodhicitta through a pure selfless wish and by love and compassion conjoined with the visual technique of mounting, giving and taking upon the breath. But it was more or less mere theory for me. When I was told that I have cancer, I did not feel sad or upset. On the contrary, my mind was uplifted and it felt light and open. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:57 Highlight the passage at 1:24:57

1:25:27 I thought, finally, I have the chance to put this theory into practice now. My prayers have come true. How wonderful. I intend to use whatever time I have left in order to deepen my practice of Tonglen. What would be the benefit of trying to conceal my situation? I think it is far better that people know that I have come to manifest this tumor, and now I can really practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:27 Highlight the passage at 1:25:27

1:25:51 I don't want you to be sad. I want you to be happy and inspired since I now have such a wonderful opportunity to practice in a way that all bodhisattvas do. My doctor has been so kind to me. Why would I ever want to hide the fact that I am now practicing in the footsteps of the bodhisattvas? Report an error in the passage at 1:25:51 Highlight the passage at 1:25:51

1:26:11 Such a good look. This is the mind that we're aiming for. That we can have, just the thought that we could possibly have this mind upon receiving news of our own incurable cancer is amazing. And it's possible. So what I thought we could do in the remaining time is I could just lead you in a quick meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:11 Highlight the passage at 1:26:11

1:26:35 This will be your homework. Is this meditation, which is part two, but I can lead you quickly through it so you get some experience of how it feels without having to peek and look at your notes. So it's kind of the easier way. And we're going to do it fast because we're not going to do the preliminaries. We're just going to take like 10 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:35 Highlight the passage at 1:26:35

1:26:58 So again, just get comfortable on your cushion and keep your spine extended and shoulders relaxed and back. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:58 Highlight the passage at 1:26:58

1:27:10 Take some nice deep breaths. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:10 Highlight the passage at 1:27:10

1:27:22 We're going to start with part two of the nine-part death meditation, that the time of death is uncertain. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:22 Highlight the passage at 1:27:22

1:27:34 The first point is that the lifespan and our time in Rome is uncertain. Not everyone dies at 80 and 90. Life can end at any point. In the womb, in birth, in childhood, adolescence, your 20s, 30s, 40s. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:34 Highlight the passage at 1:27:34

1:28:07 Think Report an error in the passage at 1:28:07 Highlight the passage at 1:28:07

1:28:12 of the people that you know who have died younger than you are now. We Report an error in the passage at 1:28:12 Highlight the passage at 1:28:12

1:28:25 all know somebody who died younger than we are, even if we're really young still. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:25 Highlight the passage at 1:28:25

1:28:39 We can think all the people who were born on the same day as I was, many of them have already died. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:39 Highlight the passage at 1:28:39

1:28:54 Why is it that I'm so sure that I won't die? Report an error in the passage at 1:28:54 Highlight the passage at 1:28:54

1:29:05 Age is no guarantee. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:05 Highlight the passage at 1:29:05

1:29:09 Children often die before their parents. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:09 Highlight the passage at 1:29:09

1:29:21 Health is no guarantee. Healthy people die before sick people all the time. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:21 Highlight the passage at 1:29:21

1:29:36 We often label some people as dying and some people as healthy, but we have no idea which will die before the other. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:36 Highlight the passage at 1:29:36

1:29:53 Think about some healthy people you know. Maybe people in the peak of health who nevertheless died. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:53 Highlight the passage at 1:29:53

1:30:10 Maybe celebrities known for their beauty and their bodies who still ended up dying. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:10 Highlight the passage at 1:30:10

1:30:25 Having future plans is no guarantee. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:25 Highlight the passage at 1:30:25

1:30:31 We can die before we complete our work, even important and compassionate work. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:31 Highlight the passage at 1:30:31

1:30:47 Think about all the people in 911 who had so many plans for the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:47 Highlight the passage at 1:30:47

1:31:07 There's somebody like Martin Luther King. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:07 Highlight the passage at 1:31:07

1:31:17 We can't even be certain we won't die later today. We just don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:17 Highlight the passage at 1:31:17

1:31:29 The things that kill us are many, and the things that keep us alive are few. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:29 Highlight the passage at 1:31:29

1:31:38 So here you can think about all the different external conditions that can cause death. Like accidents, natural catastrophes like earthquakes or floods or fires, wars, robberies, murders, Report an error in the passage at 1:31:38 Highlight the passage at 1:31:38

1:32:03 car crashes or plane crashes, Report an error in the passage at 1:32:03 Highlight the passage at 1:32:03

1:32:10 or even things like poisonous plants or animals or insect bites. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:10 Highlight the passage at 1:32:10

1:32:30 And then you can think about internal conditions like illnesses, organ damage, Report an error in the passage at 1:32:30 Highlight the passage at 1:32:30

1:32:40 syndromes. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:40 Highlight the passage at 1:32:40

1:32:46 Often things can go wrong that we just don't even know has happened. Problems in our arteries or veins. I Report an error in the passage at 1:32:46 Highlight the passage at 1:32:46

1:33:07 read about one woman who died at her computer at work after laughing with her employees. Just suddenly died, sitting in her chair. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:07 Highlight the passage at 1:33:07

