Discovering Buddhism - Establishing A Daily Practice (7 February 2013)

0:15 Laura, did you get your coat? Okay. I forgot to email you and tell you we found it, but we did look for it yesterday. Report an error in the passage at 0:15 Highlight the passage at 0:15

0:26 Alrighty. Report an error in the passage at 0:26 Highlight the passage at 0:26

0:38 Alrighty. Well, we're going to start, and I'm sure people will continue to enter and that's fine, but we're going to start with your homework of this week. You're getting a preview. Oh, thank you. On Purchase Human Rebirth. Report an error in the passage at 0:38 Highlight the passage at 0:38

1:00 I'll kind of try to go at a good pace, but it is kind of a long one, so stretch now, or forever hold your peace. No, honestly, this isn't a Zen center, so if you need to wiggle, that's why I joined. I was like, no, I can't do that one if someone's going to come up and hit me in the back. So that doesn't happen here, so you can wiggle and stuff, but you still might need to stretch your legs out or, yeah, things like Report an error in the passage at 1:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00

1:28 that. Stretch your neck from side to side. Report an error in the passage at 1:28 Highlight the passage at 1:28

1:39 Maybe roll your shoulders back and then forward. Report an error in the passage at 1:39 Highlight the passage at 1:39

1:50 Twist. Report an error in the passage at 1:50 Highlight the passage at 1:50

2:05 And then when you're ready, just come into your posture. Can people hear me okay? Hi. People hear me okay in the back? You can hear me less? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 2:05 Highlight the passage at 2:05

2:18 Just keep your spine extended and that's the most important thing, having your legs in some comfortable position for you, whether that's crossed or not. Report an error in the passage at 2:18 Highlight the passage at 2:18

2:32 Having your hands in some comfortable position for you, and then just letting your breathing relax. And Report an error in the passage at 2:32 Highlight the passage at 2:32

2:46 you might try taking a few deep belly breaths, Report an error in the passage at 2:46 Highlight the passage at 2:46

2:53 just letting your whole belly fill up and then releasing it. Report an error in the passage at 2:53 Highlight the passage at 2:53

3:06 You could try visualizing breathing in clean, clear light filled with energy and focus, and breathing out sluggishness, tightness, so Report an error in the passage at 3:06 Highlight the passage at 3:06

3:29 that each time you take a breath, your mind gets more alert, more inspired, more present. Report an error in the passage at 3:29 Highlight the passage at 3:29

3:58 Think about the motivation we've been trying to cultivate each week, trying to be more helpful, Report an error in the passage at 3:58 Highlight the passage at 3:58

4:07 recognizing in others our own desire for happiness and our own wish to avoid suffering. And Report an error in the passage at 4:07 Highlight the passage at 4:07

4:27 now imagine surrounding you all living beings, Report an error in the passage at 4:27 Highlight the passage at 4:27

4:37 a vast ocean of living beings, and imagine that you're doing this meditation for them on their behalf. Report an error in the passage at 4:37 Highlight the passage at 4:37

5:03 So with the wish to recognize the opportunity of our lives and not waste it. We'll do this meditation on the precious Himalaya Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 5:03 Highlight the passage at 5:03

5:32 We invite all of your teachers to this place and imagine that they merge together and take on the aspect of Shakyamuni Buddha, the radiant sun of the Dharma. And Report an error in the passage at 5:32 Highlight the passage at 5:32

5:49 imagine him in the air in front of you, a little above you, made of golden light. Or just imagine that he's there if you can't see him, Report an error in the passage at 5:49 Highlight the passage at 5:49

6:06 this dazzling light and positive energy. Report an error in the passage at 6:06 Highlight the passage at 6:06

6:25 Men generate a mind of refuge, remembering the condition that we find ourselves in. Report an error in the passage at 6:25 Highlight the passage at 6:25

6:33 We keep creating our experiences and our reality through following our afflicted thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 6:33 Highlight the passage at 6:33

6:43 And if we were to die right now with these kinds of seeds in our minds, what would come next? Report an error in the passage at 6:43 Highlight the passage at 6:43

6:58 So we go for refuge to the Buddha to transcend this cycle of suffering like he's done. Report an error in the passage at 6:58 Highlight the passage at 6:58

7:17 So entrust yourself to his care and his potential. He said we all have it. Report an error in the passage at 7:17 Highlight the passage at 7:17

7:37 And then remember those suffering beings sitting around you and Report an error in the passage at 7:37 Highlight the passage at 7:37

7:44 make this wish to develop your own mind, your own heart, your capacity so that you can help all of them attain enlightenment too. Report an error in the passage at 7:44 Highlight the passage at 7:44

8:08 And then we do a short seven limb practice, beginning with prostrations, thinking of a quality that Shakyamuni Buddha has that you want and bowing down in your mind to that quality. Report an error in the passage at 8:08 Highlight the passage at 8:08

8:23 Maybe it's his compassion, his love, his wisdom. This ability to do something that you want to do. Report an error in the passage at 8:23 Highlight the passage at 8:23

8:52 And then make offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha for that quality. What would you offer to have this capacity? Imagine flowers, jewels, lights. Report an error in the passage at 8:52 Highlight the passage at 8:52

9:31 Admit a mistake you've made, but not out of guilt, just with some understanding of how through the power of karma we end up creating our own suffering. By being unskillful, by being harmful in our actions of body, speech and mind. So just own it and regret it and let it go. Report an error in the passage at 9:31 Highlight the passage at 9:31

10:21 And then rejoice in some good thing you've done. Maybe it's coming to class tonight. There's so many other things going on tonight in this city alone. Report an error in the passage at 10:21 Highlight the passage at 10:21

10:31 So we can just rejoice that we made it. We can Report an error in the passage at 10:31 Highlight the passage at 10:31

10:53 request that your teachers or the Buddha stay and teach us in whatever way that we can understand. Report an error in the passage at 10:53 Highlight the passage at 10:53

11:16 And then we dedicate the merit of this little prayer to our own enlightenment. And Report an error in the passage at 11:16 Highlight the passage at 11:16

11:41 we make a request to Shakyamuni Buddha to bless our minds, to eliminate all our negative minds, our obstacles, and help us generate all the realizations we need to help others. Especially tonight, Precious Human Rebirth, is recognition of what we have and what we don't have that blocks us. Report an error in the passage at 11:41 Highlight the passage at 11:41

12:10 And imagine that Shakyamuni Buddha shrinks and comes to the crown of your head and stays there for the rest of this meditation. So Report an error in the passage at 12:10 Highlight the passage at 12:10

12:30 I'll read the beginning of the Lamrim prayer and just reflect. And you might think of these verses as a further request to Shakyamuni Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

12:42 And imagine as I recite each verse that white light or nectar purifies you, clearing away anything that might block you from generating that realization. Report an error in the passage at 12:42 Highlight the passage at 12:42

12:58 Followed by golden light giving you everything that you need to gain that realization. Report an error in the passage at 12:58 Highlight the passage at 12:58

13:13 The foundation of all good qualities is the kind and venerable Guru. Correct devotion to him is the root of the path. By clearly seeing this and applying great effort, please bless me to rely upon him with great respect. Report an error in the passage at 13:13 Highlight the passage at 13:13

13:37 Understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once. Is greatly meaningful and difficult to find again. Please bless me to generate the mind that unceasingly, day and night, takes excessence. Report an error in the passage at 13:37 Highlight the passage at 13:37

14:02 So first recognize the situation you're in. You have a human life. You have intelligence. You have strength in your body. Report an error in the passage at 14:02 Highlight the passage at 14:02

14:19 You have some inclination for spiritual practice. Not just interest or faith, but some interest in putting it into practice. Report an error in the passage at 14:19 Highlight the passage at 14:19

14:34 And you're free from being involved in any extreme negativity. Report an error in the passage at 14:34 Highlight the passage at 14:34

14:49 You live in a place and in a time where the sun of the Buddha's teachings still shines. Report an error in the passage at 14:49 Highlight the passage at 14:49

14:58 You're still in the age of the Buddha's teachings still existing in this world. Report an error in the passage at 14:58 Highlight the passage at 14:58

15:07 They say that there will be times when it's more like the Dark Ages and no Dharma exists at all. Report an error in the passage at 15:07 Highlight the passage at 15:07

15:17 But not only do the Buddha's teachings still exist, people are still gaining experience and freedom by putting them into practice. Right now. Report an error in the passage at 15:17 Highlight the passage at 15:17

15:31 There are still places to go and receive authentic teachings from authentic masters who have realized them. Report an error in the passage at 15:31 Highlight the passage at 15:31

15:44 There are still people who support teachings and Dharma centers. Report an error in the passage at 15:44 Highlight the passage at 15:44

15:54 There are still people who want to take up the ordained life and devote their lives to spiritual practice, teaching and serving. Report an error in the passage at 15:54 Highlight the passage at 15:54

16:12 First, we just recognize the blessings that we do have. These are called the richnesses. Report an error in the passage at 16:12 Highlight the passage at 16:12

16:22 If we think about it, with all of this richness in our life, there's nothing to stop us from gaining liberation. Report an error in the passage at 16:22 Highlight the passage at 16:22

16:32 There's nothing standing in our way. It's only a matter of making the effort. Report an error in the passage at 16:32 Highlight the passage at 16:32

16:47 If we think about it, even just the human beings in this world, over 7 billion human beings, in all the various countries and circumstances in which they live, out of all those people, how many of them even live in a place where they can meet the Dharma or hear words like enlightenment and liberation? Report an error in the passage at 16:47 Highlight the passage at 16:47

17:21 Even in those countries where the Dharma is available, it's just in small pockets. Report an error in the passage at 17:21 Highlight the passage at 17:21

17:32 In a city like this, there might be a few Dharma centers in terms of the entire population of the city. How many people even come across a Dharma teaching or register it in their minds? Report an error in the passage at 17:32 Highlight the passage at 17:32

17:54 In countries where Buddhism once thrived, like in India, it's such a small percentage of the population that practices. Report an error in the passage at 17:54 Highlight the passage at 17:54

18:07 And even in countries said to be Buddhist, many of the teachings have degenerated. And the complete teachings aren't available or difficult to find. It's hard to find true practitioners and teachers. Report an error in the passage at 18:07 Highlight the passage at 18:07

18:32 Of all the living beings in the places where pure Dharma can be found, how many ever hear the teachings? And of those, how many have interest to practice? Report an error in the passage at 18:32 Highlight the passage at 18:32

18:49 And of those with interest, how many have the time and freedom to pursue that interest? Report an error in the passage at 18:49 Highlight the passage at 18:49

18:58 And of those with the time, how many have found a teacher with qualities they want for themselves? Report an error in the passage at 18:58 Highlight the passage at 18:58

