The Spiritual Teacher - Discovering Buddhism (part 3)

0:14 We'll just start with meditation on the breath and then we'll do the opening prayers. Report an error in the passage at 0:14 Highlight the passage at 0:14

0:32 Find a comfortable seat. Find comfort on the seat that you're on. You might have to adjust a little bit to do that. Do a little body scan and try to find where you're holding tension and release it. Report an error in the passage at 0:32 Highlight the passage at 0:32

1:02 You might try taking some nice deep cleansing breaths and letting go of the day so far. Report an error in the passage at 1:02 Highlight the passage at 1:02

1:21 So with each in-breath, bringing yourself more and more into this room, leaving behind anything that might keep you from being here. So any conversations you might have, you might have been having or whatever your workday might have held. And Report an error in the passage at 1:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21

1:57 then let your mind's eye just sort of review your posture, making sure your spine is aligned, shoulders level and back, chin just slightly tucked under, eyes either. Lightly closed or gently open and unfocused. Report an error in the passage at 1:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57

2:21 Tongue on the root of your mouth, behind your front teeth. Report an error in the passage at 2:21 Highlight the passage at 2:21

2:28 Hands in your lap, right over left, thumbs touching lightly. And Report an error in the passage at 2:28 Highlight the passage at 2:28

2:46 your breathing relaxed and unforced, not changed in any way. Report an error in the passage at 2:46 Highlight the passage at 2:46

2:59 We're just going to watch our breath for a few moments, so just let yourself relax into that concentration, either at the level of your belly or your chest or your... Nostril, letting each in-breath bring new concentration, new vigilance, new attention. Report an error in the passage at 2:59 Highlight the passage at 2:59

3:21 And each out-breath let go of any conceptual thoughts, any distractions in any form, feelings, emotions, even virtuous thoughts are a distraction at this point. Report an error in the passage at 3:21 Highlight the passage at 3:21

3:38 And just let yourself focus. Now Report an error in the passage at 3:38 Highlight the passage at 3:38

· · · silence, 4 minutes

7:12 with your mind a little more calm and a little more focused. Try to generate. A motivation for being here tonight, doing this class and the spiritual teacher, trying to understand the points made by the great masters about this subject. Report an error in the passage at 7:12 Highlight the passage at 7:12

7:35 Try to get closer and closer to the place where we're ready to have this kind of relationship ourselves. And Report an error in the passage at 7:35 Highlight the passage at 7:35

7:48 we just think, may this class become the direct cause for me to be able to purify whatever negative karma I have in my mind. Report an error in the passage at 7:48 Highlight the passage at 7:48

8:05 Accumulate whatever positive karma I need. I need the teacher that's perfect for me, for my mind. Report an error in the passage at 8:05 Highlight the passage at 8:05

8:17 The one that will take me all the way to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 8:17 Highlight the passage at 8:17

8:24 And let that begin tonight. Report an error in the passage at 8:24 Highlight the passage at 8:24

8:31 Again, remembering the bodhicitta motivation so that I can perfectly benefit every living being. When Report an error in the passage at 8:31 Highlight the passage at 8:31

8:56 you're ready, we'll do the opening prayer. Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:07 Page 8 again. Report an error in the passage at 9:07 Highlight the passage at 9:07

9:12 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 9:12 Highlight the passage at 9:12

9:43 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Inspired by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain. Report an error in the passage at 9:43 Highlight the passage at 9:43

10:12 And dispel the miseries of the world. 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. Report an error in the passage at 10:12 Highlight the passage at 10:12

10:36 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 10:36 Highlight the passage at 10:36

10:50 I was thinking tonight we should make sure that we should start in this class doing not just a dedication prayer, but also some prayers for the long lives of the gurus. Seems only fitting so far as holiness and Lama Tsongkhapa and Geshele. So let's start doing those. So check in. See how you guys are doing with the... Report an error in the passage at 10:50 Highlight the passage at 10:50

11:16 The reading and the contemplating and the meditating so far. Got any questions? I've got the talking stick right next to you, Cedric. He's like, get it away. Report an error in the passage at 11:16 Highlight the passage at 11:16

11:28 Well, there was one thing. There was supposed to be an explanation of the list of the ten qualities, and it didn't match the page numbers on the version I had. It was supposed to be page 272. Oh. I don't have it in front of me right now. Report an error in the passage at 11:28 Highlight the passage at 11:28

11:48 Was it supposed to be in Day 7? Report an error in the passage at 11:48 Highlight the passage at 11:48

11:53 This is in Liberation. Yeah, in Liberation. Yeah, I just say the day number, so that way it can be either one. Report an error in the passage at 11:53 Highlight the passage at 11:53

12:05 Usually when I say it, I say just the day number. The FPMT says the page number. Yeah, because then when they reissue, then it never makes sense. I don't know why they do that, but I think it makes more sense just to stick to the day number, because then you can also use the other edition. Report an error in the passage at 12:05 Highlight the passage at 12:05

12:31 Oh, well. There you go. Report an error in the passage at 12:31 Highlight the passage at 12:31

12:38 This is my attempt to use their meditations. I think I'll just dig in my own. Day seven should be the teacher. Actually, I don't know because I don't have it in front of me, so I don't know what mine said. Report an error in the passage at 12:38 Highlight the passage at 12:38

12:53 Does anyone have their syllabus with them? Report an error in the passage at 12:53 Highlight the passage at 12:53

12:59 Or the teacher? Yeah. So if you just go by the days, so look up if you have, you have liberation, right? Report an error in the passage at 12:59 Highlight the passage at 12:59

13:17 Well, you will get them. This week. Report an error in the passage at 13:17 Highlight the passage at 13:17

13:23 Yeah, so actually this week I have that as your meditation assignment anyway, so you'll have them here. But I guess what I'll just do is verify them, you know, in the meditations that the education department sort of came up with and see. Because like I said, I just always say the day number. I don't really say the page number, so sorry about that. Report an error in the passage at 13:23 Highlight the passage at 13:23

13:54 Thank you, Tim. Report an error in the passage at 13:54 Highlight the passage at 13:54

13:59 And that was for the reading or for contemplation? Report an error in the passage at 13:59 Highlight the passage at 13:59

14:07 Okay. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't know how much of an explanation of each quality he gives. Have you found it yet, where he gets into it? Sometimes they just list them, and it's like in a longer teaching is when you'll get more detail. Report an error in the passage at 14:07 Highlight the passage at 14:07

14:35 Yeah, so some of the detail that I've gotten have been in teachings about, sort of like teachings about teachings about teachings. They do this a lot in the Galupa thing. You know, it'll take, you'll take like the Buddhist teaching and then like, you know, Nargajuna or some of the older masters will write about it and then Pabanka will comment on their teachings and then, you know, Lama Zopa or Riva Rinpoche will comment on Pabanka's teachings. Report an error in the passage at 14:35 Highlight the passage at 14:35

15:05 And actually what it does, it's not like you get farther away, you actually get closer, has been my experience. Because if you read the original, sometimes it's like so bare that you don't even understand it. Especially if you look at tantric texts, they almost on purpose make it really difficult to read on your own, so that you have to have a teacher that you work with. Report an error in the passage at 15:05 Highlight the passage at 15:05

15:28 Like with Grounds and Paths, Geshla's teaching us. It'll be like... One or two lines and he'll just stay on it for months and it's like all this stuff between the lines that you're getting and you have to go through a teacher already to get it. If I were to read it, it would be like, the rose bush is brown. You'd be like, hmm, what does that mean? And then he'll like read all this stuff into it, you know, like all this that his teacher taught him, that his teacher taught him like that. Report an error in the passage at 15:28 Highlight the passage at 15:28

15:55 So often it's like that. Report an error in the passage at 15:55 Highlight the passage at 15:55

16:01 But not the qualities. I'll look at mine and see if I can find it. I'll report back. I have your email. Well, if I find it, you guys probably want to know too. Right? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 16:01 Highlight the passage at 16:01

16:17 Yeah, I'm surprised. Actually, it's not in there, but not really. How about anything else? Any of the other contemplations or anything else that came up? Report an error in the passage at 16:17 Highlight the passage at 16:17

16:33 Oh, that was last night, yeah. So Geshe-le was covering calm abiding, and then he was saying at the end you develop pliancy and your body's really suitable. You don't have really any pains or aches when you can sit for a long time. And I know it's like, Geshe doesn't really move when he teaches. We're all like shifting around. Report an error in the passage at 16:33 Highlight the passage at 16:33

16:57 It's kind of like what we were talking about last week, how you just kind of watch and observe and then you can kind of infer. He's not going to say, I have calm abiding. Right, right. My mind's awesome. Right, right, right. But you do see this steadiness with him. And if you have a chance to, you know, like if you're, to watch a teacher offline is kind of difficult, but you can get closer and closer to them. Report an error in the passage at 16:57 Highlight the passage at 16:57

17:29 And if you're just doing things like setting up for an event with Geshe-la, he doesn't get like, I get all nervous and all that. He's just like very steady and very like, Report an error in the passage at 17:29 Highlight the passage at 17:29

17:40 It's fun. He reminds you that this is a happy time, not just a stressful time. And Lama Tsongkhapa does that too, where it's just like, this is an exciting thing. It's not just stress out. It's like, well, let's do this. And you see that steadiness of mind. Because these qualities, it is hard to see. How do you see them in a teacher? Report an error in the passage at 17:40 Highlight the passage at 17:40

18:06 And you can see some of them when they're on the teaching throne, it's true, like that. Like how much do they move around? But also how much does their mind move around? Do they get distracted? Do they lose their train of thought? He never does. And he holds it all in his mind. It's really, really rare how much. He doesn't really have to look at notes very much. He'll have like three index cards wrapped up in little text cloth. It's kind of interesting. Report an error in the passage at 18:06 Highlight the passage at 18:06

18:37 Yeah, he usually brings the text if he's teaching from the text, but still, on Sundays I think he'll bring just like a few notes, you know, and sometimes not. Report an error in the passage at 18:37 Highlight the passage at 18:37

18:49 That's a good point, yeah. I wanted to announce, to remind, well first of all, next week is the anniversary of 9-11, and it happens to be a solar eclipse as well, so I decided. Report an error in the passage at 18:49 Highlight the passage at 18:49

19:05 to hold a recitation of the Suture of Golden Light between 6 and 7 so it may mean that our class starts a little bit late but I just thought it's a solar eclipse multiplies of merit too So probably what... Ninjay's suggestion Venerable Ninjay I don't know if she's going to be able to come but she just asked if I could lead it and I said sure so probably what We'll do is whoever comes, we'll just divide it up by that many people and we'll all just read it. Because it's a very long, there's just like 135 pages. Report an error in the passage at 19:05 Highlight the passage at 19:05

19:40 So like if 10 people come, we'll all have 15 pages or 13 pages or whatever. What we did on Sakadawa is we read the first chapter and the last chapter together and then just split up everything else. So everyone just sort of is reading their own thing. And then we come back together and read the final chapter together. So it's kind of crazy, but that way there's one complete recitation that gets done. Report an error in the passage at 19:40 Highlight the passage at 19:40

20:00 Apparently that's what they do at the monasteries, with the long ones. So you can tell, I don't have a comment about it. Report an error in the passage at 20:00 Highlight the passage at 20:00

20:11 Anyway, but if you, I just wanted to tell you guys that that's happening, and also that you can just join in whenever you come. So if, you know, you can't get there, you can't get here right on the dot, we'll give you some pages when you arrive, if you want to do it. I thought it would be a good thing to do. Report an error in the passage at 20:11 Highlight the passage at 20:11

20:28 To commemorate that. Rinpoche said that it's supposed to be, Lama Zopa Rinpoche said that it's supposed to be very powerful for bringing peace to the world. So, you know, God knows we need it. That's a good Buddhist thing to say. Also, this Saturday, Venerable Rabina is teaching about karma, independent arising. Report an error in the passage at 20:28 Highlight the passage at 20:28

