Transform Your Mind & Change Your Life Retreat - 7-Point Mind Training from Atisha (part 59)

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0:43 Those pledges, they Report an error in the passage at 0:43 Highlight the passage at 0:43

0:58 are avoiding this or that, not doing this, not doing that. That's the nature among the monastic precepts. They're called domba, which means restraint, or to bind yourself, but bind yourself to not engage. So there are no monastic precepts saying you must do this, you must do that, but rather avoid this, avoid that, because if you do so, it turns out to be harmful. Report an error in the passage at 0:58 Highlight the passage at 0:58

1:24 And by and large, with just one or two exceptions, these are also avoid this, avoid this, avoid that. And I think a very, just a very practical approach to this, because these are all intended as friendly advice to help filter, to refine, to purify behavior, how you're manifesting in the world, so that your behavior doesn't undermine your practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:24 Highlight the passage at 1:24

1:48 And it can, and doesn't of course create unnecessary suffering in the world. But I know that when I was introduced first to the 36 precepts of a novice and then 253 of a fully ordained monk, that what was really helpful is to see among them for which ones there's kind of a likelihood or a certain probability that I might do them if I'm not really conscientious. Report an error in the passage at 1:48 Highlight the passage at 1:48

2:13 And which ones could I pretty much just not have to think about. And so for example, one of your precepts is no alcohol, don't drink alcohol. I don't even like alcohol. But I didn't have to really think about that one. Because if somebody offered, I wouldn't even be tempted. So then, okay, that one, I'm going to keep it without even thinking about it. Report an error in the passage at 2:13 Highlight the passage at 2:13

2:33 And there are certain bodhisattva precepts. Also, there's 18 root downfalls and then the secondary precepts. And as I recall, one of the secondary precepts of the bodhisattva is do not use your paranormal abilities to destroy towns or cities. is. Report an error in the passage at 2:33 Highlight the passage at 2:33

2:53 I've been very good about that myself. Not even once. And so there's just some of those, you say, well, I guess that was an issue for somebody, but I don't have to remember that one. And among the various precepts, there's ones you're just going to say, well, that's not going to be an issue. Then other ones, yeah, that'll be, okay, yep, I see, yep, I do have a tendency there. Report an error in the passage at 2:53 Highlight the passage at 2:53

3:16 And so in the same way for these, now this is all in the Miami context, of course. Then you can just look through them and you can see, well, do you have any tendency, are you prone to engaging in these, a sense of bravado, do you have kind of a personality sometimes showing off, look at me, look at me, I'm something special, like that, and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:38 Then we're going through them, do you have a tendency to kind of linger on, talk about, chit-chat, idle gossip about other people's faults, their defects and so forth, and so forth, all the way through, hope of rewards. You have, you know, self-indulgence. Self-righteousness and holding grudge, waiting to retaliate. So there may be some of these that you're just not inclined to. There may be a number of you that, well, it's not my personality or my tendency to flatter to get to the top, to flatter to try to get stuff. Report an error in the passage at 3:38 Highlight the passage at 3:38

4:09 I just don't do that. I think it's vulgar and kind of disgusting. And I just don't do that already. You know, don't worry about it. Then you can look at those that, yep, I think I might do that on occasion. And that would be the one that threw up a flag. And then it's called prospective memory. Because the whole idea of this is not just to bind us with a bunch of rules and regulations. Report an error in the passage at 4:09 Highlight the passage at 4:09

4:29 This is all to support you. Support you for all the practices that preceded. And so in the monastic, again taking the parallel, the monastic core training is ethics, samādhi and wisdom. And samādhi and wisdom is really the juice, the Shaman of Vipassanā. But then the ethics, there are all these restraints. The analogy there is it's like a little, how do you say, a fence to keep the rabbits out of a garden where you're growing vegetables. Report an error in the passage at 4:29 Highlight the passage at 4:29

4:56 That it's just to protect your garden. And that if you practice, you're cultivating virtue, cultivating samādhi and so forth. And then you set up this fence in terms of your ethics, the type of behavior that you avoid, so that the rabbits of mental afflictions and so forth don't come in and just gobble up all your... Report an error in the passage at 4:56 Highlight the passage at 4:56

