Transform Your Mind & Change Your Life Retreat - 7-Point Mind Training from Atisha (part 41)

0:19 Just a couple of comments on this practice Dong Len, which is really a major centerpiece of this entire training. Something we can do while sitting quietly in meditation. You can go off into retreat and practice for many hours a day. Very, very meaningful. But it's also a kind of practice you can just implement at any time throughout the course of the day. Report an error in the passage at 0:19 Highlight the passage at 0:19

0:41 And for any reason. That is, you could be seeing events like events in the news, internet, television, what have you. And where it's so easy to feel helpless. I mean, there they are, people maybe thousands of miles away and so forth. And one may feel, practically speaking, I don't have power, I don't have money, there's nothing I can do. Report an error in the passage at 0:41 Highlight the passage at 0:41

1:02 In many cases that's true, in terms of what can you actually do. In many cases it's nothing at all. On one level. On the other level, there is something we can do. There's always something we can do. We can always practice don't let. And that's not nothing. It's not nothing. The mind... Consciousness is right there in the very ground of being. There's no power in nature that is more, what can I say, powerful, stronger, greater than the power of consciousness. Report an error in the passage at 1:02 Highlight the passage at 1:02

1:34 And you tap down to the root and it's Buddha mind. And so practicing Dolan is doing a great deal more than nothing. We're doing something and we can always practice it. Even when we're looking at global issues, we can practice it. We're just speaking with someone who seems quite troubled. And especially when we're just listening. When you're talking, then you've got to be involved in talking. But when you're listening to the other person, and they're maybe telling you their woes or what they're upset about or difficulties in their life, give them full attention. Report an error in the passage at 1:34 Highlight the passage at 1:34

2:06 But as you're giving them full attention, you can just breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. You can always do that. You can do it for people who are loved ones who are distant, friends who are distant. Report an error in the passage at 2:06 Highlight the passage at 2:06

2:19 And then one can ask a very practical question. And that is, What's the point of the practice? What's the point of the practice? Buddhist practice. And there's a very clear, unequivocal answer to that. The primary reason for doing this practice is to bring forth greater altruism, greater sense of care, loving kindness, compassion for others, so that it overwhelms one's own self-centered aspirations, desires, goals. Report an error in the passage at 2:19 Highlight the passage at 2:19

2:49 The first time I ever translated First Honest to Dalai Lama was in 1979 in Switzerland. I remember vividly. And he was teaching a much shorter mind training, the eight verses of training mind. And I can't remember, I think maybe there were 2,000 people. It was a big tent. I think there were maybe 2,000 people there receiving. Those were the first teachings he ever gave in the West. They were right there in our monastery in Switzerland. And so maybe there were 2,000 people. Report an error in the passage at 2:49 Highlight the passage at 2:49

3:14 I can't remember really, but maybe 1,000. There was an aisle right down the center, of course. And he said, well, imagine you're one person here. And then you have a thousand people on the other side. Which is more important, your well-being or the thousand? It takes a microsecond to figure that one out. Report an error in the passage at 3:14 Highlight the passage at 3:14

3:34 And so he said, well, this is it. I mean, your own well-being is important. But when you consider the well-being of a thousand people, it is literally, do the math, a thousand times more important. But then if we open our hearts and minds to all sentry beings, now it's almost like a fraction where there's a number in the, what's it called? Report an error in the passage at 3:34 Highlight the passage at 3:34

3:53 On top of the line. And it's a zero to note. It does not compute. It's infinitely more important. So it is shifting this attitude to the perspective of a bodhisattva. But more deeply, it's shifting the perspective. The priorities. What's of value? What's important? It's shifting it to view this from the perspective of rikpa. Report an error in the passage at 3:53 Highlight the passage at 3:53

4:15 From the perspective of rikpa, your own well-being is immensely important. You're a sentient being. You're a sentient being. It doesn't get any better than that. But you're one sentient being. And from the non-local, atemporal perspective of Rigpa, your well-being, of course, is no more important than any other sentient being. Every one is important, but compared to one versus inconceivable number, then the whole grounds for self-centeredness, for my well-being being more important than anybody else, is completely dissolved. Report an error in the passage at 4:15 Highlight the passage at 4:15

4:45 And you shift over to a realistic view, which is the view from Rigpa, and seeing what is of greatest importance is the well-being of all sentient beings. And so that's the primary reason. To shift, to turn, again we find this reversal. Self-centeredness, as we define it, sometimes you'll see the translation self-cherishing. It's literally correct and it's misleading. Report an error in the passage at 4:45 Highlight the passage at 4:45

5:07 It's literally correct. But I'm not going to elaborate on that, but self-centeredness, I'll simply define it. You'll see both translations. But self-centeredness, which is diametrically opposed to bodhicitta, is the sense that, I'll speak from first person, that my well-being is more important than anybody else's. Report an error in the passage at 5:07 Highlight the passage at 5:07

5:24 I would be embarrassed to say that, but self-centeredness, that's exactly what self-centered feels. Self-centered attitude is my well-being, but of course those are also mine. Those people I very closely identify with. So it could be family, it could be spouse, children, your closest friend, your group, whatever that group may be. Report an error in the passage at 5:24 Highlight the passage at 5:24

5:44 And so these concentric circles, but I'm in the center, I'm most important. And then there goes out people I still identify with, but less. They're not my closest friends, they're casual friends. And out to people I kind of like. And then it goes into that vast ocean of people I don't know about and don't really care one way or another. Report an error in the passage at 5:44 Highlight the passage at 5:44