20:50 And we are going to talk about karma tonight. First thing, because we didn't have time for it last week. So we will talk a little bit about karma tonight. She's going to devote the whole day to it. And it's really the inner, can I say, the inner dependence of karma and dependent arising, how they work together in her own special way. Report an error in the passage at 20:50 Highlight the passage at 20:50

21:15 So it'll be, you know, very, she's got an incredibly keen mind, very sharp mind, and also... She just moves very, very quickly. You may come away from it with more questions than you have going into it, but then just bring it the following week to class and I'll do what I can. And also remember, I wanted to mention too that, because we're halfway through this class now, believe it or not, the next two DB classes that we'll teach, that I'll teach. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:45 just, um... The one person machine. Will be Death and Rebirth on the Tuesday night slot and that'll begin the end of October, October 23rd. And then All About Karma. So you'll have more opportunity to learn about karma. That'll be a Thursday night class and that'll start November 1st. And both of those will end before Christmas. Report an error in the passage at 21:45 Highlight the passage at 21:45

22:09 Although I think the practice day will be in January for both of those. Report an error in the passage at 22:09 Highlight the passage at 22:09

22:17 10.30 to, she usually goes to 3.30ish. Report an error in the passage at 22:17 Highlight the passage at 22:17

22:27 It's, well, if you'd like to, go ahead and pre-register and you could give payment to Amy. You could go ahead and do that or you could call it in if you'd like. Otherwise, it's fine. We'll just have some people registering. I think I'll be doing the meditation. On Saturday morning, but we'll have Amy and somebody else will be registering people when you come. We won't sell out, but it will be crowded. It won't be like this. Report an error in the passage at 22:27 Highlight the passage at 22:27

22:57 Or even like Thursday. It'll be popular. She hasn't been for a while. The last time she taught here was in April, I think, or March or something like that. It's been a while. And it's a popular subject. She usually brings it around to karma just about any time she teaches anyway. Report an error in the passage at 22:57 Highlight the passage at 22:57

23:15 Thought I'd let her start with it. Report an error in the passage at 23:15 Highlight the passage at 23:15

23:24 Yeah, the 27th, isn't that right? Report an error in the passage at 23:24 Highlight the passage at 23:24

23:33 Oh, no, I think, oh, 20th, it's the 20th, actually. No, I think it actually is on your syllabus. Yeah, it's actually on, he's going to test. Report an error in the passage at 23:33 Highlight the passage at 23:33

23:45 Tim is a prove-it-to-me kind of a guy. Oh, it is 27th, yeah. Because originally I think it was going to be the 6th and then I had to change it because of going back east. And I think that was just the day that was available. Is it 27th and not the 20th? I wonder what's the 20th. September? No, October. Report an error in the passage at 23:45 Highlight the passage at 23:45

24:20 Anyway, one last quote. No, that's not true. That's a total lie. I'll give you lots more quotes. Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, At the very least, one should entrust oneself to a spiritual master who has renounced and is encouraging us to renounce a samsaric life. Report an error in the passage at 24:20 Highlight the passage at 24:20

24:40 So if they're like totally buying into saṃsāra and staying here, then you might want to put up your antennae. Report an error in the passage at 24:40 Highlight the passage at 24:40

24:54 It seems dark in here tonight. Oh, bye Amy. Quick, last minute coffees. I said, last minute coffees. Report an error in the passage at 24:54 Highlight the passage at 24:54

25:08 Haley gets back tomorrow. So then everybody can do all their ordering. Report an error in the passage at 25:08 Highlight the passage at 25:08

25:18 And it's less, it's less, for the spiritual teacher, it's less their knowledge even than their experience. of the path and how they can teach us from that experience. It's a really heartfelt understanding of the path. Somebody may have memorized all the different points and lists and things like that, but if they aren't speaking from deep experience, then it's not really going to help you, other than giving you these great lists like I am. Report an error in the passage at 25:18 Highlight the passage at 25:18

25:49 For you to think about, it's not going to help you. To take it to the next level of your understanding, which is taking it, as Tenzin Shoki always says, below the neck, taking it down, making it a gut level understanding for you too. So it helps if they can verify our experiences. When we have different experiences on the path, whether they're simple. Report an error in the passage at 25:49 Highlight the passage at 25:49

26:13 People are always bringing up to me different meditation experiences and so on. I just got an email this week, and it's sort of like I can base my answers to them on what I have learned. But I haven't necessarily experienced that myself. And so I'm like a step removed, probably 700 steps removed from somebody who, like Geshe-la, who has like real deep experience of all the different states of meditation and so on and how to deal with these different things that might arise. Report an error in the passage at 26:13 Highlight the passage at 26:13

26:50 I can hear him say certain things and remember that. And then give that to you, you know, if you ask the question. Same with, you know, listening to Lama Zopa, or same with listening to Yeshe Michael, or same with listening to Sanghi Khadro. But my, you know, my experience is not the same. So, it's somebody, we're looking for somebody who can inspire us as a living example of the teachings. Report an error in the passage at 26:50 Highlight the passage at 26:50

27:16 And that's, that's really what a true spiritual master is. They're like a living demonstration of the Dharma. And they start making us think, I can do it. Like, I can do it too. Report an error in the passage at 27:16 Highlight the passage at 27:16

27:33 And if people sort of, you know, sometimes I think the great masters can feel a little bit far off to us. Even those that we have a working relationship with can seem a little far off. And it's kind of exciting when you meet somebody like, for example, Tenzin Chokyi, who really feels like... You know, she's like the cheerleader, you know, it's like, yeah, you know, I know, you know, like when you would meet somebody who's done, you know, five or six years of retreat, like you would kind of think there would be less of that somehow, but she's not. Report an error in the passage at 27:33 Highlight the passage at 27:33

28:09 She's just like, yeah, if I can do it, you can do it, you know, like, come on, like, just visualize yourself doing it and then like make all the steps to do it. And that, that's, that's what we need sometimes, because otherwise I think it's too easy to think, you know. There's this sort of reifying thing that can happen with the gurus. We want to respect them, we want to have awe for them, but we also want to be inspired by them. Report an error in the passage at 28:09 Highlight the passage at 28:09

28:33 And that inspiration has to actually make us move. We actually have to do something. So we'll talk a little bit about that tonight, actually, because receiving blessings is not enough. We actually have to do something. I know, I know, it's true. Report an error in the passage at 28:33 Highlight the passage at 28:33

28:53 I do want to mention too, so we're going to start with talking about karma, a little bit about karma, especially how it relates to these teachings on the spiritual teacher. Report an error in the passage at 28:53 Highlight the passage at 28:53

29:03 But I also want to say that karma is one of the most complex of the Buddhist teachings. And he said that it's actually one of the hardest for us to realize, even harder than emptiness and things like that, because the subtle workings of it are... So it's actually really, we can't really fully realize it until we're enlightened. But we can get a real feel for it. And some of it, some of the aspects of karma are actually really straightforward. Report an error in the passage at 29:03 Highlight the passage at 29:03

29:36 You know, when you read certain texts, like the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, and you see different correlations between results and cause, and they make sense. You're like, oh, okay, like generosity and, you know, having enough. Basically enough money. It makes sense. Or illness. Having a lot of illness in his life and having killed in the past. Report an error in the passage at 29:36 Highlight the passage at 29:36

30:02 But then there's always the weirdo ones that don't quite make sense. Anyway. That a teacher will point out and you're like, really? Report an error in the passage at 30:02 Highlight the passage at 30:02

30:14 So I mention that just because I'll give sort of an overview about karma, but you're not going to know all. And even if you do the seven or eight week class on karma, you won't necessarily know all there is to know about karma. Report an error in the passage at 30:14 Highlight the passage at 30:14

30:31 It's just like with everything else in the lamrim, you sort of keep studying it and keep studying it and keep studying it and you get more information, but you'll get enough to be able to work with it in here. And probably enough to be able to ask an intelligent question on Saturday. So karma means action in Sanskrit. Report an error in the passage at 30:31 Highlight the passage at 30:31

30:52 And the definition of karma is an action of thinking and what those actions of thinking inspire with your body and your speech. So it's really referring to the movement of the mind. know. Report an error in the passage at 30:52 Highlight the passage at 30:52

31:10 A shift, some sort of movement in the mind, some sort of mental reaction to the world around you. So they say actually that we're creating mental karma all the time, like 65 moments per finger snap. At that rate, we're creating mental karma. And usually we follow up with something else. Usually we follow up by saying something or by acting. Report an error in the passage at 31:10 Highlight the passage at 31:10

31:37 But often we keep it at the mental level. Report an error in the passage at 31:37 Highlight the passage at 31:37

31:46 The reality in Buddhism is that there is no creator God in Buddhism. We are the creator of our reality. We actually have created our experiences, our environment, everything from our bodies and the way that we react to certain things, the habits of mind that we have. They're all created by the karma that we create. Report an error in the passage at 31:46 Highlight the passage at 31:46

32:11 Due to actions that we have taken, almost always in a past life. It takes an incredibly powerful object to have a result in this same life. And what's a powerful object? A guru. That's one of the ways that it works. A Buddha is as well. A really, really powerful object of... Of you doing an action. So, you know, making offerings, serving, cleaning a statue. Report an error in the passage at 32:11 Highlight the passage at 32:11

32:47 You know, doing actions with a really, really powerful object will cause. Tantra works that way. Tantra works that way because the actions, I mean, the object of our actions in Tantra is all sentient beings, right? Bodhicitta. you. Um... Report an error in the passage at 32:47 Highlight the passage at 32:47

33:05 Which is really, really powerful. We are trying to get enlightened quickly, quickly in this very life so that we can benefit all sentient beings. So that merit is multiplied by however many sentient beings there are. Which they say is limitless. So that gives us all that good karma. Of course if you screw up, it's negative karma to that degree too. Report an error in the passage at 33:05 Highlight the passage at 33:05

33:31 So with karma... They say that, I mean, everything, so our mental habits, one of the results of karma is to create the habit to want to do it again. So, you know, if we have this strong desire for a cupcake and we just shove it down every time we see a cupcake, we just create the mental habit of wanting to shove down a cupcake every time we see it. Report an error in the passage at 33:31 Highlight the passage at 33:31

33:58 Every time we give in to that. Mental habit, we create the habit. Same with killing. You know, I mean, if you want to see like a kind of benign habit versus a more harmful habit. And some of the examples given are like little kids that are born with this desire to kill from like early, early on. Or little kids that are born with this really incredibly compassionate nature. And their parents aren't. Report an error in the passage at 33:58 Highlight the passage at 33:58

34:26 You know, you can really see, or like they're the only kid out of seven that's really, really compassionate and they're always trying to save the cats from everyone else that's like trying to shoot them or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 34:26 Highlight the passage at 34:26

34:36 And the teachings on Kama would say that they're coming into life with this particular karma of compassion or of harm, whichever. Report an error in the passage at 34:36 Highlight the passage at 34:36

34:56 So the teachings of karma, on karma, say that basically everything that we perceive is based on karma that we have created through our actions of body, speech and mind. So through our actions, through our mental actions of whatever kind of thoughts we've had and mental habits we've had, through our actions of our body, whether or not we've followed up, through our actions of our speech, what kind of... Report an error in the passage at 34:56 Highlight the passage at 34:56

35:24 How we've used or abused our speech and created different kinds of karma. And then that karma, when it ripens, ripens in a way that we then perceive the reality that we are experiencing now. So nothing that you experience doesn't come through that karmic filter. And this gets a little bit into emptiness, independent arising too. Report an error in the passage at 35:24 Highlight the passage at 35:24

