← Jonathan Landaw

How to Meditate - Weekend Course with Jonathan Landaw (part 9)

Jonathan Landaw · 2019 · 1 h 31 min · Land of Medicine Buddha via Internet Archive

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  • 2:49

    Setting the intention. That's a very good way of summarizing what is meant to be happening. I mean, it's only a physical action. And of course, any physical action, any ritualistic action can be done just on that level, just on the physical level.

  • 23:41

    Tibetans like to tell a story which serves as an analogy for the water bowl practice. And it's a story or a recitation based on ancient Indian cultural

  • 43:40

    In many of the Buddhist teachings, teachings which are emphasized to a greater or lesser extent in pretty much every Buddhist tradition around the world, when they talk about suffering and the difficulties in life that we want to overcome, that we intuitively wish we were free from, From the Buddhist point of view, those difficulties largely arise from the way in which we relate to what can be referred to as the sensory objects of desire.

  • 1:12:20

    We can use both types of objects to enhance our blissful wisdom like that. So, going back to the water bowl offerings. What's being offered, you know, Our beautiful sights, sounds, smells, tastes and tangible sensations. So on the altar are things that represent colors and shapes and sounds and smells that are attractive.

  • 1:14:16

    then it becomes not only a way of inviting the inspiration of our teachers and the Buddhas into our presence as a help to our practice, but it also becomes a way of transforming our own attitude towards sensory objects. From things which cause only disappointment and dissatisfaction to things which, if handled correctly, actually enhances our wisdom. So that's it. That's water bowls. We have just a few minutes left before we stop this and then go for lunch.

0:00 Okay, Report an error

· · ·

1:15 so now the most difficult part is over, the setting up. Report an error

1:24 Thank you for your patience. Report an error

1:33 So, welcome to this session, the next to the last scheduled session of this weekend on how to meditate, a module from the Discovering Buddhism series. And a couple of things to mention. And then I'm happy to open it up to questions and comments and so forth. Some of you may wonder when you see me come in or any other teacher that before starting we perform one type of prostration or another. Report an error

2:16 Sometimes it's a full body prostration where the person actually kneels down and touches the ground. Well, when I was younger I could do that. But now I do a very abbreviated version and just do it with my hands. That's all. Did you notice that before I sat down? Report an error

2:35 Does anyone have an idea what that is or what it meant? Or is it quite new or quite unusual? Report an error

2:49 Setting the intention. That's a very good way of summarizing what is meant to be happening. I mean, it's only a physical action. And of course, any physical action, any ritualistic action can be done just on that level, just on the physical level. It's nothing more than an exercise or a movement. But if the person doing it can bring to mind the meaning behind it, then it's very, very, very helpful. Report an error

3:20 so it's prostration or homage is a way of connecting With both the outer source of inspiration, so for example I do it towards the altar and towards the picture of my main gurus, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche from whom I receive the vast majority of my teachings and who main sources of my inspiration on the path. Report an error

3:53 So it's connecting to that source. And as I mentioned the other day, The whole purpose of the outer guru, or the outer source of inspiration, we could say, is to introduce us to the inner guru. Because, remember, from the point of view of these teachings, we all have within us the potential of full awakening. Report an error

4:21 That potential can be covered over by delusions and ignorance and so forth, but it's not... Nothing can destroy that crystalline purity within. So the outer Guru's purpose is to introduce us to that inner voice of wisdom. Other spiritual traditions have something very similar to that. There are some Christian traditions where they talk about the God within. Report an error

4:50 And that doesn't mean we are God, but we have that voice within us that we can tune into. And many, many spiritual traditions have something very similar. So in Buddhism, we talk about having the Buddha nature, the potential to fully awaken to reality, our inner reality and outer reality as well, and to develop those qualities that we associate with a fully enlightened being, namely, Report an error

5:29 Limitless compassion, insightful wisdom and the ability to help others or power or skillful means. So when offering a homage to the outer guru through this act of prostration in which we kind of dedicate our body, speech and mind, or better yet we align our body, speech and mind. with the body, speech, and mind of the sources of inspiration. So, for example, we touch places on our body which symbolize the body, speech, and mind Report an error

6:12 before sitting down to engage in the practice, which in this case is leading this meditation course. Doing that is a very, very helpful reminder. Report an error

6:29 Why I'm doing it? Or why I should be doing it? Because as I mentioned earlier, sitting in front of a group of people and giving a talk could be not much different than being an entertainer. Report an error

6:49 In which case, then, if that's the only thing that I'm really doing, is hoping that I can entertain you well. Or maybe impress you, oh look how much knowledge he has or how well he speaks, something like that. Then even though there are, let's say, 19 people in the room right now, I'm really only focusing on one. Report an error

7:13 I'm really only focusing on myself. You're just here to support my ego, right? So, obviously, if that's my purpose, if that's my motivation, it's completely corrupted. But it's easy to arise, especially if you have short-term memory loss, and you can forget what we're meant to be doing. So by doing this very brief ritual-type action before, this prostration, this paying homage, then it's a way of reminding myself, well, I'm not here for me. Report an error

7:59 I'm here to try to pass on, as best I can, with my limited ability, those things that I've received from my teachers that I have found beneficial in the hopes it will be beneficial for the people here. Report an error

8:17 So, it's thoughts like this that are going on, or in the best case, are going on when that ritual is being performed. But as I said, it's very, very easy, especially for an action that gets repeated many times, for it to lose its meaning, for it to become an empty ritual. Report an error

8:41 So these reminders are very, very helpful. Is there any question or comment about any of the things that I just brought up, whether this is something that is meaningful to you? Report an error

9:02 for you in your own experience or that you can relate to somehow. Does this make some kind of sense to you or does it seem quite foreign? Report an error

9:15 Is there Report an error

9:22 anything that's mirrored in your own experience that's similar to that? Like, is there an action which could be... worry if you give the wrong answer, I'll just yell at you. Report an error

9:36 Empty and meaningless, but in fact, if you're mindful, it can have great meaning and great purpose. Is there anything like that? Report an error

9:46 Shaking hands with somebody? Shaking hands. Oh, could you explain what you mean by that? That's very intriguing. Well, it's a polite gesture, but it's actually a physical contact that we have with another person. Yeah. It's meaningful for that reason. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Report an error