6:02 And then it goes out to the fringe of people who've really rubbed me the wrong way. And those people, they should have problems. So that's self-centeredness. It divides the whole of all sentient beings into three groups. I'm in the center, the number one prize, and then goes out. To positive, positive, okay, more neutral, neutral, neutral, and then negative. That's self-centeredness. That's self-centeredness. And so this practice is designed to reverse that entirely. Report an error in the passage at 6:02 Highlight the passage at 6:02

6:35 It's one more revolution. That the well-being of all sentient beings is infinitely more important than one's own individual well-being. And yet, one's own individual well-being is immensely important. It doesn't make it any less important. So this is why when the Buddha taught mettā, loving kindness practice, He suggested that you actually start with yourself. Don't skip yourself in self-abnegation or almost like low self-esteem, like I'm not worthy, but I'll tend to other people because I'm so unworthy. Report an error in the passage at 6:35 Highlight the passage at 6:35

7:03 Absolutely not. You develop for yourself first. This is the Buddhist teaching. Buddha Gosa, the great commentator, develop love and kindness for yourself first and then extend it out where it's easiest, out to loved ones, more casual, but then keep on evenly extending it out to embrace and then finally everyone evenly. Report an error in the passage at 7:03 Highlight the passage at 7:03

7:22 And that's unconditional or immeasurable loving-kindness. So that's the purpose. That's the purpose of the practice. That it's fundamentally there to transform your own mind and cultivate relative bodhicitta. But then the question can come, and it should. If I do this, I can see this would be very good for transforming, for overcoming self-centeredness, for developing greater empathy, greater caring, loving-kindness, compassion. Report an error in the passage at 7:22 Highlight the passage at 7:22

7:45 So clearly it's good. Nothing wrong with it at all. But then the question can be raised, but am I actually doing any good? If I'm focusing on some loved one who's in distress, or someone I see on the media or hear about and so forth, or whole communities where there's a great difficulty as a result of a natural catastrophe, if I practice Donglen towards them, am I actually doing anything that actually had an impact on their lives, or is this really just taking place within my substrate, so to speak, just within my continuum? Report an error in the passage at 7:45 Highlight the passage at 7:45

8:16 So there it's good, and that's probably a good enough reason. But is there any more to it? Or is it basically inside my goldfish bowl, while the rest of the universe is just untouched by my very nice visualizations, aspirations and so forth? And the answer is not just a yes or no. It's not the case that though this is only confined as if your awareness is hermetically sealed. Report an error in the passage at 8:16 Highlight the passage at 8:16

8:41 It's not. If you've ever looked for the borders of your substrate, the field of your awareness, if you ever look for the borders, I think you won't find them. And how big is it? Well, you can't find borders, so no borders. But this means between Mel's substrate, your space of your awareness, and the space of my awareness, there's no barrier, there's nothing separating them, absolutely. Report an error in the passage at 8:41 Highlight the passage at 8:41

9:05 So your space is still your space, and you are at the center of your space, and likewise here, of course. But there's no plastic bag, there's no wall, there's no barrier that says, okay, that's where your substrate stops. And then some of this is over here. That would make us all, once again, inherently consistent substrate, which would mean we'd be unrelated. Well, we're not. Report an error in the passage at 9:05 Highlight the passage at 9:05

9:25 We're not unrelated. So even though each substrate consciousness is distinct, they have no clearly defined borders. And moreover, our lives are all intertwined. We're not existing in isolation. That is, we're not dreaming. So in Mel's perspective, there's not just one sentient being and we're all illusions, figments of imagination. Report an error in the passage at 9:25 Highlight the passage at 9:25

9:46 Clearly not true at all. And yet all the appearances to Mel, all the appearances arising to you, they are in your substrate. Right? That's all clear, yeah? And so in this regard then, as we send out most importantly our thoughts of loving kindness, our aspirations of compassion, perhaps do it with a visualization, this is not locked inside an impermeable membrane. Report an error in the passage at 9:46 Highlight the passage at 9:46

10:12 Of our own awareness, the space of our own minds. Not true, simply not true. That our minds, our bodies, our being here is arising interdependently with everyone around us. So if we're doing something here, it will have, there will be repercussions out there because our very existence is one of interdependence. It's like a spider web. Report an error in the passage at 10:12 Highlight the passage at 10:12

10:32 If you tweak just one strand of the spider web, it is one strand. It's not any of the other strands. But tweak one and of course the whole... Spiderweb vibrates. Something like that. So then to be more specific, this may be significant. These are the classic teachings. And that is, as we practice, this is what Christians would call this prayer. Christian congregation will often do something like this. If not Donglen, it's very, very common for Christian communities to then say, now let us pray for, and we'll speak of... Report an error in the passage at 10:32 Highlight the passage at 10:32

11:03 Of earthquake victims, or I'll speak of members of the congregation. Let us all now pray for someone like that. It's a beautiful thing to do. They probably don't practice len, the taking in. That's okay. But they're praying for, may you be well. So it's kind of like the don part. May you send. Oh, and they're asking for God's blessing. All good. But is it doing anything? Report an error in the passage at 11:03 Highlight the passage at 11:03