35:54 But The teachings on karma say that our minds actually organize the raw data based on our karma and we see it or perceive it in a certain way. And for an example, if you've ever been with somebody who perceives constantly that people are arguing with them, even if your perception is not... That people are arguing with them. Like say you're traveling with that person or you're spending time with that person and the waiter comes up and talks to them and they really honestly see it that way. Report an error in the passage at 35:54 Highlight the passage at 35:54

36:32 It feels that way to them. And to you, you're kind of like, you know, why are you always fighting with people? But to them... They actually perceive it. They can't not perceive it that way because that's their karmic perception. They aren't trying to be difficult. That's just the karmic perception that they've created. Report an error in the passage at 36:32 Highlight the passage at 36:32

36:52 The good news is karma doesn't last forever. Karma is, it's not like you're being sentenced by somebody. There's no outer judge. You've created the karma. The way that you can change the karma is how you react to the things that are happening to you based on your karma. So one of my teachers always uses the example of the screaming boss, so I always bring up the screaming boss. If the boss is screaming at you, that's the result of negative karma. Report an error in the passage at 36:52 Highlight the passage at 36:52

37:22 If you scream back, you're just creating the karma to have a screaming boss in every lifetime until you finally get it. So the correct or the more constructive way to respond to that situation is if the boss is screaming at you. At some point, and it won't be immediately, it won't be the minute you go into work tomorrow after this talk, but to get, this is my negative karma, I created this, nobody else created the situation, the only way I can change this is by not screaming back. Report an error in the passage at 37:22 Highlight the passage at 37:22

37:54 It doesn't mean I have to fake it that I like him, I'm not saying that, but to get it, that's what wisdom is really, is to understand that this is karma ripening and that... I created the karma and that this happens to be negative karma because it's suffering to me. It's unpleasant for me. That's the only way that you can describe negative karma. Report an error in the passage at 37:54 Highlight the passage at 37:54

38:16 And in order to change it, I need to not perpetuate it. So how I respond to karma is how I can shift the next step of that karma. Because otherwise it's just exhausting. Meaning the karma is exhausting, not the situation is exhausting. A karma is like a certain amount of fuel, and once that karma runs out, it's gone. Report an error in the passage at 38:16 Highlight the passage at 38:16

38:45 It's gone forever. So that actually you can rejoice in, that that karma is done. What creates it again is if you respond in a negative way. So by following negative states of mind, Which is kind of the normal way of being. You know, if we get angry and yell back, or any kind of way that we may follow a negative state of mind, which is a delusion in this case. Report an error in the passage at 38:45 Highlight the passage at 38:45

39:20 We're talking about deluded states of mind like anger, jealousy, depression. The Buddha actually mentioned something like 84,000 of them, but there are 50 or 51, depending on how you count, main negative mental factors. Report an error in the passage at 39:20 Highlight the passage at 39:20

39:37 But if we follow that and we create an action of body, speech or mind based on that, that's what causes the negative karma. And that results in some form of suffering. Now whether that suffering is slight irritation with my legs so I have to put it behind me, or whether that suffering is the building falling down, depends on the level of the act. Report an error in the passage at 39:37 Highlight the passage at 39:37

40:06 And also how long ago I did it, because we're going to get into some of the basic attributes of karma, and one of them is that karma increases unless you purify it. And fortunately for all of us, you can purify it. You can purify everything, they say. But it's not entirely easy, but you can do it. So that's the only thing that makes something negative. It's not like some external person or even the Buddha said this is negative and this is positive. Report an error in the passage at 40:06 Highlight the passage at 40:06

40:40 He taught based on his observation that this creates a suffering result and this creates a pleasurable result. Again, whether that pleasure is, you know, having tea at exactly the right temperature or whether it's, you know, The bliss, the pliancy of calm abiding. It's all karma induced and it just depends on the causes that we've created. Report an error in the passage at 40:40 Highlight the passage at 40:40

41:10 So acting habitually, especially in the negative sense where we just are following our deleted states of mind and acting based on those deleted states of mind. So, you know, seeing a bowl full of candy and just... Continually shoving it down until it's gone. Even in this life will bring you suffering, but it creates more and more karma for that desire attachment to rise. Report an error in the passage at 41:10 Highlight the passage at 41:10

41:42 And the same, you know, every time your boss comes in and screams at you, you just scream back. You're just creating more and more negative karma. And actually, that's really all saṃsāra is. That's all we've been doing. For lifetime after lifetime, because we didn't know any better. Our minds were ignorant and we didn't really understand the relationship between cause and effect. We didn't really understand that we ourselves are causing the suffering that we experience. Report an error in the passage at 41:42 Highlight the passage at 41:42

42:09 Suffering, the way the Buddha described it, the Sanskrit word for suffering is dukkha, which isn't really gross suffering, it's really dissatisfaction. So it's very subtle, actually. And it's sort of the baseline that we all have and that all beings have, not just those of us in the room. Bodhi's got it too. It's like the dissatisfied mind so that we fight really hard to get the thing we want, job, relationship, whatever, tea, whatever it is. Report an error in the passage at 42:09 Highlight the passage at 42:09

42:47 And then we get it and then we begin to see the faults in it. You know, it's not quite hot enough. I mean, it's a little, the taste isn't quite as good as I remember it being, you know. Yeah, you steeped it too long, so it was a little bitter, you know. Like, our minds do that all the time, and we do that with people. We do it with jobs. We do it with books. We do it with classes, you know. Report an error in the passage at 42:47 Highlight the passage at 42:47

43:13 It's like, God, she's just going on and on about this, you know. It's the same. We just have this mind that's sort of this baseline dissatisfaction. And the Buddha said that actually leads to this condition known as saṃsāra because we just basically get dissatisfied with just about everything, with everything that we go for. Report an error in the passage at 43:13 Highlight the passage at 43:13

43:35 And then we're just following our deluded mind from thing to thing and then we're creating negative karma and then that negative karma ripens and that ripening causes us suffering and then we just do it all over again. This is what's called the cyclic existence or saṃsāra. This is saṃsāra. Saṃsāra isn't really a place. Report an error in the passage at 43:35 Highlight the passage at 43:35

43:55 It's a condition. So, yeah, so... When we do what's called a negative action or when we follow an afflictive state of mind and we create negative karma and that negative karma ripens and results in our suffering, that's the only reason that it's called negative. It's not like anybody from a certain culture or time period or judge named it negative. So it's not like the... Report an error in the passage at 43:55 Highlight the passage at 43:55

44:30 Ten Commandments in that sense. He did teach from his observations though, so in that sense it did come from enlightened mind. Report an error in the passage at 44:30 Highlight the passage at 44:30

44:39 But what he's trying to point out is that we're doing it to ourselves. It's sort of like if you've ever been babysitting for kids. Especially for babies. Babies really do this. My favorite example is, if you've ever watched a baby who's just crying and repeatedly poking herself in the eye, and she doesn't get that she's causing her own pain, and she's just like poking herself repeatedly. Report an error in the passage at 44:39 Highlight the passage at 44:39

45:01 I mean, that's what we look like to the Buddhas. We look like that baby that's just constantly poking ourselves in the eye. And little bit older kids, once they're toddlers, they're blaming somebody else, right? Actually cats do that too, dogs do that too, where they'll think you kick them, for example, if they run into something or whatever. And that's what we do too. Report an error in the passage at 45:01 Highlight the passage at 45:01

45:24 I mean that's what humans do all the time. We're always blaming somebody else. And the Buddhas are like, no man, you guys, you're doing this to yourself. You created that karma. Report an error in the passage at 45:24 Highlight the passage at 45:24

45:34 But one of the biggest... Problems with karma is there's this lag time between when we create the karma and when it ripens. And that's one of the things that makes it so difficult for us to understand. And once our minds, through calm abiding, develop levels of clairvoyance, it's easier to see when we created the negative karma that's now ripening. Report an error in the passage at 45:34 Highlight the passage at 45:34

46:01 And that's one of the reasons why it's so difficult to understand the subtle workings of karma. Again, it has nothing to do with blame or having it be anybody's fault. The Buddha is just simply saying this is how mind works and this is then what creates our existence the way it is. So the way that karma is discussed in the West sometimes is like it almost becomes more like fate or destiny. Report an error in the passage at 46:01 Highlight the passage at 46:01

46:30 And then there's this sort of... It's just her karma kind of thing where it's almost like you dismiss it and it completely forgets the whole idea of compassion. Yeah, it might be my karma to be experiencing a horrible migraine, but you can be nice about it. You can be kind to the person who's experiencing the suffering of their own creation. Because I certainly didn't intentionally create. Report an error in the passage at 46:30 Highlight the passage at 46:30

47:02 The thing that I'm experiencing now. So we may understand that we create our own, our mental continuum I should say, because we may not have created it in this life. We create this karma that's now ripening as our suffering. But we also need to remember to have compassion for each other when we see that suffering coming forth. Report an error in the passage at 47:02 Highlight the passage at 47:02

47:25 And I think actually Dharma students can be the least compassionate. It's like, rejoice! That's great, you know, and it's kind of like, yeah, but it hurts. So that's important, I think, to point out. Lama Yeshe said, you are karma. You cannot separate yourself from karma. Your body, speech and mind are karma. Report an error in the passage at 47:25 Highlight the passage at 47:25

47:53 So it's not just like karma is the big stuff. It's not just like karma is the earthquake of 89. Karma is whether or not Tim is annoyed by this pattern and has been since he came to the center. It can be that minor or major, depending. Report an error in the passage at 47:53 Highlight the passage at 47:53

48:13 Karma is the grain of my hair. Karma is incredibly intricate, what we can create karmically. And that's really hard to gather, too. That's really hard to understand, too. Report an error in the passage at 48:13 Highlight the passage at 48:13

48:32 But if we're going towards this understanding of meeting and working with a spiritual teacher, all of this is really important to understand because we can, if we have any kind of faith in karma, and as one student, Karen always puts it, she likes to do these little karmic experiments. So she kind of tries to figure out how karma works. Report an error in the passage at 48:32 Highlight the passage at 48:32

48:57 And, you know, like with being. Being generous, for example, with her time as well as with her money and dedicating it for a certain thing like that. So we can do that too. I mean, we can do little experiments with ourselves. We can kind of work with, say, you're trying to get rid of a habit like, you know, just trying to think of like a mental habit, maybe always, you know, blaming yourself, say, for something. Report an error in the passage at 48:57 Highlight the passage at 48:57

49:26 Getting angry drivers if you're on a bike, exactly. So if there's like some mental habit or speech habit, swearing, say you want to not swear anymore, you can do a karma experiment and just play with it a little bit and try countering it with something that, you know, we were talking last week. Was it last week? I don't remember. Anyway, you and I were talking about different ways that dharmically you could approach the situation. Report an error in the passage at 49:26 Highlight the passage at 49:26

49:52 I don't know if it's been successful. And none of these things are going to be overnight because what begins to happen is you're shifting your mind. So that takes a while, right? If you think about it in conventional terms and you want to quit smoking, it's sometimes enormous. Sometimes people can't do it and they try time after time to quit. Report an error in the passage at 49:52 Highlight the passage at 49:52

50:12 So this is a mental habit and so we're trying to change mental habits too. And that takes a long time. So if we want to create a teacher... Basically, if we want to create the conditions to meet a teacher and work with a teacher, and we begin to understand that everything is a karmic projection, because it was taught that basically we can't... Report an error in the passage at 50:12 Highlight the passage at 50:12

50:46 How to say this? Report an error in the passage at 50:46 Highlight the passage at 50:46

50:50 We can't perceive anything that we haven't created the causes to perceive. But our mind is constantly changing, right? If we just spend ten minutes looking at our mind, there's so much movement within that ten minutes. It's just like constant thoughts, emotions, feelings, images. Popping up and then disappearing and popping up again. Report an error in the passage at 50:50 Highlight the passage at 50:50