10:12 That's true. You know, when we shake hands, sometimes it's just an automatic response. And there's not much necessarily going on inside. It's just, we're taught that's what you do when you meet somebody. But on the other hand, it could be extremely meaningful, couldn't it? We can think of it as contact, reaching out, touching. Report an error

10:34 I also heard, I think this is true, but I have no way of knowing, that... If we go way, way back in history, even to prehistory, that the act of shaking hands was showing the other person that you weren't carrying a weapon. At least you didn't have it in your hand. Yeah. You have one behind your back, but not in that hand. Larry, you're nodding your head. Had you heard that before? Report an error

11:00 Yeah, I heard that before. Yeah, yeah. So it could have that meaning as well, you know. the left-handed people and wake up. That's right. I think Report an error

11:21 that's all I had to say about that. But if there's something about the approach to ritual, and of course we haven't done very, very little ritual in this course, but if you were to get into Buddhism, there are different things that are ritualistic types of behavior. Oh, and one of the things... I promised I would talk about today has to do with water bowls, like what we have here on the altar. And so when I get into that, this is also relating to a rather fairly Report an error

12:06 elaborate ritualistic ritual behavior, which again can be done completely mindlessly, in which case all you're doing is pouring water. Report an error

12:18 Or it can be done with great mindfulness, in which case it can embody virtually the entire spiritual path to enlightenment. So I'll talk about that in a moment. Report an error

12:32 So when I came in, I pointed out that I put my email address, Jonathan Landau, Landau with a W at the end, which is a bit unusual, jonathanlandau at gmail.com. And the reason I've given it... Is that I have material at home, such things as recorded meditations, printed material and so forth. And if Report an error

13:09 people are interested in making contact with me, either to request some of this information that I could send you as email attachments, or... some things have come up in this class that you didn't have a chance to discuss or question, or after this class, if there's some things come up in your subsequent experience, like in your reading, or you just remember something from the course and a question comes up about it, I'm very, very happy to receive your So if you were to email me, then that gives me your... Report an error

13:49 It shows that you're interested in receiving some of this and it automatically gives me your email address and so I can respond in whichever way is appropriate. Sending material, responding to your questions and so forth. Report an error

14:14 I've tended in the past to be fairly prompt in responding. I Report an error

14:19 But as the years go by, it's been taking me longer, and especially when I'm engaged in other works. But I do take, I have tremendous interest in hearing from you, especially your questions or your comments, and I will answer as quickly as I'm able, and as thoroughly as I'm able. Report an error

14:41 So that's the email address. The other thing that I put on underneath it, Was the name of a person who teaches at the sister center. It's called Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, which is about a 50-minute drive from here, north of Santa Cruz, if you've never been there. A retreat center. He was the first one of this particular tradition in America. And the person who is the resident teacher there now, Her name is Elaine Jackson, and Elaine has actually been a pioneer. Way, way back, back in the 70s, she and her husband John were founders of Vajrapani, together with another group of people, and they built this center in the middle of a redwood forest where there had been nothing before. Report an error

15:42 And at that time, John, her husband, was the director. And then after many years, Elaine came and became like spiritual program coordinator and director. And now she's a resident teacher there. So she's been involved for many, many, many years. And she's the kind of person that it's very, very easy to connect with, you know, a very, very... Report an error

16:12 Regular person, very open, very bright, very personable. So if studying more about meditation or making contact with it is something that interests you, and if you have the time, among the courses that she's teaching is this course on Introduction to Meditation. And it's conceived of as a two-part course. The first part, February 22nd. Report an error

16:39 to the 24th, is like the introduction. I think that's a weekend. And you can just take that if you want. But if you have more time, you can stay on for another week from February 24th to, I think, March 3rd, I remember correctly. So if something like this is interesting, interested to you, then you can contact Lama. Report an error

17:12 And all the material that you need for this is on a poster outside the door here at the bookstore here in Land of Medicine Buddha. You'll see it there and you can find out more about it then if that interests you. And of course there are courses going on here and at Vajrapani throughout the year. So if you sign up to be on the newsletter, Or if you tune in, if you make a connection with the website, both of these places, you get the schedule as it's coming out. Report an error

17:51 And there's quite a wealth of different types of courses being given by Westerners and Tibetans and other very qualified teachers. So this is one resource that you can find out more. And of course... I've just mentioned just two of many, many centers. The West Coast has quite a large number, and so you can find out, you might discover something is being given at a time that you can take it that interests you very much, and then you can explore that for yourself. Report an error

18:39 The other thing I wrote on was the mantra, of compassion. Om Mane Padme. How many people already have some level of familiarity with that mantra? Quite a number of people, right? But for how many people is either this mantra or just mantras in general something very new? Report an error

19:06 Either one. Yeah. Okay. So there's a few people for whom this is quite new. Depending on how things evolve this morning and this afternoon, we might have a chance to get into the meaning or the use of mantras because this course is called How to Meditate and there are many, many different types of meditation practice and I wanted to touch on variety and mantra recitation. Report an error

19:44 It can be an aspect of the meditation practice, but in the space of a short weekend like this, it isn't possible to cover every aspect, so we'll see if we get to that one or not, but we might. Report an error

20:01 That reminds me, by the way, for people who hear from the beginning, and I was talking about the syllabus for this course, and that the syllabus I passed out was actually the syllabus for this course, what it's taught. Over a span of five or six weeks. Whereas here, this is an abbreviated version of just a weekend. Report an error

20:25 Well, I was told afterwards something that I didn't know, and that was that Land of Medicine Buddha has instituted a practice of having the regular modules, you know, that go for five or six weeks. The ones I was familiar with in the past. And then interspersing in it every once in a while a getaway weekend. Report an error

20:52 And the getaway weekend takes a module and purposely abbreviates it for a weekend. So people who don't have a chance or don't have the opportunity of coming for five or six weeks because of their schedule, but really want to get a taste of what these modules are like. Every once in a while, an abbreviated module will be given. I didn't know that before. I just thought that they changed the practice and then instead of giving the longer sessions, they were just occasionally giving the shorter session. Report an error

