Taking Refuge - Discovering Buddhism (28 February 2008)

0:02 even tested it so I don't mind if I'm going to watch the little thing bounce around. Report an error in the passage at 0:02 Highlight the passage at 0:02

0:30 a little bit of water, I thought, well, maybe I should use it to wash the top of the thing, because I don't think anybody ever does that. like that I would It's usually me if I see something active. I know I wash the top of this one for a while. Report an error in the passage at 0:30 Highlight the passage at 0:30

0:54 Okay, welcome back. The little clip disappeared. That's alright. So this is our last class. Well, we had the practice day. Report an error in the passage at 0:54 Highlight the passage at 0:54

1:08 And you guys are all coming? 100%. That's amazing. This will be the first time if you guys actually make it. We were close on death and then like three things happened to three people and we ended up with a bad turnout. I thought the death class was going to break the record, but now I think it might be the refuge class. Report an error in the passage at 1:08 Highlight the passage at 1:08

1:21 it. Report an error in the passage at 1:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21

1:31 I know. Well, it's death and impermanence. And impermanence struck with those people and a number of them couldn't make it. One of them fell and all sorts of things happened. Be careful. You only have one day to get through. You're all right. Just take refuge really strongly. Report an error in the passage at 1:31 Highlight the passage at 1:31

1:56 All right. So let's start with the meditation now that we've had a good giggle. Report an error in the passage at 1:56 Highlight the passage at 1:56

2:09 Just take some nice deep breaths and let that breathing just breathe out all of the things that might keep you from being here. Any distractions or sluggishness, achiness, anxiety, any way that you might still be clinging on to the day that you've just had or bouncing forward into the next one. Report an error in the passage at 2:09 Highlight the passage at 2:09

2:43 And with each breath just come more and more into this room. Allow your awareness to just get stronger and deeper. Report an error in the passage at 2:43 Highlight the passage at 2:43

3:14 Just take a moment to just watch your breath and Report an error in the passage at 3:14 Highlight the passage at 3:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

4:31 then imagine that you're surrounded by all living beings. So you imagine it just spreading out in all directions as far as your mind's eye can see. Report an error in the passage at 4:31 Highlight the passage at 4:31

4:51 I think about there are different kinds of suffering, dissatisfaction, pain, worries, as well as whatever makes them happy, whatever kind of dreams that they have, hopes. Report an error in the passage at 4:51 Highlight the passage at 4:51

5:13 And think about how this makes them exactly like you, at least in this way. Report an error in the passage at 5:13 Highlight the passage at 5:13

5:25 And try to feel some connection to each one of them. Report an error in the passage at 5:25 Highlight the passage at 5:25

5:44 And then imagine in front of you, Shakyamuni Buddha, and he's in essence all of your teachers, any teacher that you admire, but he's in the form of Shakyamuni Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 5:44 Highlight the passage at 5:44

6:06 Imagine that his form is made of light, golden light, luminous. Report an error in the passage at 6:06 Highlight the passage at 6:06

6:19 His essence is the energy of pure unconditional compassion and loving wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 6:19 Highlight the passage at 6:19

6:35 His face is peaceful and smiling and he radiates love to you and to all those people around you without Report an error in the passage at 6:35 Highlight the passage at 6:35

6:47 any bias. Report an error in the passage at 6:47 Highlight the passage at 6:47

6:56 He's seated on a lotus on top of a sun disc and a moon disc, the sun representing wisdom and the moon bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 6:56 Highlight the passage at 6:56

7:13 And this lotus is atop a throne. Report an error in the passage at 7:13 Highlight the passage at 7:13

7:21 Which is adorned with jewels and supported by snow lions. Report an error in the passage at 7:21 Highlight the passage at 7:21

7:30 He's wearing the robes of a monk and he's seated in full Vajra posture. The Report an error in the passage at 7:30 Highlight the passage at 7:30

7:40 palm of his right hand is resting on his right knee with the fingers facing downward in earth touching mudrā. Report an error in the passage at 7:40 Highlight the passage at 7:40

7:52 His left hand is in meditation mudrā and he's holding an alms bowl filled with nectar. Report an error in the passage at 7:52 Highlight the passage at 7:52

8:12 He's radiant and smiling compassionately on you and all beings without exception. And pure light rays pour from every pore of his body in all directions. Report an error in the passage at 8:12 Highlight the passage at 8:12

8:39 So then generate the mind of refuge by remembering what it is that we fear, this continual suffering, being at the control of our karma and delusions, Report an error in the passage at 8:39 Highlight the passage at 8:39

8:56 continually taking birth, aging, having sickness and dying without any real control, Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:12 just wildly running after all of our deluded thoughts. And then due to them creating the karma that creates our own suffering. Report an error in the passage at 9:12 Highlight the passage at 9:12

9:25 And we don't want to be afraid to die. We don't want to be afraid of whatever follows death. And so going for refuge is like putting all of our trust in the Buddha and his teachings and those who practice his teachings. I Report an error in the passage at 9:25 Highlight the passage at 9:25

9:55 remember that a part of it is also this recognition that we have the potential to become exactly like him, to transcend all suffering forever. And to help others transcend it as well. Report an error in the passage at 9:55 Highlight the passage at 9:55

10:21 So imagine just entrusting yourself in His love and His wisdom and His method, the Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 10:21 Highlight the passage at 10:21

10:32 But then remember all those beings that are around you, all of them suffering in different ways, out of not understanding karma and delusions, not understanding how it all works, never having met the teachings, never having met even a single teacher. Report an error in the passage at 10:32 Highlight the passage at 10:32

10:51 And try to generate even a tiny amount of bodhicitta. Thinking that we have this amazing opportunity ourselves and that we'll use it not just for ourselves but for all of them as well. Report an error in the passage at 10:51 Highlight the passage at 10:51

11:14 We must attain enlightenment for their sake. Report an error in the passage at 11:14 Highlight the passage at 11:14

11:24 And then think of a quality that the Buddha has that you yourself would like, whether it's limitless patience, limitless compassion, whether it's that great quality of being able to show up in whatever form is necessary for any being at all, anywhere on the planet, without effort or thought. In order to benefit and being able to do this limitlessly and Report an error in the passage at 11:24 Highlight the passage at 11:24

11:57 bow down to that quality. Honor it in your mind and aspire to get it yourself. Report an error in the passage at 11:57 Highlight the passage at 11:57

12:14 And then think, what would I give for this? What would I offer for this? And imagine filling the skies with your offerings. Just filling them with clouds and clouds of jewels and silver and gold, flowers, light of all kinds. Report an error in the passage at 12:14 Highlight the passage at 12:14

12:39 Whatever you yourself hold most dear. And then just imagine multiplying it by billions and billions and billions. Report an error in the passage at 12:39 Highlight the passage at 12:39

13:04 And then think of something that you've done today or in the past day that you regret understanding how karma works. That you know already it's just like poison in your mind stream and so you regret it wanting to be done with it. Report an error in the passage at 13:04 Highlight the passage at 13:04

13:40 But then think of something that you've done today or within the past day that you really feel happy with. Report an error in the passage at 13:40 Highlight the passage at 13:40

13:50 And deeply rejoice from the depths of your heart. Report an error in the passage at 13:50 Highlight the passage at 13:50

13:58 And maybe you were able to help somebody. Maybe you just took time to do your practice when you didn't want to. Maybe it was your decision to come to this class. Report an error in the passage at 13:58 Highlight the passage at 13:58

14:12 Maybe it was not swearing at somebody when you were driving. It can be as little or as big as you need it to be. But just remember to rejoice. Report an error in the passage at 14:12 Highlight the passage at 14:12

14:28 And finally ask the Buddha to stay and to teach us in whatever way we need to move our mind. Report an error in the passage at 14:28 Highlight the passage at 14:28

14:47 And then be open for those teachings, wherever they might pop up. And Report an error in the passage at 14:47 Highlight the passage at 14:47

15:03 then dedicate the merit to all those suffering beings around you. And Report an error in the passage at 15:03 Highlight the passage at 15:03

15:24 then finally make heartfelt requests to Shakyamuni Buddha to bless your mind, to eliminate whatever you're fighting with now. So whatever obstacles you have in your own practice. Report an error in the passage at 15:24 Highlight the passage at 15:24

15:40 Maybe it's falling asleep in meditation, which is my own personal struggle. Report an error in the passage at 15:40 Highlight the passage at 15:40

15:47 Maybe it's a dullness when you're trying to study. Maybe it's laziness and trying to get up. Whatever it is, be really specific and ask Shakyamuni Buddha to help you remove it right now. Report an error in the passage at 15:47 Highlight the passage at 15:47

16:14 And then at the same time ask him to grant you all realizations, all the blessings for your practice to succeed. And Report an error in the passage at 16:14 Highlight the passage at 16:14

16:42 then imagine that Shakyamuni Buddha is very pleased and delightedly comes to the crown of your head. He shrinks to the size of a tiny bird's egg, facing the same direction as you. Report an error in the passage at 16:42 Highlight the passage at 16:42

16:58 And then He stays there to bless your mind as we recite His mantra. Just imagine light pouring from Him into you, purifying you, eliminating all obstacles, all misconceptions, Report an error in the passage at 16:58 Highlight the passage at 16:58

17:19 all dullness, all sleepiness, and also blessing you and your entire being with enthusiasm, with all that you need, energy, wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 17:19 Highlight the passage at 17:19

17:35 Everything you need for your practice to succeed. Report an error in the passage at 17:35 Highlight the passage at 17:35

17:42 Thayata Om Muni Muni Mahamunaye Soha Tayata Om Muni Muni Mahamunaye Soha Thaya Tha Om Mune Mune Maha Munay So, Thayata Om Muni Muni Maha Munay So, Thayata Om Muni Muni Maha Munay So, Report an error in the passage at 17:42 Highlight the passage at 17:42

18:37 Thayata Om Muni Muni Mahamunaye Soha Thaya Thao Muni Mahamunaye Soha Thank you. Om Muni Muni Maha Munai Soha Tayata Om Muni Muni Maha Munai Soha Report an error in the passage at 18:37 Highlight the passage at 18:37

19:20 Thayata Om Muni Maha Munaiso Thayata Om Muni Mahamuna Esau Thayata Om Muni Muni Mahamuna Report an error in the passage at 19:20 Highlight the passage at 19:20

19:51 tayata om muni muni maha munaiso Report an error in the passage at 19:51 Highlight the passage at 19:51

20:10 Really Report an error in the passage at 20:10 Highlight the passage at 20:10

20:22 try to feel that He's cleansed you of all the obstacles that you're facing and that His blessings have filled you with everything that you could possibly need. And Report an error in the passage at 20:22 Highlight the passage at 20:22

20:37 imagine Him melting into golden light and melting into you, absorbing into the top of your head and going to your heart. And filling your heart completely with His blessings, which includes all of His instructions, His advice, realizations, qualities. And imagine that your body, speech and mind become completely one with Guru Shakyamuni's holy body, holy speech and holy mind. Report an error in the passage at 20:37 Highlight the passage at 20:37

21:15 No separation at all, like pouring water into water. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:33 And then imagine that by doing this you're completely transformed into a being made of light. Report an error in the passage at 21:33 Highlight the passage at 21:33

21:41 Abiding in this world solely for the purpose of benefiting others. Report an error in the passage at 21:41 Highlight the passage at 21:41

21:50 This is your true potential. Report an error in the passage at 21:50 Highlight the passage at 21:50

21:55 Imagine what this would feel like. Report an error in the passage at 21:55 Highlight the passage at 21:55

22:13 And then from this, let's try to cultivate a good motivation for tonight's class that Report an error in the passage at 22:13 Highlight the passage at 22:13

22:24 we can listen to these teachings with a thought to try to put them into practice so that we can overcome whatever delusions we have and develop all the qualities that we need in our minds so that we can realize our true potential. And we can attain enlightenment in this lifetime for Report an error in the passage at 22:24 Highlight the passage at 22:24

22:50 the benefit of every living being. Report an error in the passage at 22:50 Highlight the passage at 22:50