11:23 Is it doing anything? As a congregation or as an individual, if we're practicing don len, okay, it's related. But does it work? Can we have some anticipation that we actually see something at the other end that showed, oh, yes, my practice worked? And there the answer is complex. And that is clearly, it's not just a wish list. The answer is, if you do it, will it happen? No guarantee whatsoever. Report an error in the passage at 11:23 Highlight the passage at 11:23

11:53 And that's obvious. Christians have known this for a very long time, people practicing donlem in the Buddhist tradition. That you may, with great compassion, loving kindness, wish well for someone, maybe who is suffering from an illness, they may die anyway. The mere fact that you're practicing Dungland, of course, is no guarantee that they'll recover. Report an error in the passage at 11:53 Highlight the passage at 11:53

12:11 But can it have an effect? And here's the answer. It can have an effect. It really can. But not evenly distributed. And that is, all of us here, each of us, I like this image because I think it's true, each of us is in the center of our own mandala. Each is in the center of our own universe. And as we transform our minds, the universe that we experience, the type of people that populate the universe we experience, they will shift with us. Report an error in the passage at 12:11 Highlight the passage at 12:11

12:39 And so you could be in the same place as other people, and the world you're living in could be very different from those around you. As your mind matures, grows into a bodhisattva mind, and I am a bodhisattva mind, and on and on. You look like everybody else. Outside, I look human to you. That kind of thing. Inwardly, not only you, but the world you're experiencing may be radically different. Report an error in the passage at 12:39 Highlight the passage at 12:39

12:59 Because of the mind you're bringing to it, the reality you're experiencing arises relative to the mind with which you're experiencing it, and the mind with which you're experiencing it is transforming deeply. It cannot but have a very profound effect on how people, the environment and so forth, appear to you. And you're moving from a very mundane realm in saṃsāra to moving into a pure land, whereas your pure land will be in a suburb of Sydney. Report an error in the passage at 12:59 Highlight the passage at 12:59

13:26 In other words, suddenly it becomes a very high-rent district. But you're the only one that gets to live there, right? Because everybody else, they're just living in Sydney. If they're just kind of hanging out, just ordinary lives, ordinary minds. But your environment now will be shifting according to your awareness, being purified. So the point here being, in the center of your mandala, there are individuals with whom you have stronger karmic relationships than others, quite clearly. Report an error in the passage at 13:26 Highlight the passage at 13:26

13:54 Your parents, strong karmic relationship. If a very deep relationship is cultivated, nurtured with a guru, that becomes a very powerful relationship. Sibling relationships, long-term friendships, long-term friendships, that turns out to be a very strong relationship, and so forth. And then there are other people that, you know, we have much more distant, and some people, you know, it's still connection, but it's not nearly as strong. So the classic Buddhist teachings here are that where there's a strong karmic connection, strong karmic connection, Then, as we engage in this type of practice, it may indeed, it may indeed, it will be more effective. You may actually be able to observe the effects where there's a strong karmic connection. Report an error in the passage at 13:54 Highlight the passage at 13:54

14:38 Also, when the mind that is generating such compassion, such love, if it's a very deep mind, a very powerfully compassionate mind, like the compassion of the great beings of the past, then that can have a greater impact. That just kind of makes sense. Apply a thousand watt bulb versus a ten watt bulb. Probably have more impact. So this is why in the Christian tradition, Buddhist tradition, it's very common if you meet with someone who has very profound experience, deep realization, wisdom, compassion. Report an error in the passage at 14:38 Highlight the passage at 14:38

15:09 It's very common. Please ask and say, please pray for such and such. I will too, but would you please pray? Because we figure you have a bigger charge. You have a bigger light bulb than I do. And they'll often say yes, of course. And then they do. And not uncommonly, there are really quite remarkable results. So what you can count on is engaging in this practice, that this is very beneficial, it's utterly good, and it will bring about the movement, the maturation of your mind towards bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 15:09 Highlight the passage at 15:09

15:38 And on occasion, there's a real possibility that it might have your prayers, your visualizations and so forth, may have some definite impact on the people that you're directing your thoughts to. It's definitely possible. And there are many, many cases of that happening in the past. That's one point. Other point, and then we'll move on in the text. And that is that second point, and that is what would you, you might have noticed if you were paying very close attention to the words, we aroused the aspiration, what would you love to receive from the world around you, right? Report an error in the passage at 15:38 Highlight the passage at 15:38

16:15 In order to realize genuine well-being. It's truly satisfying. Fulfillment, meaning, joy, happiness. What would you love to receive? So that's the first thought. Because this is all in the spirit of loving kindness. It's a totally loving kindness practice. So we start with that question, what would you love to receive? But if you noted the phrasing, you said, okay, now actually do it. With each in-breath, now imagine receiving what you truly need in order to find the joy, the fulfillment that is your heart's desire. Report an error in the passage at 16:15 Highlight the passage at 16:15

16:46 So think what you love. Imagine receiving what you need. The two are not necessarily synonymous. When parents listen to the desires of their little kids, well, kids sometimes want things that the parent knows, it's not really good for you. No, you may not eat a kilo of ice cream. I know you'd really like it, but one kilo all in one, I know it's tasty, but no, I won't give you a kilo. Report an error in the passage at 16:46 Highlight the passage at 16:46

17:13 Not in one serving. And even if they plead, because some of our desires are immature or misguided. Report an error in the passage at 17:13 Highlight the passage at 17:13