51:16 So our mind is constantly changing. So our karma can change. And so if we want to create the causes to perceive a teacher and to connect with a teacher and we know in our mind, at least right now, we know what we think we'd like to see in a teacher, which actually could be different than the kind of teacher that we actually need. Report an error in the passage at 51:16 Highlight the passage at 51:16

51:42 You can actually create the causes for that to happen. One of the ways to do that is the power of dedication. I think, Chad, you were one of the ones who had asked for our teaching on that. Geshe actually did do that. I think he did it on a Sunday. He did it on the seven limbs, but he said he was going to spend more time on dedication, so maybe you could download it. Report an error in the passage at 51:42 Highlight the passage at 51:42

52:18 Oh, excellent. On the power of dedication. If you read Shantideva, he did 10 chapters on the bodhisattva's way of life. The final chapter is all dedication. It's an entire chapter just dedicated to dedication. The power of motivating, like we do at the beginning of class, just taking time to make sure that our mind is remembering why we're doing this, and then at the end, dedicating it. Report an error in the passage at 52:18 Highlight the passage at 52:18

52:49 Rinpoche says to do this for everything. He says there's nothing so tiny, there's no act of your body, speech or your mind that's so tiny that you couldn't motivate and dedicate. But it gets a little bit like you can't just do. But you can literally do that. For this class especially, to be taking this class, it's the perfect class to be dedicating to being able to meet and work with your spiritual teacher. Report an error in the passage at 52:49 Highlight the passage at 52:49

53:17 Any kind of... Any kind of service or any kind of support of Geshe-la or Rabina or His Holiness, like I said, or their projects. Report an error in the passage at 53:17 Highlight the passage at 53:17

53:29 But to start small, there's sort of this story of somebody who was a brand new Dharma student and decided to give her entire house to the Lama and then of course regretted it. You don't want to take back any kind of service or any kind of gift. Report an error in the passage at 53:29 Highlight the passage at 53:29

53:48 Shantideva, again, to quote him, he used as an example when he was talking about developing the mind of generosity in the guide to the bodhisattva's way of life. And he said, start where you are. Start small. Start with something that you don't have this huge attachment to if you're going to make a gift of something. Report an error in the passage at 53:48 Highlight the passage at 53:48

54:07 know, start with... Carrots and potatoes. Literally start with vegetables. Rather than starting with something incredibly valuable that then two seconds later you're like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have done that, which is really not good. So this is the same thing. If you're going to start serving somebody, make it really, really small. Just help out. It doesn't have to be really enormous service. Report an error in the passage at 54:07 Highlight the passage at 54:07

54:31 You don't have to build them a house and then want it for yourself. Report an error in the passage at 54:31 Highlight the passage at 54:31

54:37 And then sometimes actually the best way to serve is just to be willing to serve. Again, in Shantideva's guide, he's always talking about you're just developing this mind of generosity or this mind of patience or this mind that's ethical. It's not that you necessarily even have anything to give, but your willingness to give. Report an error in the passage at 54:37 Highlight the passage at 54:37

55:02 Is what you're trying to develop. So this is your willingness to serve, you know. And then the opportunity may come if you're sort of cultivating that willingness. Report an error in the passage at 55:02 Highlight the passage at 55:02

55:15 So also, and it could be, you know, I think about Chad really helped with this. One of the ways to connect with a teacher, especially a spiritual teacher, a teacher of the Dharma, is helping create the causes for others to connect with the Dharma. And so one of the ways that Chad's been helping us is to help us... What's the word? I always want to add extra syllables. Digitize. Report an error in the passage at 55:15 Highlight the passage at 55:15

55:40 I always make it digitalize. Our files for Geshe-la so that we can upload them. These are ones, of course, he's been teaching here for a long time. so, um, now, Shanti, Shantideva, which is the ones that he's been doing. Where are we now with that? Chapters. Yeah, out of ten chapters. So it's almost all online now. Report an error in the passage at 55:40 Highlight the passage at 55:40

56:04 Because nine was already on there, right? It started with nine? I think so. Maybe some of nine needs to go on, yeah. Oh, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 56:04 Highlight the passage at 56:04

56:16 Well, no, I don't think he taught it twice because that's a really long text. But anyway, the point is that that's a great way because Just by doing what you know how to do, like people all over the world now can download these teachings and receive this. Not just a connection with Geshe, but a connection with Shantideva. Report an error in the passage at 56:16 Highlight the passage at 56:16

56:36 And it's quite an understandable teaching. It's not a really high advanced teaching. It's like, you know, how to develop the six parameters. So ethics, generosity, wisdom, and wisdom chapter is actually really hard, but the other ones are accessible. Report an error in the passage at 56:36 Highlight the passage at 56:36

56:52 So that's another way to... Create those causes because, you know, it could be inputting Dharma into computers. That's about to be lost. And that's one thing that the ACI Input Project has done. Report an error in the passage at 56:52 Highlight the passage at 56:52

57:07 They actually went into the monasteries and picked the monks that were like sort of the biggest messes and like taught them computer skills and then taught them how to input so that they would partly also they would gain this merit. And they would also gain some feeling of, you know, pride in their work and so forth. So, yeah, or, you know, what LPP does. Report an error in the passage at 57:07 Highlight the passage at 57:07

57:33 Makes the Liberation Prison Project on our first floor, makes the Dharma available to prisoners, you know, or supporting those activities, you know, whatever those are. Of course, supporting Dharma centers. Report an error in the passage at 57:33 Highlight the passage at 57:33

57:47 And like I said, you know, the biggest problem with karma is we understand I create the cause and I keep looking for the result right away or fearing the result right away if I've done a negative act. And the reality is that it's often at least one lifetime, if not several lifetimes. Nargajuna said it's really too bad that people don't experience immediately the results because we would totally understand if every time we stepped on a bug. Report an error in the passage at 57:47 Highlight the passage at 57:47

58:15 Some huge foot came down and smashed us, you know. It would only take us once. We would instantly get that a harmful act can cause harm. So the four principles of karma. And I know that for some of you, you've had this many times, but until you realized it, you can just keep hearing it. Report an error in the passage at 58:15 Highlight the passage at 58:15

58:38 Karma is definite. If you do something positive, you get a positive result. If you do something negative, you get a negative result. This is an important one to realize because often it looks like if we do something negative, we'll get a positive result, right? If we lie on our income taxes, we get a bigger refund. The Buddha is saying that, no, you got the bigger refund because you gave generously in the past. Report an error in the passage at 58:38 Highlight the passage at 58:38

59:02 It's two separate karmas. And you haven't gotten the result yet of the lie. But it won't be pretty. It's considered a lie, so it's definitely still a negative state. It doesn't matter that it's a vast governmental body. Everybody always has reasons why somehow that doesn't count as a lie, but it really does. Report an error in the passage at 59:02 Highlight the passage at 59:02

59:24 In the physical world, we know that if we plant a lemon seed, we won't get an orange tree. And the Buddha is simply saying it's the same with karmic seeds. Report an error in the passage at 59:24 Highlight the passage at 59:24

59:35 If we do... No good action we'll ever do will cause us suffering or pain and no negative action will ever cause us pleasure. Suddenly I got confused. The second one is karma increases and I touched on that a little bit. Again, this is really similar to what happens in the physical world as well with an acorn and an oak tree or any seed really. Report an error in the passage at 59:35 Highlight the passage at 59:35

1:00:05 Every seed, I think, is always smaller than the resulting fruit. And they say, actually, one tiny moment of anger, for example. And anger is used a lot because they say it's really one of the most destructive emotions that we can have. And you can feel it, too, if you've ever had a bout of anger. It really does feel almost like a fire kind of burning out of control. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:05 Highlight the passage at 1:00:05

1:00:32 And you tend to make really stupid decisions when you're angry. So they say that a tiny moment of anger can cause like a vast result of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:32 Highlight the passage at 1:00:32

1:00:45 So sometimes if we're experiencing like this, you know, say like a major flu for like seven days, we might think it's some horrible karma ripening and it may have just been a tiny moment of anger at, for example, A powerful object like a teacher or it may have just grown for several lifetimes without any purification ever being done. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:45 Highlight the passage at 1:00:45

1:01:18 So they say that everything that you've ever done will create a karma and that karma is just basically waiting until the conditions are there for it to ripen. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:18 Highlight the passage at 1:01:18

1:01:33 It's a lot like... seeds in the physical world in that way too we need you know certain things to be you can have a seed sitting here but it's not going And it's sort of like, you know, sometimes people say, I don't really have any problem with anger. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:33 Highlight the passage at 1:01:33

1:02:03 Attachment, you fill in the blank, you know, depression, jealousy. And then suddenly things shift in their lives and that happens to be the problem that arises, you know. Suddenly their partner starts going out with somebody else and jealousy becomes huge or, you know, anger becomes huge or whatever. But before that, you know, that moment, they didn't really feel like they had that problem. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:03 Highlight the passage at 1:02:03

1:02:28 So we just don't know what's around the next corner. It's really, really important not to think, I don't have that particular mental affliction. Because you just don't know when it might ripen. It's like that old joke with the yogi who spent 20, 30 years meditating on anger and felt like he had conquered anger and then somebody said the wrong thing when he came out of the cave and he got angry. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:28 Highlight the passage at 1:02:28

1:02:55 So he just didn't have the object in front of him. And the minute he did, the anger was still there. They say this is actually true for great meditators too. Sometimes meditators are so deep in meditation that they think, because all of their afflictions, their afflicted states of mind are subdued, that they've actually attained arhatship. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:55 Highlight the passage at 1:02:55

1:03:15 So they think they've attained nirvāṇa, basically. But it's just that the seeds are just sitting there. Number three is my favorite. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:15 Highlight the passage at 1:03:15

1:03:28 If you didn't create the karma, you won't experience the result. So the flip of that is, if you are experiencing the result, you created the karma. Nobody else can cause your suffering or your pleasure. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:28 Highlight the passage at 1:03:28

1:03:49 And you can't cause anybody else's suffering or pleasure. They're having pleasure or suffering based on their own karma. It doesn't mean you can't have compassion for them. But you don't have to own their suffering or pleasure. But more importantly, I think it's important to look at our own minds at this stuff. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:49 Highlight the passage at 1:03:49

1:04:08 If you're experiencing suffering, you need to own it and realize that I created this and what can I do to alleviate it dharmically, you know, rather than always pointing the finger of blame, which our culture is really heavily into. Lawsuit happy, blame, blame, blame. We're always looking for someone to blame, even in situations where like somebody just simply had a heart attack. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:08 Highlight the passage at 1:04:08

1:04:35 There's still, who can we sue? Maybe it was the person who made his hamburger that afternoon. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:35 Highlight the passage at 1:04:35

1:04:43 So, and from another point of view, the same way for number three. This is why this is my favorite one. If you want to receive a certain result, you have to create the causes. We can't just sit back and think, if I just sit in the presence of wonderful holy beings, I'm going to get enlightened. Or I'm even going to be human next time, which is something that we all just take for granted. I do too, you know. You have to do something. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:43 Highlight the passage at 1:04:43

1:05:16 This is the one that bounced out at me during a retreat. Because Venerable Sarah said that you have to do something. If you want to have your cup of tea, you have to actually boil the water. I thought that was very good. You can't just be a nice person and think you can become a Buddha. It's not enough. We actually have to create the causes really specifically. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:16 Highlight the passage at 1:05:16

1:05:39 The Buddha's teachings are really scientific in that way. And just being nice isn't quite enough. We could avoid a negative rebirth by being nice. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:39 Highlight the passage at 1:05:39

1:05:51 But that's not enough, right? For us, we definitely want to... Is someone coming in? Steve. Let's make sure we know this person. you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:51 Highlight the passage at 1:05:51