23:04 And then when you're ready, in your own time, you can end your meditation and open your eyes. And we can start with the opening prayers, which of course I didn't get. Report an error in the passage at 23:04 Highlight the passage at 23:04

23:19 Could you get me one, Morgan, a prayer book? I didn't think of it either. Or you can just look on. Yeah, you can look on with Charlie's. Report an error in the passage at 23:19 Highlight the passage at 23:19

23:30 We don't want Morgan to fall forward on his face. That happened once to Keisha. Somebody came to the door when we were doing puja and her legs were completely asleep and she was just like... The guy could see her, you know, he's like standing at the door probably thinking, these are weirdos, I don't know what's going on in there. Report an error in the passage at 23:30 Highlight the passage at 23:30

23:51 So we're going to do the Refuge and Bodhicitta on the bottom of page 7 first. We're going to do it all three times in Tibetan because you guys are pros now. Report an error in the passage at 23:51 Highlight the passage at 23:51

24:02 And then we're going to do His Holiness just once. Sangye Chodan Sokhi Chonam La, Jangshu Pardhu Dagnyi Kapsuchi, Dagi Chunyengi Pesonam Ki, Drolapenshir Sangye Druparsok, Sangye Chodan Sokhi Chonam La, Jangshu Pardhu Dagnyi Kapsuchi, Dagi-chan-yen-gi-pe-sonam-gi Dro-la-pen-shir-sang-ge-jru-parsho Sange Chodansokyi Chonamla, Jangshu Pardhudadnikyapsuchi. Report an error in the passage at 24:02 Highlight the passage at 24:02

24:55 Da-gi-chen-yen-gi-pe-so-nam-gi Dro-la-pen-shir-san-ge-ju-par-shok Report an error in the passage at 24:55 Highlight the passage at 24:55

25:09 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 25:09 Highlight the passage at 25:09

25:44 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 25:44 Highlight the passage at 25:44

25:48 So, questions. Does anybody have any questions that came up during the week about the meditation or how appropriate? Did he put it there? Yes, I did. You're just going to hold on to it the whole night. I have a general question, and that is that it is up to us to do the practice. Report an error in the passage at 25:48 Highlight the passage at 25:48

26:17 Many of the prayers that I see, Reference asking the victorious ones for almost like a push for enlightenment. And it's a little stronger than that, but I could actually look it up. But asking for help for other beings, I think one of the phrases is that aren't so enlightened, that they may become enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 26:17 Highlight the passage at 26:17

26:52 And I guess I'm wondering to know sort of what our proper relationship is with our own responsibility for our own practice and asking for inspiration or enlightenment from another being. Yeah, I mean really what we're doing is asking for inspiration. Report an error in the passage at 26:52 Highlight the passage at 26:52

27:18 Because, I mean, that's what when we say the word blessings, that's really what blessings means. It's like, just give me your inspiration. But remember that they do have that ability to show up in whatever form will help us. So actually, when we're asking for that, we should be careful because they may not show up in a form that we particularly like. If we're saying, you know, I need some extra help getting up in the morning, maybe they'll be the incredibly loud neighbor who, like, wakes you up. Report an error in the passage at 27:18 Highlight the passage at 27:18

27:42 You know, you never know what that's going to be, other heartburn or something, you know. I mean, they can help you in different ways. They do have that capacity. They don't have the capacity to fix your own mind. So we're just helping them. It's almost like they can do everything, but that's a lot. They have a lot of power. But they also only have power in as far as we have karma to receive that. So ultimately, it... Report an error in the passage at 27:42 Highlight the passage at 27:42

28:14 Depends upon us creating the causes and the conditions that will foster that and then creating the good karma and creating stronger connections with the Dharma and things like that so that we don't lose out because they can only do so much. But that being said, once we have that, then actually they can't do quite a bit to help us. So that's kind of more what it's about. I think it comes off sounding incredibly dualistic, but I think what it is is the... Report an error in the passage at 28:14 Highlight the passage at 28:14

28:44 I think it's for the babier minds. Our minds are much more baby at the beginning and we're kind of like, oh please, you know, save me, save me and all that. And we use terms like savior and things like that. And it's like, as we get into the work more deeply, we realize that there's only so much that they can do and we better get busy. Report an error in the passage at 28:44 Highlight the passage at 28:44

29:04 And, you know, it's sort of, it actually kind of hits 10 years into it or something when you're like... And I'm sure it hits again another 10 years later. It's probably like these little crests where you're kind of like, oh, really? I was supposed to be doing that? So there's just so much that they can do. Report an error in the passage at 29:04 Highlight the passage at 29:04

29:23 But on the other hand, prayer is basically, the way I heard one teacher say, it's like plugging into the source. So there's really nothing wrong with that. Report an error in the passage at 29:23 Highlight the passage at 29:23

29:35 I mean, in a sense, you're simply praying. You're praying to those who have done it, but you're also praying to your own wisdom. And by formulating the desire for it, it's making it stronger in your own mind. So it's kind of funny. I know with Christians, like with my mom, I would say, you know, I'll pray for you or I'll make prayers. But she never really asked me who I was praying to. Report an error in the passage at 29:35 Highlight the passage at 29:35

29:59 And she didn't seem to care who I was praying to. Just that word prayer. There's commonality there. But in reality, you know, it's sort of like our prayers have a lot to do with building our own capacity to help others, you know. But we can also call on the holy beings to help us as much as they can, too. It's a little like that. Report an error in the passage at 29:59 Highlight the passage at 29:59

30:22 Yeah, I think I told a story, or one of the classes I told a story about when... I wanted to get ordained and there seemed to be many obstacles. And Lama Zopa Rinpoche told me to make strong prayers to Tara. And I realized afterwards how skillful that was because making me pray to Tara every day made it really, really strong in my mind that that's what I wanted to do. Report an error in the passage at 30:22 Highlight the passage at 30:22

30:46 So it was quite skillful actually, you know. That's a little of that skillful means that you're a little afraid of but you really want. That's that one quality. Report an error in the passage at 30:46 Highlight the passage at 30:46

30:58 It's kind of sneaky sometimes, actually, skillful means can be. But it's also like creative or something. It's like a, yeah, anyway. Good question, though. Anybody else? Report an error in the passage at 30:58 Highlight the passage at 30:58

31:14 So I'm struggling with my meditation practice now. I thought I had something down when I was just able to calmly follow my breath. And now trying to go along with the practices, Report an error in the passage at 31:14 Highlight the passage at 31:14

31:33 The visualization and reading, it's really hard. It just feels so sloppy. It's because you're just getting to know this particular one. The more you know it, then you don't have to look as much and then you just can fly with it. I think it's just a matter of just getting used to it. So practice. Just practice, yeah. It's a lot like learning a sadhana. And as you progress on the path and if you even enter any of the lower tantras, there's these things called sadhanas, which is basically a sort of formal practice. Report an error in the passage at 31:33 Highlight the passage at 31:33

32:09 And it always includes certain prayers and certain visualizations and usually some sort of mantra recitation and a visualization during that and then dedications and all that. So the format's kind of like that. And it's a lot like this. At first you're just like, You know, and you're peeking all the time and it feels like, well, that was a lot of work. And then after a while, it's amazing. So you just have to kind of work through the memorization bit. Report an error in the passage at 32:09 Highlight the passage at 32:09

32:36 And it's not like actually, I think it's like doing the analytical meditations on the Lamrim too. At first, we don't know all the supporting arguments. We don't know the quotes, you know, so we have to peek at them all. and know and then but after a while there's enough in there that you can Just meditate and not really look at any outside sources. It just takes a while. Yeah. So steady, steady, slowly, slowly. Report an error in the passage at 32:36 Highlight the passage at 32:36

33:07 Yeah. Yeah. At least you're staying awake. Report an error in the passage at 33:07 Highlight the passage at 33:07

33:21 Anybody else? Yeah. So I think, well, I'm beyond that 10-year mark, but I'm feeling that I just had a birthday this week. You did. Happy birthday. And I was feeling, or I have been feeling like, there's not enough time to practice. Report an error in the passage at 33:21 Highlight the passage at 33:21

33:47 Good. So I'm like, I don't know how I got a precious human rebirth this time and I don't know if I'm going to get one next time. Report an error in the passage at 33:47 Highlight the passage at 33:47

33:58 That's how the Tibetans view birthdays. They're like shocked that we do this whole, you know, celebrating and cake and all. They're like, was a good thing. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 33:58 Highlight the passage at 33:58

33:56 I'm starting to get really scared and worried. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 33:56 Highlight the passage at 33:56

34:06 Why? Report an error in the passage at 34:06 Highlight the passage at 34:06

34:13 When Tenzin Chokyi, formerly Petra, turned 40, we had a big celebration at Vajrapani and Lama Zopa sent her a pair of earrings that were in the shape of skeletons and told her to wear them. Report an error in the passage at 34:13 Highlight the passage at 34:13

34:29 That's pretty much it. Report an error in the passage at 34:29 Highlight the passage at 34:29

34:35 And Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, so yeah Report an error in the passage at 34:35 Highlight the passage at 34:35

34:44 Each time you eat food ignorantly, it creates the causes to be reborn as an animal. Oh, God. I know. I'll see you there. You know, sort of kind of, oh, there's not enough time, there's not enough time. And I don't know how to do food practices. I don't know anything about blessing food or anything. Let's take a second then. Do you want to grab? Report an error in the passage at 34:44 Highlight the passage at 34:44

35:11 Are your legs woken up? Are you going to grab the gold prayer books? We did that in the daily practice class. We talked about a visualization that you could do. But there's just a simple one. There's a prayer in the gold prayer book, and so you could just copy it and memorize that. That's the one that Geshe-la always does. Have you ever been with us when we're out at a restaurant and he always leads everybody? Report an error in the passage at 35:11 Highlight the passage at 35:11

35:35 And at first it was like mortifying, you know, you'd be like in this huge restaurant in the Castro and we'd be like singing along, you know. And now I'm kind of like, it's long, you know, like let's start, you know. I'm like the first if he's forgetting or something, you know. Report an error in the passage at 35:35 Highlight the passage at 35:35

35:51 I'm trying to remember where it is. It's kind of like daily stuff. I know. Everyday Dharma. Everyday Dharma. 207. And it has the whole little visualization there, and that's fine. You can do this one that's here. Visualize the food as blissful wisdom nectar inside a vast jeweled vessel and offer this to a small Buddha visualized at your heart chakra. Report an error in the passage at 35:51 Highlight the passage at 35:51

36:18 So you could do Tara. Recite Om Ahung three times to consecrate the food, which would be, so first you're purifying it, then you're transforming it into nectar, and then you're increasing it. So it's not just going to this Buddha, but it's going out to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. And then offer with any of the following verses. As you eat or drink, imagine that Guru Shakyamuni, or Tara, or whoever, at your heart, who embodies the triple gem, the Buddha Dharma Saṅgha, experiences great bliss from the nectar that you've offered. Report an error in the passage at 36:18 Highlight the passage at 36:18

36:51 And he radiates this light that fills your entire body. So that's a fine visualization to do. Then you do omahung, omahung, omahung. And then you sing it. LAMA SANGYE LAMA DEJIN LAMA GEDUN TE Report an error in the passage at 36:51 Highlight the passage at 36:51

37:27 Te Lama Nam La Chupar Or just memorize it in English. Gurus, Buddha, Gurus, Dharma, Gurus, Saṅgha also. The Guru is the creator of all happiness. To all Gurus, I make this offering. So how is the Guru creator of all happiness? That's Course 4. In that he's your connection. He's like your connection to the whole Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 37:27 Highlight the passage at 37:27

37:56 So that's what that one means. He or she, yes. Well done. Yeah, so if you would like, you can just copy this. In fact, I think if you wanted to borrow it as long as you promise to bring it back on Saturday, you could do that. Or you could just copy it downstairs right afterwards. Or you could just write it. But it's really fast. Actually, if one person wanted to copy it for everybody, then they could. Report an error in the passage at 37:56 Highlight the passage at 37:56