19:08 And of those who have met their teachers, how many have actually recognized it? Report an error in the passage at 19:08 Highlight the passage at 19:08

19:16 Of those who have all of these things, how many are actually pursuing and practicing the teachings? Report an error in the passage at 19:16 Highlight the passage at 19:16

19:27 How many are devoting their lives to liberation and enlightenment? Report an error in the passage at 19:27 Highlight the passage at 19:27

19:35 How many have actually settled down to do the work? Report an error in the passage at 19:35 Highlight the passage at 19:35

19:47 The situation that I find myself in is extremely rare. It's not common in this world to even think like this. So what am I going to do with this? What is possible to achieve with my life? Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:13 Some people have some kind of deep-seated aspiration or idea that another experience of life is possible, but they haven't met the method. Report an error in the passage at 20:13 Highlight the passage at 20:13

20:24 But I've met the method. Report an error in the passage at 20:24 Highlight the passage at 20:24

20:37 People all around me are suffering from sickness, old age, dissatisfied mind, mental and physical disease, and death. All of the time. Report an error in the passage at 20:37 Highlight the passage at 20:37

20:54 I've come into contact with teachings that tell me they can actually stop these sufferings forever if applied consistently and wholeheartedly. How can I not try to pursue them? Report an error in the passage at 20:54 Highlight the passage at 20:54

21:11 If there was some opportunity to stop the death of all living beings, to stop war, famine, disease, and I were not even to try, how unfortunate that would be. Report an error in the passage at 21:11 Highlight the passage at 21:11

21:27 How lucky I am. Report an error in the passage at 21:27 Highlight the passage at 21:27

21:34 It said in the teachings that a precious human rebirth comes about only with causes, having practiced generosity, morality, patience, and especially making prayers. Report an error in the passage at 21:34 Highlight the passage at 21:34

21:52 I prayed to receive this life. Report an error in the passage at 21:52 Highlight the passage at 21:52

21:58 I prayed to have this opportunity. Report an error in the passage at 21:58 Highlight the passage at 21:58

22:06 I prayed to have this view. I Report an error in the passage at 22:06 Highlight the passage at 22:06

22:12 prayed to meet these teachings. I Report an error in the passage at 22:12 Highlight the passage at 22:12

22:19 prayed for a method to fulfill my deepest longings. Report an error in the passage at 22:19 Highlight the passage at 22:19

22:25 I prayed to perfect my mind. Report an error in the passage at 22:25 Highlight the passage at 22:25

22:35 Now all these causes and conditions have come together. In this life, my prayers have been answered. Report an error in the passage at 22:35 Highlight the passage at 22:35

22:47 I pray to be able to help these beings now surrounding me, and I got this chance. So what am I going to do with it? Report an error in the passage at 22:47 Highlight the passage at 22:47

23:11 Ask Shakyamuni Buddha from the depths of your heart to bless you to recognize this precious opportunity that you found and use it to the best of your abilities. Again, recognizing that nothing stands in your way to liberation and enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 23:11 Highlight the passage at 23:11

23:26 All you have to do is make effort. Report an error in the passage at 23:26 Highlight the passage at 23:26

23:36 Amazingly lucky we are. Report an error in the passage at 23:36 Highlight the passage at 23:36

23:47 I'll continue by repeating the last verse. Report an error in the passage at 23:47 Highlight the passage at 23:47

23:53 Understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once, is difficult, is greatly meaningful and difficult to find again. Please bless me to generate the mind that unceasingly, day and night, takes its essence. This life is as impermanent as a water bubble. Remember how quickly it decays and death comes. After death, just like a shadow follows the body, the results of black and white karma follow. Report an error in the passage at 23:53 Highlight the passage at 23:53

24:25 Finding firm and definite conviction in this, please bless me always to be careful to abandon even the slightest negativities and accomplish all virtuous deeds. Report an error in the passage at 24:25 Highlight the passage at 24:25

24:38 Seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to all suffering. They are uncertain and cannot be relied upon. Recognizing these shortcomings, Please bless me to generate the strong wish for the bliss of liberation. Report an error in the passage at 24:38 Highlight the passage at 24:38

24:55 Led by this pure thought, mindfulness, alertness and great caution arise. The root of the teachings is keeping the pratimoksha valves. Please bless me to accomplish this essential practice. Just as I have fallen into the sea of saṃsāra, so have all mother migratory beings. Please bless me to see this train in supreme bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 24:55 Highlight the passage at 24:55

25:20 And bear the responsibility of free migratory beings. Even if I develop only bodhicitta, without practicing the three types of morality, I will not achieve enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 25:20 Highlight the passage at 25:20

25:36 With my clear recognition of this, please bless me to practice the bodhisattva vowels with great energy. Report an error in the passage at 25:36 Highlight the passage at 25:36

25:46 Once I have pacified distractions to wrong objects, and correctly analyzing the meaning of reality, Please bless me to generate quickly within my mind stream the unified path of calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 25:46 Highlight the passage at 25:46

26:04 Having become a pure vessel by training in the general path, please bless me to enter the holy gateway of the fortunate ones, the supreme Vajra vehicle. Report an error in the passage at 26:04 Highlight the passage at 26:04

26:16 At that time, the basis of accomplishing the two attainments is keeping pure vows in Samaya. As I have become firmly convinced of this, please bless me to protect these vows and pledges like my life. Report an error in the passage at 26:16 Highlight the passage at 26:16

26:31 Then, having realized the importance of the two stages, the essence of the Vajrayana, by practicing with great energy, never giving up the four sessions, please bless me to realize the teachings of the Holy Guru. Report an error in the passage at 26:31 Highlight the passage at 26:31

26:46 Like that, may the Gurus who show the noble path and the spiritual friends who practice it have long lives. Please bless me to pacify completely all outer and inner hindrances. Report an error in the passage at 26:46 Highlight the passage at 26:46

27:01 In all my lives, never separated from perfect gurus, may I enjoy the magnificent Dharma. By completing the qualities of the stages and paths, may I quickly attain the state of Ajodhara. And Report an error in the passage at 27:01 Highlight the passage at 27:01

27:20 then we make one final request. Glorious and precious root guru, please abide on the lotus and moon seed in my heart. And taking care of me with your great kindness, bestow upon me the attainments of your body, speech and mind. Report an error in the passage at 27:20 Highlight the passage at 27:20

27:42 So imagine that Shakyamuni Buddha is extremely pleased with your efforts and promises to remind you of your precious human rebirth and take advantage of this precious opportunity. Report an error in the passage at 27:42 Highlight the passage at 27:42

28:03 And now imagine that he melts into a stream of golden light and descends to your heart, becoming inseparably mixed with your mind. Report an error in the passage at 28:03 Highlight the passage at 28:03

28:16 Your body and mind are pervaded by this golden light and all of its potential. Report an error in the passage at 28:16 Highlight the passage at 28:16

28:32 Imagine that you're transformed into a being made of pure golden light, abiding in this world solely for the purpose of benefiting others. Report an error in the passage at 28:32 Highlight the passage at 28:32

28:45 This is your true potential. Report an error in the passage at 28:45 Highlight the passage at 28:45

28:51 Imagine what this would feel like. Report an error in the passage at 28:51 Highlight the passage at 28:51

29:16 Around time, as you're ready, you can end your meditation. And we'll start with the opening course. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:40 So in the White Prayer Book, page 7. Report an error in the passage at 29:40 Highlight the passage at 29:40

29:49 There's on the bottom of the first column that refuge and generating bodhicitta will say it three times in English. Report an error in the passage at 29:49 Highlight the passage at 29:49

29:59 I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly. By the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly. By the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly. Report an error in the passage at 29:59 Highlight the passage at 29:59

30:34 By the merits I create through listening to the Dharma, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. Then we'll do the one on the next page, page 8. Report an error in the passage at 30:34 Highlight the passage at 30:34

30:48 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 30:48 Highlight the passage at 30:48

31:20 You have an extra book in front of you that's the Lama Chopa, Guru Puja. I think this is Lama Chopa. This one has the long of the four measurable thoughts. I just thought for your own interest we could read it together and then I wanted to also read you the prayer of the request just because I said I would. So page 13 in that little booklet. Report an error in the passage at 31:20 Highlight the passage at 31:20

31:43 We'll just read it together, the four measurable thoughts for, you know, Sundays or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 31:43 Highlight the passage at 31:43

31:52 Otherwise you can use the cheat sheet version. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were to abide in equanimity, free from hatred and attachment, not holding some close and others distant. May they abide in equanimity. I myself will cause them to abide in equanimity. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. Report an error in the passage at 31:52 Highlight the passage at 31:52

32:15 How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the causes of happiness. May they have happiness in its causes. I myself will cause them to have happiness in its causes. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May they be free from suffering in its causes. Report an error in the passage at 32:15 Highlight the passage at 32:15

32:42 I myself will cause them to be free from suffering in its causes. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were never separated from the happiness of higher rebirth and liberation. May they never be separated from these. I myself will cause them never to be separated from these. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. Report an error in the passage at 32:42 Highlight the passage at 32:42

33:11 The thing that I like about that one is the determination. I myself, I like that. And also... Please help me. It's like both. It's like, yeah, maybe not. I don't think I have it. And then the other is on page 47. Report an error in the passage at 33:11 Highlight the passage at 33:11

33:30 Special request for the three great purposes. Report an error in the passage at 33:30 Highlight the passage at 33:30

33:36 So on that part of the six preparatory practices, the very last practice, this is really the prayer. But I think it's sometimes overwhelming at first, which is why I'm waiting until class four to even introduce it. Just because there's so many words that come at you. So anyway, just for your own interest, we'll just read it once. It is a beautiful prayer, and again, it's phrasing it. Report an error in the passage at 33:36 Highlight the passage at 33:36

34:02 The more you study, the more you'll understand all the words. But anyway, it is a really beautiful sentiment. I prostrate and go for refuge to the Guru and the three precious gems. Please bless my mind. I'm requesting you to immediately pacify all the wrong conceptions. From incorrect devotion to the guru up to the subtle dual view of the white, red and dark visions that exist in my mind and in the minds of all mother sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 34:02 Highlight the passage at 34:02

34:30 I'm requesting you to immediately generate all the right realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment in my mind and in the minds of all mother sentient beings. I'm requesting you to pacify all outer and inner obstacles to actualizing the entire graduated path to enlightenment. In my mind and in the minds of all mother sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 34:30 Highlight the passage at 34:30

34:55 So again, just for your own interest because we were talking about that or have been talking about that in the last few classes. So any questions about either the meditation that we just did, which will be your homework assignment for the next two weeks. You'll have a couple weeks just to kind of get familiar with it. It was actually created by a friend of mine, Kendall Magnuson, and I just made some edits for this class. Report an error in the passage at 34:55 Highlight the passage at 34:55