1:06:06 So you can also avert a creation of a negative karma. Say you're just getting ready, you decide to say, let's just think of like a really horrible negative karma rather than, I was going to say the one where you get hungry in the middle of the night and go downstairs and you're going to eat something, but let's think about something even worse. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:06 Highlight the passage at 1:06:06

1:06:24 You come home from work and you're just like so sick of how your boss always yells at you, you decide to kill him. And you go to all the points where you like get the gun, make the plan. Plan it all out and all of a sudden you're like, what am I doing? I'm just creating this negative karma. You can stop it and you can purify it. And that's it. It's done. So you can avert a negative karma too by catching it at any of the points all the way up to actually committing it. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:24 Highlight the passage at 1:06:24

1:06:50 And even if you have committed it, if you sincerely from the depths of your heart regret it, you can purify. I'm not intending to talk about purification in here, but we might talk about it. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:50 Highlight the passage at 1:06:50

1:07:03 But it is possible to purify and it's just certain steps that you have to take and they have to be really sincere. The more sincere your steps of purification, the more purification you'll actually be doing. If it's kind of wimpy and half-hearted, which it's really easy to do at the end of the day and you're kind of doing it on a daily basis, it's really easy to be distracted and then it's only a partial purification. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:03 Highlight the passage at 1:07:03

1:07:30 Like the more sincere and heartfelt. And if we've ever, those of us who have done purification, if you've ever done something that you really, really, really, from the depths of your heart, really regret, you can feel the difference, can't you? Of when you're really focused and you're like, I'll never do that again. Or, you know, whatever it is, you can really feel the difference from next. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:30 Highlight the passage at 1:07:30

1:07:57 Yeah, you have to be. It's not like it's the morning after pill, in other words. Purification is not an easy out, but it is possible to purify in theory, and we just have to get to the point where we do it really, really mindfully and sincerely. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:57 Highlight the passage at 1:07:57

1:08:12 The fourth principle of karma is that karma is never lost. So you don't just, you know, say nobody saw you. Take that soap in the laundromat. Or write down your lie, you know, on the tax form or whatever it is. The Buddha taught that every tiny act of body, speech and mind produces a result. The thing is, is that, you know, that lag time happens and we may not see it right away, but that does not mean that it's not still there waiting to ripen in our mind stream. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:12 Highlight the passage at 1:08:12

1:08:55 When we purify, what happens is we receive the result of that in a lesser form. So you might have the seven days flu, or ten days, or however long that flu lasts for you. Or a car accident, or migraines for 25 years. You might end up in a lesser form, lesser than what? Lesser than hell realms. Lesser than whatever your karmic result of that act might have been, you will receive... Report an error in the passage at 1:08:55 Highlight the passage at 1:08:55

1:09:25 That karma in a lesser form, but you don't just lose it. It's not like you're off the hook that easily. That's why sometimes it's hard to tell, is this suffering that I'm going through just purification, because I've been doing a lot of purification, or is it the exhaustion of negative karma that I created and never purified? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:25 Highlight the passage at 1:09:25

1:09:44 Who cares, you know? It's like whatever it is. I think usually purifications, as Venom Rubino always puts it, it's almost better to think of it that way. Because it sort of just inspires you rather than just thinking this is just like negative stuff happening to me. But if you look at it as just negative karma ripening so it's exhausting then you'll never see it again. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:44 Highlight the passage at 1:09:44

1:10:08 It's exhausting so that particular karma is done. As for me one really powerful statement that somebody I know said when Jack and Judith's house burned down up in Jack and Judith. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:08 Highlight the passage at 1:10:08

1:10:24 The people who run our study group up in San Anselmo. And Judith had gone down to oral transmission of the Diamond Cutter Sūtra with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and then stayed over at our house. This is before we were at the center. We had a nun's house and she stayed over at the nun's house. And during that night her house burned down. And so then she was getting a ride back from somebody in the house. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:24 Highlight the passage at 1:10:24

1:10:51 Jack, her husband, had been in San Diego, but they had managed to reach him, and he thought she was in the house. Actually, he was terrified that she was in the house. Managed to reach literally within a block of the house. Told her, and then they pulled up to what was left of the house, which was nothing. It was like gutted. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:51 Highlight the passage at 1:10:51

1:11:09 And she just turned to Oliki and said, Well, as Lama would say, that karma's done. And then it was quiet for a minute. She said, Dear, I think I'm in shock. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:09 Highlight the passage at 1:11:09

1:11:20 But I mean, just to have that thought when you see all your worldly belongings gone and her cat and dog were both killed in the fire. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:20 Highlight the passage at 1:11:20

1:11:30 But the reality is she was right. That karma's done. It's finished. It played out. It had its manifestation and now it's done. So you never really lose the karma, which is another reason why Lama Zopa Rinpoche says it's really important to purify every day because we just don't know what's in our mental continuum from all of our previous lifetimes. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:30 Highlight the passage at 1:11:30

1:11:59 And, you know, realistically we don't really know. All we can do with right now is... To look at the negative qualities, the biggest negative qualities and just begin chipping away at them and purifying them. And that's a good place to start and that's fine. But he just says that we would be totally foolish to not do some purification every day because we just have so much of it to purify. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:59 Highlight the passage at 1:11:59

1:12:23 I think he also says something like, if all you did in this lifetime is purify negative karma and accumulate merit, it would be great. Life well spent or something. I remember seeing that and just feeling really happy with that because I kind of feel like that's my main goal this lifetime. So one of the ways that I had said in an earlier class that we could create the karma to have really good teachers is to become a good student or a good disciple. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:23 Highlight the passage at 1:12:23

1:12:55 And so that's the next point of this class. And then we'll take a break. Master Arideva's list. time. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:55 Highlight the passage at 1:12:55

1:13:03 Of the three main qualities of a student is kind of, I think, held up as sort of the guideline of what we should all be. We should strive to be, I should say. The first one is to be impartial or unbiased. And sometimes this gets translated as honest. And it's just a different translation. And it's really referring to this. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:03 Highlight the passage at 1:13:03

1:13:36 This quality of not, you know, coming into the teachings with a lot of preconceived notions that will block you. It's that idea. So not being so biased that you're not able to see or hear or receive the teachings. Because sometimes, you know how sometimes people are so attached to their own system and then all the subversion will arise. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:36 Highlight the passage at 1:13:36

1:14:00 So impartial or unbiased is the first. The second is intelligent. I know, when I saw that I was like, oh. But what he means is able to discern. In other words, being able to discriminate between right and wrong, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:00 Highlight the passage at 1:14:00

1:14:23 I know. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:23 Highlight the passage at 1:14:23

1:14:28 And the third one is diligent. This is where I come down. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:28 Highlight the passage at 1:14:28

1:14:34 Tirelessly, especially the way they describe it, tirelessly. I'm tired. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:34 Highlight the passage at 1:14:34

1:14:37 Working to put the teachings into effect. And this is the quote that will just blow you out of the water. Lama Zopa Rinpoche said, if you're not applying the antidote when delusions arise, if you allow yourself to have delusions, you're not practicing Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:37 Highlight the passage at 1:14:37

1:14:55 Diligently prevent them without even a second's delay. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:55 Highlight the passage at 1:14:55

1:15:03 It's true. It's true. You're like, wah, wah, wah. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:03 Highlight the passage at 1:15:03

1:15:06 I mean, waiting for our life to get better is not practicing the Dharma. I was just having this conversation yesterday. Applying the Dharma to when stuff is rough, that's applying the Dharma. That's actually trying to live according to the teachings. So then, of course, Chanda Kirti added a couple more when he was giving commentary on Arya Deva's work. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:06 Highlight the passage at 1:15:06

1:15:30 And he added, number four, Being appreciative and respectful to the Dharma and Dharma teachers. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:30 Highlight the passage at 1:15:30

1:15:43 And number five, being attentive, listening with an attentive mind. So that knocks you out too, Tim. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:43 Highlight the passage at 1:15:43

1:15:56 Diligent, remember diligent. Five is attentive. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:56 Highlight the passage at 1:15:56

1:16:05 Attentive, listening with an attentive mind. sorry. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:05 Highlight the passage at 1:16:05

1:16:09 I thought it was totally, I thought you were just doing that. So we've got impartial, intelligent, diligent, appreciative and respectful and attentive. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:09 Highlight the passage at 1:16:09

1:16:27 And as a disciple or as a student, we should try to avoid the following states of mind. The affliction of arrogance or pride. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:27 Highlight the passage at 1:16:27

1:16:45 And they say actually that's the biggest block in... Studying the Dharma. The affliction of contempt, which probably could be translated as scorn. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:45 Highlight the passage at 1:16:45

1:17:02 And here this contempt is phrased as looking down on, making fun of or belittling a teacher. The opposite of respecting a teacher. So I think it probably is whatever that word is, scorn, contempt. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:02 Highlight the passage at 1:17:02

1:17:23 And we have to be careful with that one because, you know, we're like... We might really, really respect somebody in our mind, and even the person that we're talking to might also respect that person in their mind, but somebody listening might not, or might just be neutral, and they could be affected in an adverse way. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:23 Highlight the passage at 1:17:23

1:17:43 And this is something that Michelle and I have talked about. Sometimes we'll be talking about Venomabina, who we both really respect, and she can be very, very funny, but... We have to be careful to not say things in a way that could make other people dismiss her or think she's just funny or not see her, respect her in the way that she should be respected. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:43 Highlight the passage at 1:17:43

1:18:08 And the same is true with Rinpoche. He can be quite funny too. So we have to be really, really careful about that one. So affliction of arrogance, the affliction of contempt and not bringing to mind the five conditions. This is when you think that you're done and all of a sudden there's like five. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:08 Highlight the passage at 1:18:08

1:18:31 I think it looks really good at this one. In other words, thinking I will no longer listen to this person who I've already chosen as my teacher because of the following judgments. Now remember that this is talking about somebody that you've already chosen. So it's not like you're checking out. This is after. This is after you become a disciple. He or she has fallen from ethical discipline. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:31 Highlight the passage at 1:18:31

1:18:58 And remember that it could be your own karmic perception or just not having enough information. So just to be really careful not to judge. You can find out information, but not to judge. I don't blame you. I should have brought a whiteboard in. number, that's... Report an error in the passage at 1:18:58 Highlight the passage at 1:18:58

1:19:21 Now, number one was the affliction of arrogance. Number two is the affliction of contempt. And number three is not bringing to mind the five conditions. And the first of those is making the following judgment that somebody has fallen from ethical discipline and so will no longer listen to them. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:21 Highlight the passage at 1:19:21

1:19:42 Now, remember, we did discuss if there reaches... Rich, if If you reach the point where you just feel like I can't continue to study with this person, I can do that with a really respectful mind, right? Understanding that I have delusions in my mind that may... Cause me to see something in a certain way and that may not be accurate. And that's really important to keep that kind of mind once you've made that decision that this person is your teacher. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:42 Highlight the passage at 1:19:42

1:20:13 Again, we aren't talking about like if you're checking up on somebody and there's like a whole weird vibe around their teachings and their gampa and all that stuff, then you have every right to just kind of go. Even then though, it's very possible that we just don't. Get it. So it's really almost always, I think you're almost, and that's with ordinary people too, it's really best never to judge. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:13 Highlight the passage at 1:20:13

1:20:37 That is actually one of the first teachings of the Buddha is do not judge anyone until you are like me, meaning fully enlightened. And what do we do more than blame, more than anything else in our culture is judge. There's so much of that, and usually it's followed up with blah, blah, blah, talking about it. So just to really get it that we have deluded minds and we may not see things clearly, just to have that thought. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:37 Highlight the passage at 1:20:37

1:21:08 He or she is of poor lineage, so making that judgment. And I'm not sure if that means, I'm assuming that probably means teaching lineage, but it could also be, I suppose, family lineage. That's probably more important at the time of the Buddha. He or she is unattractive physically. So if you've decided this person is your teacher and over time they start looking ugly, whose karmic projection is that? Report an error in the passage at 1:21:08 Highlight the passage at 1:21:08