38:23 She said, looking meaningfully at Karen. So just a reminder, you guys all got my email about the practice day. And I sent out another one right afterwards. Karina from the Buddhist Book Cafe requested that people make their menu decisions in advance. Report an error in the passage at 38:23 Highlight the passage at 38:23

38:46 She wanted me to hand them out to you on that day, but I just know how it is. And sometimes people come late and they were already in silence and it's kind of like, and there's something in front of them that requires, that's new. It just seemed a recipe for disaster. Report an error in the passage at 38:46 Highlight the passage at 38:46

39:00 I just am emailing it to you guys and then if you wouldn't mind either just printing it and bringing it and filling it out or just fill it and send it back to me by email. It's just simply saying what you want, which sandwich, which drink and whether you want chips or soup. Yeah, so... Report an error in the passage at 39:00 Highlight the passage at 39:00

39:20 I know, I know, I know. Especially when you see what's in them all. I mean, you know, it's the old favorite. Everybody wants a vegan chicken salad, so I don't even know why we even bother to have another. They keep trying to create another one, but nobody ever orders it. But, you know, they'll keep going. I know, everybody does. Why would you choose anything else? Anyway, so if you wouldn't mind doing that. Report an error in the passage at 39:20 Highlight the passage at 39:20

39:46 And then we are combining with the daily practice class, and some of you are doing both, in which case you're combining with yourself. it was fun. Report an error in the passage at 39:46 Highlight the passage at 39:46

39:53 And so we're going to do some meditations from here and some meditations from that class. But I think it works really well together, the two classes. We did it last year that way. And then we're actually, so we'll have lunch together and then afterwards we'll watch the DB videos for both. So we'll do the DB videos for practice, which is of course good, and the one on refuge too. Report an error in the passage at 39:53 Highlight the passage at 39:53

40:14 So I think you'll get a lot out of both videos. I think it might be, I can't remember what's in the refuge video, but that one might be a little bit more confusing for the people in the practice class. Report an error in the passage at 40:14 Highlight the passage at 40:14

40:27 Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was thinking that actually. I was thinking somehow we need to do a daily practice. We need to call it something else because it sounds like come to this class if you're just getting started and you want to set up. A daily practice. In actuality, the way it's taught is like, now you want to deepen your practice and like, it's actually quite, quite deep, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 40:27 Highlight the passage at 40:27

40:50 And for those people that are like brand new, it's kind of like, I didn't really sign up for this. So I'm trying to think of a different way to, something else to call it and then to have something that's like a beginner's daily practice class or something. I don't know, and just make up something, like create something I should say. Report an error in the passage at 40:50 Highlight the passage at 40:50

41:10 Not make it up, but you know what I mean. So that's good. And then you guys all got the list of the presentation ideas? Discussion questions. Yeah, I know, but those are the presentation ideas. I didn't redo a list. I just used the one that they provided through the education department because I thought it was pretty. Report an error in the passage at 41:10 Highlight the passage at 41:10

41:37 They all sounded like great questions. I didn't have anything else to add. But, yeah, I mean, if you want to, you can discuss it. But the idea is to make some sort of presentation or to lead a meditation. I don't think that's on there, and that is something I would add. You can lead any of the meditations that we've done in the class. And that's always a good one because you can read it and everyone has their eyes closed. Report an error in the passage at 41:37 Highlight the passage at 41:37

41:59 So, you know, there's not a lot of preparation involved on that one. Although you'd like to be able to kind of create a mood when you're doing it. And usually when people are reading or leading meditations for the first time, the biggest fault is going too fast. So I would highly suggest if you do do that, go through your notes and write pause. Report an error in the passage at 41:59 Highlight the passage at 41:59

42:21 Pause here or just put a red line or something because you'll be reading it too fast and everyone will be trying to get into the mood but not having really enough time. Does anyone have any questions about these as ideas? Does anyone have anything else that they'd like to do that's not here? Has anyone even thought about it? Report an error in the passage at 42:21 Highlight the passage at 42:21

42:47 All right. that? Report an error in the passage at 42:47 Highlight the passage at 42:47

42:50 And also just a reminder that Geshe-la is giving refuge on April 20th. And if you are interested or have any questions and would like to talk about that outside of class, I'm happy to do that. So just contact me and I'm happy to talk about it. And also it would be great if you're even considering about it in the future to come and see what he does and listen to his teachings on the different precepts and, you know, cheer those students on who are going for it. Report an error in the passage at 42:50 Highlight the passage at 42:50

43:19 It is, it's a big, it's a huge stuff at least, you know, for me personally it was a big one. April 20th. Yeah. So it's a ways away, but he was doing the Giorgio and so I had to wait until that all finished. Stick it in there. Report an error in the passage at 43:19 Highlight the passage at 43:19

43:37 Okay, so last week we went over the first six of the precepts. And so we're going to do the last six. And these are all what's called the general precepts. Report an error in the passage at 43:37 Highlight the passage at 43:37

43:52 And I think I gave you guys a list, right? Yeah, and I don't know that I made myself an extra copy. If anybody has one of those to give to or to share with Olivier, that would be... But I didn't make an extra one, sorry. You can just share it, yeah. You just look on. Report an error in the passage at 43:52 Highlight the passage at 43:52

44:14 So these are what's called the general precepts. So first we did what to give up and what to adopt or something like that, and then these are the general ones. Going for refuge over and over again by calling to mind the good quality. Qualities of the refuge objects. And so now we have gone through some of the qualities. So that means more to you. The first time that you see that when you, if you haven't taken a class like this and you, you're kind of like, well, what are the qualities? Report an error in the passage at 44:14 Highlight the passage at 44:14

44:39 Aren't we supposed to remember what they all are? But actually it's kind of useful because we forget over time, you know, what these qualities are. But if we want to attain them, that's what's kind of always good too when you're in meditation to think of different qualities. I seem stuck on that one, I know, but. Report an error in the passage at 44:39 Highlight the passage at 44:39

44:56 But just thinking about different qualities, because otherwise it's not like alive, it's not like vibrant, you know. So it's, you know, I mean, the Dharma, the biggest quality of the Dharma is just that it has the ability to eliminate all of our suffering. That's huge, you know. And that's the actual refuge. Taking refuge in the Dharma is the one that's really going to do it for us. Report an error in the passage at 44:56 Highlight the passage at 44:56

45:26 So clearly when you do that, then it can strengthen your faith. It can inspire you. So just periodically thinking about them or also periodically just reviewing them if you forget what they are or if you're in retreat maybe. That's the good thing about sort of cycling through the different topics of the lamrim, because then you come around to them and you have to spend a little time remembering what Jane was talking about. Report an error in the passage at 45:26 Highlight the passage at 45:26

45:54 You do hold a certain amount in your mind, but then there's stuff that falls out. Thankfully, there's a number of really good lamrims that are translated into English now. Report an error in the passage at 45:54 Highlight the passage at 45:54

46:08 You can look at different ways that things are translated, especially if somebody describes something in one that didn't make any sense to you, but you still stuck with it for five years because that's the book you had. Then maybe what I'm doing recently is switching to other translations, and it's completely different sometimes. You're like, oh, that's what that means. Report an error in the passage at 46:08 Highlight the passage at 46:08

46:28 That's what that Ushnisha does. know Report an error in the passage at 46:28 Highlight the passage at 46:28

46:33 So in remembrance number eight, in remembrance of their kindness, offering the first part of any food or drink to the refuge object, which is just what we did, how well. Report an error in the passage at 46:33 Highlight the passage at 46:33

46:45 And so I think that one's pretty clear, actually. And Rubina always says that the most important part is imagine them receiving it in bliss. So don't leave that out. Report an error in the passage at 46:45 Highlight the passage at 46:45

46:59 Sometimes you get so excited about offering it to them because you remember that. You haven't just stuffed it in your face and that's exciting. But then you actually forget to imagine them receiving it. And that apparently is like the most important part. I think it's because it makes us forget ourselves for a second probably. Report an error in the passage at 46:59 Highlight the passage at 46:59

47:20 So yeah, I think all of this is just to... To make us more mindful. I mean, almost every single vow and precept and pledge ever created is to make us more mindful. To just slow down a minute and reflect, think about what we're doing. Report an error in the passage at 47:20 Highlight the passage at 47:20

47:41 You can also imagine the Buddha at your heart and you sort of imagine that food sort of trickling down and each drop of it becoming like an additional nectar for them to receive. That's hard if you're like eating with family or something. If you're in retreat or you're by yourself and you have a little second to, you can actually kind of imagine that. Report an error in the passage at 47:41 Highlight the passage at 47:41

48:05 You shouldn't do it in front of the TV. I know, it's difficult. It is, it is. It's really hard to like taking it in front of the computer. It's the same thing. It's much better. Or reading. I always read. That's really, I mean, it's actually in retreat. It's a nice break because. You're not really supposed to do anything else. After you know the commentary on whatever practice you're on, you're not really supposed to read that much. Report an error in the passage at 48:05 Highlight the passage at 48:05

48:34 So it's like you give your mind a break. And I remember one I was doing that every bite you were just supposed to imagine it just filling you with more and more bliss. It was so amazing. It's just a completely different relationship with food. You're just like each... You're more and more and more blissed out. And it was just like beans and rice or something. You're just like, totally. Because it's all just in mind. Report an error in the passage at 48:34 Highlight the passage at 48:34

48:59 Hey, bubs, I know. Your mom's still gone. We know. We know. We know how it is. Report an error in the passage at 48:59 Highlight the passage at 48:59

49:07 Or you can also take a moment to think about all the people and all the beings that have had an input into the food that you're eating. And that also just brings awareness to all the other sentient beings that are. um... Report an error in the passage at 49:07 Highlight the passage at 49:07

49:20 It's part of growing the food and the animals or bringing it to market, selling it, things like that. Report an error in the passage at 49:20 Highlight the passage at 49:20

49:31 Rinpoche actually can spend so much time offering the food and going into all the details of everyone involved that the food actually gets. I mean Report an error in the passage at 49:31 Highlight the passage at 49:31

49:44 Cold. We were always instructed. I had to cook for him. I got the blessing of being able to cook for him for like 10 days, which is the most exhausting 10 days of my entire life. Bar none. And I've had many exhausting days. But we were instructed never to bring the food out when he, you know, like to always really time it, at least to keep something on the burner so that when he finished the offering, you feel like... Report an error in the passage at 49:44 Highlight the passage at 49:44

50:10 Whisk in there and like offer the soup or something. So that part would still be hot. But it was always like you'd just be like waiting and waiting and it would be like a half hour. Excuse me? I don't think so. Report an error in the passage at 50:10 Highlight the passage at 50:10

50:24 Sorry. That was very rude. Yeah, it was. She always has to get the last word. Yeah, so it was like you'd always be waiting and waiting and waiting and then you'd sort of... Stop being so mindful and kind of get focused on something else and all of a sudden someone would come running and they're going, he's finished! But he would go on and on and on and on and always does actually. Report an error in the passage at 50:24 Highlight the passage at 50:24

50:52 Encouraging others to take refuge, which does not mean, underscore, not proselytizing. It's not going from door to door. It's not forcing your religion on anyone else. You've heard the way His Holiness always says it's really best to stay with your own religion unless you find that something profoundly changes your mind. Report an error in the passage at 50:52 Highlight the passage at 50:52

51:14 So He's always very, very careful to make sure. Because I think a lot of people go to see Him because He's famous, you know. So their motivation may not be all the way developed. Report an error in the passage at 51:14 Highlight the passage at 51:14

51:25 Sorry. There's not much I can do about it at this point. We have to tolerate. Report an error in the passage at 51:25 Highlight the passage at 51:25

51:36 So what it's talking about is say Karen has taken refuge and she's talking to Jane and Jane's considering it. She's got a voice like a train wreck. It's like there's this cute little kitty and then there's this voice. It's like you're pushing the button. So it's more like that. It's more like you're talking with another Dharma friend who is ready. Report an error in the passage at 51:36 Highlight the passage at 51:36

52:03 But they're trying to decide if they're ready or not, you know, to be encouraging if it seems appropriate. So it's not like your mom or something, unless your mom, of course, is one of the rare moms who is ready. But, yeah, so it's not bringing it up with a complete stranger or with co-workers or something like that. And people do get really excited by the Dharma once it starts making an impact in their life, and they do want to tell people about it. Report an error in the passage at 52:03 Highlight the passage at 52:03