17:25 But may we receive all that we truly need. And I think here there's a fine distinction, and I can't remember, I've been teaching a lot in the last month or so, sometimes I conflate, and I don't think about the past very much, so things kind of get blurry in the past. Report an error in the passage at 17:25 Highlight the passage at 17:25

17:41 I can't remember whether I've made this point before, so if I have, I'll make it really briefly. Our hedonic desires, and these include very important things like health and having financial security and so forth and so on, nothing trivial about them at all. We'd like to have a long life, we'd like to have a long healthy life. But then we look in the past, have there been great beings that by any criteria, just extraordinarily holy beings who have suffered physically a lot, or have had short lives, or have been abused or hated, assaulted, are there such beings? Report an error in the passage at 17:41 Highlight the passage at 17:41

18:16 Or because they are so holy, so sublime beings, that they just have a rose garden for a life. And everything that happens to him is just swell. And we know if you've studied any of the lives of the great saints, the great sages, the bodhisattvas and so forth, you'll find in many cases enormous hardship. Report an error in the passage at 18:16 Highlight the passage at 18:16

18:36 Enormous hardship. And then you can find, it's a nice word, scoundrels. Scoundrels. Heads of drug cartels and so forth. People that are just doing, you know, wreaking havoc in the world. And some of them live in their multi-million dollar villas and they've got their harems and they've got their Jaguars and Mercedes and so forth and so on. And then they die of old age at 90, having gotten thousands of people addicted to drugs and so forth and maybe killing a lot of people and the drug trafficking. Report an error in the passage at 18:36 Highlight the passage at 18:36

19:08 And then they live this nice long happy life, that is healthy life. And so we know that's true. So hedonically, hedonically, There's no necessary correlation between what happens to you and what you're bringing to the world. You may bring great benefit, joy, wisdom, compassion. And there will certainly be repercussions, but that doesn't mean it's going to be reciprocated. Your life is going to be just smooth and happy and hedonically pleasant. No guarantee of that at all. Report an error in the passage at 19:08 Highlight the passage at 19:08

19:40 And so it comes back to the earlier question from Judy about karma. And that is, insofar as our aspirations are hedonic, And our aspirations for other people are hedonic. May you get that job you're wishing. And we send them Donglen. May you not be fired. And we practice Donglen, taking in, they're getting fired, you know, or what have you. Report an error in the passage at 19:40 Highlight the passage at 19:40

20:01 It's a good thought. It's an empathetic thought. It's loving. It's compassionate. But whether the person gets fired or gets promoted and so forth and so on, it's more a matter of karma. And then, of course, it's the practicalities. Are you a good employee? Should you be fired? And so forth. So I don't actually have much confidence in that type of prayer that is right there in the mundane. Report an error in the passage at 20:01 Highlight the passage at 20:01

20:23 Because there's karma and there's just the practicalities. Are you worthy of being fired or not? And so I think I've mentioned this before. Haven't I that hedonically this is not a very user-friendly world? Have I mentioned something like that? No? Well, I think it's true. That hedonically, there's cause and effect. There's karma in its maturation. And there's just the stuff that happens, politics, environment, and so forth. And so, you know, you can have the best of intentions, but will things turn out as you wish, you hope for, hedonically? Report an error in the passage at 20:23 Highlight the passage at 20:23

20:53 And the answer is, there's no telling. Even if you're, you know, very ethical, very balanced mind, very compassionate and wise, there's no guarantee that hedonically things will turn out really well for you. Report an error in the passage at 20:53 Highlight the passage at 20:53

21:06 Economically, health-wise, and so forth and so on, there's no guarantee at all. Doesn't seem to be any real correlation strongly. But then we can go to a deeper level, yudaimonia, the path, genuine well-being, the cultivation of virtue. And insofar as our priorities shift, again we're looking at a total reversal. That for the person who is just kind of, has an inkling of an interest in Dharma, I wonder if my life should be a little bit more spiritual. Report an error in the passage at 21:06 Highlight the passage at 21:06

21:34 How little can I meditate and still get benefit? Kind of starting there, right? Whereas 98.999 % of one's priorities is hedonic. But it might be nice to have a little cherry of eudaimonia to put on top of my hedonic cake. So starting there, then, as St. Augustine said, the whole of the spiritual life is reversing that. So overwhelmingly, What fills your thoughts, your minds, your aspirations for yourself and for others is the cultivation of Yeromaniya. When it comes to hedonia, well, enough. Report an error in the passage at 21:34 Highlight the passage at 21:34

22:13 Can I just have enough? I'd like to have enough to eat. Don't want to be too cold when it's rainy and chilly. Can I have enough clothing? Can I have enough shelter and so forth? Can I have enough? Enough? Okay, then I'm finished. And then it's back to Yeromaniya. So one of the, I think, strongest examples I've ever known of in this regard. Report an error in the passage at 22:13 Highlight the passage at 22:13

22:32 It was my teacher, Gyan Lam Rimba. I don't think I've told you about him. He was the yogi that led a one-year retreat a long time ago that I organized, 1988. But I lived right near him when I went into my first long retreat in the mountains above Narasana. His Holiness was guiding me, but Gyan Lam Rimba was my nearest neighbor. So I would drop in on him about every week or so and ask for his guidance, his counsel. Report an error in the passage at 22:32 Highlight the passage at 22:32

22:55 Really a fantastic yogi. Lama Zopa Rinpoche knew him well, had great respect for him. A great, outstanding yogi. And we eventually lived together for a whole year during that one-year retreat. But he told me about his life, an earlier phase of his life, shortly after he came down to India. Report an error in the passage at 22:55 Highlight the passage at 22:55