21:26 But no, they continue to give the longer five or six weeks sessions of each of these modules. But as I said, every once in a while they have these walk-away weekends, and this was one of them. But I didn't know that was the... I have Report an error

21:52 several Report an error

22:05 directions that we could go in. And because I had spoken twice in the last few days about water bowls and responses to questions, maybe that's... That's the best direction for me to take. So first of all, water bowls. The reason it comes up is because when you come into a gonpa like this, you see all of these bowls laid out. Report an error

22:34 Now, depending which time of day you come in, the bowls are either filled with water and lined up, or they're emptied and turned upside down. So right now, they're empty and turned upside down. Report an error

22:50 But at a certain point in the day, someone will come by and there's a resident Tibetan who is the main person who works with these water bowls among his other tasks. And at a certain time of day, they'll be filled up. And then later in that day, they'll be emptied again. So when you talk about water bowl practice, we're referring to that procedure. Report an error

23:15 And so what is the purpose? What is the meaning? of putting out water bowls like this. The Report an error

23:41 Tibetans like to tell a story which serves as an analogy for the water bowl practice. And it's a story or a recitation based on ancient Report an error

24:08 Indian cultural way of And the example comes from ancient India, because the Tibetans received their Buddhism from ancient India. But you'll see that many aspects of it are directly applicable to our Western civilization as well. So the background to this kind of story is that someone... Let's say living in a village in India has some kind of maybe dispute with his neighbor or desires some help from the local government to be able to do something, to build something or boundary dispute or whatever it might be. Report an error

25:03 So what would that person do? Well, you figure out who's the person in the village who has the power. to grant my request you know to help with the boundary dispute or settle something So who's the person in charge? So it could be anything from the king to the local magistrate. So let's say it's the local magistrate, right, because the king isn't necessarily in the village. So you... Report an error

25:41 The idea then would be to invite this powerful person, this magistrate, to your house to, as it were, wine and dine him, and then at the end make a request, and then there is a chance that he would grant it because he was so well received in your house. Report an error

26:07 This isn't exactly bribery, but it's in kind of the same category. And we know, of course, that it can manifest as out-and-out bribery, like when people contribute to political action committees, millions of dollars, and then, of course, they expect the person who gets elected to pass their legislation rather than something else. Report an error

26:32 But this is more a way of just inviting someone who can help you to come and help you. So what would they do in India to welcome such a powerful person to their home? Well, they know that that person is going to be coming over land, over dusty roads, usually on hot days. So the first thing you give to your visitor is water to wash out their mouth, you know, and to quench their thirst. Report an error

27:12 So you offer water for their mouth. And the next thing you do is offer water so that they can wash off their feet because in the ancient days people didn't wear much more than sandals and the roads are very dusty. So when you invite that person into your home, you offer water so that they can cleanse their feet. And of course there's analogies today. Report an error

27:43 You know, when someone comes to our home, one of the first things we do is, would you like something to drink? That's very, very common, isn't it? So that's analogous to it. Report an error

27:54 I don't think we necessarily offer to wash their feet. That's not too much of our custom, you know. But in some houses, they offer the person to take off their shoes and put on some slippers. You know, that's very similar. And a lot of people do things like that. Report an error

28:13 So, then the guest of honor is escorted into a room that is decorated with flowers, so it's a very kind of lovely, inviting environment. And incense will be lit to give a nice smell. and Report an error

28:43 Lights will be put on candles, nowadays electric lights. So the room looks very inviting. It has all of these nice qualities of sight and sound, sight and smell particularly. Report an error

29:04 So there's the color of the flowers and the smell of the incense and the light of the candles. And then there is... There has been a tradition that when the guest of honor is seated, he or she is offered some kind of scented water. Report an error

29:30 There's an analogy in the Bible in which Jesus is invited into the home of these two sisters and the way the Bible puts it, they anointed his head with oil. You know, it's a fragrant aromatic oil that is rubbed into their hair or rubbed on their shoulders like that. And so there was an analogous type of offering like that that was often done to honored guests. You offer this kind of scented oil to apply to their body. Report an error

30:09 And then, of course, When you invite a guest in, you offer a meal. So there's a food offering. And often, at the same time that the food was being offered, music would be played. So nowadays, you might just turn on the CD player and put on some nice music to create an atmosphere. So all of these things are to make as delightful and as inviting an atmosphere as possible for this. Report an error

30:45 Honored guest. Report an error

30:49 And one analogy, another analogy I should say that comes to my mind from Western culture are the serenades of Mozart. Those serenades came into existence because these very powerful upper class people would gather for some kind of festival or dinner or something. Something, Report an error

31:19 And Mozart would be invited to play his serenades while they're eating. Report an error

31:28 Basically they were dinner music, music to be played for the upper classes while they were being wined and dined. So even in the West we have many, many analogies for making people welcome. With offerings of sights and sounds and smells and tastes that are agreeable. And then when, going back to ancient India, when the person has been sufficiently entertained, then that would be the time that the head of the household would make his or her petition. Report an error

32:08 And would maybe mention some problem they're having with the neighbor or a boundary dispute. Or something that they require from the government, whatever it might be. Report an error

32:25 And the hope being that being properly greeted and accepted and entertained, that the person would be disposed to grant the wish, whatever it was. Report an error

32:42 So that's what the Water Bowl offering... That's where the symbolism of the water pole offering comes from. That practice of inviting a powerful person into your home in order to make a request. Report an error

33:01 So what does that have to do with us here? So the room that we're inviting this so-called powerful person to come into is the space of our meditation practice. Our spiritual practice. So in our home, it could be wherever we set up an altar or wherever we do our meditation. But here, in a center like this, it's in the Goppa, the place for meditation. And in that place of meditation, on an altar or on a shrine, are things that remind us of who we're inviting. Report an error

33:50 Here, we're inviting beings who have demonstrated or are symbolic of enlightenment, full awakening. So in the Buddhist tradition, these are the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, those compassionate beings on the path to Buddhahood. So here in this Gompo, we have pictures of our teachers, statues of the Buddhas. Report an error

34:20 Images of great bodhisattvas, they all remind us of who it is that we're inviting into our meditation. And why would we choose those pictures to put on? Why don't we have, as is the case in some places, pictures of local government officials? Report an error