1:21:43 And that's an important one to get. Because if your mind is getting purer, they're going to start looking more and more like a Buddha. So if you're seeing them as like getting uglier and uglier, then you might want to clean up your act a little bit. He or she is inarticulate and Report an error in the passage at 1:21:43 Highlight the passage at 1:21:43

1:22:09 he or she speaks harshly or unpleasantly. So if you decide after this person has become your teacher that they have a shrill voice, again, you might want to look at your own karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:09 Highlight the passage at 1:22:09

1:22:24 Now if you're choosing this person to be your teacher and you're seeing these various things and it feels to you like... Maybe I don't want to study with this person. That's still fine to make that decision. You should remember that your karma is going to filter whatever it is that you're perceiving anyway. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:24 Highlight the passage at 1:22:24

1:22:42 But you can still make the decision, I'm not going to study with this person. But once you've decided, don't use your judgments about these various things to be your reasoning. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:42 Highlight the passage at 1:22:42

1:22:57 And then I did want to mention a couple of things that are more generally taught about the student. When we listen to the teachings in Geshe-la often will start, a lot of Dharma teachers will start a teaching with the faults of the three vases or the three vessels. The upside down vase is like listening to the teachings with a distracted mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:57 Highlight the passage at 1:22:57

1:23:20 Not being attentive, but caught up in our own thoughts and plans and ideas and stuff. I remember actually one time when I was, I think I was the director actually, and I was doing a to-do list in the middle of a class. And Geshele just, I kind of looked up and Geshele just was looking at me like this and I just thought, this is really bad. And that was before I saw this. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:20 Highlight the passage at 1:23:20

1:23:46 Actually, no, I think I had heard it though. Really, really, it's impossible to take it in if we aren't even paying attention. I find that note-taking keeps me much more attentive, so I almost always take notes. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:46 Highlight the passage at 1:23:46

1:24:04 The dirty vase. So that's where we're attending a teaching, but our mind's filled with preconceived notions and theories and other stuff we've heard, so we can't actually take it in. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:04 Highlight the passage at 1:24:04

1:24:18 And that's something to think about, you know, like sometimes we aren't even hearing the actual words because we're blocking it with like something else. So we haven't even actually heard what the teacher has said. We've already like countered it with, you know how sometimes somebody's like ready to argue with you and they aren't even listening to your point of view before they are ready with their comeback. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:18 Highlight the passage at 1:24:18

1:24:38 People do that listening to teachings as well, where their mind is like already, well, this can't possibly work because, and you know, you got to give it a fair shake. We're talking about an entirely different worldview and a 2,500-year-old one, so it does have a lot to be said for it. You've just got to give it some chance. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:38 Highlight the passage at 1:24:38

1:24:57 Whether or not you decide it's your worldview is another thing, but listen. And the final one is the cracked face. And this is my personal favorite. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:57 Highlight the passage at 1:24:57

1:25:08 This is when the teachings leak out. You don't retain it. You don't remember it. His Holiness always talks about how important it is to take your notes. Take notes at the teaching and then go home and discuss it or contemplate it. Rubina's always talking about this too. She really, really pushes the idea and it's never taken off, but we're going to try it again with discussion groups and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:08 Highlight the passage at 1:25:08

1:25:34 Because the Tibetans have the whole system of debating it. They'll take it in and then they'll go out and debate it until really it becomes part of them. And then when their students ask them all these wild... They know it inside and out, you know, in a way that we don't. We sort of just take it in. We might even take notes, and sometimes people don't take notes even, and then they just go home, and so it doesn't really go in. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:34 Highlight the passage at 1:25:34

1:26:01 So the cracked vase is one of the things that she's personally fighting against. But His Holiness says that it's really good. I think the traditional thing is you should review your notes like three times before the next teaching. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:01 Highlight the passage at 1:26:01

1:26:17 So that's why I give you guys homework. Whether you do it, it's up to you. And the six ideas, and then we'll take a break. The six ideas, I know, I've got you your whole list. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:17 Highlight the passage at 1:26:17

1:26:30 The six ideas on which a Dharma student should rely. And I'm sure this should be familiar to some of you. Some of the millions of you in this room. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:30 Highlight the passage at 1:26:30

1:26:42 And speaking to all sentient beings in this room. Right? Exactly. And those of you listening at home as well, think of yourself as a sick person. Recognize your need for help. Think that you have terminal dukkha. Remember we just talked about dukkha as a dissatisfied mind or suffering. So we have a problem. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:42 Highlight the passage at 1:26:42

1:27:05 We need somebody. So they say, think of yourself as like the patient or the sick person. And then number two, think of the teacher as a skilled doctor. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:05 Highlight the passage at 1:27:05

1:27:17 Recognize him or her as somebody who can help you get rid of it. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:17 Highlight the passage at 1:27:17

1:27:24 And then sometimes people stop with number three. Think of the teachings or the Dharma as medicine. Applying them will cure you. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:24 Highlight the passage at 1:27:24

1:27:34 But number four kind of reminds me of that third principle of karma. You've got to do something with that medicine. You have to take the medicine. You have to apply the teachings through earnest practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:34 Highlight the passage at 1:27:34

1:27:51 Enough to just receive a blessing and go home and continue being the way you have been. Like you actually have to change your mind, the way you deal with life. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:51 Highlight the passage at 1:27:51

1:28:02 And then the last two aren't taught as often, but the fifth one is, it literally translates as, think of the Buddhas as excellent beings. And what this means is that the Buddhas experience these teachings and then through their kindness they pass them on. So I think it's sort of like having that awareness and having that respect for the teachings. So again, it's not quite just enough to receive the teachings, see them as necessary, apply them. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:02 Highlight the passage at 1:28:02

1:28:33 But then there's this level of realizing the lineage that they're coming through. And then the final is, wish that the teachings last for a long time so others can get cured. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:33 Highlight the passage at 1:28:33

1:28:48 And then I would add to that. Do what you can to help this happen, whether it means uploading Geshe-less files or supporting the teachings in some way, helping publish the Dharma, helping get Dharma out to prisoners. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:48 Highlight the passage at 1:28:48

1:29:06 It doesn't mean running out on the street and handing people Dharma texts. It's not that. It's just more to make sure they don't get lost, especially once you get to that point. Once you recognize the need, once you realize that, The Buddha is a skilled doctor. Once you realize that the medicine can help you, once you earnestly apply that and once you have this respect for the lineage to then do what you can to protect the teachings in whatever way that is. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:06 Highlight the passage at 1:29:06

1:29:41 So why don't you guys take a break? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:41 Highlight the passage at 1:29:41

1:29:45 Sure, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:45 Highlight the passage at 1:29:45

1:29:50 Back to karma. Sure. I always have a problem visualizing this because of number three. If you didn't create the karma, you won't experience the result. So I have a problem visualizing, like in several visualizations, taking others' karmas or like in Tonglan or in, you know. Um... Report an error in the passage at 1:29:50 Highlight the passage at 1:29:50

1:30:12 Taking on their suffering or just knowing deeply that I can't do that. It's hard to visualize doing it. Think about the fact that you're trying to get your mind to be willing to do that. That's what it's all about. It's that same idea of being willing to give everything you have, including your own body, if it would benefit. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:12 Highlight the passage at 1:30:12

1:30:33 So this is being willing to take on the suffering of any being, large and small. It's that same idea. So it's really what it's about is increasing your capacity. It's your capacity in Tonglen that gets increased. That's what the mental exercise is. It's like you're developing your heart bigger and vaster and broader so that you're willing to help all beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:33 Highlight the passage at 1:30:33

1:31:00 You're not actually taking on their karma. But they say that if you have really strong karma with that person or those people or that animal, That you actually can affect the situation. But it's due to that dependent arising rather than you're not actually able to take on their karma. Because if you were able to take on their karma, then your guru would take on your negative karma or the Dalai Lama would have taken on all the negative karma of the people in Tibet. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:00 Highlight the passage at 1:31:00

1:31:31 He wouldn't just stand back and watch people suffer that way. Buddhas just wouldn't, they have such compassion, they wouldn't just stand back and watch it all. So it has more to do with building that mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:31 Highlight the passage at 1:31:31

1:31:47 Yeah, that one's a kind of hard one to get your mind around, but it's like, I always call it kind of like calisthenics for your heart. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:47 Highlight the passage at 1:31:47

1:32:00 Strong mind, strong heart. Heart yoga, yeah, that's been taken. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:00 Highlight the passage at 1:32:00

1:32:09 Sorry. Oh, is it? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:09 Highlight the passage at 1:32:09

1:32:25 Geshe Michael's group does the heart yoga and they do Tonglen with the yoga. While you're doing the yoga, you do the Tonglen. Yeah, yeah. I've done it where I've just done it as my intention. But to do it throughout must be really, really powerful. I haven't actually done that. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:25 Highlight the passage at 1:32:25

1:32:51 Any other questions on what we just talked about? Have you studied karma before? Report an error in the passage at 1:32:51 Highlight the passage at 1:32:51

1:33:01 Yeah, in reading. says Report an error in the passage at 1:33:01 Highlight the passage at 1:33:01

1:33:03 Do you have any questions about that? I mean, I'm sure that you probably do. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:03 Highlight the passage at 1:33:03

1:33:13 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:13 Highlight the passage at 1:33:13

1:33:17 You could try. I don't know if I could answer it, but I could try. Well, just if you take it to its logical conclusion. Thanks, Chad. That anything that someone experiences is the result of karma, then to me you can, if you just follow that all the way to the end, then it's like... It's like blaming the victim for whatever happens to them. It has certain implications as far as... Report an error in the passage at 1:33:17 Highlight the passage at 1:33:17

1:33:47 That's why I said it has nothing to do with blame and judgment. People can take it that way because we're deluded. But the reality is that we've all done everything, the Buddha said. Basically, every lifetime we've done every heinous thing that we can even imagine, which is a horrifying thought. Each of us have been rapists. Each of us have been murderers. Each of us have tortured. So we've actually done it all, which actually helps a lot in your level of compassion because you realize that there's no being who has done anything that I myself have not done. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:47 Highlight the passage at 1:33:47

1:34:23 Once you get past the horror of that thought, I should say. So the reality is that if somebody is experiencing negative karma, they're experiencing karma that I myself have created as well. So there can't be any blame. So it's not like it's her fault that she's experiencing this rape and we should just write her off. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:23 Highlight the passage at 1:34:23

1:34:45 Because the bottom line of the Buddhist teachings is compassion. Like you can't forget compassion. The teachings of karma do not preempt the teachings of compassion. So this whole idea of sort of blaming somebody for what they're experiencing, it's simply the way mind works. It's not like they're a bad person. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:45 Highlight the passage at 1:34:45

1:35:06 Because they're experiencing negative karmacy. We don't know what I'm going to experience tomorrow. I could be murdered tomorrow. I have no idea what's out there because I don't know what I've created. I just know that I've probably created everything. Isn't it the case, though, that in society it's often the people who are the most aggressive are the ones that get what you would call blessings or benefits? Report an error in the passage at 1:35:06 Highlight the passage at 1:35:06

1:35:36 No, necessarily. No, I think sometimes people do. Sometimes people are aggressive and could be like businessmen. But there also could be businessmen who work really, really hard and are failures. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:36 Highlight the passage at 1:35:36

1:35:51 So it's not the working really hard that necessarily brings the good result. The Buddha would say that they're receiving the results of positive karma. What they're doing this life hasn't ripened yet. So all the stealing, say, of Enron wasn't resulting in the money. The money was coming from past positive karma and all the stealing has yet to ripen. Is there any room for randomness in it? The Buddha would say no, actually. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:51 Highlight the passage at 1:35:51