5:16 And so all the precepts, whether it's monastic precepts, whether it's bodhisattva precepts or the pledges here, it's all friendly advice from a tremendous spiritual friend, Atisha. Here are guidelines and this is to help you protect your practice. And the practice is ultimate and relative bodhicitta, ways of transforming adversity into the path and so on. Report an error in the passage at 5:16 Highlight the passage at 5:16

5:38 So you do the practices, but when you're off the cushion, you're no longer formally engaging in the practices. If you engage in certain types of behavior, this will turn out to undermine all the time, all the effort and so forth you put into your practice. So this is designed only to help you. And so look at those that you think you may be prone to, and then you can put a check by them and say, this one could happen. Report an error in the passage at 5:38 Highlight the passage at 5:38

5:59 This one, yep, I've done that before, which means I may do it again. And then prospective memory. This becomes really fine-tuned. It's developing ethical intelligence. And then fine-tuning to see, are there circumstances where I'm prone to disparagement, to sarcasm, to really focusing on and discussing with great glee somebody else's limitations. Report an error in the passage at 5:59 Highlight the passage at 5:59

6:22 And this is happening every single day in American politics right now, on both sides of the fence. People are just, they're just, it's like a profession of the two political camps. Our profession is, full-time job, is to find defects on the other side and never give them credit for anything. And it's both ways, you know. It's, well, I don't think it's an optimal way to have a political system. But it's all about finding fault and slandering and abusing and disparaging and showing contempt and making that normal. Report an error in the passage at 6:22 Highlight the passage at 6:22

6:51 You know, so I'm very saddened about kind of the whole ambience. There's no courtesy, there's no respect. And there used to be, in my lifetime, there was. People on both sides, they do a lot of collaboration, they do a lot of bipartisan kind of things and so forth. And in the last 10, 15 years, that's really dissipated. Report an error in the passage at 6:51 Highlight the passage at 6:51

7:08 It's very unfortunate. I think not good for America or anybody America is related to, and that is the rest of the planet. So it happens on the political arena, and it's a place right now where it's happening a lot this year. Just that strong tendency. And it doesn't matter what defects a political person has. Report an error in the passage at 7:08 Highlight the passage at 7:08

7:27 Because if we are getting into it with contempt, hatred, disgust and so forth, then that's our problem. And so there is a point of, you know, it's legitimate on occasion to speak of others' limitations, their faults and defects, but if it's coming out of self-righteousness, out of malice, out of disgust, out of resentment and so forth, they're not helpful. Report an error in the passage at 7:27 Highlight the passage at 7:27

7:49 So the prospective memory, the memory looking ahead, is anticipating or looking ahead and that is... Should the occasion arise where I say I'm starting to fall into violating one of these pledges, I will remember the pledge. And then when that temptation comes up, that surge, that desire to speak in a certain way or to view in a certain way, dwelling on others' faults and so forth, when that comes up, I will recognize it. Report an error in the passage at 7:49 Highlight the passage at 7:49

8:15 And then I'll rest my awareness in its natural state and observe that tendency coming up. And having nowhere to glom onto, I will watch that surge come up and then release. So that's a practice. But it's recognizing on the spot. It's easy to look at this and say, yeah, yeah, yeah, God, I think I've understood that, no problem. Next, let's go on. Report an error in the passage at 8:15 Highlight the passage at 8:15

8:34 And then completely forget about it. Because, yeah, I'm a good person. And then not notice, well, yeah, you're a good person, but not all of your actions are good. I'm speaking about myself. And so recognizing. And then, you know, weeding your garden. And weeding out that. So there's nothing contrived about your way of life. It just doesn't have these weeds cropping up. And then your garden of Dharma flourishes. Report an error in the passage at 8:34 Highlight the passage at 8:34

9:00 So, something like that. So that's six, and then we move on. What I'd like to do now is just simply finish the text, have a closing meditation, and then we'll gradually, gradually bring the morning to a close. So then we have the practices, the practices of mind training. Report an error in the passage at 9:00 Highlight the passage at 9:00