34:45 I lived in countries where that's what would be prominence in people's homes. Pictures of the... Kings or shahs or generals like that. But here, in this, we're putting up pictures or statues that remind us of our, for want of a better word, our role models. Report an error

35:09 Those who embody what we ourselves emulate, wish to emulate, or which we ourselves wish to become. Outer manifestation, outer... Representations of those inner qualities that we all have in potential form. So we're inviting the Buddhists to come into the presence. Report an error

35:37 Now, what's the importance of inviting them? I mean, are they kind of waiting outside until we make the offerings and then they'll come inside? No, it's not like that. The requesting process is a way of... Putting our own mind in the proper attitude. You know, it is said that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are always present, always willing to help. Report an error

36:05 But it's a little bit like the relationship between a sun and a flower. The sun is shining, but until the flower, or unless the flower, turns its face to the sun, it doesn't receive the sunlight. Report an error

36:23 So it's not enough for the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas and the Gurus and so forth to wish to benefit others and to help them in different ways. What's equally important is for those of us who are practicing to turn our attention in that direction. So all of this practice... From the prostrations and offering the water bowls and so forth, are ways of turning our mind in that direction. And so, as in the analogous situation, much of the activity involves in setting out offerings. Report an error

37:09 But instead of offering of the types that I mentioned before, we make analogous offerings. So here, in this room, quite a lot of water bowls are set out. If in a smaller place or on a smaller altar, then generally speaking, eight separate offerings are put out. All eight of them may be water bowls, or seven of them may be water bowls, and one might be a candle. Report an error

37:40 then if you have greater space, you might put out multiple rows of eight or just many bowls like that. So, these eight... So I'll talk in terms of eight because that's the basic number, though it can be multiplied. So the first bowl is water for the mouth. Report an error

38:03 And when they're being offered, there is a hand gesture, which also the practitioner can engage in, a mudrā, which reminds them of offering water for the mouth. Report an error

38:18 Depending on the level of practice, those mudras can change. But in one, this represents water for the mouth. The second water ball is water for what? Report an error

38:35 Yeah, water for the feet. So the mudrā that goes with that is water for the feet. Then, do you remember what the third one was that you decorated the room with? I can't hear you when you say. Flowers, very good. Flowers, so the mudrā of flowers. And, of course, if it's possible to put... On the shrine, actual items that represent these. You can do that in addition to the water bowls. So a lot of times you'll see festooned on a shrine or altar like this, you'll see flowers, either actual flowers or plastic flowers, something that represents that. Report an error

39:20 And then after that comes incense. So there's a mudrā for incense. and uh... In the past, on authors like this, incense was offered, but because there was such a high danger of fire in this area, which has been very devastating in the past, they really tried to keep down the use of live candles and incense, keep it very controlled, because it's very, very easy here. Report an error

39:57 Especially in this area and especially when there's drought conditions for even just one candle or one spark from an incense to really set the whole place on fire. So very often then the actual incense offering is not made or a stick of incense is put out but it's not lit. Report an error

40:22 So that serves as the incense or offering. But local circumstances sometimes require things to be modified slightly. So we have water for the mouth, water for the feet, flowers, incense, lights, you know, candles. Tibetans make butter lamps, but they can be electric lights or candles or whatever. Then scented water, you know, what you would apply to their... Report an error

40:57 Hair, shoulders like that. Sweet, nice smelling oils. And then food. And so depending again on the local circumstances, food might be put on the altar as well. And then the last one would be music. Report an error

41:22 And so some altars have a lot in addition to or in place of the water bowls which represent these aid offerings. They actually have the actual items. So you go in and you actually see incense and candles and candy and things like that actually on the altar. But if it's more convenient and it works better simply to put out water bowl offerings, then in the process of the person setting them out, you just imagine that's what they are. Report an error

41:59 don't know if you If you read about Buddhist practices, you'll read lines like, by virtue of these offerings, both the actual and the visually created or imagined. So, from this point of view, it isn't absolutely necessary to make an actual offering, just visualizing it becomes very powerful. Report an error

42:34 And then, after all the offerings are made and that practice is done, then the person will typically sit down and engage in meditation practice or prayers or study or whatever they're going to do during that period of time. And they'll have been calling upon the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas and their teachers for inspiration. Report an error

43:04 to derive benefit those practices. So Report an error

43:14 all of that is one way of explaining what water bowls are. But there's another whole level which takes this, in my mind, much, much deeper, much more profound. It doesn't deny anything that I said, but it adds another whole level of understanding to it. And this is what I wanted to share. Report an error

43:40 In many of the Buddhist teachings, teachings which are emphasized to a greater or lesser extent in pretty much every Buddhist tradition around the world, when they talk about suffering and the Report an error

44:05 difficulties in life that we want to overcome, that we intuitively wish we were free from, From the Buddhist point of view, those difficulties largely arise from the way in which we relate to what can be referred to as the sensory objects of desire. Report an error

44:37 live our life surrounded all sorts of sounds, smells, tastes, and tangible Report an error

44:53 Tangible sensations. Some of these we find very pleasant. Some of these we find very unpleasant. So there are certain sights which we delight in looking at. There are other things we don't want to look at. They are harsh. They are painful. Report an error

45:13 Sounds. You know, the sound of a very gentle flute like that. Most people, maybe not all, but most people find that very, very Report an error

45:28 Soothing. One example of sounds that some people, myself included, find rather repulsive is bagpipes or fingernails on blackboards or like that. It's also a sound, so it's a sensory object, but instead of liking it, we feel strong aversion for it. But of course we're all different. Some sounds one person likes, another person may hate. But you can see that there are sights and sounds that fill both of those categories. Report an error

46:04 And also there's a third category of neutral. It doesn't particularly delight or particularly repel, so it's a neutral object. So we have sights and sounds. Smells, well that's very easy. You can all think of something that you'd love to sniff and other things that you would hate to smell. Report an error

46:24 That's very easy to come up with examples of that. I sound, smell, tastes. You know, there's the foods that you look forward to eating and the foods which when you look at it, you go, yeah, like that. And then tangible objects, touches, touch sensations. For many people, the touch of something very smooth and soft is very, very pleasant. Report an error