23:13 And from Tibet, he escaped from Tibet. Didn't go through any great trauma because he lived near the border, so basically just escaped. But he came down as a monk, so he had basically nothing. I mean, really, his robes. But he did have, from early age, a great aspiration for Dharma. Yudamonia. Yudamonia. Report an error in the passage at 23:13 Highlight the passage at 23:13

23:31 It's Dharma. And so he found a place in northern India, a little hill station, Dalhausi, up in the north of Delhi, not too far away from Dharamsala. And at that time, this is like the early 60s, early mid-60s, a number of really outstanding contemplatives, great Tibetan yogis and scholars had assembled there. Report an error in the passage at 23:31 Highlight the passage at 23:31

23:59 They created a little community. Who was like a Milarepa, he was there. And Chakurgenyema, he was a great Madhyamaka master, tremendously respected by the Dalai Lama. And others, this is a cluster, it was like a little cluster of Nobel Prize winners in Dharma, you know, in this little hill station. So tremendous wisdom, erudition, great scholars, but also really formidable yogis living there. And so Gyanam Rimba, wanting to receive training, then he went to Dalhousie thinking, I want to be where these yogis are, because these yogis and great scholars... Report an error in the passage at 23:59 Highlight the passage at 23:59

24:32 Because they're teaching, of course, they're making themselves available. So he got to Dhanousi, and there they were, you know, and they're all teaching freely. That's how Dharma should be. Given freely, and received freely, and then people can make donations, they do. That's the optimal situation. Well, that's what he is. Of course, he had nothing to offer at all. Report an error in the passage at 24:32 Highlight the passage at 24:32

24:49 He had what he could do, gave away his robes, walk around naked, not possible. So he got there. But there was, he had no money, and there was no place to stay. There were not even any empty caves. Because other people were going there also for the same reason, to be able to listen, to see guidance from these great masters. And so there's no cave, and of course no cabin, that would have cost some rent. Report an error in the passage at 24:49 Highlight the passage at 24:49

25:11 But he found an overhanging rock, and this is about 6,000 feet elevation, really wet monsoon, and cold and chilly in the winter. But he found an overhanging rock, and nobody was under it. So he moved in, he was a squatter. He moved under the rock. And then it turned out in this particular village, I think it was the American government, this was fairly shortly after Bethans had started to flee, they had some refugee provisions, rations. Report an error in the passage at 25:11 Highlight the passage at 25:11

25:42 It was basically, I think, 10 kilos of atta, or brown flower, that would be given to every refugee living in that community. So he got that. So he entered that community and he got his sack of flower every month and he had his rock. And then he was just able to spend all this time going for teachings, receiving teaching, meditating, receiving teaching, meditating. And he just lived under his rock with his bag of flour. Report an error in the passage at 25:42 Highlight the passage at 25:42

26:07 And when he told me about this phase of life, a phase of his life, there's no exaggeration when I'm saying, there's a kind of really this joyful, serene expression came over and said, oh, those were the days. Report an error in the passage at 26:07 Highlight the passage at 26:07

26:20 I had no worries. Nobody's going to steal my rock. And I'm not going to worry about my attas, I'll be okay. And such teachings and such simplicity and no anxiety about anything. Oh, those were the days. Like two years he lived under a rock. And then eventually, though, this is very early in the 60s, then eventually Dharam Zala became the hot spot. The Dalai Lama was there, two senior tutors, Lattiramuche, Serkunamuche, the list goes on and on. Report an error in the passage at 26:20 Highlight the passage at 26:20

26:49 Geshe Rabnam was there. I mean, really extraordinary teachers. It was a larger community. And then he was thinking, oh. I could be near the Dalai Lama and Lina Mache and Tijana Mache. And, wow, many more teachings being given there. I think I'd really like to go to Dharamsala. But, of course, if I do, I'll be giving up my security. Report an error in the passage at 26:49 Highlight the passage at 26:49

27:12 Here I've got a rock. And I've got my brown flower. Whereas if we went to Dharamsala, there wasn't any. There were no provisions for refugees. It was just kind of known on their map. And so we thought, well, I'd have to give up my security. Report an error in the passage at 27:12 Highlight the passage at 27:12

27:26 But he thought about it more. He said, oh, but I could receive teaching from his Holiness. He said, okay, I give him my security. And if I have to beg door-to-door in a refugee community, if I have to beg door-to-door, then I'm going to do that. But heck with it. I just want to go for Dharma. And so then he gave up his security, you know, little rock vacancy, headed off to Dharamsa. Report an error in the passage at 27:26 Highlight the passage at 27:26

27:48 And as it turned out, he never missed a meal, never had to beg door-to-door. And when I knew him, now this was years later, 1980 was when I met him, he not only had one cabin, he had two. He's one of the nouveau riche. Report an error in the passage at 27:48 Highlight the passage at 27:48

28:04 They're both extremely primitive. They've got four walls and a roof, and that's all. No plumbing, no nothing, four walls and a roof. But one was right above the Tibetan children's village, and that was a bit lower down, so that was his summer villa. No, that was his winter villa, that was lower down, and then way up in the mountain. If you know the kind of garden, way up in the mountain you see the little... Report an error in the passage at 28:04 Highlight the passage at 28:04