52:32 What influences people the most is just seeing you change and your happiness and your whatever ability to weather things more than words that you're saying. I mean, it's like kids in a way, you know, people always want to know, how do I teach? They always ask His Holiness this one too. How do I teach my child patience? And he's always like, demonstrate it. Report an error in the passage at 52:32 Highlight the passage at 52:32

52:58 There's no other way. Like, you can't say you should always be patient with your friends and then, like, fight with each other, you know? Like, so I know. Isn't that, you know? Because kids are really smart. So, yeah. So if we're starting to sort of, you know, if we're happier, if we're able to deal with stuff in a little better way, if something seems like it's going on in our lives, people will just ask us. Report an error in the passage at 52:58 Highlight the passage at 52:58

53:26 And that's really the only way to really influence them in that way. And if people come to you and sincerely ask you, then that's fine. But, you know, I mean, traditionally it's like three times, you know, you really want them to be sincere. And you also have to check your own motivation. Like, are you just telling them stuff to be cool? You know, we have to be careful about that. Report an error in the passage at 53:26 Highlight the passage at 53:26

53:56 So we're not running around trying to make everybody Buddhist because it doesn't necessarily work with everybody's mind. And it may create aversion, which is even worse. Report an error in the passage at 53:56 Highlight the passage at 53:56

54:07 Number 10, taking refuge three times a day and three times a night by bringing to mind the benefits. So we spent some time on the benefits at the beginning, the benefits of taking refuge. And so bringing those to mind, again, it just sort of keeps those things in your mind. Report an error in the passage at 54:07 Highlight the passage at 54:07

54:27 And this one actually is a real... Commitment. This is a real commitment, actually, because once you do take refuge, you are supposed to say refuge three times a day and three times a night. And at first, if that's the only practice that you have, it's like you actually have to remember to do it. But then once you have any other practice on the planet, they all start with three refuges. Report an error in the passage at 54:27 Highlight the passage at 54:27

54:53 And so as long as you're doing your practices at all, then... Then that's, then you're fine. You're covered. Report an error in the passage at 54:53 Highlight the passage at 54:53

55:05 Number 11, putting all your trust in the objects of refuge during any activity you may undertake at all. And so that's kind of like if things are going well, as well as when things aren't going well. Report an error in the passage at 55:05 Highlight the passage at 55:05

55:19 And a lot of times people come to the center when people, you know, when they're suffering, you know, people used to always come to that. We used to have an evening. Are you suffering? We used to have an evening Tara practice right before one of the classes. I think it was Wednesday night, Tuesday night or something. And people would come a lot, I think, especially to the Tara practice if they had obstacles. You know, she's really good at removing obstacles. Report an error in the passage at 55:19 Highlight the passage at 55:19

55:44 So they'd come when their partner had left them. They'd come when they'd lost their job. They'd come when... Are you allergic? Oh, we should get rid of her. Out! Report an error in the passage at 55:44 Highlight the passage at 55:44

55:58 On the break, I'll stick her downstairs. Yeah, I know. And the problem is she's long hair. And she does this. I can't control her. Anyway. Report an error in the passage at 55:58 Highlight the passage at 55:58

56:08 I know. She tried to do this with Geshe-la last night. I managed to distract her downstairs. Report an error in the passage at 56:08 Highlight the passage at 56:08

56:18 Yeah, so people tend to come when their life's falling apart. You know, I mean, that's when you kind of look at... that's true. Um... Report an error in the passage at 56:18 Highlight the passage at 56:18

56:26 You're looking at your life. You're trying to figure out. Spiritual paths kind of become more interesting when life is falling apart. But then life becomes good again and you just kind of forget it all. And some of those people I never see. It's really rare. Every once in a while I'll still see somebody who used to come really, really religiously. But then their life turned around. Report an error in the passage at 56:26 Highlight the passage at 56:26

56:47 Or they come to every tar puja. That's another one. Or they have a health problem so they come to every medicine Buddha puja until they get better and then they're done. Report an error in the passage at 56:47 Highlight the passage at 56:47

56:55 It's kind of like coming to Easter Sunday and Christmas service or something. So yeah, again, just like remember when we did that meditation on all the ways that we've taken refuge in our life? Like doing that one periodically and just kind of thinking about how have I taken refuge this year? You know, and is it working for me? Report an error in the passage at 56:55 Highlight the passage at 56:55

57:19 You know, and if it's not, why isn't it? And so forth. Report an error in the passage at 57:19 Highlight the passage at 57:19

57:25 And also just remember how incredibly rare it is to receive these teachings and how amazing it is that we actually have the karma. As Karen was saying, this time around we have some pretty good karma ripening and we may not always have that. And, you know, just from an ordinary point of view, the teachings themselves may not be as available to us for whatever reasons. Report an error in the passage at 57:25 Highlight the passage at 57:25

57:49 We may get, you know, transferred to some other state or we might get... We'll not have our car anymore or, you know, whatever. It could manifest in some other form. That's what an obstacle is. Like we think of obstacles as being sort of like demons and things like that, but that's really what they are is they're just karma shifting and things not being as easy for us to do anymore, which could mean health concerns. Report an error in the passage at 57:49 Highlight the passage at 57:49

58:16 It could mean bad back. It could mean, no, you are a bad girl. You are about here. You just sit back here. Sit back here, maybe that'll make you happy. Hide from David. That's right, you can just sit back there. Sorry, her mama's back east taking care of her mama. Report an error in the passage at 58:16 Highlight the passage at 58:16

58:38 Yeah, so it's basically just putting your trust in the refuge objects. um, Report an error in the passage at 58:38 Highlight the passage at 58:38

58:51 So trying to remember it's not just when things are falling apart, but also to remember when things are going well. Not giving up on the three jewels, even if it should cost you your life, and in every situation from that on down to doing so in jest. And this one I remember I got an email from somebody saying, this seems really heavy. And it does, but I mean, remember, think of the context. Report an error in the passage at 58:51 Highlight the passage at 58:51

59:18 I think actually quite a few people in Tibet. Have had this actually come where they would have somebody actually saying, give it up, give them up, give up the three jewels, you know. Report an error in the passage at 59:18 Highlight the passage at 59:18

59:31 And if you hadn't actually thought of it before, you might not know why it was a good thing. Report an error in the passage at 59:31 Highlight the passage at 59:31

59:40 But I don't know, I mean, actually, if it was more beneficial for you to stay alive and to not truly give them up, but to say that you were, it might actually be a better thing, I'm not sure. Not having been in that situation, I'm not really sure. Report an error in the passage at 59:40 Highlight the passage at 59:40

59:58 I had to ask Eshala today. There's a young boy who wants to take refuge who's only 13. And I thought, wow, it's such a heavy decision. Like, really, this is, you're saying this is your path. And he asked me that four times his age. You know, he's like over and over asking me his age. 13. I said, yes. He's 13. I said, yes. 13. I said, yes. Report an error in the passage at 59:58 Highlight the passage at 59:58

1:00:23 Yeah, yeah. But then he said, he said, getzel, meaning novice, novice vows, seven years old. So then I thought, all right, you know, it's true, though, it's true. A lot of churches will ask, yeah. I always think that's dumb, though, too. I like those churches where you're an adult, but he clearly feels differently, so I get to tell this kid he can do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:23 Highlight the passage at 1:00:23

1:00:48 He's been wanting to do it for a while. You knock out those prostrations. You get all the nindro done before 21. No problem. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48 Highlight the passage at 1:00:48

1:01:02 So, I mean, the thing is with this one is just kind of like checking up, you know, where is my practice not consistent? Where is my practice not sincere? You know, maybe I need to purify. Maybe I need to work on my mind and accumulate merit more like that. This doing so in jest I think maybe has to do with not really respecting it, like kind of joking around or something like that, which I can imagine. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:02 Highlight the passage at 1:01:02

1:01:32 Sometimes I remember on Precept Day, on Day of Miracles last week, a couple of us were joking around and Janet kind of reminded, it wasn't about taking refuge, but I suppose it could happen where you don't realize, you're just kind of joking around and Janet was like, be careful because it's a holy day and we're kind of like, Report an error in the passage at 1:01:32 Highlight the passage at 1:01:32

1:01:53 So I could imagine, I guess, that you could just be joking around and then say something that you didn't really mean or maybe you're being sarcastic or something like that. I think that might be what it means. Does anyone have any question about those six or about the first six as well? Does those make sense? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:53 Highlight the passage at 1:01:53

1:02:16 And then I thought I'd also talk about the five lay vows. At the same ceremony, usually at the same ceremony Geshe-la gives, Report an error in the passage at 1:02:16 Highlight the passage at 1:02:16

1:02:26 He also gives the five labels for those who want them. They aren't part of the package unless you want them to be. Although sometimes people do have a lot of confusion. That's why I always ask people to contact me first so I can explain what's going to happen. Because as much as I try to... Help out on that day. It's always this kind of confusion and Geshe will be like, you know, some people will be kneeling down and some people will be standing up and those people who only wanted to take one, they're kind of like, did I just take more than I intended to or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:26 Highlight the passage at 1:02:26

1:02:57 So I always just say, be really clear in your mind because Geshe allows you to take, it depends on the Lama, not all Lamas are like this, but Lama Zopa Rinpoche as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:57 Highlight the passage at 1:02:57

1:03:10 Allows you to take one or two or three or four or five and apparently there are different names and he tells you that day what those names are. The one vowel holder, the two vowel holder, the several vowel holder and the five vowel holder or something like that. There's all these different names. I'm so sorry David. If I had an extra pair of arms I would take her out of here. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:10 Highlight the passage at 1:03:10

1:03:36 Um. That's why I always lock Bodhi and Shanti upstairs, you know, but this one's not mine. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:36 Highlight the passage at 1:03:36

1:03:45 So I always just say in your mind, because vows are taken in your mind. It's not like there's, you know, something external happening. It's always in your mind. So if you're really clear that you only wanted to take refuge and you didn't want to take the vows, if you get down and you mumble something in Tibetan, so far. Cough, Cough. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:45 Highlight the passage at 1:03:45

1:04:03 The Buddhas will understand because in your mind you are only taking refuge or you are only taking one vow, whatever it is. So as long as you're really clear, then that's fine. So the five lay vows, five lifetime vows of a lay person and how to break them at their root, which is actually quite difficult to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:03 Highlight the passage at 1:04:03

1:04:32 But you need to know how to break them at their root in case you have to, because that's where you'd have to retake them if you ever broke them at their root. The first one is killing, but breaking it at its root is by killing a human or a human fetus. So it's not killing an insect or something like that, or a kitty. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:32 Highlight the passage at 1:04:32

1:04:57 Anything else you would confess, you know, if you intentionally did it. Even if you unintentionally did it but you felt bad about it, you might want to confess it to somebody who understood. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:57 Highlight the passage at 1:04:57

1:05:12 It's not so appropriate, is it? And when you take this vow, it actually creates the causes for having a long life in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:12 Highlight the passage at 1:05:12

1:05:23 And again, remembering some of the ideas behind vowed morality, taking and holding a vow means that it's constantly working to create merit. Even when you're not in a situation where you have a chance to kill somebody and you don't, whereas otherwise if you don't and you just are in a situation where you have a chance to kill somebody and you don't once, that one time you get merit, but otherwise the rest of the time you don't. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:23 Highlight the passage at 1:05:23

1:05:51 But when you have this vow, it's almost like it creates this sort of, it's like always permeating your mind, you know, so that intention is always permeating your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:51 Highlight the passage at 1:05:51

1:06:03 You mentioned breaking a vow at its root and what you need to do at that point. Can you elaborate on that just a little bit? Well, with any vow that you take, and the refuge are precepts. They aren't vows. Actually, they're more like guiding wheels or what do you call them, training wheels. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:03 Highlight the passage at 1:06:03