46:54 It's very rough and scratchy, is unpleasant. Now, before I continue, does that way of summarizing the five sensory objects, does that make sense to you? Report an error

47:19 Understanding that people are different. Not everyone finds the same things pleasant and the same things unpleasant. But any one person definitely has experiences where some of these objects are pleasant. And some are unpleasant. So what happens for us ordinarily when we come in contact with something that is pleasant? Report an error

47:48 Basically, we want it. We'd like to repeat it. We're on the lookout to have even more of it. And as far as things that are unpleasant, what is our reaction? Well, we want to be separated from it. We don't want that. We don't want to see that. We don't want to hear that. We push it away. So the two major ways in which we relate to these sensory objects is either through attraction or repulsion. Report an error

48:20 And just think for a second in your own experience. Is there something in your own makeup which relates to the things that you... See, hear, smell, taste and touch that are like attraction and some that are like repulsion. Report an error

48:41 Putting aside for a moment those which are neutral. Report an error

48:51 So these are the objects of the five physical senses. Report an error

49:00 there is a fundamental teaching in Buddhism the main, a main... The cause of the suffering and dissatisfaction that we experience in our life derives from our attitude towards these five sensory objects that we are attracted to. We could almost say addicted to experiencing the five pleasant objects of the senses. Report an error

49:40 Getting rid of the five unpleasant objects of the senses. I don't know whether people here play this game on the West Coast, but when we were kids on the East Coast, we had games called scavenger hunts. So we'd have a list of things, and we'd go out individually or in groups of people, and we had to bring back what was ever on that list. Report an error

50:06 And then you'd come back to the party or wherever this event started. And you showed off what you found and the winner was the person who got most things on the scavenger list. Well, nowadays there is something which I had not heard of when I was younger. I think it's a fairly new phrase. A bucket list. The things that you want to do before you die. It's kind of similar. Report an error

50:32 From both of these points of view, the bucket list, the scavenger list and so forth, life is viewed as an opportunity to gain as many pleasant objects of sensory desire as possible and to avoid as many unpleasant ones. Report an error

50:49 Now, we have to check from our own experience whether that analysis rings true or not. From the Buddhist point of view, A statement like that, that a major source of our suffering is addiction to pleasant objects of desire and repulsion from the negative objects of desire, those statements you can hear and see written in the Buddhist scriptures. Report an error

51:19 But as I mentioned the other day, Buddha was adamant in saying, don't accept it simply because you heard it from me or from some other teacher. The important thing is to check to see, Is that true in my own experience? And then when we check up, we start to find certain things in our experience or others' experience which may bring that statement to life so that we can accept it based on our own experience, not based on what Buddha said or somebody else said, but what we've noticed. Report an error

51:55 In other words, the Buddha is just pointing out something which, if we look carefully, we might be able to notice. in our own experience. And it's noting it in our own experience that's important. It's not aligning our mind and just accepting what Buddha or any other teacher said, but checking up. You know, that was Lama Yeshe's favorite phrase. Check up. Check up, dear. You know, check up in your experience. Does this make sense out of your experience? Report an error

52:25 So, in extreme cases, it's easy to see that That this analysis, that attachment to sensory objects of desire is a source of suffering, when we think of some extreme cases like addiction to heroin, right? Or, in place of heroin, any other very powerful habit-forming drug. Why are people interested in experiencing whatever that drug is? Report an error

53:05 Because it is said to be pleasurable. In fact, from reports I've heard, I've not dabbled in heroin, it was around, it could have been. I was actually afraid of getting addicted, and I hate the idea of needles. But that was one of the many drugs of choice that were around. It didn't interest me, but people who were interested in it, they say, oh John, you wouldn't believe how... Report an error

53:34 Beyond pleasurable it is. And when I read accounts of junkies and so forth, they all talk about it. How it's extraordinary. It's beyond orgasm. It's just really nice. Beyond that. Report an error

53:56 Okay, so they have this enjoyable experience. But very quickly, very easy to become addicted to it. So it's not enough just to have it every once in a while. The very act of having it. Sets up a dependency on it. Then things really start to go south. Because then it requires more and more of the substance, whether it's heroin or some other substance, more and more to get the pleasant response. Report an error

54:27 And at some point it's incapable of giving a pleasant response. It only gives a painful response. So addiction to objects of desire, very... easily turn into their opposite. You know. Um... I always like to use the case of birthday parties, because when I was a kid and went to birthday parties, generally I didn't like them very much, but I really liked the chocolate cake with the flowers made out of icing. Report an error

55:04 You know what I mean? Yeah, we weren't that fancy. I think we just had some kind of sugary concoction, you know. It's hard It's sugary but it's hard That I never liked. I like the soft ones. But they make these roses, you know, colored like that. Yeah, like cream, like that. Report an error

55:29 So anyway, just think of some beautifully decorated cake and people saying happy birthday and then the kids' eyes become really big. They look forward to it and they sit down and they fill their plate as big as they can with a piece of this delicious looking cake. And then they take one bite or maybe two bites. And it's exciting in the beginning, but very, very quickly it cloys. Report an error

55:59 And now that I'm grown up and sometimes I have occasion to be... Together when kids are at a party like this and I check up afterwards, the vast majority of the plates still have most of the cake on it. They turn to something else. So it looks exciting. It looks exciting to the eyes. It tastes exciting to the tongue in the beginning. Report an error

56:23 But very, very quickly what happens is that it begins to cloy. It begins to become satiated. And after a while... That thing which was so attractive starts to become kind of repulsive. Now I'm using the example of a beautifully decorated birthday cake and kids, but can you think in your own experience, and this would be really helpful if you could come up with examples for your own mind and to share with others here. Report an error

56:58 Can you think of examples of... Things that you find initially attractive but as you stay together with them they not only lose their initial attraction but actually have sometimes turned into their opposite and become repulsive. Can you think of anything like that in your experience? Report an error

57:23 A person. I want to keep it simpler in terms of objects of desire. You can use a person as well but that's kind of complex. Because a person is a combination of body and mind. The body is a combination of the five physical elements and so forth. So it's complex. But I take your point. Like the person, especially you become infatuated with someone. Report an error