28:22 Hutts way up there, about an hour and a half hike up. That was his summer villa. They're both little, you know, primitive Neanderthal type of huts. But he would go back and forth, like migrate back and forth, summer way up there. And that's where I met him. I had my cabin up there. And then in the winter he'd come down. Never missed a meal. Never missed a meal. Never was in need of lodging, food, shelter, clothing. Report an error in the passage at 28:22 Highlight the passage at 28:22

28:49 Never, never missed. So that all took care of itself. And euromonically, he was a rich man, you know, wealth of Dharma, wealth of Dharma. So the point is a simple one, maybe I'm using too many words, and that is hedonically, it's just unpredictable. Report an error in the passage at 28:49 Highlight the passage at 28:49

29:08 There are some people who are very intelligent, very well educated, work very, very hard, and they just go from failure to failure. One person springs to mind of that sort. I won't elaborate, but probably had everything and then everything just collapsed, never, never, really, never succeeded, really. Report an error in the passage at 29:08 Highlight the passage at 29:08

29:27 And I didn't ever seem really very happy. And then other people, like Yan Lam Rimba, then just tremendous flourishing on this deep level. And then some people, you know, they're kind of goof-offs and so forth, and they're not very educated, not very bright, not very hard-working, and they just get lucky. You know, like just something drops in their lap. Report an error in the passage at 29:27 Highlight the passage at 29:27

29:49 Like, you know, they invested, well, why don't I just invest an apple in 1980? You know, it's a thousand bucks. Or in Google, you know, ground floor. I met somebody who actually worked for Google right after he got out of college. He was there in the ground floor of Google. So there's just no telling, right? Report an error in the passage at 29:49 Highlight the passage at 29:49

30:06 Hedonically, there's just no telling. And there's no justice in this life. Bad things don't always happen to bad people and good things don't always happen to good people. But eudaimonically, in terms of Dharma, in terms of Dharma, insofar as we reverse that, you know, the prioritization of hedonia massively over eudaimonia. Report an error in the passage at 30:06 Highlight the passage at 30:06

30:26 And turn it around insofar as, because it's not are you good or bad, yes or no, but insofar as there's a turning around. Then I have found, since I was 20, and ever since then, that insofar as the priorities, the values, aspirations are turning to Dharma, turning to Yeramaniya, that reality just rises up to meet you again and again. Report an error in the passage at 30:26 Highlight the passage at 30:26

30:51 And it happens once or twice, you say, wow, wasn't that lucky? And then it happens five times or ten times. Or my first one was wishing to meet a wise old man. And then that morning meeting a wise old man who'd been a Buddhist, it was a Buddhist monk. And that's what I was looking for. And that was in Norway. You know, the chances of that happening by coincidence are just kind of like, you've got to be kidding. And there he just gave me just the pithous direction I was hoping for. Report an error in the passage at 30:51 Highlight the passage at 30:51

31:16 And then, you know, my whole life goes on. And if it were just me, then I think, wow, I'm something really special. I must be, you know, something. And it's not. But yeah, okay, we're all special. But I've known so many Dharma friends over the years. And I could tell more stories. I can fill the whole morning with stories of Dharma friends I've known over the years. Where, eudaimonically, Dharma-wise, reality is just rightly arising to meet them. Report an error in the passage at 31:16 Highlight the passage at 31:16

31:39 They meet the right guru when they need one. They meet the conditions. They meet a patron. Just when they're running out of money, a patron arises, fills them in. They need a place to stay, a place to stay arises. They want to go receive some empowerment. Somebody gives them an airline ticket. I mean, it just, I've heard it so many times now. Report an error in the passage at 31:39 Highlight the passage at 31:39

31:54 And I've never ever in my life heard of a person who's very devoted to Dharma and starved. I've never heard that. Ever. Just starved. You know, I've never heard of it. Difficulty? Sure, I had plenty of difficulties myself. You know, we lived in poverty for years. And hardships, physical hardships, sure. But I remember when I just survived the third case of hepatitis. Almost died. Report an error in the passage at 31:54 Highlight the passage at 31:54

32:21 Right after that, then I went to speak with a junior tutor of the Dalai Lama, who was... Very clairvoyant. Tremendous wisdom and compassion. Because he was the one that actually triggered my not dying. I think I won't tell the story. It's not interesting. But I went down to him and I said, Rinpoche, I just had my third case. I almost died that time. And I found when I was facing death, I really didn't want to. Report an error in the passage at 32:21 Highlight the passage at 32:21

32:47 I was only 23 and I really wanted to practice Dharma and I didn't want to be snuffed out at the age of 23 when I met all these teachings of teachers and so forth. And I don't really want to die young now either, because I'd like to be able to practice for a long time. And so I got so close that time. First time, not very close. Report an error in the passage at 32:47 Highlight the passage at 32:47

33:05 Second time, pretty close. Third time was really close of death. And I asked him, if I stay here and continue, this was 1973, if I can stay here in Dharamsala and continue living here, practicing, receiving teachings and so forth, am I going to die here, like really young? Or if I'm not going to die and I just get sick, that's okay. Report an error in the passage at 33:05 Highlight the passage at 33:05

33:26 But if I'm going to die really quickly, I'd rather go back to Switzerland, where there's a monastery there, and I can receive some teachings, and I can live longer. So please do your divination. Please check it out. If I'm going to die really quickly here, then I think I'd better go to Switzerland. And I won't get as good Dharma training, but at least I can live longer and practice. Whereas if I stay here and I merely get sick, that's okay. Report an error in the passage at 33:26 Highlight the passage at 33:26