35:22 I just think it's such a beautiful piece. And I think it also, traditionally when we study precious human rebirth, there's a lot of memorization of lists, again, the Galipa tradition. And this doesn't really get into that, and yet you get the same gist. You recognize what you do have, you recognize what you're free, the blocks that you're free of having. Report an error in the passage at 35:22 Highlight the passage at 35:22

35:48 And you want to go for it. And that's really the feeling that you should have when you're meditating on Precious Human Rebirth. Geshe-la has been on the Precious Human Rebirth section of the Lamrim, actually, on the Wednesday night class. And he said last night, don't get distracted by the little details. And there are a lot of details in the traditional way that this is introduced. Report an error in the passage at 35:48 Highlight the passage at 35:48

36:13 And so I like that this meditation doesn't have a lot of those. Because it just kind of goes for the gut. And yet you get this same sense of, wow, what am I going to do with this? And that's what a really good meditation on precious human rebirth should make you get up from the cushion going, yeah, this is great. Just like a really profound meditation on death and impermanence in this tradition shouldn't depress you or scare you. Report an error in the passage at 36:13 Highlight the passage at 36:13

36:43 It should just kind of be like, okay. Yeah, I have to, you know, I have some work to do here. It's more like an urgency kind of a thing rather than a constricting. Yeah, like scaredy kids. Scaredy baby, as when a Rubina says, scaredy babies. Anyway, any questions? Any questions or thoughts? And a bit overwhelming for you. I'm sorry. How did you guys do? It was a bit much, wasn't it? Sorry about that. Report an error in the passage at 36:43 Highlight the passage at 36:43

37:12 I kind of... I kind of baby stepped these guys into it, so it's a bit overwhelming probably, sorry about that. Hopefully you just slept through it if it was too much. Report an error in the passage at 37:12 Highlight the passage at 37:12

37:24 Any questions, comments or anything about the homework also? Great, you've already mastered it completely. No problem, you already set up your altars and you're just, all right, good. Okay, well there'll be more time for questions later. We have a big issue that arose. Report an error in the passage at 37:24 Highlight the passage at 37:24

37:45 Over the weekend, I was hoping to send out the e-news, and I realized that, yes, the Vajra Safra retreat with Geshe-la had been put squarely in the middle of our practice day weekend. Report an error in the passage at 37:45 Highlight the passage at 37:45

37:59 So with apologies now from Venerable Carol. But at any rate, so here's the question. Is anyone in this class planning to go to that retreat? Yeah. yeah, the one that it's the other one. So I think what our issue probably, I was going to ask is if we were still, if nobody was going to go, then we could have it elsewhere. We could have our practice day elsewhere. Report an error in the passage at 37:59 Highlight the passage at 37:59

38:25 But I think what makes more sense for us to do, and I apologize because you guys have already planned to come, but we would do it the following weekend on the 9th here. Is there anybody who cannot make it on the 9th who was planning to come on the 2nd? So sorry. Yeah, such a drag. It's just like what to do. So, yeah, I think we're just going to have to do it. Report an error in the passage at 38:25 Highlight the passage at 38:25

38:54 I don't know what else to do. Yeah, I really apologize. I explained it all to Carol last night and am giving her the key to the master program calendar so that doesn't happen again. But, yeah, it's frustrating because... Because I always announce my practice day at the very beginning so people can start arranging their lives and childcare and everything else to go with it. Anyway, so the practice day is now going to be Saturday the 9th of March, same time, same place. Report an error in the passage at 38:54 Highlight the passage at 38:54

39:28 It'll start at 10, so it'll be like 10, probably until about 3ish, depending on how many people come. Yeah? Did you have a question? Oh, wait, does it... Report an error in the passage at 39:28 Highlight the passage at 39:28

39:40 Oh, on the 9th? No, we can't do that. Report an error in the passage at 39:40 Highlight the passage at 39:40

39:52 Yeah. Here's another idea. I know it would also take place when Geshe-la is teaching, but how many people in here come to the Sunday class? What if we did it Sunday class? On the third, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 39:52 Highlight the passage at 39:52

40:16 Oh, yeah, you're right, you're right, you're right, you're right. Well, no, it actually ends at noon, but it would end at, yeah, we'd have to do it in the afternoon, but that would, it smushes it, it smushes it. I mean, it's quite a substantial amount that we do on our practice day. Report an error in the passage at 40:16 Highlight the passage at 40:16

40:32 Yeah, I mean, I think, because they do lunch and everything. Yeah, yeah, so we wouldn't be able to start until 2, and then it's like the night before people go back to work, and nobody wants to go, you know what I mean, so it's like... Report an error in the passage at 40:32 Highlight the passage at 40:32

40:45 Oh, this is frustrating. I don't really know what to do here. Any ideas? Report an error in the passage at 40:45 Highlight the passage at 40:45

41:06 I think there's quite a few people, though, that are going to go to the Vajrasai, and they should go, you know, I mean, that's the problem, and it's... Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 41:06 Highlight the passage at 41:06

41:20 Sunday the 10th. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 41:20 Highlight the passage at 41:20

41:22 That's true. I mean, Report an error in the passage at 41:22 Highlight the passage at 41:22

41:29 yeah. Report an error in the passage at 41:29 Highlight the passage at 41:29

41:34 But then people couldn't go to Geshe-la's class on Sunday, so it'll be a, you know, they'd miss the regular Sunday class. If we did it early, we could do it early, like at our house, is what we were thinking. Report an error in the passage at 41:34 Highlight the passage at 41:34

41:48 Because otherwise, it's like, it gets later, and then everybody stays, has to stay until 5 or 6, and then to go to work the next day and stuff, it just makes it hard to start that late. It's like, yeah, I think maybe. So how about Sunday the 10th? Who knows that they could come on Sunday the 10th? See, there's not that many people who can. Yeah, you work on Sundays. Report an error in the passage at 41:48 Highlight the passage at 41:48

42:12 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 42:12 Highlight the passage at 42:12

42:18 All right, I guess I need to think about this again. Report an error in the passage at 42:18 Highlight the passage at 42:18

42:25 You know what, what if we do it before the class is fully over? What if we back up a weekend? What's the date of the, oh no, because then we have the 23rd, we have that workshop. It's just too much. Yeah, we've got the 16th, we've got the 23rd, both of them are workshops. Report an error in the passage at 42:25 Highlight the passage at 42:25

42:50 Probably, Report an error in the passage at 42:50 Highlight the passage at 42:50

42:57 yeah, how about the afternoon of the 23rd? I mean, I'd have to mush it, but it's a Saturday. Then it would end up being sort of like two to six. Report an error in the passage at 42:57 Highlight the passage at 42:57

43:18 How many people are planning to do this stupa? That was a question anyway. How many people are planning to do this stupa painting workshop? Have you guys contacted office at? Contact office at Sachin Lea. Or tell me on the break and I'll just write it down. That's probably good enough. So we could do that. I mean, how many people could do that if we did it? Then that would be an all day. That would be all day for those people who would do. Yeah, that's a lot. Report an error in the passage at 43:18 Highlight the passage at 43:18

43:48 This is so not working. Report an error in the passage at 43:48 Highlight the passage at 43:48

43:54 The 23rd. I think we're going to lose a few people. I saw heads shaking on this side of the room. That must be the precious human rebirth side is all going, yeah, bring it on. The other side's like, no, too much. I got a date. Report an error in the passage at 43:54 Highlight the passage at 43:54

44:14 Okay, here's an idea. What if we just added an extra Thursday night and we just do, sorry, because Venable Renee is doing an all-day retreat at LNB. I mean, I know that not everybody would go there, but I sure as heck would like to. Report an error in the passage at 44:14 Highlight the passage at 44:14

44:42 We could do a field trip to that, actually. He's worth it, and he's rarely out of long retreats, so it's kind of like, I just feel like that would be too hard, I think. So what if we did that? What if we just added an extra Thursday night and made it go to the 28th, and then we just did that as a practice day, so there would be no meal involved. Report an error in the passage at 44:42 Highlight the passage at 44:42

45:08 It's easier for the cookers in the group. We could do a meditation. Just like we could go through this, one of the meditations from the class, or maybe the Vajra Safa meditation or both, and then have a break and watch the little film. Or maybe we even just do a, we'll just do one meditation. We'll do like a half hour about the same length as to this one, it may even be this one. Then we'll do the film, and then we'll just take a little break, maybe have some chai, and then maybe do... Report an error in the passage at 45:08 Highlight the passage at 45:08

45:39 Just people do the little presentations. I haven't talked about the presentations yet, so I hope nobody drops out now. Sorry about that. That used to be my methodology when I was in college. If any oral presentation was announced in the first day's syllabus, I'd be like, out of there. Forget it. I'm not going to do that class. So let's use this opportunity to talk about the presentations. Report an error in the passage at 45:39 Highlight the passage at 45:39

46:07 What I like, they're totally informal. You can, in fact, the whole time you can just be like this. You don't have to have something big prepared. You can just look at your notes. I've actually had people read the whole thing. You can also just go off the cuff. You know, I mean, some students just completely be like, well, I wasn't going to do one, but hey, why not? Report an error in the passage at 46:07 Highlight the passage at 46:07

46:26 You know, and then they'll just jump in. Well, I've even had people come who aren't even in class and do one. They're just moved by the... Energy of the group and they just jump in and do and they've done great ones actually. It's basically you just pick a topic that means something to you from the class so it could be anything. Report an error in the passage at 46:26 Highlight the passage at 46:26

46:45 I would say I'm gonna at the in the final couple classes probably next week I'll hand out a list of topics that I would suggest or that FMT has suggested but then if you want to do something that's not on the list all you do is just email me and just say I'd like to do this, just to make sure that it has something to do with the daily practice. I mean, because sometimes people just go off and just talk about whatever, and I kind of want it to somewhat relate. Report an error in the passage at 46:45 Highlight the passage at 46:45

47:11 But basically, it's just this informal little thing, and you just sort of, it could be something that I've explained that now you want to re-explain, just like I don't know anything, kind of like that. You just pretend that nobody has been here all along and that you're explaining the seven limb practice or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 47:11 Highlight the passage at 47:11

47:28 Or the, you know, six preparatory practices or why you clean up before you meditate or, you know, just anything. And you just sort of say it in a very, it doesn't have to be formal, you don't have to use PowerPoint, you know, it doesn't have to be anything big, no lasers. You're fine like that, no glitter. You don't need to make anything or prepare anything like that. It's basically just to kind of detest yourself or to explain what you liked about the class or something about the class that touched you and that you want to, that you carried out of it. Report an error in the passage at 47:28 Highlight the passage at 47:28