1:36:19 Nothing is random, actually. But if mental states are permanent and anything could change in a moment, couldn't someone decide to do something? Report an error in the passage at 1:36:19 Highlight the passage at 1:36:19

1:36:33 Like I had a friend who was held up. That person might have just decided to do that. Right. Like when I was talking about killing the boss and you take all the steps and then you stop yourself. The same could happen with a fight where within seconds you've killed somebody. You just decide at that moment because of something they said that annoyed you to kill that person. You still are creating a karma because you have the intention. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:33 Highlight the passage at 1:36:33

1:37:00 But the person who's the recipient of that, that being maybe, is there any randomness? Her being like having a gun put to her head, is that the result of her karma? It is a result of negative karma ripening. Yeah. Yeah, I just have a hard... Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not an easy thing to understand. It takes a lot of study. And it's not saying that she created the causes in this lifetime. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:00 Highlight the passage at 1:37:00

1:37:33 The same is true. I mean, I think one thing that people have a hard time with is children. But they have had, they don't exist just in this lifetime. They have had limitless lifetimes before, during which they've created an abundance, mountains of karma, unless they purified anything. And so any of those can pop off. It's like popcorn. And we just don't know what's going to ripen at the next moment. You know, that's really what... Report an error in the passage at 1:37:33 Highlight the passage at 1:37:33

1:38:01 When you get into karma, you get into the 10 non-virtuous actions and you get into the different ways that karma ripens in terms of the habit and in terms of the environment and in terms of the result once you are born human again. And one of the results of killing is dying young. Now whether you die young, and that actually explains certain things. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:01 Highlight the passage at 1:38:01

1:38:24 Like I had a good friend who was 27, died in a car accident. Great person, like incredible person. The midwife brought probably a thousand babies into the world. But in another life, according to the Buddha, she created that cause. That cause now exhausted. And hopefully, because of all the good work she did in this life, then her next life will be a longer life. She actually created the causes for a long life because she helped all these women give birth. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:24 Highlight the passage at 1:38:24

1:38:52 So we don't fully understand the whole thing, but it actually begins to make some sense the more that you study it. I know it's difficult. It's hard to say it's not difficult. I guess there's just a logical point there, because if I can change moment to moment, then I can, like I said, choose something bad, and maybe that person just happens to be there when I decide that. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:52 Highlight the passage at 1:38:52

1:39:21 But according to karma, that person doesn't just happen to be there. The difference would be like Chad could have just walked by, but you didn't have the karma to hold him up. I would come by and you have the karma to hold me up. That there actually is a karmic connection between you and that person that you hold up. And that it's not just chance, even though it may look like that to us. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:21 Highlight the passage at 1:39:21

1:39:43 That there isn't an element of chance in that way. That everything is created by karma. So it's not just chance that that's an ugly couch in the back of the room. We have the karma to see that ugly couch and have it be there month after month after month. It's not just a random thing. How can you create something new then? You create the causes. You can create positive karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:43 Highlight the passage at 1:39:43

1:40:09 You can choose to react to negative karma in a certain way. You can choose to remember how karma works. You can choose to then... then create the causes, which is why we're talking about this, to create the positive karma that creates good things to happen in your life. It's not destiny, it's not fate. It's not like, you know, we have nothing to say about karma and you just might as well suck. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:09 Highlight the passage at 1:40:09

1:40:37 I mean, like, it's just, you know, I mean, if you looked at it as fate, it would be, there'd be no reason for us to keep on going. But the good news is, is karma is what... Allows us to get enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:37 Highlight the passage at 1:40:37

1:40:50 You know, we can turn it all around. We can change it all. If we begin to understand that our entire environment and everything about us, everything about us is created by karma, then we can create the karma to create who we want to be, what kind of mind we have, what kind of place we live in, the environment, like all of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:50 Highlight the passage at 1:40:50

1:41:14 The beings in our pure lands. You know, all of that. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:14 Highlight the passage at 1:41:14

1:41:22 I see sort of what you're saying. How is there space for us to create good karma if all were created on are past conditions? Oh no, because it's just like all the time. It's ripening all the time and it's being created all the time. It's like moving fast. Karma is like constantly being created and constantly ripening and exhausting. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:22 Highlight the passage at 1:41:22

1:41:49 But what makes the choice to be a good person? Is that the Buddha nature inside of us? Report an error in the passage at 1:41:49 Highlight the passage at 1:41:49

1:41:57 What's the source of our free will? This one always comes up. How you react to what's happening. What gives you that choice? I think we always have a choice on how we react to something, but we usually give in to habit. Because the karmic habit is really strong. I mean, think about it just in lesser terms. Think about it, you know, if you have a real desire for chocolate, and every time you have that desire for chocolate, you just give in to it. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:57 Highlight the passage at 1:41:57

1:42:28 It's just like, it's this craving, and you just give in to it. And you can think about it in, like, alcohol, or you can think about it in sex addiction as well. It can be really, really powerful, and it's really hard to break that. But you can every time. Lama Zopa Rinpoche I think has this one quote where he's like in every second we can decide to choose hell or enlightenment. So we can, it's just the mental habits are so ingrained. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:28 Highlight the passage at 1:42:28

1:42:56 But that's one thing that Venerable Rubina is really good at. That's all they are is mental habits. And we just, usually we don't have enough wisdom to even see that that's all they are. We just think that's how I am. I'm an angry person or I'm a depressed person or whatever, and so we think we can't change it. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:56 Highlight the passage at 1:42:56

1:43:18 Yeah. No, it's difficult. Karma's difficult. Yeah. But then it could go the other way, though, because you could create good causes and then in the moment decide to do something bad. It happens all the time. So I'll keep coming to the other person. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:18 Highlight the passage at 1:43:18

1:43:42 So they create good causes. The other person in what scenario? Well, just in general, like to be able to live in a certain neighborhood or to be with certain people. Then the other person who's also created good causes, theoretically, couldn't they decide to harm that person? I'm a little confused, so give me a full situation. Well, it's mainly theoretical to me, but... Report an error in the passage at 1:43:42 Highlight the passage at 1:43:42

1:44:15 Well, it's the same thing. If we could decide at any moment to create good causes, so wouldn't the converse be true as well? You could decide at any moment to create bad causes. You can. The problem is with karma is that you have this really ingrained habit that's gone on for lifetime after lifetime. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:15 Highlight the passage at 1:44:15

1:44:39 So your habit of how you respond in a certain situation... Is so deeply ingrained that it's hard to make that change. It's really, but not impossible. But the possibility has to be there. It is there. The possibility is there. Then there's a certain randomness involved. Not necessarily. You're following. Yeah. There has to be. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:39 Highlight the passage at 1:44:39

1:45:01 Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to change in any direction if there weren't. Well, mine changes because mine is completely changeable. So that's where I wouldn't call it randomness. I think it's your choice of words that I'm questioning. The choice of word of something being random. Because random sounds like there's no cause. And the Buddha said that there's always cause if there's effect. Whatever there is that you're experiencing has a cause. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:01 Highlight the passage at 1:45:01

1:45:32 And every act you do creates an effect. There's nothing that you do or think or say that doesn't create some effect. So nothing is random in that sense. But there is movement and there is room for change. So maybe that's the way that you're using that term random. I think that's what I mean. There's room for change either way. Right. So that being the case, if it goes in a bad way and a person happens to be there, how could their karma have set them up to be the recipient of that? Report an error in the passage at 1:45:32 Highlight the passage at 1:45:32

1:46:09 Because we're seeing, yeah. Because you're seeing it as more random still. You're still seeing it as more random. I see what you're saying, but the thing is that that person's karma has still created that situation for them to be the recipient of the violence or of the robbery or of the murder. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:09 Highlight the passage at 1:46:09

1:46:32 But they could have done something in their life that shifts that. They could have purified that day. And then they move a little bit faster and around the corner and they aren't the one who gets singled out. But there are so many elements of karma that we don't understand. And that's the aspect that the Buddha said that it's really, really hard for us to understand. I'm giving a simplistic portrayal so that you can kind of understand it for this class. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:32 Highlight the passage at 1:46:32

1:46:56 But it's not all the ins and outs of how karma works. There are so many elements of it that are really, really complex. And I don't understand it. And even Geshe-la doesn't even understand it unless he is a Buddha. So they say that that's why. It just gets so intricate. And there's so many different elements of it. But we still see it as something that randomly happens. But there isn't a sense of randomness. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:56 Highlight the passage at 1:46:56

1:47:23 That randomness is our projection. We're seeing it that way. So, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:23 Highlight the passage at 1:47:23

1:47:35 She was saying that fish have created the cause to be caught. and killed and fishermen are creating the cause they're killing so they're creating the cause to be killed in the future so it's not like randomly fish don't they're not randomly Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:47:35 Highlight the passage at 1:47:35

1:47:59 yeah, yeah. I mean, you get into it too when you get into like, you know, say sexism. they're right they're actively eating these hooks and dying right and they actually probably were fishermen in their last life potentially i found that kind of like an easy example Report an error in the passage at 1:47:59 Highlight the passage at 1:47:59

1:48:09 And the very perpetuators of racism, the perpetuators of it in this lifetime, then end up being born as the woman the next time who gets put down by the man. So they're just creating these causes, and they don't get out of that unless something shifts. And they gain a certain amount of wisdom or something, and they get what they're doing. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:09 Highlight the passage at 1:48:09

1:48:31 And karma isn't really something to explain away. What happens? Like you were saying with compassion, isn't it a way to deal with the things that happen without getting angry and without getting jealous? It's a way to explain why things happen. But the purpose isn't to say, oh well, that person got mugged because they... Report an error in the passage at 1:48:31 Highlight the passage at 1:48:31

1:48:58 Like what you were saying about compassion, they got mugged, so sorry. No, it's not like that at all. It's simply to understand. It's sort of like one of my teachers said that he always would try to ask his question, like if Aunt Mary and Aunt Susie were in a car accident and Aunt Mary died and Aunt Susie didn't, why didn't Aunt Susie die? Report an error in the passage at 1:48:58 Highlight the passage at 1:48:58

1:49:20 Why didn't it? And everybody would say, well, you know, she was on the left part of the car. And he was like, no, that's how, but why didn't she die? And it comes down to karma. It comes down to the fact that Susie did not have the karma to die in that accident, but Mary did. And it has nothing to do, and the conditions were that the roads were bad and that Mary was tired. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:20 Highlight the passage at 1:49:20

1:49:42 You know, there are a billion conditions for every incident, but the why is the karma. The how are all the conditions. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:42 Highlight the passage at 1:49:42

1:49:54 But it's not to write it off and say, sucks to be merry or something like that. It's nothing like that. It's simply a way of describing... I mean, they call it the law of cause and effect because the Buddha actually said it was basically the equivalent of the law of gravity or something. It's just like the way things happen. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:54 Highlight the passage at 1:49:54

1:50:17 With this particular working of the mind, and karma is considered to be a working of the mind, which is quite complex. So it's a way of describing how reality comes into existence without yet describing emptiness or dependent arising, which are later going to be described, not necessarily in this class. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:17 Highlight the passage at 1:50:17

1:50:43 Yeah, so it is a way of describing why things exist. It's not a way for us to, yet, it's not really a way for us to respond to the fact that, say, your friend got, you know, mugged or my friend died in a car accident. Or it's not like I can just go, oh, well, that's, you know, great, now I understand. I don't have to be sad because Laurel died, you know. It's not at all saying that. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:43 Highlight the passage at 1:50:43

1:51:07 Or saying, oh, she must have done something horrible, you know. I guess I won't love her anymore or something like that. It's not at all cold or blaming or calculated like that. It's more to do with just describing the mechanics that caused her to be in that car and the guy behind her to smash into her. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:07 Highlight the passage at 1:51:07