33:47 I just don't want to die. So please, would you please do your divination? Do them all. So he did his mom. He said, you're not going to die. Report an error in the passage at 33:47 Highlight the passage at 33:47

33:55 Then I stayed. Then I stayed. And then I didn't leave for another two years. So, it's just simple things like that. But, simple point, I use probably way too many words. Eudaimonically. Eudaimonically. If the aspiration is there, what I have found and many, many other people have found, and you find this in multiple religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, it's everywhere. Report an error in the passage at 33:55 Highlight the passage at 33:55

34:18 In the wisdom traditions. If you turn your mind, your heart, your aspirations. Some would say turn it to God. Some would say turn it to Dharma. Some would say eudaimonia. But what it's not is just looking for marhidonia. If you do that, then reality rises to meet you. Some would say you receive the blessings of God. Some say you receive the blessings of the Buddha. Or we can just more broadly say reality rises to meet you. And that's an empirical statement. Report an error in the passage at 34:18 Highlight the passage at 34:18

34:45 It's not saying, now, do you believe? Are you believers? Do you have faith? You say, check it out. But the interesting thing here is that If one is still really fixed on hedonia, banking on, investing one's life, hoping that hedonia is going to turn out well, you'll never know. You'll never know whether reality rises to meet you, because reality doesn't rise up to meet you if you're just focusing on hedonia. Report an error in the passage at 34:45 Highlight the passage at 34:45

35:09 It's your karma, it's all kinds of complicated factors over which you have almost no control. But eudaimonia, then reality is different. So if you're living in an hedonic world, it's kind of a mindless machine. Or you can't see it because it's karma. It's beneath, but it's still, you know, just cause and effect. Live in eudaimonia, and then the question of blessing comes up. Then the question of blessing. Report an error in the passage at 35:09 Highlight the passage at 35:09

35:32 Hedonia, I'm going to raise, I'm going to save enough money so I can buy a Porsche. I hope I can raise enough money. I hope so, I hope so, I hope so. Please, Lord, please, Lord, help me raise, you know, please all the Buddhas, help me raise. You know, don't count on it. One of those texts, oh, something about, oh, Lord. Report an error in the passage at 35:32 Highlight the passage at 35:32

35:55 Mercedes Benz. It's a kind of stupid cowboy song. Mercedes Benz. Don't count on it. It's a stupid song. So if that's where it is, then don't count on it. But if the prayers, the aspiration is for you to lean on, then the blessings flow. And they completely overwhelm karma. So even as negative karma is ripening, for you it can be a blessing. Report an error in the passage at 35:55 Highlight the passage at 35:55

36:26 For another person who's simply pursuing hedonia, it sucks, it's misfortune, it's terrible, it's poor me. You may be receiving the same, what other people call adversity, and insofar as you're utterly devoted to yodamaniya, to karma, to the path, what is actually, in fact, a maturation of your negative karma from past, will manifest to you as blessing, as nurture, as food, sustenance, for your path, for yodamaniya. Report an error in the passage at 36:26 Highlight the passage at 36:26

36:55 In other words, The blessings trump karma. I can't use that word anymore, can I? It sounds awful. It used to be a really good word, now it's spoiled. Okay, overrides. Hopefully I'll never have a Mr. Overrides running for president. But your aspirations, your prayers override karma. It's not negating them. The karma is still experienced. But it overrides it. It's not experienced as adversity for you. Report an error in the passage at 36:55 Highlight the passage at 36:55

37:27 Because of the awareness you bring to it. And for another person it's flat out adversity. So something like that. So let's just read one line and then we'll, let's just get back to the text a wee bit, get our finger into it and then we'll continue. Report an error in the passage at 37:27 Highlight the passage at 37:27

37:41 After the break, very rich material and again we only have two and a half days now so let's move on. Report an error in the passage at 37:41 Highlight the passage at 37:41

37:51 Okay, so now we go on to really the, this is the third of the seven points and it's turning to really the core theme of Lojong in general. Report an error in the passage at 37:51 Highlight the passage at 37:51

38:01 And that is Kengen Lam Tu Kherwa. And that is taking adversity or adverse circumstances, getting sick, losing your job, all the stuff that happens in the world that generally is regarded as adversity. And transforming that, because you're transforming your view towards it, your attitude towards it, transforming that adversity so it arises for you as an aid. Report an error in the passage at 38:01 Highlight the passage at 38:01

38:27 It helps you, supports you, nurtures you. In your pursuit of spiritual awakening. So we have two ways of transforming it. This is classic in terms of mind trainings or lojong. And first is transforming adversity, independence upon relative bodhicitta. And then we'll see moves on later to transforming adversity, independence upon ultimate bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 38:27 Highlight the passage at 38:27

38:51 And so here we'll just do this one and then we'll take our break. But just the first aphorism here in this context. When the physical world and its sentient inhabitants are enslaved by vices, transform adversities into the path of spiritual awakening. So this is a comment, I mean, all of the teachings I've received from Tibetan lamas have all been by lamas who went through the Holocaust, through the genocide in Tibet. Report an error in the passage at 38:51 Highlight the passage at 38:51

39:18 I mean, I didn't meet any, I never met any who skipped that. You know, they all came from that, from Tibet to India. And so all of my met had been through that. Unprecedented tragedy in the whole history of Tibet. I mean, it was hell on earth. And so when they speak of the physical enslaved by vices, this is what they saw. Report an error in the passage at 39:18 Highlight the passage at 39:18