57:53 You know, kind of like a Report an error

57:59 very young person first starting out and getting really attracted. To that man or that woman because of their outer form or their shape or their color or whatever it might be. And they're very attractive. But then as you spend more time with that person, it's very possible that they not only lose their attractiveness but become somewhat repulsive. Report an error

58:24 You read about that in People magazine every week. They have the biggest, the greatest wedding. That Hollywood has ever put on, you know, and all these guests have been invited and it's cost thousands if not millions of dollars and everything is beautiful and the magazines are filled with all the wedding dresses and everything and they're going to have vacation in the most beautiful place in the world and then two months later you read that they can't stand each other, you know, and they're suing each other in court, you know. Report an error

58:54 To me, Papal Magazine... It's like the lamrim. It is like the Buddhist scriptures. A real clear example of saṃsāra. You know, saṃsāra is this cycle of repeated discontent. I find it amazing because it really relates to the things that we're interested in. Because what's happened in People magazine is not only happening to those rich stars and those other people, but... Report an error

59:24 The people who buy the magazine and read the magazine, like myself, also find that really interesting. So, I think there was something here. I was going to say, on some level, the vast majority of material goods, because the expectation of them is often much better than the actual possession of them, or going off in another direction, wanting what the next one is. Report an error

59:51 Yeah, very good. you know it's like uh i have Very often thought that the major religion in the West, and certainly in America in my experience, the major religion here is not Christianity or Judaism or Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism. It's none of those things. The major religion here is consumerism. That's what people put their faith in. If I have more and better, you know, if I, this year's model was nice. Report an error

1:00:22 But next year's model, oh, that's even better. And it's advertised as being better, you know. Whatever they're selling is the best until the next year's model comes out, which is even better. So if this were all true, then every successive iteration of whatever the object is must be more and more heavenly. Report an error

1:00:48 But it's not, you know. It doesn't matter if the advertisements in the magazine are glossy and really attractive. What you end up is something made out of molecules. Report an error

1:01:02 That's all, you know. So you look at this beautiful car, all shiny and everything, and when you buy it, you're buying that image. Report an error

1:01:12 But when you bring it home, you're not parking the image in your driveway, you're parking the car. And the car is made out of metal and plastic and wood. And eventually it's going to deteriorate and get scratched. And then you're going to want to replace it with something else. But the image, the image you have on it, the image that attracts us is unchanging. Report an error

1:01:34 It's like a picture in a magazine. It's like those little confections that Alice in Wonderland comes across. Eat me. Buy me. Possess me. I'll give you what you want. Report an error

1:01:54 Another thing that I find really helpful, a really way of understanding the Dharma teachings, this is related to all of this, is advertising. Report an error

1:02:05 And Lama Yeshe used to say, oh, the advertising in America are the most creative, brilliant psychologists there are, because they know exactly how to catch people's interest. And, oh, where was I going with that? Again, derailed my own train of thought. Report an error

1:02:29 Yeah, and there's a specific thing I was referring to, I was going to refer to. Report an error

1:02:38 I can't hear you. Objects. Yeah, but something specific. Report an error

1:02:49 Oh, yeah. Report an error

1:03:02 What we are attracted to is not the object itself, but an exaggerated image of the attractiveness of that object with the thought that if I were to possess it, then I would be happy. Report an error

1:03:21 And this works on a lot of different levels, whether buying a car or a suit of clothes or something and thinking this is a source of happiness, whereas after a while it just becomes something you just want to get rid of. But it also works on the level of persons, as Henry mentioned. And for that, one example that hit me very strongly when I read about it, Report an error

1:03:51 Maybe old enough to remember one of the screen goddesses of the 40s, Rita Hayworth, one of Hollywood's most beautiful and talented actresses, a tremendous dancer in addition to anything else. And her star vehicle was Gilda, in which she played a dancer. And in those days, there were no DVDs, so when you went to see any of these things, you saw it in a movie. So these images were like 60 feet tall, you know, and this beautiful goddess dancing across the screen. Report an error

1:04:31 And so that was Rita Hayworth for people. You know, she was really, you know, a sex goddess in her day, an image of alluring beauty. well Some years ago, I read a review of a book which talked about her life. I think part of it was autobiographical. And in it, there was one quote. And she was talking about how miserable her life was. And she said, yes, you see, so many men that I've had relationships are attracted. Report an error

1:05:17 But the next morning, they wake up with me. And I thought, that is so powerful. People see this goddess, this image, this multi-storied, huge, beautiful, alluring goddess, and they get attracted, and they meet Rita Hayworth. Some of them will, you know. They start a relationship with her, to be together with this goddess. But that goddess is just on the screen. Report an error

1:05:47 The reality is another flesh and blood human being made up of molecules, right? That's the physical part. And a mind, a mind which has some positive qualities and some very negative qualities. And so when you're having a relationship, the relationship that you have with the image can fade very, very quickly just to see them without their makeup on. Report an error

1:06:19 You know, then they look different. That's another thing about People magazine. Every once in a while I've noticed on the covers they have pictures of famous people, they say, without their makeup. Have you ever seen that? On the covers of the magazines, you know? It's like, why do they put that on the cover of the magazine? All these Hollywood stars and actresses and people like that without their makeup. Report an error

1:06:45 And, uh... Maybe it's to help people who are kind of plain or ugly not to be so jealous of those people who are attractive, because without their makeup they're also quite plain. Report an error

1:07:02 But for me, it's really this great teaching on the difference between the image that we're attracted to and the reality that we encounter. know Report an error

1:07:14 And the image can be very attractive, but the reality can very quickly change to its opposite. Report an error

1:07:28 Okay, Report an error

1:07:33 so now my job is to wrap that up, because all of that's connected somehow to the water bottle offerings. Report an error

1:07:44 So from the point of view of those Buddhist teachings, which talk about the danger or the suffering that's produced by attraction to sensory objects, Report an error

1:08:00 All of that relates to that experience, that overestimation of what's attractive, you know, thinking that it can give us full satisfaction, whereas in reality it can only give temporary pleasure, not true abiding happiness. But we're constantly disappointed and we think the problem lies in the object. If I just had something which was more beautiful, more attractive, Then I'd be satisfied. But it never happens, does it? We have to check up. Does it ever happen that we find something that's so attractive we never tire of it? Report an error