47:58 That's really all it is. So that's really what the presentations are all about. It's optional, but it is nice if everyone does it because then the people that are scared to death aren't scared to death alone. Report an error in the passage at 47:58 Highlight the passage at 47:58

48:12 But basically we all just sit in a circle and whoever comes that day, we just kind of go around and do it. And whoever jumps in, I would just jump in first. Also you could take one of the meditations and read it. That's an easy one. Then everybody's got their eyes closed, right? So that's a good one. Report an error in the passage at 48:12 Highlight the passage at 48:12

48:09 don't know. Report an error in the passage at 48:09 Highlight the passage at 48:09

48:26 If you're nervous like I am. And it's fun to do it that way because I never get to be led in meditation. So it's actually really nice for you guys to practice reading meditations to me. Report an error in the passage at 48:26 Highlight the passage at 48:26

48:39 Sometimes people come up with their own meditation. I actually had a couple of students who created their own meditation and then read it and led the whole class. So that's kind of nice too. So you can do whatever you want to, but I limit it to five or ten minutes per person so that it doesn't go like... Report an error in the passage at 48:39 Highlight the passage at 48:39

48:55 You know, go on and on and on. And again, the length of our practice day is based upon how many people actually do it. So that would be our second half. That would be the second half. Well, let's go ahead and do that then. So we'll just do Thursday the 28th. And I hate not having my computer in front of me, but I don't think there's anything scheduled for that day. There's nothing scheduled for here, I know, because I just... Report an error in the passage at 48:55 Highlight the passage at 48:55

49:24 Right? Oh, maybe check the LPP calendar and just make sure it's not like a soap or a Medicine Buddha puja or a Natara. No, Medicine Buddha, I think, is only on the 25th. That's right. Medicine Buddha is on the 25th because that's, yeah, that's Day of Miracles. Luckily, I just sent that out so I kind of know our schedule in my head. I think we're safe. Okay, let's go for that. And I apologize again. It's frustrating and difficult to try to make it work. Report an error in the passage at 49:24 Highlight the passage at 49:24

49:59 Okay, so with that out of the way, let's go ahead and talk about, you know, we've been spending time talking about what you do when you sit down and do formal meditation practice. How you prepare for it, how you set up your altar, how you set up your mind, how you set up your body in a perfect world. And so now we're going to talk about all the rest of the time. Report an error in the passage at 49:59 Highlight the passage at 49:59

50:22 Like what do we do to protect our minds or to train our minds? To keep all the meditations that we're working on on the cushion in our minds for the rest of the day. So, you know, the Tibetans call this between sessions. They're assuming, of course, that we're just constantly in these sessions. For example, when you hear in a prayer like the request for the three great purposes, or actually in the Foundation for All Good Quality is when they talk about the four sessions. Report an error in the passage at 50:22 Highlight the passage at 50:22

50:55 They're talking about in retreat, traditionally you do four sessions, four retreat sessions a day, four meditation sessions. And so between sessions, you still have to keep your mind reflecting on whatever it is that you're meditating on in those sessions. And for us, we're meditating on the lamrim. So one of the first goals is to try to protect our minds, especially in this day and age. Report an error in the passage at 50:55 Highlight the passage at 50:55

51:23 There's just a lot of stuff coming at us, you know, all the time. Newspapers, magazines, internet, TV, you know, movies. Just coming at us and with a completely different world view than we're trying to actually foster. Like very, very different. And so it's a little tricky. And we have to be aware of the kind of imprints that we're putting onto our mind all the time. Report an error in the passage at 51:23 Highlight the passage at 51:23

51:50 Like what are we feeding our minds, you know? So even just beginning to foster that kind of an awareness is a first step. I mean, a lot of times we don't even have that thought, but sometimes it's important to think, wow, I don't think I want to look at this anymore. Sometimes I'll do that with a movie or something and be like, I think I'm done. I think this one's poured enough negative images. Or just, you know, sometimes we just have the habit of, for example, reading the newspaper or watching the news or something without really needing to. Report an error in the passage at 51:50 Highlight the passage at 51:50

52:28 So maybe we just begin questioning some of those kind of habitual behaviors. It doesn't mean we have to live in a hole and not know what's going on, but there are some ways that are more potent for our minds than others. I had one teacher who said, it's fine if you know the headlines. He said, I just look at the headlines in the little newspaper boxes. Okay, we're not at war. Report an error in the passage at 52:28 Highlight the passage at 52:28

52:50 Okay, good. I kind of do that online. I'll look at a few. few newspapers online just to kind of make sure that something really big didn't happen last night. And then, you know, then it's okay. Then I can just kind of move on with the day. Report an error in the passage at 52:50 Highlight the passage at 52:50

53:08 Or spend a little bit more time on it on the weekend, but on the weekdays just kind of keep it to very limited. It's also interesting to think about the world view of... For example, some magazines and newspapers in our culture, especially that idea of blaming or revenging or avenging something, which is really different than the whole view of emptiness and karma that we talked about last week. Report an error in the passage at 53:08 Highlight the passage at 53:08

53:33 So you could use it as a way of investigating your own worldview. It says in this article that the only way to teach them a lesson is blah, blah. How do I think, you know, what do I think about that? Do I think that that's the only way to, you know, resolve this situation, you know, from a Buddhist point of view? Report an error in the passage at 53:33 Highlight the passage at 53:33

53:56 So you could use it as a mind training tool, you know, investigate, investigate your own mind. You can also just look at the fact that, you know, a lot of magazines, especially if you think of things like People Magazine or, you know, those kind of celebrity magazines, but even, you know, the big newspapers like the New York Times, there's a lot of They're just about suffering sentient beings. They're really just about suffering sentient beings. And so if you look at them with your lamrim glasses on, you can see that even though those sentient beings have, those human beings have a lot of power, a lot of wealth, or a lot of fame, or so forth, they're still, by and large, not very happy. Report an error in the passage at 53:56 Highlight the passage at 53:56

54:41 And so that's an interesting thing, too, to just kind of look at that and to just sort of think about that. Rather than getting so 100 % glued into whatever the story is, you know, to just kind of think about it from a Dharma point of view, to use it as a Dharma teaching or to learn from them. Sometimes I get really inspired by some of the human interest stories where some, you know, little ordinary person just like... Report an error in the passage at 54:41 Highlight the passage at 54:41

55:05 Puts their life on the line for billions of people every day or something. Or during a major catastrophe like 9-1-1 or something. All the little heroes that just sort of came and were willing to just do whatever was necessary to save people's lives. Those stories actually really inspire me. And I think that you can actually read the newspaper or read any kind of magazine or any kind of media with that kind of... Report an error in the passage at 55:05 Highlight the passage at 55:05

55:35 Inspiration in mind, just like looking at little ordinary sentient beings. Who are they really? Maybe they're bodhisattvas. Report an error in the passage at 55:35 Highlight the passage at 55:35

55:45 So it's kind of like we have this little tiny baby Dharma voice and the whole rest of the world is screaming at top volume in this whole other way. And we have to just sort of... Sometimes let our little Dharma voice get stronger and maybe quiet down the whole rest of the world. So that might mean different things to each of us. It might mean taking a day off computers or a day off TV or something like that and letting that little Dharma voice get a little bit stronger. Report an error in the passage at 55:45 Highlight the passage at 55:45

56:15 So that's one thing to think about. There's another thing to think about and that's sort of a mind training technique that's called training in verses. And what it really means is just kind of finding little phrases or little quotes or verses from, you know, actual texts that you just sort of put up all over the place. Report an error in the passage at 56:15 Highlight the passage at 56:15

56:39 You know, you just get a stack of post-its and just stick them up all over your house. Stick them on your fridge, you know, stick them in the bathroom, whatever. I'm actually probably not in the bathroom. It's not such a good idea. Stick them in the car, wherever you tend to be. Report an error in the passage at 56:39 Highlight the passage at 56:39

56:52 When I'm in retreat, I definitely do this a lot. I put them on all the light switches, you know, so that when you're going in and out of the cabin, you see something that really makes you think, you know. Report an error in the passage at 56:52 Highlight the passage at 56:52

57:05 In the seven-point mind training, it says, in your everyday life, train yourself with verses to stimulate remembrance. So what you're basically trying to do is just remember. And maybe we don't have the memories that the Tibetans had. Where they would memorize huge texts, but we can remember little verses. And it's actually great to memorize ones that really mean a lot to you, even if it's just like a single sentence. Report an error in the passage at 57:05 Highlight the passage at 57:05

57:31 Because then when you need it, it comes back, which is kind of cool. And it might be a little sentence that comes out, say, in a teaching like this, or a teaching in Geshe-less classes, His Holiness, something like that. But just something that you just are like, whoa. And you just kind of write it down. And then when you look through your notes later, you're like, wow, that's pretty cool. And then you just kind of copy it out and put it up somewhere. It doesn't have to be a complete sentence, even. Report an error in the passage at 57:31 Highlight the passage at 57:31

57:58 I mean, I've had things for almost decades at this point that just touch me in some way that I keep coming back to them. And they may just be a sentence or two. Report an error in the passage at 57:58 Highlight the passage at 57:58

58:11 So they can be your own verses too. Like you might end up, something might come to you in a meditation session, something that's like, you know, I'm just trying to think of something like out of one of those meditations that you've gotten that just kind of, it's like, you know, it wakes you up kind of. Report an error in the passage at 58:11 Highlight the passage at 58:11

58:31 And so it becomes meaningful to you. Rinpoche advises using the following. He says, What is appearing is merely a manifestation of imprints in my mind. I created this. Or you might even just say, I created this. So whatever's happening, good or bad, I created this. Report an error in the passage at 58:31 Highlight the passage at 58:31

58:52 There's our little chunty. The water's ready. Report an error in the passage at 58:52 Highlight the passage at 58:52

59:00 And that's what a verse can do. Yeah, so like if the whole world is coming at you, like it feels like it's so absolute and so real and you're just like either getting really excited, you know, like the kind of Energizer Bunny excitement, that's not really all that helpful, or really upset about something. Report an error in the passage at 59:00 Highlight the passage at 59:00

59:19 It's just like, I created this. I created this. I created this. It almost becomes like a mantra, you know. He also said to think about, this is a hallucination. A hallucination. If anybody ever has done any, you don't have to raise your hand, done any illegal substances that maybe has made life a little bit interesting, think about the whole, that's what the Buddha is saying basically, that the whole world exists as this hallucination. Report an error in the passage at 59:19 Highlight the passage at 59:19