39:39 They saw the genocide and so forth and so on. And then they become more aware of what's happening right now, environmental degradation, vast, unspeakable inequalities of wealth, and so forth and so on. And so when there's a great deal of adversity where materialism and just sheer hedonism are dominating, dominating humanity in so many different ways and very little essence of When we're living in a very degenerate world, then if we're waiting for the good times before we can get around to Dharma, if we say, no, right now it's too difficult, I'm having financial difficulties, or right now I have marital difficulties, right now the economic situation is not good. Report an error in the passage at 39:39 Highlight the passage at 39:39

40:25 Right now, if we're looking for the... For the time, those occasions when things are now really okay in your own life and your environment, then you just may be postponing Dharma until you're dead. Because this is not a very Dharma-friendly world we're living in right now. At least we have the freedom here in Australia and in many but not all countries to practice Dharma freely, to teach it, to practice and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 40:25 Highlight the passage at 40:25

40:49 That's good. But in terms of the general current, if you just read the news every day, you'll see there's not many references to Dharma of any sort. Christian or otherwise. And so this is a world where not many people even know the word yudamonia. And there's no word for mental affliction. We had to make up a term in English and so forth. Where mental affliction is considered simply to be normal. You're human after all. And just leave it at that. Report an error in the passage at 40:49 Highlight the passage at 40:49

41:15 And so in a world that is not very user-friendly for Dharma... In the sense of just the current is going in the opposite direction. In contrast, without idealizing Tibet, no one should do that. It's not a service to anyone. But a hundred years ago in Tibet, before any of the business, the Tibetans lived in complete harmony with the Chinese. There was no significant disturbance or nothing like that. Report an error in the passage at 41:15 Highlight the passage at 41:15

41:39 They intermingled a lot and they were fine. Tibetans got their tea from China and so forth. And so at that time, turn of the century, it was nothing remotely like a utopia or idyllic and so forth. And yet I've known so many Tibetans who lived through that era, you know, the early part of the 20th century. Report an error in the passage at 41:39 Highlight the passage at 41:39

41:57 They lived in that. And, you know, they had 6,000 monasteries for 6 million people. They had a monastery for every 1,000 people. Monastery nunnery. One out of every five men were monks. One out of every seven women were nuns. There were yogis all over the place. There were great scholars all over the place. If you wanted to devote yourself to Dharma, then absolutely you'd get support. No one ever even considered it, that if I should go into a lifelong retreat, will anybody give me any food? Report an error in the passage at 41:57 Highlight the passage at 41:57

42:29 But of course, is there a place where that doesn't happen? So it was a country where I've known so many people who grew up there, and they were very content, and Dharma was very well supported. Report an error in the passage at 42:29 Highlight the passage at 42:29

42:43 So Dharma was everywhere. And there was corruption, there's vice and so forth, and some monasteries were very corrupt. That just kind of goes without saying. It's people. But Dharma was rich. Dharma was very flourishing. Dharma well supported. Report an error in the passage at 42:43 Highlight the passage at 42:43

43:03 So in that kind of circumstance, we actually find a great deal of support from the environment for Dharma. In our world here, not so much. So this is in our world that we're living in now, the world the Tibetans are living in now. India is not that easy a place either. Freedom, yes, but so many difficulties there. Report an error in the passage at 43:03 Highlight the passage at 43:03

43:19 That when things at times are really degenerate, that's a time when the lojong, this whole genre of training, and here's a classic one, the seven-point mind, that if you don't have something like this, it doesn't have to be this text, it doesn't have to be Buddhist, but if you don't have something like this that enables you to transform adversity into your practice, then your practice is going to be very flaky. Report an error in the passage at 43:19 Highlight the passage at 43:19

43:41 If your practice goes only well, like, you know, when there's something shining, metaphorically. When things are well, everything's fine. Okay, everybody, okay, good. Well, let's practice Dharma. You know, like going on vacation. Oh, now we can practice Dharma. But then things go bad again. Oh, we can't practice Dharma, now I have to be realistic. And then we're right back to hedonia. So this is core to being able to flourish in Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 43:41 Highlight the passage at 43:41

44:03 Not just get by, but actually completely flourish in Dharma. Training such as this, in times, even when times are very degenerate. That you, even though at times people around you, the situation society around you, very hedonistic, very materialistic, very short-sighted, very greedy, and so forth and so on, you don't have to be. Report an error in the passage at 44:03 Highlight the passage at 44:03

44:25 And in the midst of all of that, you may flourish. But if and only if you know how to transform adversity into the path. If you're just waiting for felicity to come along, you'll never have robust practice. So this turns out to be really important. So this is not an evangelism for this particular practice. It is evangelical, if you like, saying, if you don't know how to transform adversity into your path, then whatever you are, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, doesn't matter, you're not going to have a very robust practice. Report an error in the passage at 44:25 Highlight the passage at 44:25

44:55 It will not be very transformative. It will be on again, off again, on again, off again. I've known people, you know, stop meditating for the silliest of reasons. You know, oh, trucks are going by too much, I can't meditate, or things like that. So transforming, that's critical. So let's take a break. It's now 35 past, so let's come back 5 minutes before the hour and we'll go right back to practice and then we'll go right back to the text. Report an error in the passage at 44:55 Highlight the passage at 44:55