1:08:40 I love classical music. I love Bach and Beethoven and Mozart and many, many other kinds of music, right? But if I put on the piece of music that I love at the moment the most... And I listen to it once, and then I put it on again right afterwards, and then again right afterwards. Very quickly I don't want to listen to it anymore. Report an error

1:09:06 So these sensory objects of desire, they have this come-hither attraction about them, but they very quickly lose their luster. Report an error

1:09:21 So, in what we might call the more fundamental or basic teachings of Buddhism, for example, they talk about having a very standoffish attitude to sensory objects, to have a certain kind of basic mistrust of your five senses, because they lead you in that direction, which only leads to disappointment. Report an error

1:09:54 So you'll find a lot of teachings which echo that idea. And you go into certain monasteries in certain countries and the monks and nuns are all looking down as if they're wearing blinders, you know, like a horse does, so they don't get distracted. So basically the idea is to guard their senses. Report an error

1:10:20 So instead of indulging the senses, guarding the senses. And so the idea is to find contentment. To avoid overindulgence because it turns pleasure into pain. And they also point out that when you're attracted to something that's pleasant, if you don't get it, that's suffering. Report an error

1:10:46 You want something, whatever it might be. If you don't get it, that's disappointing. That's the suffering. But if you do get it, that also is eventually suffering because it loses its lustre or changes to its opposite. And that becomes disappointing. So the way that we relate to these sensory objects is filled with the possibility of suffering. Report an error

1:11:10 So the general advice is then to guard the senses. And you come across this in the foundational teachings of Buddhism again and again. Report an error

1:11:23 However, it's pointed out in the higher teachings that the problem is not in the object. It's not that the beautiful objects are the problem, that the attractive or unattractive objects, it's the way we relate to them. Then if we could relate to them differently, then those same objects which cause suffering can actually be the cause of gaining great insight and a blissful experience of awakening. Report an error

1:12:01 So the higher teachings, based... Which are fully based on those foundational teachings. Say, if we have the ability and the training to evolve our own attitude, then there's no danger whether the object is attractive or unattractive. We can use both types of objects to enhance our blissful wisdom like that. So, going back to the water bowl offerings. Report an error

1:12:31 What's being offered, you know, Our beautiful sights, sounds, smells, tastes and tangible sensations. So on the altar are things that represent colors and shapes and sounds and smells that are attractive. The very same things which in ordinary cases can lead to suffering and disappointment as we described. But it's being offered to enlightened beings. Report an error

1:13:07 So enlightened beings have no problem with these objects. They don't develop addiction to attractive objects of desire or repulsion to unattractive objects. Their mind is not affected negatively by any of those things. Instead, whatever they see, smell, taste, touch or hear just further enhances their blissful wisdom. Report an error

1:13:36 That open, radiant consciousness that they have. So from another point of view, putting out these water bowls is a way for the practitioner to transform, or Report an error

1:13:52 at least desire to transform, his or her relation to sensory objects into something which is productive of wisdom, blissful wisdom. So if we can... So keep that attitude in mind and lay out the water bowl offerings or just observe the water bowl offerings, then it becomes not only a way of inviting the inspiration of our teachers and the Buddhas into our presence as a help to our practice, but it also becomes a way of transforming our own attitude towards sensory objects. Report an error

1:14:37 From things which cause only disappointment and dissatisfaction to things which, if handled correctly, actually enhances our wisdom. Report an error

1:14:54 So that's it. That's water bowls. We have just a few minutes left before we stop this and then go for lunch. Did any of this bring up things that you feel like you want to mention or ask about? Or if this is like a... A southern Baptist church if you want to testify. Give me a hallelujah. Report an error

1:15:25 Yes, please. First you and then you. No, no, first you. Is that a strictly Tibetan Buddhist tradition? I've only seen it in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Report an error

1:15:43 But in other Buddhist traditions, know Report an error

1:15:47 I have seen shrines and altars with things placed on them. In groups of eight, I've only recognized that as in cultures relating to the Tibetan sphere. So that would include Mongolia and things like that where they receive their Buddhism from Tibet. I don't know whether you go to Japan, whether they have sets of eight water bowls, I doubt it. Report an error

1:16:14 But if you go even to a very, very, A sedate Japanese temple, they will have a candle or a stick of incense or something. But this way of putting it out in water bowls and groups of eight, maybe largely Tibetan, but evidently coming from India. Report an error

1:16:40 Is Report an error

1:16:45 there a resource that I could explore more in terms of shapes? Oh, yeah. Because I am very interested in the indicative of offering. Yeah, there's many books filled with the kind of symbolism and there's, depending on what you're looking for, one great resource is an encyclopedia of motifs by a great artist named Robert Beer, B-E-E-R. Report an error

1:17:22 A great artist, he's got this encyclopedia filled with designs. Hundreds, thousands of designs that could give you a lot of ideas of the kinds of things that you might find interesting to reproduce. Report an error

1:17:37 And that's just one example. Yes? Report an error

1:17:49 I'm a little Report an error

1:18:07 bit hesitant about it. I'm a little Report an error

1:18:10 But I think that's referring to attractive objects of sight because as sound is an object of hearing, form is an object of seeing. So beautiful sights. So that basically comes down to colors and shapes. I think that's what that is. Report an error

1:18:37 Anything else? Yes. Just a question. So your last point when you were saying it's... Is it because when we become enlightened and when we receive these materialistic or pleasure of things, we should receive it with gratitude versus with greed or expectations that we want more and more? Just receive it with gratitude? Report an error

1:19:09 you? Mm-hmm. Do you, do you? mean, is that the that you wanted to give us, or do you have the guidance? Actually, I wasn't thinking specifically of the attitude of gratitude, right? But that works in, that fits in with it. I was saying that if the mind is sufficiently open and radiant, then the same objects which could cause a problem for an ordinary being just increases the radiance for an enlightened being. Report an error

1:19:41 So, even though we're not there... We might not be there yet. We have that potential to experience all the objects of the sensory world, not with greed, not with attachment, not as a source of suffering, but as something which can actually enhance our potentially enlightened nature. But I like that you had the idea of gratitude. I wasn't thinking of that particularly, but... Report an error