1:33:29 Even those things that normally sustain life can become the condition for death. Food can poison us. We can get allergies that we aren't aware of. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:29 Highlight the passage at 1:33:29

1:33:43 Medicine can kill us. People stay at home thinking that they're safer at home, but then they can fall at home or their house can collapse or they can even develop an allergy to something in their home. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:43 Highlight the passage at 1:33:43

1:34:14 And finally, the body is extremely fragile and is itself impermanent. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:14 Highlight the passage at 1:34:14

1:34:23 Since huge trees and mountains and even planets get destroyed, of course our fragile bodies can't last forever. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:23 Highlight the passage at 1:34:23

1:34:37 Our bodies are so vulnerable. They can be struck down in just a few moments. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:37 Highlight the passage at 1:34:37

1:34:46 Something as small as a virus or a nail can become the cause of your death. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:46 Highlight the passage at 1:34:46

1:34:58 Think about any time in your life that things change suddenly due to some onset of illness or an injury and how shocking it felt, how sudden it felt. This can happen again and actually lead to your death. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:58 Highlight the passage at 1:34:58

1:35:23 We always act like people shouldn't die, but people die. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:23 Highlight the passage at 1:35:23

1:35:33 Somehow we think we're different because I'm me. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:33 Highlight the passage at 1:35:33

1:35:46 Your body just can't last forever. If you're lucky, aging gradually overtakes you and your body just degenerates slowly and you lose strength. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:46 Highlight the passage at 1:35:46

1:36:04 And the Buddha taught that all compounded phenomena are necessarily impermanent and our bodies are compounded phenomena. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:04 Highlight the passage at 1:36:04

1:36:15 They just don't have the power to stay. By their coming together, The death is sort of already within us. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:15 Highlight the passage at 1:36:15

1:36:43 So knowing that we could die at any time, we must resolve to practice now in whatever way we can. The point is to stop procrastinating any kind of serious or deep practice, thinking that some better time, some better setup may come. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:43 Highlight the passage at 1:36:43

1:37:06 We just don't know how much time we have left. So just remind yourself of this every time you hear about somebody else's passing. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:06 Highlight the passage at 1:37:06

1:37:18 Or every time you read about it in the newspaper. We have to keep chipping away at this mind that thinks I'm somehow different than the rest of humanity. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:18 Highlight the passage at 1:37:18

1:37:29 We're no different. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:29 Highlight the passage at 1:37:29

1:37:42 Let's dedicate this class and this meditation to learning to live this life with our whole heart and using as much of our time to benefit ourselves and others. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:42 Highlight the passage at 1:37:42

1:37:59 Let's dedicate to being able to cultivate those amazing states of mind like Kirti Sancho Rinpoche described. Feeling joyful, calm, stable, Report an error in the passage at 1:37:59 Highlight the passage at 1:37:59

1:38:15 and that this class becomes the cause right now. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:15 Highlight the passage at 1:38:15

1:38:31 And then when you're ready, you can end your meditation and Report an error in the passage at 1:38:31 Highlight the passage at 1:38:31

1:38:45 get your homework. Am Report an error in the passage at 1:38:45 Highlight the passage at 1:38:45

1:38:50 I passing this out? I don't know if we have enough for everyone, so let's see. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:50 Highlight the passage at 1:38:50

1:39:07 I can also send it electronically. I actually can have, this is an original. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:07 Highlight the passage at 1:39:07

1:39:27 Is that it? Report an error in the passage at 1:39:27 Highlight the passage at 1:39:27

1:39:30 No, that's all one. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:30 Highlight the passage at 1:39:30

1:39:37 Paul lost. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:37 Highlight the passage at 1:39:37

1:39:41 I can send you an email tomorrow, tonight if I think of it. Let me do that. And if you'd like it, if I can get your email after class, and then I can send you guys it as an email. Would that work? Will you have access to your email? Okay. You don't have to meditate on it this weekend. You probably have other things to meditate on. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:41 Highlight the passage at 1:39:41

1:40:12 All right, so send a copy of homework to Paul. Yeah, it's probably one less paper you have to carry until you get home. So if you want, I can send you all three parts. And then you'd have it, yeah, yeah. Okay, great. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:12 Highlight the passage at 1:40:12

1:40:38 All right, well, thank you. Did anybody have any last questions? Did you want to say something, Angela? Yeah, yeah, yeah. On to the practical things. Oh, and I need to contact Manlam about your, the puja for Bruce too. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:38 Highlight the passage at 1:40:38

1:41:00 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:00 Highlight the passage at 1:41:00

1:41:22 Oh, sure. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:22 Highlight the passage at 1:41:22

1:41:41 I don't know why you thought. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:41 Highlight the passage at 1:41:41

1:41:55 may go on this shelf over, you'll see more of them. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:55 Highlight the passage at 1:41:55

1:42:18 here you go. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:18 Highlight the passage at 1:42:18

1:42:28 Chad, did you hit the... No, I didn't. Does this appear like this? No, the whole thing is kind of sloppy. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:28 Highlight the passage at 1:42:28