59:50 We think it's real and solid and absolute, but it doesn't exist in that way at all. It exists according to our karma. So reminding ourselves all the time of that, that this is not actually happening as it appears to be happening. It's sort of like going back to what our moms always said about, or grandmas, take ten deep breaths if you're really getting upset about something. It's actually quite wise. Report an error in the passage at 59:50 Highlight the passage at 59:50

1:00:19 It just gives you that space to take a little deep breath if something really big is happening to you, rather than getting really upset and thinking, you know. This is not happening as it appears to be happening. I know Lama Yeshe also, that one good quote from him was, don't trust your senses. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:19 Highlight the passage at 1:00:19

1:00:38 Don't trust your senses. Don't trust what your senses are telling you. That was it. Don't trust what your senses are telling you. Because boy do we ever, in our culture, what our senses tell us is it. They used to say a photograph never lies, right? Now they can't. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:38 Highlight the passage at 1:00:38

1:00:56 One of my favorites of an actual quote, or an actual verse from a text, there's a short mind training text called the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, or the Eight Verses of Mind Training, by Langry Tsongkhapa, and my favorite is the third verse, although it's one of the hardest to do. Well, they're all really, really impossible to do. In all actions, I will examine my mind, and the moment a disturbing attitude arises, endangering myself and others. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:56 Highlight the passage at 1:00:56

1:01:25 I will firmly confront and avert it. The moment a disturbing attitude arises, endangering myself and others, I will firmly confront and avert it. It's just like, I mean, there's so much in that verse. The assumption, as General Rubino used to always point out whenever I'd read that one in Buddha, she'd say, the first assumption is that you're so aware of what's happening in your mind that you even notice it. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:25 Highlight the passage at 1:01:25

1:01:53 That's the biggest assumption. So first you have to develop that mindfulness. But that verse alone is quite powerful to just start your day with, you know, at the moment. And then at some point you might remember it like two minutes after you yell at somebody. And then at some point you might remember it one minute. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:53 Highlight the passage at 1:01:53

1:02:14 And then at some point you might remember it as the words are vomiting out of your mouth. And then at some point you might remember it right before you're about to say something. And that's so exciting. So, so exciting. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:14 Highlight the passage at 1:02:14

1:02:28 And you just kind of stop yourself, you know. And it's because of having that verse in your head and repeating it enough that it's second nature. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:28 Highlight the passage at 1:02:28

1:02:39 In all actions, I will examine my mind. And the moment a disturbing attitude arises, endangering myself and others, I will firmly confirm. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:39 Highlight the passage at 1:02:39

1:02:50 For those of you that do the second of the bodhicitta classes of the discovery class, if I teach it, then I'm Report an error in the passage at 1:02:50 Highlight the passage at 1:02:50

1:03:05 there. But I just think it's... So just find verses anywhere, in any way, like in any of your reading, in any classes, anything that works for you. So I just tell you ones, different things that resonate with me. Think of, Report an error in the passage at 1:03:05 Highlight the passage at 1:03:05

1:03:28 that can be very. So I mentioned lamrim colored glasses, which is what a friend of mine says. That's her expression. But I think it's a great expression. So if you're meditating on the lamrim, you know, the stages of the path to enlightenment. For example, we just did the Precious Human Rebirth, so I would have on my Precious Human Rebirth glasses. So I'm going to look at the whole world through my Precious Human Rebirth glasses. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:28 Highlight the passage at 1:03:28

1:03:56 So whatever, if I'm thinking about Precious Human Rebirth, then I might then, when I go to the grocery store, then I would think about it in terms of that meditation. And so if I look around and I see people whose lives are really different than mine, and they might... You know, they obviously don't have the same opportunities that I have. Maybe through, you can tell that they are, you know, physically infirm or they need assistance just doing a simple task. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:56 Highlight the passage at 1:03:56

1:04:26 Or they're just exhausted because they have five kids hanging off of them, you know. Or something in their lives looks like they can't take the suffering that they have and work with it with any kind of method, anything like the Dharma, you know. I can look at that and I can generate compassion for them based on this understanding of the opportunities that I have to then do something with my life. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:26 Highlight the passage at 1:04:26

1:04:52 So you can do that when you're reading the newspaper too, but just kind of looking at everything through the lenses of whatever you're meditating on. So if you're thinking about death and impermanence, you might look at those same people and think, wow, they're going to pass away soon. I'm going to pass away soon. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:52 Highlight the passage at 1:04:52

1:05:10 We don't know if the whole group of people that are currently in that supermarket are ever going to, like one of them may not come back again. That may be their last time in the supermarket. And it just kind of brings that awareness into your mind. Or you can even just think about it while you're walking around and thinking, you know, it feels so permanent, but in reality everything around me is changing. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:10 Highlight the passage at 1:05:10

1:05:32 There's just constant change, you know, natural change, which of course is quite beautiful to look at. But also just the buildings, you know, they seem so permanent, but actually they're crumbling, you know. The cars are actually crumbling, sorry for anyone who owns a car. You know, there's like little ways, imperceptible to our eyes, that things are constantly changing around us that seem really firm and solid and concrete, but in reality, and if you've ever been in an earthquake, you realize even the very ground is impermanent, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:32 Highlight the passage at 1:05:32

1:06:09 The whole city could disappear, maybe not in our lifetime and maybe in our lifetime. So just things like that where you just kind of contemplate why you're just doing your everyday things. I mean, you try to be able to be functional and actually purchase the groceries and not just be like sitting on the floor contemplating everything, but just kind of letting it run through your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:09 Highlight the passage at 1:06:09

1:06:33 Or if you're stuck in traffic, it's a perfect time to sort of contemplate things. All the billions of these people, they all want to be happy just like me. And this guy thinks because if he cuts me off, he'll get there that much faster, he's just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:33 Highlight the passage at 1:06:33

1:06:50 And this guy thinks by not letting him in, that he'll be happy. And it kind of gives you a little space from it all, if you can remember, unless you're the one that cut him off. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:50 Highlight the passage at 1:06:50

1:07:03 If you do that kind of walking meditation, Rinpoche calls that a walking meditation. It's not the walking meditation that they do in the Vipassanā tradition, but it's sort of allowing yourself to contemplate or reflect while you're moving, which I find actually quite more useful. Maybe I have more energy or something and sitting still is hard for me. But walking and contemplating certain things like... Report an error in the passage at 1:07:03 Highlight the passage at 1:07:03

1:07:31 He says to think about, this is my karma, whatever I see, hear, smell, taste or touch, this is my karmic projection. Again, I am creating this, I am creating this. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:31 Highlight the passage at 1:07:31

1:07:43 So even if you're having a fantastic day, I am creating this, I am creating this. This fantastic moment, this fantastic day, it didn't just pop into being randomly. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:43 Highlight the passage at 1:07:43

1:07:56 It came together through causes and conditions that I played a role in. So just even having that awareness, you realize that it's not this absolute fantastic day. And the very same experience you might not think was a fantastic day, you know, or you might think it was a terrible day, actually. I sometimes think about that in terms of food, like what I think is just a fantastic meal. My brother in Culverford, Virginia may think is like, you know, like, why would I eat that? Report an error in the passage at 1:07:56 Highlight the passage at 1:07:56

1:08:23 He always teases me about carrots and stuff, you know. And that was before my current diet. Or again, yeah, thinking about everything like this is a hallucination, this is an hallucination, or this is illusory. Not that this is an illusion, not that this is a dream, but it's like a dream. It's like an illusion. And of course, the more teachings you get on emptiness, the more you'll understand what that really means. It doesn't mean that nothing exists and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:23 Highlight the passage at 1:08:23

1:08:59 It means that things don't exist the way we think that they are. Like we talked about last week. But it does help break up that really solid way that we tend to see reality or each other. You know, like if I see Jage in a certain way, I think he's always going to be that way and then I'm shocked when he's not. I mean, we do that with everyone. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:59 Highlight the passage at 1:08:59

1:09:20 So it limits our interpersonal relationships because we keep people boxed up just like we keep ourselves boxed up. I am when I am, right? What Saint Popeye said, you know? I am when I am when I am. It's actually a completely wrong view according to the Buddhist theory. We are constantly changing. Our mind is constantly changing. Our body is constantly changing. And that's the good news, you know? That's really the good news. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:20 Highlight the passage at 1:09:20

1:09:48 That's what allows us to get enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:48 Highlight the passage at 1:09:48

1:09:53 So why don't we take a break? Take a break and stretch your legs and then we'll finish up with some more exciting... Thanks. Tools. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:53 Highlight the passage at 1:09:53

1:10:14 No, let's do, I mean, I'm really the one who's going to be taking the notes on this, so let me think of, yeah, let me do, I'll just start. That's right. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:14 Highlight the passage at 1:10:14

1:10:26 That's right. Yeah, I promised her a full house, so I'm just like, can we have a full house? All right. Who else was going to do this stupa painting? You guys? Okay. Anne, did you? Anne, did you? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:26 Highlight the passage at 1:10:26

1:10:44 That's the one on the 23rd. Yeah. That's what, sorry, the painting. Did you? A maybe, you're a maybe. I'm like, I thought you said Amy. I'm like, no. There's nobody by, okay, Laura. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:44 Highlight the passage at 1:10:44

1:11:06 I think it's 20. Yeah, yeah, but it's always, it's always whatever is fine. And you, Ray, and you, you can't count, you're not, okay. Okay, okay, okay. Anybody else doing this dupe painting? Okay, good. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:06 Highlight the passage at 1:11:06

1:11:32 Sorry? 23rd. 23rd. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:32 Highlight the passage at 1:11:32

1:11:39 And the moment a disturbing attitude arises, endangering myself and others, I will firmly confront and avert it. I have it almost memorized. I wish I could actually do it. The moment a disturbing attitude arises, endangering myself and others. I will firmly confront and avert it. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:39 Highlight the passage at 1:11:39

1:12:26 Got it? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:26 Highlight the passage at 1:12:26

1:12:35 I will. In all actions, I will examine my mind and the moment a disturbing attitude arises, endangering myself and others, I Report an error in the passage at 1:12:35 Highlight the passage at 1:12:35

1:13:00 will firmly... didn't feel it. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:00 Highlight the passage at 1:13:00

1:12:31 it? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:31 Highlight the passage at 1:12:31

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:13:01 I will firmly, don't forget that, firmly, I will firmly confront and avert it. It's like, argh. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:01 Highlight the passage at 1:13:01

1:13:11 I remember I was working with a friend years and years ago when His Holiness came to Shoreline, and there was a friend of mine who was helping. We were volunteering, and she had obviously made a determination not to get angry that day, no matter what. I could tell, because I've tried that one before, too. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:11 Highlight the passage at 1:13:11