1:06:25 Although, to be honest, I think all of the vows are training wheels. It's really important to know what it is. What it is to break it at its root level and what it is if it's lesser, you know, you mess up in another way than you would in what you do to, what do you call it? To, my brain's gone blank. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:25 Highlight the passage at 1:06:25

1:06:54 Sorry? Yeah, it's not so much regain, it's like repair it. It's like repairing it. There are methods always to repair broken valves, but they say that it's sort of like it's never quite as strong as it once was. So not to be so lightly thinking, well, it doesn't really matter so much because I can always fix it. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:54 Highlight the passage at 1:06:54

1:07:15 They say it's a little bit like it when you break your arm. It's never quite the same strength. So breaking something at its root would mean that you actually lose the valve. So the only way then that you could repair it is to take it again. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:15 Highlight the passage at 1:07:15

1:07:33 So in this case, for killing, it's not like you have to be so, I mean, you definitely want to not kill anything. That's true. But the only way that you would break it at its root is killing a human. So it's not like something that we're up against all the time. Unless, of course, and it does include human fetus. So unborn humans are considered to be humans in Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:33 Highlight the passage at 1:07:33

1:08:01 So conception is really more like birth in our culture. It's like you've already left the bardo, you know what I mean? So you've left the intermediate state and you've taken a new life, but you just haven't come out of the womb yet, but you're considered still a human at that point. So that's kind of what it means to break something at the root. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:01 Highlight the passage at 1:08:01

1:08:24 Anything less than that, you could confess it to somebody who understands. And they say... They say, I mean, with all of these things, it's, you know, the absolute best, which is difficult for most of us, would be to go to the one who gave it to you, which I can't really imagine doing. I had one teacher who said that his teacher would just kind of like run the other direction when he saw him because he was always confessing all of his stuff. But, I mean, that's the absolute best. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:24 Highlight the passage at 1:08:24

1:08:53 Most of us don't have that kind of relationship. With our llamas that we would just be able to go, you know, I killed three spiders today in the shower or something like that, you know. But they say, you know, after that, I think it's supposed to be somebody who holds those vows and higher, you know, so it could be anybody who had taken, in this case, anybody else who had taken lay vows or somebody who has ordination vows or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:53 Highlight the passage at 1:08:53

1:09:20 Or the absolute, well, I think the absolute... Least would actually be the statue of the Buddha if you couldn't find anybody else around if you're on retreat or something. But I think they also say just somebody who understands the importance of the gravity of this. Because we take these to strengthen our own minds and to get enlightened. So they are important. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:20 Highlight the passage at 1:09:20

1:09:47 And so if we mess up, it's not that we want to beat ourselves up about it. Sometimes confessing to another is quite helpful. And sometimes confessing to the Buddha or your teacher in your own mind is really, really helpful. And that's enough. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:47 Highlight the passage at 1:09:47

1:10:03 So, yeah, so killing at the root is a human. The second one is taking something not given to you or taking something not offered. And that's often translated as stealing. But the way that this is defined, I think, opens it up. Much more broadly, taking something not offered. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:03 Highlight the passage at 1:10:03

1:10:28 So then you end up thinking about it like when you're in the restaurant and your friend bought a tea but you didn't and yet you grab a bag of sugar or something. It's like, hmm, you know, I have to think about it. And you see this more and more like with Buddhists, you know, if you offer them your pen and then they'll drive out of their way to come back to give you your pen back if they forget to give it because you didn't necessarily give it to them. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:28 Highlight the passage at 1:10:28

1:10:53 to keep or whatever so um It can be incredibly minute. Now, the way that you break this one at the root, it's up to interpretation by the Lama. Geshe-la does it depending upon what is the minimum amount that's punishable by law in the culture that you're in. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:53 Highlight the passage at 1:10:53

1:11:18 So that's the way he does it. So it's actually quite a fair amount, I think. I don't know what the amount is, actually. But what I have heard it and the way I learned it from the Lama that I took lay vows from was if you steal anything that is valuable to the person, you steal it from. So maybe that's the big pen that that person got from their mom. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:18 Highlight the passage at 1:11:18

1:11:45 And they love that big pen, but on the open market it's not worth anything and nobody would ever arrest you for it. So it could be a paperclip that they've had for 15 years. I mean, you just don't know. So it kind of comes down to just not taking anything unless it's been offered. Again, this one's really great for mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:45 Highlight the passage at 1:11:45

1:12:05 You know, if you're staying at somebody's house and you take a little of the shampoo. You know, just like things like that that you maybe didn't think about before sort of cleans up that. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:05 Highlight the passage at 1:12:05

1:12:20 You create the causes for always having enough wealth in future lives. Sexual misconduct. This one is you lose the vow at the root by committing adultery, which I actually... I actually define as if you're in a committed relationship or if the other person's in a committed relationship, whether you're married or not. I think you kind of are skirting the issue if you think, well, she's not married, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:20 Highlight the passage at 1:12:20

1:12:57 So I think if one or the other is in a committed relationship, that's still adultery. Because somebody's being hurt. That's the point. Somebody is being deceived in it. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:57 Highlight the passage at 1:12:57

1:13:09 If you're in a completely open relationship and the person actually knows, then that's different. You're not committing adultery. But you have to be really honest with yourself. Don't say, well, they know because... They see me going and don't assume. If you haven't point blank told them and they haven't point blank said it was okay, then they probably don't know in one way or another. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:09 Highlight the passage at 1:13:09

1:13:47 Lying is the fourth one. Oh, sorry. Sexual misconduct. You create the causes for having harmonious partners who support you in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:47 Highlight the passage at 1:13:47

1:14:00 Support you emotionally, I would think, rather than... Somebody's got a sugar daddy. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:00 Highlight the passage at 1:14:00

1:14:11 Lying. This one is specifically telling lies about your spiritual attainments. Yeah, that's at the root. And especially the biggest one is if you say that you directly perceive emptiness and you haven't. So it's kind of difficult, actually. I mean, unless you're totally, I suppose. I shouldn't say that because maybe it's not so difficult for everyone else, but I find that would be a really difficult one. I can't imagine telling somebody that I directly perceive emptiness. I know, Bubz, you have problems. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:11 Highlight the passage at 1:14:11

1:14:48 I know. And you create the causes for people believing you and for people being honest with you in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:48 Highlight the passage at 1:14:48

1:15:01 And the final one, so those four are called the four root valves. And then the fifth one... It's actually a supporting bowel, and that's taking intoxicants. And so there's no way to really break it at its root, because it doesn't really have that. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:01 Highlight the passage at 1:15:01

1:15:21 But you can receive a downfall if you take any intoxicants. An intoxicant is anything, it's usually considered to be alcohol or any kind of recreational drugs that... Screw up your mind. But it doesn't, it's not necessarily like coffee. It's sort of like the things that, I mean, unless you have some sort of weird allergy to coffee or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:21 Highlight the passage at 1:15:21

1:15:47 Cigarettes are usually included, actually, or often included. But it usually has to do, I mean, when you think about it, if you think about the goal of this path is developing this sharp, clear mind. It's anything that's going to kind of mess that up. In some ways, caffeine can actually help me to practice better. But for me, I can't drink coffee because it actually makes me incredibly impatient and cranky, which doesn't seem all that appropriate for a nun. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:47 Highlight the passage at 1:15:47

1:16:16 So for me, I wouldn't take it, but it's not part of my vows not to drink it. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:16 Highlight the passage at 1:16:16

1:16:25 But I have heard, so the Buddha apparently had, there's a quote in one of the sutras where the Buddha said, so Report an error in the passage at 1:16:25 Highlight the passage at 1:16:25

1:16:21 you know, Report an error in the passage at 1:16:21 Highlight the passage at 1:16:21

1:16:34 I think it's something like, he who drinks as much as is on the tip of this blade of grass is no follower of mine. So it's like this really tiny amount of intoxicants. In that case, he was talking about alcohol. But the way it's actually worded in this vow, even at that time, it actually, the word was like chemical substances. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:34 Highlight the passage at 1:16:34

1:16:57 So it wasn't just confined to alcohol. But I have heard, apparently, Riba Rinpoche said, having enough to get intoxicated, which I think is so dangerous. Like, where do you decide? I mean, doesn't everybody say they're fine? So I don't know if that was a translation thing, or I don't know. That's the only Lama I've ever heard who said that. But he's one of mine, so anyway. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:57 Highlight the passage at 1:16:57

1:17:27 And then it's also just implied, which I love how they throw this in. And that was the first time I was, one of the first teachings I ever heard Geshe-la give on it, which was probably like three years after I took them. Geshe-la said also that it's implied, and now I've seen it in written literature, but at that point I hadn't, that one should try to avoid the remaining of the six non-virtues. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:27 Highlight the passage at 1:17:27

1:17:52 So we've covered the first four. The four root vows are also the four non, the first, well, are four of the ten non-virtues. So killing, stealing, sexual misconduct are the ones of body. Lying is included here, but then this would also then bring in the remaining three of speech, which would be divisive speech, harsh words and idle talk. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:52 Highlight the passage at 1:17:52

1:18:22 And then the three of mind, covetousness, ill will and wrong view. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:22 Highlight the passage at 1:18:22

1:18:30 So it's implied that you should also avoid those, even though you're not necessarily taking them as a vow. And why is that? Report an error in the passage at 1:18:30 Highlight the passage at 1:18:30

1:18:41 Does anyone have any ideas? I mean, if we're taking refuge and then taking the vows of a layperson, what's the biggest of the refuge commitments that we're trying to keep not harming? So looking at the way that we're using our body, speech and mind to try not to harm is all part of that. But it almost seems like the fine print. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:41 Highlight the passage at 1:18:41

1:19:09 I was like, really? I mean, of course you want to keep it, but I never thought we had to keep it. Of course you do. Any questions? And then actually we can take a break. It's like he's kind of walking around aimlessly. You want to give him something to do. You know. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:09 Highlight the passage at 1:19:09

1:19:28 Did you say that you cannot break, at the root, taking intoxicants? Anytime you take any intoxicant, you can confess it, but you don't actually break it. You don't have to take number five. I know, but I want to make sure I understand it before I decide. Usually when people take four, that's always the one they aren't taking. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:28 Highlight the passage at 1:19:28

1:19:57 When I took it from my Lama, he said, can do it. . Report an error in the passage at 1:19:57 Highlight the passage at 1:19:57

1:20:00 And I took it from I guess you Michael. He said, why on earth would you take less than all five? He was like, come on. He was like totally like the hardcore, the hardcore one. That's of course who I came in with. I had to sit and think about that one too. I did. I pondered it for a couple of days and I thought, no, it's all right. I could see the changes that I wanted to make in my mind and I didn't want to do any kind of alcohol anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:00 Highlight the passage at 1:20:00

1:20:25 But I had to sit and consider it. I don't really think about it. And it did change certain relationships, but not for long, you know, like certain relationships now, you know, we'll just have coffee or something. Yeah, where you might have gone for a drink or something. That was, of course, not when I was a nun. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:25 Highlight the passage at 1:20:25

1:20:47 my relationship Report an error in the passage at 1:20:47 Highlight the passage at 1:20:47

1:20:52 Mine were British and Irish bars. Not to get drunk, but just to listen to the music and just to talk and things like that. And so it was a change. But I also realized that wasn't where I was headed anymore. But yeah, so with that one, it's almost like you never... It's a downfall if you take any intoxicant, period. So it's not a root downfall, but it's a downfall. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:52 Highlight the passage at 1:20:52

1:21:19 So it's almost like... It's easier to break that one. That's actually the easiest one to break because any amount, not counting medicines, although I have known people to keep it really, really purely and not get any medicines that have alcohol in it. Is it like breaking your arm though if you break that? I mean, would it be the same thing? Does it weaken it? I would think so, yeah. Well, until you're ready to keep it, yeah, on your deathbed. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:19 Highlight the passage at 1:21:19

1:21:51 And then it'll be like she has this grand recovery. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:51 Highlight the passage at 1:21:51

1:21:58 Okay, stupid, stupid questions. I'm sure not. I know, so you're sure not. I don't drink, but I drink non-alcoholic beers from time to time. And so my question is, could you take the vow? I have to agree with the sushi comment. You know, non-alcoholic beer and sushi come well together. And it just also, too, is it helps me not drinking. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:58 Highlight the passage at 1:21:58