1:51:31 That's simply all it is. It's almost like describing really mechanically how something happened. You know what I mean? So it's not so much to take away any... Report an error in the passage at 1:51:31 Highlight the passage at 1:51:31

1:51:44 Compassion or love that we might have for these people that are experiencing hardship. Because we are too, if you really are applying, I mean, we look around us and we can apply these teachings on karma to the people around us, but the main thing that the Buddha wants us to do is to look at our own lives, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:51:44 Highlight the passage at 1:51:44

1:51:57 So I mean, we always have to take this back to ourselves. And every single thing we experience that Buddha taught is the result of us having created the causes. So everything, so whether we wake up in a good mood, you know. It doesn't mean we can't shift that mood, but we often don't. We often just follow that to its conclusion, which could probably then mean yelling at somebody or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:57 Highlight the passage at 1:51:57

1:52:25 But at any point we can shift it, but will we? And it doesn't mean we just fake it either. I got an email this week actually that said something about how you have the choice in how to respond to things. If you sit down in the dentist's chair and he brings the drill into your mouth, you can't just tell yourself it feels really good and that it's a blissful experience. By that point, you are having a karmic appearance and that karmic is suffering and it's going to be suffering for you. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:25 Highlight the passage at 1:52:25

1:52:59 But you can see I created negative karma that resulted in this and I can do my best to not just give in to it and not get angry about it and not blame. I mean, maybe be aware of what the dentist is doing and maybe give them feedback if you need to. But that idea of seeing it as poor, pitiful me, for example, just be like, this is karma ripening, you know, and I'm not going to decide, this is not going to destroy my life. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:59 Highlight the passage at 1:52:59

1:53:28 I'm just going to have this experience and then it's going to end and that'll be the end of that karma, that karma ripening. So you can't fake it either. You can't just go, you know. If I want to experience this as, you know, as nectar, I can't just go, yeah, you know, I mean, it's water, because that's what I have the karma to see right now. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:28 Highlight the passage at 1:53:28

1:53:47 It's water that's actually gotten cold. So, you know, it's not necessarily really great karmic arising right now. But it's also not pus, and that's what a hungry ghost would see. So I can also remember that it's not as bad as it could be, too. So I think that's important to see. At that point, at the point that you are actually... Report an error in the passage at 1:53:47 Highlight the passage at 1:53:47

1:54:07 Your karma is ripening. At the point that somebody is pointing a gun at you, you can't decide to make that person into something else. You can decide how you respond as well as you can, but you can't, at that point the karma is ripening, you can't actually purify it at the point that you're experiencing the suffering from it. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:07 Highlight the passage at 1:54:07

1:54:29 You can only respond to it in a certain way. If somebody is punching you, for example, you can't decide in your mind to make them into a Buddha blessing you. You can't. That's just faking it. It's not truly transforming it. But you can purify that karma before that moment and get rid of it, or you can look at that moment with wisdom and understand how it all works as much as you can with karma and emptiness, independent arising, and then... Report an error in the passage at 1:54:29 Highlight the passage at 1:54:29

1:55:00 Take that wisdom into the next moment. So you can do it in that sense. You can't change it by choice in that sense of like, you know, this is the Buddha kissing me or something, you know. It doesn't work that way. Great to see you again. Actually, that's just going to piss the person off and punch you harder. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:00 Highlight the passage at 1:55:00

1:55:23 Well, you've missed your break. Sorry. You had to remain afraid. So I think I didn't get all this stuff done that I was going to do. I have a couple of quotes, actually. Could I do that? Actually, I think we did pretty well. Because you guys are going to meditate on the qualities. So you'll have that. And so we don't have to do that meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:23 Highlight the passage at 1:55:23

1:55:49 I was going to lead you in that meditation, but that's all right. You can do that. You don't need me. But I can just give you a couple of quotes, actually, just to end. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:49 Highlight the passage at 1:55:49

1:55:58 The shorter sūtra on the perfection of wisdom says, and so the wise who seek the high state of enlightenment with a fierce wish deep inside should smash all pride within them. And like a mass of sick men who flock to medicine for a cure, take themselves to a spiritual guide and serve him single-mindedly. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:58 Highlight the passage at 1:55:58

1:56:19 So that really responds to that list of six of seeing yourself as a sick person, seeing the teacher as a skilled doctor and so on. The Lamrim Chan Mo quotes the Buddha as saying, sit on a lower seat, display the luster of quiet self-control, watch with joyful eyes, as if sipping words sweet as nectar generate respect and focus your attention. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:19 Highlight the passage at 1:56:19

1:56:45 This is the way we should be listening to a Dharma teaching. With an enthusiastic and stainless mind, just as a patient attends to their doctor's words, listen to the Dharma with reverence. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:45 Highlight the passage at 1:56:45

1:56:57 And Jason Kampa clarifies, watch with a joyful eyes, it's like a baby when it sees its mother's face. That's the way we should be looking at our teacher, with that kind of delight. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:57 Highlight the passage at 1:56:57

1:57:11 Nectar refers to all that the Dharma will do for you, that it can lead you to a freedom from this state of constantly following our afflicted thoughts and creating more and more negative karma ignorantly. That's what saṃsāra is, not a place. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:11 Highlight the passage at 1:57:11

1:57:28 So you should listen without distraction. Your mind should be filled with clear, pure faith, unclouded by delusion, doubt and worldly attitudes, or selfish motivation. In short, you should listen the way a patient with a serious illness attends carefully to every word of his doctor and then immediately acts upon that advice. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:28 Highlight the passage at 1:57:28

1:57:49 Is it better to have a lot of teachers or just a few? So Jason Kapa said, in these times, as long as our minds are untrained, in other words, we don't know how to treat a teacher, we don't know how to practice as they ask, we still see faults, we still lose faith, it's better to have fewer teachers. And Geshe-la said, Geshe-dakpa said, if you know how to serve a Lama well, and that means practicing their instructions, then it's our duty to have as many Lamas as possible. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:49 Highlight the passage at 1:57:49

1:58:23 What does he mean by that? We get enlightened faster, right? If we know how to do it. If not, he said, it's better to have just one. Keep your mistakes to a minimum. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:23 Highlight the passage at 1:58:23

1:58:36 And then finally, Jason Kappa taught, there is a single key for finding a perfect start, to reach your every wish, both happiness in the short run and ultimately. And the highest words ever spoken, speak it always the same. It is your Lama. And so you must devote yourself to meditation upon him or her, upon the essence of all the three different kinds of refuge. Ask him or her for all your goals. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:36 Highlight the passage at 1:58:36

1:59:07 So it's quite powerful. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:07 Highlight the passage at 1:59:07

1:59:12 So let's take one moment to just dedicate what we've done and the thoughts and questions. You may be walking out of here with more questions than you had coming in. Any clarifications that you might have gained? Just trying to understand any of these things, they actually say creates enormous merit and positive karma. So that's what we are applying right now when we dedicate, we're just dedicating it to being able to help remove suffering wherever we see it. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:12 Highlight the passage at 1:59:12

1:59:46 Having that kind of calm mind that we can actually bring more peace to the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:46 Highlight the passage at 1:59:46

1:59:57 And ultimately to be able to transform our minds to be Buddhas. To be fully enlightened beings so that we can perfectly benefit all beings without bias because all beings are suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:59:57 Highlight the passage at 1:59:57

2:00:27 So if we could really quick, I know we're late, but since we were going to try to do a couple of extra dedications. On page 7, Report an error in the passage at 2:00:27 Highlight the passage at 2:00:27

2:00:38 let's just start with the, on the right hand side, number 6, where it says May the Supreme Jewel Bodhicitta. We could do that one and then the one underneath it also in English and then the one underneath it for Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 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. Report an error in the passage at 2:00:38 Highlight the passage at 2:00:38

2:01:05 In the land encircled by snow mountains you are the source of all happiness and good. All powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso, please remain until saṃsāra ends. You who uphold the subduer's moral way, who serves as the bountiful bearer of all, sustaining, preserving, and spreading Manjana's victorious doctrine, that's Samanjushri, who masterfully accomplishes magnificent prayers, honoring the three jewels, Savior of myself and others, your disciples, please, please live long. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:05 Highlight the passage at 2:01:05

2:01:40 And then finally, page four for Geshe-la. We do that one in English. We pray to you, Nawang Dakpa. Our peerless spiritual friend, you who hold, sustain and extend the stainless system of Lama Tsongkhapa, renowned as the Lord of Speech. May you, our protector, have a long life, stable like Mount Meru. May your enlightened activities always be a shining lamp for the world, dispelling the darkness from the minds of your disciples, so the fruit of definite goodness will ripen quickly. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:40 Highlight the passage at 2:01:40

2:02:15 Yeah, I was thinking about how Chodron Rinpoche can sit there. For hours and hours too without moving. And you know that conventionally speaking he's got those bad knees from the years of meditation. But he can sit there for hours and hours as well. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:15 Highlight the passage at 2:02:15

2:02:37 Lama Zopa too. Lama Zopa would just sit there and chat and laugh and people come up and talk to him all during the break and he never actually goes to the bathroom. That's only hour eight or whatever of the teaching. Yeah, I know. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:37 Highlight the passage at 2:02:37

2:02:58 Seven limb practice and it was a Sunday talk. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:58 Highlight the passage at 2:02:58

2:03:05 I can find out the date if you send me an email. I'll check the date on the calendar. It might be on this calendar out here, actually. But you know, things have gotten changed a lot with various things. I'll check though and see if I can get you a date. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:05 Highlight the passage at 2:03:05

2:03:24 That was one that you had, yeah, yeah, yeah. But we can keep asking it because sometimes, you know... I mean, it's like something that we all need to understand is dedication and how it works and prayer. Also, sometimes I've heard that teaching given where, you know, the difference between prayer and dedication because there is a difference. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:24 Highlight the passage at 2:03:24

2:03:41 You know, prayer is more like may, may this happen. Dedication is like you've done something and now you got some goods and now you're going to apply it. It's actually a little more like kind of, they say powerful. Yeah, sorry. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:41 Highlight the passage at 2:03:41

2:03:58 Bill. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:58 Highlight the passage at 2:03:58

2:04:01 Oh, yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:01 Highlight the passage at 2:04:01

2:04:07 Setting the intention, so that must be taking the reins or something. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 2:04:07 Highlight the passage at 2:04:07

2:04:20 right, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. That what? Oh, the leaky vessel. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:20 Highlight the passage at 2:04:20

2:04:37 That was in the most recent class, Friday night's class. Okay, so you can, yeah. Then not yet, though, because, I mean, you know, Malam's... Tessel. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:37 Highlight the passage at 2:04:37

2:04:47 No, no, no. For mine they do, actually, for the DB classes, because they aren't that long, you know, or same with when Amy was doing the DB classes. So, like, he'll try to do all five or seven or whatever series. But for hers, because hers are like, yes, so they just kind of go on and on. So, but he's just behind because he hasn't gotten back from Tibet. Report an error in the passage at 2:04:47 Highlight the passage at 2:04:47

2:05:06 I think he gets back in the morning. I think he hits L.A. tonight. Manlo, yeah, yeah. And Janet. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:06 Highlight the passage at 2:05:06

2:05:18 Mahāyāna Mind Training. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:18 Highlight the passage at 2:05:18

2:05:26 Did she have prepared notes for it? She just had like Henry's. Okay, yeah, so she didn't do it like it's part of a slide or something. Yeah, because she does PowerPoint. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:26 Highlight the passage at 2:05:26

2:05:38 Well, now I'm like seeing the point. Actually, that would be quite useful for these lists, you know, if I could be like, you know, PowerPoint things. You guys can write them down and there's not as much. But there's, I don't know, it's kind of a funny, there's a funny energy with that too. Anyway. Quick turn it off so that we can start having bad speech again. Report an error in the passage at 2:05:38 Highlight the passage at 2:05:38