1:13:31 And we had just picked up, we were selling T-shirts. It was so many. I mean, there were like, how many people there? It was like 10,000 people. And so we were selling so many boxes and boxes of these t-shirts and we had moved up all the boxes into the tent and someone came and said, oh no, this can't be there, they have to go there. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:31 Highlight the passage at 1:13:31

1:13:48 And she goes, okay. I was like, yeah, she did it. She firmly confronted and averted it. It was very cute. And we did, we picked them up and moved them all over there again. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:48 Highlight the passage at 1:13:48

1:14:06 That's from the eight verses of thought transformation, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:06 Highlight the passage at 1:14:06

1:14:31 Yeah, I mean, either. This is actually, I'm getting used to, Pomo has one, so it's like, I know. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:31 Highlight the passage at 1:14:31

1:14:52 Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:52 Highlight the passage at 1:14:52

1:14:58 Right, right, right. But you can choose what goes into your mind. And how it goes in. I actually tend to, I... I actually prefer to go online. I have a couple of news sites that I check, BBC, The Guardian UK, and the New York Times. Oh no, I actually don't do New York Times because they charge you. Washington Post. I'm from DC. Really? Yeah, I chose the Washington Post. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:58 Highlight the passage at 1:14:58

1:15:26 I'm from DC. I used to be one of them. And so I just kind of leaf through them. I don't spend that long, and this happens to be a really good story. I don't spend that... And I just kind of check out what's going on and then that's it. And it doesn't go in in the same way. I noticed actually watching the news recently, it's, they throw all these images that then are kind of in my mind, you know, and it's like, and there's a lot more kind of music and people chatting with each other and all that stuff and I'm like, just say the story. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:26 Highlight the passage at 1:15:26

1:15:59 And half the time though, it's like almost, it's almost always with news, with television news, it's like, It might be happening. It hasn't actually been happening yet. The news is being created around something that actually may not even happen. It's just very weird. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:59 Highlight the passage at 1:15:59

1:16:22 That's right. Well, I remember I went to the inauguration, actually, four years ago with two friends from the community here, Betty and Michelle, and they just had CNN on all the time. In the room, and I just wasn't used to that at all. In fact, to do my practice, I literally had to sit in the closet and stuff like that. It was very, it was just like overwhelming. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:22 Highlight the passage at 1:16:22

1:16:51 And it's just, and I can't stand CNN, and it was just this constant like da-da-da-da-da, and they kept saying the same stories over and over, and I was thinking, why does this happen? You know, but it was all a gift to me, so it wasn't like I could go turn it off, you know. It just was interesting to me. I just was like, ooh, good. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:51 Highlight the passage at 1:16:51

1:17:16 Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:16 Highlight the passage at 1:17:16

1:17:20 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's right. That's what they want to do. And I think, too, the people that watch all the time, it just becomes addictive. I mean, I think online stuff can get addictive, too. I can do that. I can be, like, checking it for the third time today, and I'm like, no, we're not at war, so it's okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:20 Highlight the passage at 1:17:20

1:17:43 I don't really need to look at it. You know, it just becomes kind of like another thing to check. Yeah, yeah, another habit. They exactly what Report an error in the passage at 1:17:43 Highlight the passage at 1:17:43

1:17:50 I didn't say how long. I forgot to say how long. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:50 Highlight the passage at 1:17:50

1:17:57 I'm good. I haven't had it. I've just been blathering. Some Report an error in the passage at 1:17:57 Highlight the passage at 1:17:57

1:18:07 poor person tearing out of the bathroom. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:07 Highlight the passage at 1:18:07

1:18:12 I know. And so, and conclusion. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:12 Highlight the passage at 1:18:12

1:18:27 You're right. All right. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:27 Highlight the passage at 1:18:27

1:18:33 So a few more. A few more ideas on practicing between sessions, the other 23 and a half hours of the day. Conclusion. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:33 Highlight the passage at 1:18:33

1:18:41 And like I said in the very first class, in Tibetan Buddhism there's never any time off, you know, as you're starting to see. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:41 Highlight the passage at 1:18:41

1:18:53 I mean, even Rinpoche even makes jokes about it. He says, you know, if you're on vacation, still not on vacation from the Dharma. And then he'll just kind of smile, you know, like, still not on vacation from the Dharma. It's like, okay. Or he's like, maybe break, we'll take a break, you know, and everyone will kind of go, oh, great, you know, break. He's like, but no, break from the Dharma. It's like. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:53 Highlight the passage at 1:18:53

1:19:18 So one idea that may not have occurred to people, and maybe it has depending on your level of practice, but living in vows is an interesting way to practice in between sessions. And it doesn't mean that we have to all run out and become nuns. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:18 Highlight the passage at 1:19:18

1:19:37 Another way to do it is to live in one-day vows. There are these vows that are called 24-hour vows, eight Mahāyāna precepts. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:37 Highlight the passage at 1:19:37

1:19:47 There's some major conversation going on right there. Let me go back there and kind of give it a good ding. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:47 Highlight the passage at 1:19:47

1:20:08 We were like, what's going on in the kitchen there? to have clean Oh, I see. I Report an error in the passage at 1:20:08 Highlight the passage at 1:20:08

1:20:13 So they're called the Eight Mahāyāna Precepts and they last basically for one day. They say you take them before you can see the lines in your hands. So you take them when they're still dark in the morning and then you keep them all day and then the next morning at sunrise then they're gone. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:13 Highlight the passage at 1:20:13

1:20:37 You have to take them originally from somebody, but then after that you can just take them whenever you want to do. And there are certain days of the calendar that are said to be more powerful to do these. But they say that when you take a vow, for example, say you take a vow not to kill, it's different than just not killing because it's in your mindstream all the time. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:37 Highlight the passage at 1:20:37

1:21:00 So there's more power to it. For example, if there's an ant running across here and I just decide not to kill it, then that one little moment is virtuous. Whereas if I have taken a vow for a longer period of time, whether it's that 24-hour vow or whether it's lifelong vows, that's on my mindstream in some imperceptible, intangible way that I have made this determination that no matter what happens, I will not kill. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:00 Highlight the passage at 1:21:00

1:21:27 They say that's much more powerful, which kind of makes sense if you think about it in that sense. And so they say that it's actually almost like this kind of an aura, that when we take vows, it's almost like this aura on our mind stream that the holy beings, those enlightened beings can actually see, which is very interesting to think about. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:27 Highlight the passage at 1:21:27

1:21:51 And it's just one way that we can kind of make our practice more powerful. But it's like living... As an ordained person for a day, or I've heard like for the bodhisattva vows, the set of vows that's called the bodhisattva vows or the bodhicitta vows, that's like living like somebody with bodhicitta already does live, just naturally. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:51 Highlight the passage at 1:21:51

1:22:14 That's just the way they live. We create, or the Buddha actually created vows for us to take, but they just naturally live that way. They just naturally don't kill. They just naturally don't steal and so forth. We have to use them as people. As training wheels, I call them. They're like training wheels for us to keep from harming other people and eventually end ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:14 Highlight the passage at 1:22:14

1:22:39 So it empowers your mind in that way. Eventually you might move into taking refuge precepts or the five lay vows or bodhisattva vows or so forth. Starting with just the eight Mahāyāna precepts is a really powerful way to do that. I know that Venerable Carol will be offering them on the Day of Miracles, which is coming up on the 25th. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:39 Highlight the passage at 1:22:39

1:23:04 It's quite early in the morning because, of course, you're trying to get them before you can see the lines on your hands. Fortunately, it's the winter, so it's a little bit later. It's at 6 a.m. But then, of course, after you've taken them once from somebody else, then you can... You can just take them yourself at home. And I think Geshe-la will probably offer them on Sakadala. Usually he does if there is interest in receiving them for the first time, he says. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:04 Highlight the passage at 1:23:04

1:23:35 But anyway, so we'll see. That's coming up in May. So if you're not quite ready, then you might have another chance at Sakadala. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:35 Highlight the passage at 1:23:35

1:23:42 Another way of practicing when you're not on the cushion is rejoicing. It's a certain kind of practice, rejoicing. Like we do in the Seven Limbs when we stop and we think, you know, something good I did or something good that anyone did. It doesn't have to be me. It could be, you know, anyone even in this room, much less my teachers or the holy beings or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:42 Highlight the passage at 1:23:42

1:24:06 Rinpoche says sometimes he'll just sit there for like 10 minutes and Lama will just rejoice. And it's basically this. It's like building this happy mind, because especially in the West, we don't have such a happy mind, and they notice that when they come over and they're like, wow, you know, these Westerners aren't so happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:06 Highlight the passage at 1:24:06

1:24:23 So it's like a way that we just take real pleasure in somebody else's good works or our own good works, which I can overlook my own, right? I can see my faults really big. I can often see other people's faults really big, but to see the good that people do, sometimes just naturally, sometimes with a lot of effort, sometimes just delighting in that, is just such a powerful and beautiful practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:23 Highlight the passage at 1:24:23

1:24:52 And it really counteracts that critical mind, and it really counteracts a depressed mind, if anyone has any problems with depression or sadness. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:52 Highlight the passage at 1:24:52

1:25:03 Riba Rinpoche used to say that this is the easiest way to collect merit. And Lama Yeshe used to always say it's perfect practice for busy Westerners. You just come home from work, make a cup of coffee, lie down on the couch and just rejoice. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to sit in posture. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:03 Highlight the passage at 1:25:03

1:25:20 You just lay there and just rejoice. You just rejoice. And if you think there's nothing to rejoice about, like I said, just read the newspaper and look at all the good things. Because there are good things, it's not just the negative things. But also just look around you. Some of the students in this room do amazing things. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:20 Highlight the passage at 1:25:20

1:25:40 We all do amazing things. And rejoicing in that is really, really powerful practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:40 Highlight the passage at 1:25:40

1:25:50 And then when difficulties arrive, so we're actually going to talk about how to counteract the difficulties that arise in our practice. But just briefly... I know that there is sometimes a thought that once you meet the Dharma and start practicing the Dharma that you're not going to have problems anymore. I'm sorry. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:50 Highlight the passage at 1:25:50

1:26:11 Got some bad news. You still have problems, but you have some great tools to deal with it. I know I actually sort of thought that to some degree. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:11 Highlight the passage at 1:26:11

1:26:21 I had to do a little bit of processing of that one, but there's some idea that... Once you become a Dharma practitioner, especially if you really are trying hard to practice a lot in your formal practice and retreat and all that stuff, that somehow you're not going to have any problems anymore. But you then have tools to deal with it, even if one of those tools is simply an understanding of karma and you just think, oh, whatever is manifesting now, sore knees, bad back, you know, whatever, is exhausting old negative karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:21 Highlight the passage at 1:26:21