1:22:18 I actually have heard that the one problem with that is that it keeps that... Not that. Not a problem. I want to feel good. Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I've heard that the one problem with that is that it kind of creates the imprint for you to keep wanting beer and wine. Oh, I can see that. Yeah, yeah. But I haven't heard any teachings on it because, of course, it probably wasn't invented when the Buddha existed. I mean, not that he's not still with us. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:18 Highlight the passage at 1:22:18

1:22:47 I know. And there is alcohol in non-alcoholic, right? There's like a small amount. Yeah, I won't drink it. My sister and her husband will often have non-alcoholic and I won't because I just think, no. It's different if I'm having a tincture because I'm having some ailment and there's alcohol in that. Yeah, often that's the way they extract. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:47 Highlight the passage at 1:22:47

1:23:13 Following that thought, is that what was implied, I think, possibly by... Until you get intoxicated because there's rum in food, you go to a concert and the guy next to you is smoking a joint, you're going to inhale some, whether you want to or not. I went to a memorial service at a cannabis club. It was this guy, it was John, who died and I was there with him and so I had to go. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:13 Highlight the passage at 1:23:13

1:23:38 I went to this and he had done a lot of work with the cannabis club and so everyone was like... This would be such a not good thing. I'm going to go home and I'm going to reek. It's just like I'll bump into Geshe-la and he'll be like, where are you? There'll be a picture made and it'll be on the cover of the Bay Times. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:38 Highlight the passage at 1:23:38

1:23:56 But yeah, I know that one definitely crossed my mind. I would say, again, it's about intention. So you're not, I mean, don't like lean into it. I was like um yeah Report an error in the passage at 1:23:56 Highlight the passage at 1:23:56

1:24:07 get a good whip. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:07 Highlight the passage at 1:24:07

1:24:13 In terms of the, I mean, I don't, like, you know, when you, like, reach for a candy and you realize that it's like a kind of rum flavored, it's more from that idea of it creating the seed of continuing to want it. But I think if something, usually it cooks off in, you know, if there's, like, brandy or rum or something. It usually cooks off, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:13 Highlight the passage at 1:24:13

1:24:33 But he's going to have that of grass drop. Well, yeah. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily order something that was like, but if I had something and something, I don't know, that I would necessarily send it back, I guess. I don't know. Maybe I should confess that to you. It's not something that I run into very often, but I suppose, especially in French cooking, I think they do it a lot. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:33 Highlight the passage at 1:24:33

1:24:59 Don't be bringing it in here. And people do that. People will bring like a rum cake to Geshe-la and stuff. And, you know, it's kind of. Oh, I make a I've been Report an error in the passage at 1:24:59 Highlight the passage at 1:24:59

1:25:07 But they are to start thinking about that, I think. Yeah. I don't know. That would be, maybe bring that one up to Geshe-la. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:07 Highlight the passage at 1:25:07

1:25:20 Yeah. Yeah, it's not like you're seeking it out. It's kind of like, okay, you're there with a friend, a group of friends or something, and then the cake comes out and it's like happens to have some rum flavoring and it wasn't advertised that way or something. You're just kind of like, you know, I don't know. I would. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:20 Highlight the passage at 1:25:20

1:25:39 I would not mind so much about that one. I would probably, that's probably all right. But then don't, the next night, go back there, order five pieces. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:39 Highlight the passage at 1:25:39

1:25:51 So reggae on the river, we'll know where David is, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:25:51 Highlight the passage at 1:25:51

1:26:03 All right, so you guys want to take a break? Yeah. So you can go and get some of that cake. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:03 Highlight the passage at 1:26:03

1:26:12 Answer, I was going to get drunk. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:12 Highlight the passage at 1:26:12

1:26:19 I just lost my capacity. I know. Don't you hate that? I know. The cold is awful. I'm like, eh, who cares? I don't even know. I think I had one drink. I really just like sucking on the ice cubes. Chokyi, you want me to pop? Sure. Oh, yeah. These days, lately, I've just been, like, leaving it so that people have to listen to her. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:19 Highlight the passage at 1:26:19

1:26:39 I Report an error in the passage at 1:26:39 Highlight the passage at 1:26:39

1:26:44 fed her, so she should be. And we closed both doors, so she's locked down there until somebody forgets. Like last night, lots are up. Or like Tuesday night, lots are up. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:44 Highlight the passage at 1:26:44

1:26:59 So one of the things I thought I would end with is doing refuge as a preliminary practice. Remember I had talked about that at the beginning that there are a number of these so-called preliminary practices that prepare our minds to do the higher practices of Tantra. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:59 Highlight the passage at 1:26:59

1:27:20 There are nine within the Galupa tradition. Um. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:20 Highlight the passage at 1:27:20

1:27:24 And they help us purify and they help us accumulate merit. And otherwise, a lot of times people kind of leap into tantra a little too early and then they have either no result or bad results and they tend to blame the practice itself. Oh, did Olivier leave? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:24 Highlight the passage at 1:27:24

1:27:48 Okay, well he can bring it in here. Anyway. Oh. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:48 Highlight the passage at 1:27:48

1:27:54 So those nine, if you're interested, I'll just tell you, usually people are told to do 100,000 of each. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:54 Highlight the passage at 1:27:54

1:28:06 Charlie's eyebrows go up. Lama Zopa Rinpoche actually tends to give people practices according to what he determines is better for their mind. So sometimes you get less of something and sometimes you get more of something. And so you don't know when you go and ask him. What are you going to get? But anyway, those nine practices are prostrations, Vajrasattva practice, and you're doing the 100 Silamu mantra for opponent powers, Report an error in the passage at 1:28:06 Highlight the passage at 1:28:06

1:28:40 refuge, offering a mandala, Report an error in the passage at 1:28:40 Highlight the passage at 1:28:40

1:28:51 guru yoga, oh you are still here, I thought maybe you had left, water bowls, Report an error in the passage at 1:28:51 Highlight the passage at 1:28:51

1:29:01 making satsas, Report an error in the passage at 1:29:01 Highlight the passage at 1:29:01

1:29:06 dorji kadro fire puja, Report an error in the passage at 1:29:06 Highlight the passage at 1:29:06

1:29:11 And Samaya Vajra or Damsik Dorje, Samaya Vajra practice, which is another purification practice. Sure. Why don't I just go through them all? Prostrations, Vajrasattva, Refuge, Mandala, Guru Yoga. Are you also allergic? I'm so sorry, are you poor allergic people? Guru Yoga mantra, water bowls, satsas. It's TSA, TSA. Dorji Kadro, Fire Puja, which is also purification. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:11 Highlight the passage at 1:29:11

1:29:55 And Damsik Dorji or Samaya Vaja. Which one? Samaya Vaja. Samaya, which just means pledge, is S-A-M-A-Y-A and then Vaja. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:55 Highlight the passage at 1:29:55

1:30:14 Now that's one that we do every morning. Apparently that actually has more power to purify tantric pledges. Which is usually what Samaya Vajra refers to, Samaya is referred to, than Vajrasapha. So it's a little more powerful once you enter Tantra to do that one instead of Vajrasapha. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:14 Highlight the passage at 1:30:14

1:30:38 So, and then for doing that when we do the, those of us that are doing all of the Discovering Buddhism course classes, at the end there's an experiential module. So there's 13 classes and the 14th module is actually all experiential practices. And two of those practices, usually they're like retreats, they're different length retreats. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:38 Highlight the passage at 1:30:38

1:31:00 One of them is, I think, a two-week lamrim retreat. But two of them are to do 100,000 of two of these things. And the two that they suggest are 100,000 Vajrasafah and 100,000 Prostrations. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:00 Highlight the passage at 1:31:00

1:31:16 That's a good response. I wish I would have started with Prostrations about 15 years ago. Well, I think if it's not possible for you physically to do prostrations, you can probably do an exchange, I think. I mean, most of it, it's totally to work with our minds. So even though some of them seem more physical than others, it's all about working with our minds. So maybe you could do, you know, water bowls or another purification one or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:16 Highlight the passage at 1:31:16

1:31:47 When you're doing prostrations? Yeah, well, you don't do a mala at one time. Yeah, I mean, people do it different ways. Sometimes people have a mala and do it. I've never been able to do it that way. I figure out how many I do in a time period, and then I do that time period every day. And usually if you're doing it to 35 Buddhas, you can tell how many you do per each Buddha's name kind of thing on a regular basis. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:47 Highlight the passage at 1:31:47

1:32:13 And then you just know if you've recited the whole thing. Like you count one time, and then... And then I usually round down. Because in case I like was slow or didn't do, you know, so I'd rather underestimate than overestimate. So I usually do it that way. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:13 Highlight the passage at 1:32:13

1:32:34 Yeah, well then there's that, yeah, buffer for all the ones that you screwed up or were distracted or something. 10 % seems low to me actually for the number of times I was distracted. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:34 Highlight the passage at 1:32:34

1:32:43 So you do what you're supposed to do? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:43 Highlight the passage at 1:32:43

1:32:52 Microphone. Yeah. So you Yeah. Because for Report an error in the passage at 1:32:52 Highlight the passage at 1:32:52

1:32:56 You know what I've also heard people do is using stones or something like that. If you're outside or something and you do them like at the, you can do them in a holy place at a stupa like at Bogaya and you can do piles of stones and then count all your stones at the end. So whatever like that. Yeah, you come up with ways. I just count it once all the way through and then I know that's how many I can do. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:56 Highlight the passage at 1:32:56

1:33:24 Yeah, long prostrations, full prostrations. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:24 Highlight the passage at 1:33:24

1:33:35 And so on the 14th module, we'll actually spend one whole class on prostrations like that. There wasn't a class, actually, they didn't expect us to want to do a class on the experiential ones, but I think that there's so much information about how to do prostrations, what you're thinking about, visualization. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:35 Highlight the passage at 1:33:35

1:33:54 So that's what I did last time, and I'll do the same, I think, this time. I had Song Mo come. I think the two of us team taught it. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:54 Highlight the passage at 1:33:54

1:34:02 I can't even, right now, I'm just getting back into prostrating again. I've had this rotator cuff thing for a while. But really I think it helps to go over the whole practice and what you're thinking. Because actually when you do prostrations to the 35 Buddhists, the thing that purifies you is saying the Buddha's names. It's not the prostration, actually. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:02 Highlight the passage at 1:34:02

1:34:22 So I keep saying those names every day. In fact, I'm the chant leader in the morning because everybody else is prostrating and I'm just calling out the names. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:22 Highlight the passage at 1:34:22

1:34:32 There's a booklet, I believe. We can go look after and see. If not, I'm sure I do. I'm sure I do. Which one? Oh, lovely. Yeah. She's got a great chanting voice, too. Excellent. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:32 Highlight the passage at 1:34:32

1:34:53 I don't know anything. I don't really run the bookstore anymore, so I don't necessarily know all the things that are created. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that'd be lovely because she's got a great chanting voice. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:53 Highlight the passage at 1:34:53

1:35:09 So, one of these is doing refuge, taking refuge as one of these nundro practices or preliminary practices. So how does it differ? I just thought that would be useful. A lot of times, what I've even heard students tell me is that they were told that they just basically had to say the refuge prayer like 100,000 times. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:09 Highlight the passage at 1:35:09

1:35:30 I was like, no. No, you're wrong. There's actually a great... There's a booklet that you can get through Copan. Actually, I have that one, and I don't know whether they probably would be upset if I copied it, but I could copy parts of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:30 Highlight the passage at 1:35:30

1:35:51 But it's called The Preliminary Practice of Going for Refuge. If we know of anybody going to Copan this year, we could always ask them to bring some back, too. There's always that. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:51 Highlight the passage at 1:35:51

1:36:02 And it just goes into a lot of detail of how you visualize each, for each, you know, part of the practice and how you do it. The whole thing's just all there. There's also a booklet also available at Copan that's Lama Zopa Rinpoche and it's called Ganden La Gema, the Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy, which is a... Report an error in the passage at 1:36:02 Highlight the passage at 1:36:02