1:20:14 Certainly an attitude of gratitude towards receiving something is better than an attitude of greed towards receiving something. Because gratitude is not going to be the cause of suffering, certainly not in the way that greed becomes the source of suffering. Report an error

1:20:31 Yes, please. Report an error

1:20:53 Can you just clarify and elaborate on that? This is a very big and very important issue. If there is some... Something that you find attractive. Well, you are attracted to the object. I don't mean to say that you're not attracted to the object. But what I mean is that you're not actually seeing the object as it is. Report an error

1:21:17 On top of that object, let's say, maybe it's good if we use an example. Do you have something that you find attractive? I use cars and things like that, birthday cakes, but maybe something else. Report an error

1:21:39 Money, yeah. But money is more like, in itself it's symbolic. So it's like nobody's attracted to paper. Well, I can hardly think of anyone who's attracted to paper. And yet that's what paper money is. It's paper. But on top of the paper, the whole society has superimposed this idea of value, of worth. Report an error

1:22:11 Possible possessions of fame, you know, like that. But that's at least one step removed already from being an attractive object. So we can use that, but that adds another level of distance. Can you think of something that is attractive to your sight, sound, smell, taste or tangible sensation? Report an error

1:22:44 Yeah, it could be something like that. There is the physical object which is the basis, you know, which is the constituent elements of that object. Report an error

1:23:01 And what are, you know, let's say it's a glass of wine, you know, which has a nice shape in the glass and a color to it, you know, and has all of these attractive qualities. Report an error

1:23:21 Well, the physical basis of it are droplets of liquid, and the droplets of liquid are made up of molecules, which in turn are made up of atoms, which in turn are made up of subatomic particles, all of which are undergoing a state of constant change. Now, I'm saying that as if it's true, because that is the worldview, isn't it? I don't think... Report an error

1:23:50 There are scientists or anyone who would disagree with that. The objects that we see, if they're objects of sight, are made up of this gradation from gross objects down to molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, all of which are in a constant state of flux. Report an error

1:24:12 So we can be attracted to that object, but we're not in our mind at that time. We don't look at it and say, what a beautiful collection, what an attractive collection of subatomic particles. Report an error

1:24:35 Whoever thinks that? Even nuclear physicists who study this kind of thing, if they have an attractive object, they don't think I'm relating to a whole bunch of ever-changing subatomic particles. Report an error

1:24:53 Instead, there's something real there. Something solid. And it's something which I find really attractive. You know, it either gets me high or tastes good or it's colorful or whatever it is like that. And there's a sense that by engaging with it, by consuming it, I'll experience some form of pleasure. Report an error

1:25:21 And if it only goes that far, There's no problem. But when there's the feeling that that source of pleasure is capable of giving us ultimate happiness and satisfaction, then there's a big problem. Because no matter how delicious or powerful the glass of wine is, or whatever the object is, no matter how attractive it is, its ability to give... Report an error

1:25:55 Pleasure is extremely limited. It can give pleasure, for sure. It can. But if we view it, if we superimpose on it an idea, a real source of happiness, then we're not dealing with the reality of the glass of wine anymore. We're dealing with an overestimation, a superimposition, something placed on top of what's there. Report an error

1:26:28 It's like a phantom object. Report an error

1:26:35 And of course that only exists in our own mind. It can't be found anywhere in the glass of wine. It's only a mental projection. It has no more reality than that. The reality that we actually connect with is this, again, group of ever-changing subatomic particles or something like that. Report an error

1:27:01 So it's the discrepancy between what we're... What we're hoping to find, something that really gives full satisfaction and pleasure, and something which is only capable of giving limited temporary pleasure. If we're satisfied with that, if we sip it and we are happy with just the temporary pleasure, then there's no big problem. But if we get addicted to it, if we get attached to it, if we can't let go of it, Then it becomes a big problem because the reality is incapable of giving us what the image seems to bode forth for us. Report an error

1:27:48 Does that make sense? So this idea of overestimation is based on a superimposition, you know, a mental imposition of looking at things. Report an error

1:28:02 So the kids at the birthday party, they already have an image in their mind, birthday cake, wow! But when they start actually eating it, it's like, yeah, two tastes are enough. I'll turn to something else. Of course, I have to add, that was not true for me. Report an error

1:28:21 I could eat the whole case. In fact, once there was a party at my parents' house, which didn't happen too often. This is actually a party for grown-ups. And they were hosting it. And I remember going into the kitchen where the people who came in, particularly to put on this party, the catering, people they were And I saw that there was a bowl filled with frosting. And I knew that the cake had already been served. So I said, well, what's this? Report an error

1:28:51 He said, oh, this is the leftover frosting. Well, what are you going to do? He said, well, throw it out. It's not going to be good. Tomorrow I said, oh, no, you're not. And I remember. You know, I took a spoon and I just ate the whole thing, you know. People say, oh, then you must have gotten sick after it. No, no, no, I really enjoyed it. Report an error

1:29:15 I couldn't do it now. But I was able to do superhuman feats like that when I was young. Report an error

1:29:28 So, thank you so much. Oh, a quick question. I know some people at courses like this have to leave before the end, you know, to get back to where they're going. Now, there is meant to be a session, not a very long one, from 1.30 to 3 in the afternoon, but I know it might be possible that some people have to leave. Report an error

1:29:55 Can I see a show of hearings of people who are going to have to leave before that last session? Are you all going to be here? What are you planning on covering? You don't know. Oh, it depends. Report an error

1:30:10 So, I'm assuming everybody here is a glutton for punishment? That's right. Meditation. Meditation. That would be nice. One meditation. What's everybody's thoughts on having a group picture before we all leave? You guys okay with this? And that could be in the afternoon as well? Because you'll be here or are you leaving? I'll be here, yeah. Okay, then it can be done then. Or during the lunch hour if it happens, we can do that. Report an error

1:30:41 That'd be fine. I wanted to do some form of meditation, or maybe more than one, but I'm going to see which one it is. Well, thank you so much. Enjoy your lunch. Thank you for your participation. Report an error

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Talk by Jonathan Landaw. Original at Land of Medicine Buddha via Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/meditation-weekend-jon-landaw-2019jan. Licensed CC BY-ND 4.0. Transcript generated automatically and may contain errors; the audio is the authoritative version.

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