1:26:54 That changes your attitude, right? So that can then make you happy for those bad knees and bad back or whatever. It doesn't have to be such a complicated method. It can just be simply this understanding of karma. Or if you're practicing really, really hard, you might be purifying. And in which case, and we will talk about purification more in the last two classes, and we'll learn Vajrasattva technique. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:54 Highlight the passage at 1:26:54

1:27:20 but you When you purify, they say it's almost like short-circuiting negative karma, and so it manifests in a way that is lighter than it would have normally come. So, for example, instead of getting brain cancer, I might have migraines or something like that. It's a more manageable version of that same negative karma ripening. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:20 Highlight the passage at 1:27:20

1:27:50 Completely eliminate it, but you still have to experience it. You don't get off easy by doing those Lama Tsongkhapa retreats, but it can come up in ways that are a little bit easier to deal with. I remember actually, I was at a teaching years ago, probably literally 10 years ago, with Jan Willis, who was one of Lama Yeshi's first students, actually, and she's actually a professor at Wesleyan. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:50 Highlight the passage at 1:27:50

1:28:19 She fell and broke her foot. It was at Vajrapani, which of course is always possible. So she fell and broke her foot and she was like, oh, I'm just so happy. I'm so happy. I was like, kind of weird. And she said, you know, if I wasn't teaching the Dharma, this could have been so much worse. But because I was teaching the Dharma, I just broke my foot. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:19 Highlight the passage at 1:28:19

1:28:37 And I was like, that's really interesting. And she was literally really happy. And I was like, that was my first sort of indication that Tibetan Buddhists were very strange people. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:37 Highlight the passage at 1:28:37

1:28:48 You know, the idea is I want to get it over with in this life and just purify it and get rid of it and then I can, my next life for sure I'll be done with all this and probably end of this life. Depending on how strong our motivations are and so forth, like are we living, are we working, are we practicing for the benefit of others, then you can start seeing results in this life, you know, if the motivation is very, very strong and powerful. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:48 Highlight the passage at 1:28:48

1:29:16 But otherwise, at least in our next life, we get rid of all that. So we get it out of the way. And they say, you know, for example, when you go on pilgrimage, a lot of things happen. And it's because, you know, you're purifying. And so there's a story of this one woman who was on pilgrimage and she just kept saying, bring it on, you know, bring it on. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:16 Highlight the passage at 1:29:16

1:29:38 You know, and she got really, really sick and she was really happy. She was really happy. In some ways it is a little crazy sounding, but in another way it's just simply shifting your perception of what's actually already happened. So it's not like you've created the sickness, it's not like you created the broken foot, you're simply shifting your view of a situation that has already come to you through your karma anyway. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:38 Highlight the passage at 1:29:38

1:30:02 You know, that part hasn't changed, so you're not going to bring on any horrible things. You're going to get what you're going to get due to your karma ripening. And so your attitude toward it is the only thing that's shifting. And that's really what mind training teachings are all about, is shifting your attitude towards what's already coming at you. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:02 Highlight the passage at 1:30:02

1:30:22 So two more areas to think about, and these are of course areas that we usually think we're kind of off the hook. One is eating and one is sleeping. Well, no. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:22 Highlight the passage at 1:30:22

1:30:33 Not in Tibetan Buddhism. So the yoga of eating. These are the yoga of eating and the yoga of sleeping. These are sort of simplified versions of teachings that actually come in Tantra, but they're okay. These are general versions that we can use. These are just ideas. Basically, in all of these ways, or all of these tools, we're trying to just bring some mindfulness into our everyday actions. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:33 Highlight the passage at 1:30:33

1:31:00 That's basically what we're doing. I mean, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has us thinking about... The Dharma getting dressed, walking through any doorway, opening any window. It's almost too much. You're kind of like, whoa, really? These are beginners? But for things like eating, that's something that we do a lot of and I certainly enjoy. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:00 Highlight the passage at 1:31:00

1:31:24 So taking this new awareness of the teachings into what could be an everyday situation can be quite powerful. And the same as sleeping. Sleeping is considered a neutral activity, so however we color our mind before we do it makes it virtuous or non-virtuous. So sitting down and watching like a really violent movie and then going to bed could make it a non-virtuous activity if we carry those images through the night. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:24 Highlight the passage at 1:31:24

1:31:54 On the other hand, if we color our minds with a more virtuous thought. Through a simple visualization or reading something that's positive, it can carry into the night in a more positive way. So those are just things to think about. So the yoga of eating is, one idea is to imagine if you have a teacher, your teacher at your heart, or you can imagine the Buddha at your heart, just the plain old Chakyamuni Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:54 Highlight the passage at 1:31:54

1:32:21 It doesn't have to be anything with several arms. Just keep it simple. Or if you say you relate to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, you can imagine just a little version of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at your heart. You can bless whatever it is that you're eating, and then as you eat it, you can, you know, I think, Mary Ellen, actually, you were helping when we were setting up for the puja and we were doing om ah hum. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:21 Highlight the passage at 1:32:21

1:32:48 We use that again here, om ah hum, om ah hum. And what that does is it purifies. The food, it transforms it into nectar, and then it increases it limitlessly to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Ten Directions. So it's just like, say you're having a cupcake, just eating your cupcake, and you say before you eat it, you imagine the Buddha or your teacher at your heart, and you say, O Ma Hung, and then you imagine it just becoming this pure nectar and going out in the Ten Directions, and all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, like, Going to all of them, then receiving it in bliss and then sending it back in the form of the light and then you eat it and then it just goes down and then it feeds your teacher or the Buddha at your heart. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:48 Highlight the passage at 1:32:48

1:33:38 So that simple visualization where just kind of that food is no longer normal. You know, you've done just through this simple visualization and this simple mantra you have created this really pure experience. It's a blissful experience instead of just like scarfing it down because it was really good and you're attached to it and you love chocolate muffins or whatever, which is our normal way of doing it, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:33:38 Highlight the passage at 1:33:38

1:34:05 Or maybe I'm alone, sorry. But yeah, so it completely transforms an ordinary experience like that. It is really important to imagine... Report an error in the passage at 1:34:05 Highlight the passage at 1:34:05

1:34:18 Those holy beings, and like for me, whenever I imagine holy beings out in the Ten Direction, I always imagine Lama Zopa Rinpoche, because that's quite easy. The other ones, I don't know. So they're kind of there, and I know they're there, but I just imagine him receiving it and him being blissful, which is quite easy, because he can giggle a lot, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:18 Highlight the passage at 1:34:18

1:34:36 You might imagine His Holiness, who also giggles a lot. And Lama Zopa says, it's really important to imagine them receiving it in bliss. And then the same is true for the teacher or the Buddha at your heart. You know, you imagine them receiving it and just being really happy. And the reason is because otherwise that offering, our offering isn't complete. It's just like we've sent it out but then we forgot what we were doing and just ate the thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:36 Highlight the passage at 1:34:36

1:35:05 So we're imagining them receiving it in bliss as part of the visualization. You can also just simply say, may this food allow me to benefit all sentient beings. Which is also just a really simple one. I do that one sometimes and I've done that some from the very beginning and I just think it sort of again transforms a really simple action of eating. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:05 Highlight the passage at 1:35:05

1:35:27 I mean a really, what could be a really desirous transaction of eating, experience of eating into something that's just more, it reminds you of your larger purpose. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:27 Highlight the passage at 1:35:27

1:35:44 person's quite happy. They just received it in blues. You can also imagine... No, that's kind of more complicated. Let's not do that one. So then the yoga of sleeping. They say that when we lie down at night, it's really good. When the Buddha passed away, he passed away on his right side. He had his palm under his cheek. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:44 Highlight the passage at 1:35:44

1:36:13 And if you go to visit where he passed away, there's actually a big, really big statue of him lying on his side there. It's quite a moving thing, actually, to see. And they say that that position is quite good for us to go to sleep in, even if you don't stay there, you know, even if you just do it and then you kind of just lie on your back or whatever you normally will do, or roll around. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:13 Highlight the passage at 1:36:13

1:36:38 But they say that it's an auspicious way to lie down. They actually say it's an auspicious way for us to pass away, which isn't, of course, always something that we have much choice what position we're in. But I've had friends that are helping people as they die in a hospice situation, a Buddhist hospice situation, and Rinpoche will often advise, you know, put them, sometimes they'll get the advice on the phone, or he'll even come over. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:38 Highlight the passage at 1:36:38

1:37:01 And say, you know, put them on their right side and so forth. So it is supposed to be a good way to pass away as well. You can imagine lying with your head in your teacher's lap or in the Buddha's lap, which is just, you know, really, really wonderful, especially if you're sad or troubled or you can't sleep. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:01 Highlight the passage at 1:37:01

1:37:20 That can be, or you're sick, you know, if you're really, really sick. You can imagine having your head in your teacher's lap. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:20 Highlight the passage at 1:37:20

1:37:29 And making a prayer not to be separated from them. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:29 Highlight the passage at 1:37:29

1:37:36 Or you can just make a strong motivation just to sleep well and to awake ready to get back up and practice again. Setting that motivation. Or setting a bodhicitta motivation. May I have a good sleep so that I am rested and so that I can get up and work for others. And then that becomes at your death, may I have a good rebirth so that I can work for others. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:36 Highlight the passage at 1:37:36

1:38:03 And it just becomes almost like this natural thing, you know, it becomes this thought that then projects your mind into a good reaper. They also say something similar, something as simple as just keeping a Dharma book by your bed and just reading a couple lines before you go to sleep, just kind of put your mind in a better place. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:03 Highlight the passage at 1:38:03

1:38:23 I know one of my friends, Tenzin Chokyi, often would just, she had like a big, one of those really big lamrims or the liberation of the palm of your hand, and she'd just open it to wherever. And just read it and then just go to sleep. And that would just kind of color the mind without so much analysis of like you're getting, you know what I mean? Report an error in the passage at 1:38:23 Highlight the passage at 1:38:23

1:38:43 Like it would just, wherever it opens, that's the part, that's the sentence you'd read and you'd just read that and then go to bed. I also have another friend who just, that's just, you know, they're kind of the big meaty books. That's how she reads them. She just reads a paragraph a night, you know, and then eventually she's read it, you know, but she just... Report an error in the passage at 1:38:43 Highlight the passage at 1:38:43

1:39:02 It limits it to a very small amount, just so it colors your sleep. When you wake up, you might wake up remembering that you're in the lap of your teacher or the Buddha, which is also kind of nice. Or, as Rinpoche said in the meditation that we did at the beginning of the class, I could have died last night, and I didn't. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:02 Highlight the passage at 1:39:02