1:36:24 The Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga, actually. So it's a little confusing. In reality, what it is, is detailed instruction on how to do all the preliminary practices. I think it should be titled differently, but it's one of those ones that's printed in Nepal. So both of these are incredibly cheap. They're both like 90 rupees or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:24 Highlight the passage at 1:36:24

1:36:43 It's just like two bucks. Well, that's Indian rupees. But anyway, close enough. so so So yeah, if you want more information or if you're interested in getting it, then we can always try. Somebody's got to be going this fall to Steve, maybe, but one of the students. Sometimes, like Anna, sometimes goes again. Anna went to Bogai for the first time this year, so somebody can pick him up. Manlum always is going. Manlum, I think, is probably going to go to Dharamsal at some point this year, and he can often pick these things up. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:43 Highlight the passage at 1:36:43

1:37:18 Sorry? Is there going to be a Nune here? I don't know. That's it. Completely different question. There is going to be a Nunye. Venerable Sarah is going to lead a Nunye at Vajrapani in June, by the way. Nunyes I didn't bring up, but has anybody ever heard of a Nunye before? You with your association with Lama Medicine Buddha. Nunyes are these really intensive purification retreats that combine Report an error in the passage at 1:37:18 Highlight the passage at 1:37:18

1:37:54 The 35 Buddhas, prostrations, fasting, silence, it's like a bunch of different things all sort of roll into one. And they're really very short, but they're very, very powerful because you, it's usually about two and a half, or actually not even quite, they're two plus days. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:54 Highlight the passage at 1:37:54

1:38:16 And the first day you take really strict precepts so that you only have one meal. And you have to finish it before noon. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:16 Highlight the passage at 1:38:16

1:38:27 But then otherwise you're okay. I think you can have everything. You can have liquids and things like that, which you have all the way up until the last possible minute. And then the next day, and you can still talk and things like that. And the next day, completely silent and no food, no drink, nothing on the second day. So for one whole day, it's complete fasting and a fasting from your speech as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:27 Highlight the passage at 1:38:27

1:38:25 and then Report an error in the passage at 1:38:25 Highlight the passage at 1:38:25

1:38:52 And if that weren't enough, you're doing like 800 prostrations because each of the sessions that you're doing is, there's like three sessions of prostrations within each session. We did a Nunye, we've done a Nunye twice here and Karen did it once, which the first time? You did it both times, very good. It's really hard, but it's also incredibly good. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:52 Highlight the passage at 1:38:52

1:39:14 It's amazing. And each time I've ever done one, it's completely different. It just depends on what's going on with your body and your mind and who's leading it and who's there and all these other factors come into play. But normally, they're actually led eight in a row. So you basically are going for like 17 days with this pattern of one day on, one day off. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:14 Highlight the passage at 1:39:14

1:39:39 Not off, but one day completely fasting. So it's quite... Interesting to see what your mind does with that one. And actually what I've found, I've done five in a row that way, you actually get really strong. Like the eating day, you're just like, yeah! Like you have all this energy and you're really enthusiastic and then the fasting day you figure out exactly how to conserve. No unnecessary actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:39 Highlight the passage at 1:39:39

1:40:03 The prostrations become like some sort of a mindful dance, you know. You're just like, because that's kind of the way you can get through it. And you figure out how much to drink all the way up until the very last second so that you saturate your body. Because the fluid is really the most important thing to get through. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:03 Highlight the passage at 1:40:03

1:40:19 The food is almost like not important. Anyway, so I think I'm running out of time on how to do this one. But basically... The way that you do the refuge practice as a preliminary practice is you do, for each of the jewels, you basically think about all the ways that you've created negativities over lifetimes, not just in this lifetime, that you want to purify. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:19 Highlight the passage at 1:40:19

1:40:42 So, you know, for the, well actually, so it's four different ways. So you start with the guru. So you do guru as well as Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha. So there's four different ways. So guru, you can think about all the ways that you might have screwed up in relationship with your guru. And the more that you understand and the more that you study the relationship with the spiritual teacher, this will mean something more to you. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:42 Highlight the passage at 1:40:42

1:41:09 I'm not going to get into it that much here. But any way that you can remember that you've degenerated any of your vows or your precepts, you can use this time because you've taken those vows from your gurus, right? And so that's not following their advice, which is, of course, a really heavy thing. So any way that you've disturbed their minds, which I never know quite what that means, but sometimes I think it's like when you're seeing Lama Zopa off and you're like giggling wildly in the back with somebody chatting about something or just not being respectful. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:09 Highlight the passage at 1:41:09

1:41:38 Sometimes I think that that would be a way to disturb their mind, but maybe not. So you're just bringing to mind as you're reciting the guru, you know, Nama Gurubhya. I picked the Sanskrit because it's the shortest. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:38 Highlight the passage at 1:41:38

1:41:53 Nama Gurubhya. Or you can do just I Take Refuge in the Guru. So you're just reciting it like a mantra and you're just visualizing. This is what you're visualizing. You're visualizing that these things are being completely purified with clear, white, radiant light. And then at the end you just really... Report an error in the passage at 1:41:53 Highlight the passage at 1:41:53

1:42:11 You experience the fact that you have purified all of those. And then you do the same, you know, you're still chanting the refuge thing, but you're just visualizing like we did, receiving all the blessings and the qualities in the form of yellow, a golden light. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:11 Highlight the passage at 1:42:11

1:42:28 And then you imagine a replica of the Guru absorbing into you. And we actually do this at the beginning of the morning puja. The same visualization. We just take a few, I think we're supposed to do like a mala of each, but we don't. We just do a few, like maybe 15 or 20 of each one and you imagine the purifying and then you imagine the blessings. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:28 Highlight the passage at 1:42:28

1:42:52 So you do the same for Buddha. And it's harder to say, but you can, I mean, imagine that if they say that we've done just about everything. We have done the things like stealing Buddha images from altars and selling them or something that we know people do have done in Tibet, you know, stealing those images, destroying those images. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:52 Highlight the passage at 1:42:52

1:43:16 Selling, like buying them from somebody at one price, selling them to make a bunch, not really even thinking about it as holy. People do that kind of stuff all the time. Judging Buddha images as, this one's really ugly, this one's really attractive. You know, and they say that that's really bad for our minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:16 Highlight the passage at 1:43:16

1:43:42 Jumping on top of them, like Pema was just doing. Walking over them, putting them on the floor, using it as a doorstop. Like I said, that one woman in our study group, our discussion group at Copan, said that was her first image, her first memory of a Buddha was her mom used one as a doorstop. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:42 Highlight the passage at 1:43:42

1:44:01 Like that. Geshe says it's actually really bad to have images on t-shirts and things like that, the way people are now. Because when it's done, when you're finished wearing that shirt, you just throw it on the floor, you know, step over it, whatever. Or like you sometimes see images, like people have done graffiti on the street or something like that, and it's a Buddha image. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:01 Highlight the passage at 1:44:01

1:44:21 I even sometimes see it if it's somebody's face I recognize. It feels weird walking over their face. I think it's all this training in the Dharma. It's like I saw one of Obama's faces and I'm like, oh, I don't want to walk over his face. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:21 Highlight the passage at 1:44:21

1:44:34 So the same. So you do the same visualization. For the Dharma, I think it's actually one of the easiest ones to visualize because, of course, we have more access to that, whether it's texts and how we treat texts or whether it's applying the Dharma itself. But they say some examples would be like criticizing some other school or lineage, you know, thinking it's not as good as our team. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:34 Highlight the passage at 1:44:34

1:45:02 This one comes up a lot. I think Westerners actually make a much bigger deal out of this than Tibetans ever did. Which school are you, which, you know, like that kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:02 Highlight the passage at 1:45:02

1:45:15 Um, thinking. Thinking that intellectual study isn't going to benefit your mind as much as meditation, for example, or just vice versa, like thinking that one's better than the other. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:15 Highlight the passage at 1:45:15

1:45:29 Developing aversion in your mind towards any of the teachings rather than just shelving it until you understand or you have more information. I say that shelving it is a better idea. Just putting it aside until you might have a chance to understand it better or maybe purify more. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:29 Highlight the passage at 1:45:29

1:45:46 I'm marking text without any attitude of, you know, gratitude or awareness. Actually, just like, we're not really supposed to write in text without. I always just say Oma Hung. Whenever I'm, like, writing on the margin of a text or, like, you know, drawing or something like that, then I'm always just like, Oma Hung, Oma Hung. Like, I'm just, in my mind, I'm trying to be aware that it's not a normal book. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:46 Highlight the passage at 1:45:46

1:46:07 I'm not reading the Sunday Times, you know. I'm not, like, circling that. I'm using it. Usually I'm circling it thinking I can. Use it in a teaching. So kind of like that. And they use one example all the time, using saliva to turn the pages. You know that? I think again about mindfulness. And I mentioned they're wrapping the text, you know, really thinking about this can get me enlightened. And it's true, this particular text could be the one that ripens something in you that really shoots you like a rocket, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:07 Highlight the passage at 1:46:07

1:46:40 Again, selling text without any thought that they're holy and just to make money. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:40 Highlight the passage at 1:46:40

1:46:48 Like that. Doing things like putting text on the floor. Really not a good thing to do unless they are wrapped up or unless they're somehow protected. Stepping over text, which is really hard for cats. They just do that all the time. Putting things on top of a text is not good to do unless you're outside and the wind's blowing and you've got to kind of keep it. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:48 Highlight the passage at 1:46:48

1:47:16 You know, anchored, that's not a good thing to do. Putting the text on the seat, unless there's some practical reason, which of course sometimes we'll put prayer books on those seats back there. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:16 Highlight the passage at 1:47:16

1:47:28 Harming others, because that's directly going against the Dharma. And again, you do the same thing. And then for Saṅgha, thinking about causing disunity in the Saṅgha. So in little s as well, so just any way that you might... You know, in your speech or in your actions, divide people, your classmates or whatever at a center or people that work here. Taking or using monastic's possessions for your own or without permission. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:28 Highlight the passage at 1:47:28

1:47:58 So a lot of times people will ask, was this, you know, sometimes food gets offered. And sometimes they'll say, someone will bring it and they'll say, this is for the Saṅgha. And you have to say, do you mean everyone that lives here? Because there's not that many ordained people that live here anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:58 Highlight the passage at 1:47:58

1:48:13 We can't eat 700 pounds of rice alone. And when it gets cooked, everyone eats it. I always have to really make sure if I hear them say that, it's just like, let's make sure who it's really for. You don't want people to create negative karma. Again, taking offerings that are meant for the saṅgha for your own use. Giving monastics offerings to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:13 Highlight the passage at 1:48:13

1:48:34 Criticizing monks or nuns with a negative mind and complaining about them. That was a hard one because we all mess up. Getting angry with the saṅgha. Abusing a monk or a nun, like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:34 Highlight the passage at 1:48:34

1:48:53 And then again, also as you're imagining this, receiving the blessings and the qualities, really are thinking as much as you can about what those qualities are. So the qualities of the Buddha, the qualities of the Dharma, the qualities of the Saṅgha. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:53 Highlight the passage at 1:48:53

1:49:10 And you can actually even really look into all these different qualities of the great yogis, like you can think about the ones that you have even come into contact with, like Lama Zopa Rinpoche or Geshe Lama Konchak or Lama Tsongkhapa, Milarepa, you know, like these really great yogis, they all have amazing qualities too, so you can actually think of specifics. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:10 Highlight the passage at 1:49:10

1:49:35 And also all the qualities. You know, on the different levels of the path that bodhisattvas, you know, they have that when they reach that level of an aria bodhisattva, they can emanate 100 bodies immediately. And then with each level it goes up how many bodies they can emanate and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:35 Highlight the passage at 1:49:35

1:49:56 So you do it like that. And so it's kind of, you do it like in a session. So you have, it's sort of like the sadhana thing. You have the opening, the refuge and the visualizations and set it up and then you do all four. You know, and you do the visualizations and everything. And I had, I did it, it was probably about a four or five day practice because for whatever reason Lama Zopa Rinpoche only gave me 8,000 rather than 100,000 of refuge. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:56 Highlight the passage at 1:49:56

1:50:22 And I did it incredibly. I took, really took my time. I actually think you could probably pop that out in like a weekend. But I was up at Laudo and I wanted to just take my time and do it. And it was a really beautiful practice. I found it a really beautiful practice to do. um so So even if you don't have it as a nundro, it's a really sweet practice to kind of memorize all the things and really think about what it all means and what it means to take refuge and purify, you know, really specifically purify what you've done in connection with the refuge objects and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:22 Highlight the passage at 1:50:22

1:50:59 So does anybody have a question about that? And of course you're keeping silence, you're doing it like a retreat, you know, so you have those benefits as well of just really... Sweet, you know, doable practice. Is that Report an error in the passage at 1:50:59 Highlight the passage at 1:50:59

1:51:17 what's Report an error in the passage at 1:51:17 Highlight the passage at 1:51:17

1:51:23 in the FPMT booklet? I think the going for a refuge one, I think it is more about what the refuge precepts are that we talked about, you know, the 12 precepts. And I think it includes the lay bells. I don't think it necessarily talks about it as a... Report an error in the passage at 1:51:23 Highlight the passage at 1:51:23

1:51:47 So that's why I mentioned those ones at Kopan, the preliminary practice of going for refuge. And if I can remember, I will try to order some from Kopan in the fall when somebody might go. You can actually order them online on their website, but I'm not sure what the postage is like. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:47 Highlight the passage at 1:51:47

1:52:14 But I guess if a bunch of you got together... I mean, the books themselves are incredibly chic, so that, yeah. Yeah, so I mean, if a bunch of you got together, you could probably do an order. So, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:14 Highlight the passage at 1:52:14

1:52:32 I wanted to apologize for bringing up the nundro. I mean, the, not nundro, the nene. Because I was just, I forgot all the other stuff. I was just thinking of the prostrations. Yeah, I just felt like I should explain what they were. But that's okay. I mean, maybe it planted a seed. I remember the first time I heard of Anunyeh, I remember actually having the thought, that is weird, I am never doing one of those. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:32 Highlight the passage at 1:52:32

1:53:00 And then like two years later, you know, I was down at Bajapani doing it with the drill master, who I think is still the hardest one I've ever done it with, is Amy Miller. I did two with her and she's just like... Brutal. So if you can make it through, it's just like G.A. Jane. If you can make it through her Nunez, you can do anybody else's Nunez. But she's done billions of them. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:00 Highlight the passage at 1:53:00

1:53:24 Like, that's an exaggeration. She's done many, many, many of them at Laudo. So elevation, 12,000, 13,000 feet with the nuns up there. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:24 Highlight the passage at 1:53:24

1:53:34 The really... And so the hardest thing that she does is on the non-drinking day, on the complete fasting day, you have to actually, you can't even swallow your own saliva. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:34 Highlight the passage at 1:53:34

1:53:49 Yeah, it's very intense. It's so intense. That got his intention. Wait, hand him the talking stick. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:49 Highlight the passage at 1:53:49

1:54:00 Technical point. I mean, does that mean you have to spit? Everybody's carrying around a little cup. It's pretty intense. Now, what's the point of all this, right? Because it just sounded like when I first heard about it, I was just like, why? What is this? What you actually are doing is, it's Avalokadishvara, it's actually compassion building. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:00 Highlight the passage at 1:54:00

1:54:25 But first, it helps. For you to actually be going through the same sufferings that many beings are going through all the time without any choice. So the sufferings of the hell realms, the sufferings of the hungry ghost, being hungry, not having anything, being thirsty, not having anything. And really each time you go down and you prostrate, really thinking about that. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:25 Highlight the passage at 1:54:25

1:54:46 It's incredibly deep. It's hard to describe. For me, I don't know if that's been your experience, but for me it's been like one of the most powerful retreats of that size. And I think it's because of the, I think that second day, the intensity of that. I mean, because we usually do them like on a weekend. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:46 Highlight the passage at 1:54:46

1:55:05 And it's hard to describe how quickly you can go incredibly deep. Because you're not talking and because you've given up everything. I mean, much more strictly than you would in like a long retreat. You don't give up all that stuff. So, you know, you might do precepts for that. You wouldn't necessarily do that. Strictly ones and you wouldn't necessarily, you definitely wouldn't give up your water for that long. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:05 Highlight the passage at 1:55:05

1:55:28 And it really makes you watch your own mind. People freak out. I thought I was dying the first time. I had just gotten back from India and I was detoxing so much stuff. I was so sick. I thought, oh my God, I'm just dying. Of course I didn't. But I'm still here. You might have wondered. And then actually the second time that I did it also at Vajrapani, that I did it with Amy also at Vajrapani, I was totally fine the fasting day. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:28 Highlight the passage at 1:55:28

1:55:59 Totally fine, had a lot of energy, I was helping her, you know, we had to go around and do the little nectar thing and I'd always leap up and do the little nectar thing, no problem. Third day, the morning, because it ends during the last session on the morning, so it ends quite early, like 6 a.m. or something by the time it ends. I just, I couldn't, I just went down and I couldn't get up and I was just down on the cushion and Amy kind of looked at me and she was just kind of like, hmm. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:59 Highlight the passage at 1:55:59

1:56:27 She like handed it to somebody else and they like handed around the nectar and then I revived at some point. But it was just like all the chi just left my body. I'd never had that experience before. I literally did feel like my body was dying. I was just like... But I did notice that time, I got quite ill that time, that morning, that I just remember thinking, well, if this can get me enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:27 Highlight the passage at 1:56:27

1:56:49 My mind was really good. It was interesting to see that my mind was separate from what was happening with my body. My mind was just like, okay. This is going to get me enlightened. This is great. This is fine. I was really quite strong, whereas that first time I was like, oh my God, I'm dying. And I have known of people, I've had friends who did it too soon, because I think you need a basis of lamrim before you do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:49 Highlight the passage at 1:56:49

1:57:13 You need to have some context for why you would be doing this. You need to have some understanding of the suffering of others and that. You know. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:13 Highlight the passage at 1:57:13

1:57:22 You know, wanting to remove that suffering and wanting to, you know, you have to be pretty deeply on the path, I think, because otherwise it's just like a recipe for torture and you just don't really get it. And I had one friend who had just, one of those people that just jumped in a little too strongly, a little too fast, and he completely flipped and he never came back to a Dharma center. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:22 Highlight the passage at 1:57:22

1:57:44 Never. Like, it just totally broke his relationship with the Dharma. It was just too much. And it hit his button at a place that he could not go with. And he just couldn't do it. He's still not. And that was the year I got ordained. That was eight years ago. I know. It's so sad. Bye, Saki. So, anyway. So don't do it before you're ready. But... Report an error in the passage at 1:57:44 Highlight the passage at 1:57:44

1:58:09 Yeah, to answer your question, actually I think it would be really cool. I asked Chodron before she went into retreat if she'd lead us, and she said yeah. Yeah, so it might be possible that we could get her to lead it when Geshe-la's gone this winter. That might be a good time, yeah. And I know Venerable Sarah's going to lead one at Rajapani, and I think Jang Chu is going to lead some, because he has like 300 or something horrifying to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:09 Highlight the passage at 1:58:09

1:58:34 I know. And she got like 1,000. I know. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:34 Highlight the passage at 1:58:34

1:58:47 Thank you. Charlie's getting really good. He's going to become sound manager. I was afraid the first time and I brought my athletic gear and, you know, because I had the knee pads and the hand stuff. I was going to do it and I really plunged in and I did hundreds and my knees were killing me. But neither time was it unpleasant. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:47 Highlight the passage at 1:58:47

1:59:13 Actually, it was a very pleasant experience. So maybe I did it wrong. No, no, no. But, yeah, they were, and I was afraid to say that because I don't want to jinx it because it'll be the third time it'll be. And it's totally different, yeah. I did one with Geshe Zeppel, actually, my refuge Lama down in, who's now the Abbot of Genden. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:13 Highlight the passage at 1:59:13

1:59:38 It was a private one in somebody's house. It was a nice house, it was a big house, but. Mostly Chinese. I think there were like eight of us that were not Chinese. And I was so inspired. It was all kind of like these middle-aged ladies. No problem. They just were so, you know, throwing themselves on the ground and everything. And that just really inspired me. And on the last morning, I think most of us, like of the Westerners that were there, there was like four of us who were totally like... Report an error in the passage at 1:59:38 Highlight the passage at 1:59:38

2:00:08 You know, alert and everything. And then the other four, Andreana was there. Remember Andreana? She was just completely, just the head down. She's, you know, it's just the chi thing. She just didn't have it anymore. It's just interesting, you know. And then I was the one, next one I did was the one with Amy where I was just completely, like my head literally just felt like it was too heavy to be held up. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:08 Highlight the passage at 2:00:08

2:00:27 Like they say the pretas. It's the first time I've thought of it. But that was exactly like they say the pretas' heads are so heavy that their necks can't hold their heads up. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:27 Highlight the passage at 2:00:27

2:00:37 But they say that each of the things that you're purifying, it's like you're purifying those rebirths. So if you're really, really hungry, like the first one I had these weird visions of like, we're getting off onto Nunez, but these weird like visions and hankering for like weird things like cotton candy. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:37 Highlight the passage at 2:00:37

2:00:58 I hadn't even had cotton candy for years. I could also not see that after. It was real weird. Yeah, yeah. But I never had it again. It was just that first time. That first time I really thought about food a lot more. And then sometimes people are just burning up. And then sometimes people are totally freezing. Sometimes people are totally exhausted and they say that's animal rebirth. I mean, just so exhausted you just can't keep your eyes open. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:58 Highlight the passage at 2:00:58

2:01:24 And then the session ends and you're like, you know, it's just totally fine. It's weird. It's very odd. You're purifying that particular type of rebirth. It's a heavy purification practice, yeah. But it's also compassion building. Yeah, it's really very powerful. Yeah, we'll do. Well, I'm sure we'll do another one. We have to kind of close the whole center to do it, because that's really all that can happen, and especially on the silence day. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:24 Highlight the passage at 2:01:24

2:01:52 But the whole thing, really. You need the whole center closed, and we have to put signs up outside, so it's best to do it kind of on a weekend, too, so nobody comes to the door. We have to have a certain amount of staff that are just dedicated to that, which is cool too. You're just supporting them and you're really happy to see how they're doing. And on the day that you get to bring in the liquids, it's so exciting. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:52 Highlight the passage at 2:01:52

2:02:14 They all get water bottles and there's just so much happiness there. It's actually kind of a cool thing to do. Anyway, you'll be happy to know that there's no additional homework except, of course, your presentation topic. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:14 Highlight the passage at 2:02:14

2:02:29 So we're doing our practice day on Saturday. You're welcome to come if you'd like to come. You can come. And also, next week we start the next round of DB classes. So next Tuesday I'm starting Saṃsāra Nirvāṇa, which is a lot about the root cause of Saṃsāra is the delusions. So we're going to spend like three full classes of that seven just working with the antidotes of all the different, the main, Top delusions. Actually, I was going to say top ten. It might be ten, actually. I just sort of picked the top ones. And then Thursday nights will be, Veneral Man Lama is going to teach on bodhicitta, developing bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:29 Highlight the passage at 2:02:29

2:03:15 Any last questions? And then we'll dedicate. Okay. Well, why don't we actually dedicate, according to the prayers on page seven. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:15 Highlight the passage at 2:03:15

2:03:34 And we're going to just do, where it says on the right hand side, prayers after teaching, number 5, 6 and 7, we'll just do them in English. Due to the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:34 Highlight the passage at 2:03:34

2:03:54 May the supreme jewel bodhicitta that has not arisen arise and grow and may that which has arisen not diminish but increase more and more. In the land encircled by snow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and good. All-powerful Chenrezig, Tenzing Gyatso, please remain until saṃsāra ends. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:54 Highlight the passage at 2:03:54

2:04:20 Okay. Thank you, thank you. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:20 Highlight the passage at 2:04:20