1:39:26 He's often saying that. He's like, we take it for granted that we woke up. And Vena Rubina used to always say this, you know, we take it for granted and we shouldn't take it for granted because a lot of people did die last night, you know? And so to really feel joy at something that we normally would just be like, of course I woke up and I'm hungry, you know? Report an error in the passage at 1:39:26 Highlight the passage at 1:39:26

1:39:48 And, you know, you know what I mean? Like we just kind of, we bypass that altogether. We just immediately, I gotta go to the bathroom and feed the cat, you know? Or turn on the TV, turn on CNN, right? We can't miss a moment of CNN. But he's saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, let's back up and think, wow, you know, just before you even get out of bed, before your feet even get on the floor, wow, a lot of people died last night, but I'm still here and I've still got this body and I've still got these conditions, you know, how amazing. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:48 Highlight the passage at 1:39:48

1:40:18 And to really try to generate that mind of like, wow, how amazing this is. It sort of perks up what would normally be a little bit more mundane, what would be a lot more mundane. night actually, especially at 5.30 in the morning or whenever. You could also, if you wake up and you're, for example, if you have your head in the lap of the Buddha, you can imagine that Buddha just melting into light and absorbing into it, just so you don't just leave. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:18 Highlight the passage at 1:40:18

1:40:54 Thanks. It was useful last night, but I'm on my way. Any questions about any of these different ideas? Ways to practice throughout the regular day. Yeah, Jenny. And look how convenient. You have the mic. Hello. I may have made this up. I don't know where it came from, but I'm thinking maybe in my reading that I might have heard something in regards to the yoga of sleeping, that there's some sort of practice about washing the feet before bed. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:54 Highlight the passage at 1:40:54

1:41:29 Oh, yeah, Rinpoche does say that. Yeah, he said if you have a hard time getting up to wash your feet. We'll probably talk about that on the 16th, to wash your feet with, I can't remember now if he said warm water or cold water or something like that. I don't know. I actually have tried it before, but, you know, yeah, but that's, I think, you know, that's just one of his billions and billions of practice suggestions, but yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:29 Highlight the passage at 1:41:29

1:41:53 Yeah. He's also got ones, you know, mantras that you can blow on your feet before you even get up, so that then when you're walking through. The world, whether you're shoes on or not, and you're stamping on sentient beings, because we are all the time, that you benefit them in some way. So you're making a prayer for them. Same might be true, you might blow something on the tire before you take off of your motor scooter as well as bicycle as well as car, you know, so that you make even those actions beneficial. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:53 Highlight the passage at 1:41:53

1:42:25 Yeah, interesting. I mean, there's mantras to bless your speech. You know, you say a mantra that then whatever comes out of your mouth then is beneficial rather than harmful. I mean, honestly, like every single aspect is come beneficial rather than just either mundane or harmful, which is unfortunate the way so much of our lives are, I know. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:25 Highlight the passage at 1:42:25

1:42:50 It's just mind training. And you sort of just pick the ones that you can kind of get your mind around to. Like it might be just too much, you know, to wash your feet at night. Unless you're in India or something where it's actually quite useful. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:50 Highlight the passage at 1:42:50

1:43:04 But yeah, some of the ones I tend to do more likely in retreat rather than not in retreat. But, you know, The Blessing of the Speech is quite a nice one too. But we'll talk about that one on the 16th, the Getting Started workshop. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:04 Highlight the passage at 1:43:04

1:43:21 Any other thoughts or questions about putting the vows together with the eating? Is it true that, for example, if you're taking, say you have pets and you're feeding them flesh, are you taking on the karma of killing since you're feeding them? No, actually technically not because the food is already prepared, but you could blow mantras on that food. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:21 Highlight the passage at 1:43:21

1:43:49 For the animals. For the past and suffering. And the same is true if you are eating meat for any medicinal reason or if you're just eating meat, you could do something for that, for the benefit of that animal. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:49 Highlight the passage at 1:43:49

1:44:03 So, yeah. Tell me your name. Shanti. Shanti. So the karma for that still is on the person that has originally harmed. Okay. Because I think that is such a strange, like the capitalism supports it, we support it, we buy it. I actually think, and one of my teachers said this, and I think that there is some aspect of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:03 Highlight the passage at 1:44:03

1:44:28 We get some aspect of that killing karma just by eating animals. But technically speaking, we haven't broken the killing vow, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:28 Highlight the passage at 1:44:28

1:44:40 But I do think, I just can't see how we don't, how we aren't like part of that. We're part of the machinery, basically. But technically speaking, no. Unless they've killed it for you, which of course happens, especially in like on small farms, family farms or something like that, or if you're traveling and they're like, oh, you know, we have a guest, let's go kill the goat, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:40 Highlight the passage at 1:44:40

1:45:06 Like that would be, that's much more direct. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:06 Highlight the passage at 1:45:06

1:45:14 Anybody else? Any thoughts? Report an error in the passage at 1:45:14 Highlight the passage at 1:45:14

1:45:21 Okay. All right. Well, let's, so let's talk about, before we do the final dedications, I'm going to just toss out some of the things that are coming up, including now that we've moved this to the 28th. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:21 Highlight the passage at 1:45:21

1:45:41 So Losar, Losar is actually on the 11th this year, Lunar, it's Tibetan New Year. But the center is going to celebrate it on the 15th, which is a Friday. I think it'll go something like 6 to 9 p.m. But you probably got an email today about that, and it was also in the E-News. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:41 Highlight the passage at 1:45:41

1:46:03 But just basically, it's more of a Tibetan cultural thing. It's not so much a Buddhist thing. But there will be some stories, and there will be food, and there will be Tibetan music and so forth. I think Tibetan dancing as well. That should be fun. And then getting started, the basic Buddhist rituals workshop is on the 16th. How many people know that they are coming to that? Report an error in the passage at 1:46:03 Highlight the passage at 1:46:03

1:46:27 Okay, good. It should be just 10 to 1. Yeah, it's just a half day. And everybody will have like little stations set up and people can pour water bowls and stuff. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:27 Highlight the passage at 1:46:27

1:46:41 Stupa painting on the 23rd. And Day of Miracles, which I mentioned, is one of the four holy days of the Buddhist calendar. And that's on the 25th. And as I mentioned, Venerable Carol will be... Report an error in the passage at 1:46:41 Highlight the passage at 1:46:41

1:47:00 So if people would like to take precepts, that's a good day to do it. They say that whatever karma you create on that day is multiplied millions of times, actually 10 million times, according to Rinpoche. So you don't want to do negative karma. At least try to do ordinary virtuous karma. But if you have a chance to do any actual virtuous karma, That's why we try to provide a lot of things. It's a weekday, so we didn't do a whole lot, but there's sūtra reading in the morning after the precepts, and then I'll lead a Medicine Buddha Puja, because it also happens to be Medicine Buddha Day, in the late afternoon, I think at 5 o 'clock. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:00 Highlight the passage at 1:47:00

1:47:40 And then Geshe-la will talk a little bit about it, and then lead another puja that's called 16 Arha Puja in the evening. So that's kind of a full day of jam-packed and fun-filled virtue. And then our practice day on the 28th. So there's a lot this month. Okay, great. So let's go ahead and dedicate. So we'll go to the White Prayer Book, page 7 again on the right-hand side, Report an error in the passage at 1:47:40 Highlight the passage at 1:47:40

1:48:19 starting with prayers of dedication and just 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. 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. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:19 Highlight the passage at 1:48:19

1:48:52 All powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso, please remain until saṃsāra ends. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:52 Highlight the passage at 1:48:52

1:49:06 And if anyone decides that they can do the Stupa painting, except for Jage and Laura and Ray, who have already told me, you can just send an email to office at sechenling.org. And that will get to me too. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:06 Highlight the passage at 1:49:06

1:49:25 How big is that question? Are we breaking down? Report an error in the passage at 1:49:25 Highlight the passage at 1:49:25

1:49:34 Not if we're doing our practice. Um... Yes, let's go ahead and break it down. I think it's good. I can't remember. What's next? Probably not until Sunday. Yeah, but they do it differently, so let's break it down. I think it's easier than you just started. That's right. Yeah, that's a good idea. How amazing. Marcella, do you want the questions? Report an error in the passage at 1:49:34 Highlight the passage at 1:49:34

1:50:00 Oh, Report an error in the passage at 1:50:00 Highlight the passage at 1:50:00

1:50:07 homework. Homework. Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry. I'm like, why are these people standing around me? Do you want to do? Thank you. Just tell me if anybody needs... Report an error in the passage at 1:50:07 Highlight the passage at 1:50:07

1:50:27 Shanti, do you want to come and I'll put you on the list and I can send you some stuff electronically? That way, yeah, the readings and stuff? Report an error in the passage at 1:50:27 Highlight the passage at 1:50:27

1:50:40 Yeah, why don't you fill in this? Report an error in the passage at 1:50:40 Highlight the passage at 1:50:40

1:50:45 Well, I can send you my notes, you know, so you can just read them, at least that way you'll know. We do record them, but I don't know if they're up yet, so I'm just going to make a note to send you. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:45 Highlight the passage at 1:50:45

1:51:11 One through three, and the syllabus. So you'll get, it'll be like a big bunch of attachments. It'll be the readings, the syllabus, and the notes and homeworks from one, two, and three. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:11 Highlight the passage at 1:51:11

1:51:23 I think Report an error in the passage at 1:51:23 Highlight the passage at 1:51:23

1:51:30 probably time by time at this point, sure. So did everybody, oh, hi. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:30 Highlight the passage at 1:51:30

1:51:41 Okay, okay, so do you want me to send you the readings and things too? Okay, sure. And what is your name? Joan. Joan. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:41 Highlight the passage at 1:51:41

1:51:52 And is he also going to join the list? Report an error in the passage at 1:51:52 Highlight the passage at 1:51:52

1:51:59 We're not going to make any assumptions. What is your name? John. John Adam. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. How did you guys find out about the class? Report an error in the passage at 1:51:59 Highlight the passage at 1:51:59

1:52:17 It might have been a bit overwhelming because we're halfway through. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:17 Highlight the passage at 1:52:17

1:52:24 Shanti, how did you find out about the class? Okay, good. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:24 Highlight the passage at 1:52:24

1:52:32 Just a little trip to Bhutan. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:32 Highlight the passage at 1:52:32

1:52:37 Yeah, did you get one? Okay. Did anybody not get the homework tonight? Who needs it sent electronically? Marcella, did you get the homework? Okay, so you just didn't. Is that correct? Okay. So I think the only one who didn't is you. Jenna, did you get a homework? Okay. No, no, it's okay. I can send one to Palma. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:37 Highlight the passage at 1:52:37

1:53:05 Well, I have to send one to Tammy anyway. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:05 Highlight the passage at 1:53:05