9:20 First of all, so the first one, practice all contemplations by means of one. So what he's suggesting here is what I've been saying all along, is that the seven-point mind training is now a basket in which you can put, I think you really can, I think you can put all your practices into it. So again, he's never saying practice only the seven-point mind training, otherwise he'd be falling into a defect himself, dismissing or disparaging anything outside of this practice. Report an error in the passage at 9:20 Highlight the passage at 9:20

9:45 That's never suggested. But when you see how open this is, How rounded and balanced and open it is, then if you put all of your practices, put everything into this category, then it gives a coherence, it integrates. It's very easy in Tibetan Buddhism with such a tremendous variety of practice. So many empowerments and teachings and transmissions and then there's kagkyu and there's nyingma and there's galupa and there's rituals and all that kind of stuff. Report an error in the passage at 9:45 Highlight the passage at 9:45

10:11 And when it's going in it can be like a... In a candy shop, like, I'd like some of this, and, oh, I've heard this is a really rare empowerment, I think I'm ready to go, and, oh, this is a very rare transformation, let's run off, oh, this is a great Lama, let's run off. And you wind up maybe having just kind of like a whole bunch of groceries thrown on the table. And it's just a little bit of this, a little bit of that, happens a lot. If you follow just one teacher, there may be more coherence, but that can also be very limited. Report an error in the passage at 10:11 Highlight the passage at 10:11

10:36 Because then there are other marvelous teachers who might really round out and deepen and enrich your practice. So the point of this is that unity is a very familiar theme, that unity in the midst of diversity. And that is, here's a framework in which I really understand my practice and everything fits. Report an error in the passage at 10:36 Highlight the passage at 10:36

10:52 It's all interrelated, it's integrated, and here's my seven-point mind training. And into this, I will sometimes listen to the wisdom from the Christian tradition, and I'll find many pearls of wisdom there. And I'll put this into, I become 95 % Buddhist and 5 % Christian, very happy where I am. But I will draw pearls of wisdom there. And then from this tradition and from psychology and from physics, draw it in there. And then you see it's all integrated. Report an error in the passage at 10:52 Highlight the passage at 10:52

11:20 And you're enriching by looking outside of this formal training, but everything makes sense within the integrated context of the training. It's very, very helpful. So you're not just following one very dogmatic, narrow-minded groove. Like I know of one teacher, and so that's all I'm going to say, one teacher, that considers His tradition is the pure tradition. And his tradition pretty much boils down to one method, and that's the pure method. And everything else, I heard him disparage every other tradition. Report an error in the passage at 11:20 Highlight the passage at 11:20

11:51 I sat down with him once, and he methodically went, disparage the Christians, disparage the Mahāyāna Buddhists, disparage other people of his tradition, until it was only him standing, him and his teachers, and this is the pure Dhamma. Report an error in the passage at 11:51 Highlight the passage at 11:51

12:03 I was not impressed. So if you're following him, then your life becomes very simple. There's one authentic teacher, one pure teacher, there's one pure practice, and that's what my teacher teaches. But I find that stifling. Stifling. So, that would be unity in the midst of unity and disparaging everything outside. And I've seen that happen many times. Fundamentalists do it all the time. Report an error in the passage at 12:03 Highlight the passage at 12:03

12:28 Buddhists, Christian, Hindu and so forth. But then the diversity, if we get caught up in diversity, then we're just, what's your practice? Well, I do a bit of this and a bit of that and a bit of that and a bit of that. And that's what I do. Kind of a whole bunch of stuff. That's nothing wrong with that. Then it has no coherence, no direction, no path. And that's the point. And that is stepping outside of your tradition. If you do it kind of randomly without any overview, without any really wise guidance, then you just have fragments. Report an error in the passage at 12:28 Highlight the passage at 12:28

12:53 A little bit of Tsongkhapa, a little bit of this, a little bit of Tai Chi, a little bit of shamanism, a little bit, a little bit, a little bit. Then, okay, that's fine. It's probably virtuous. Probably, maybe, have a good future rebirth. But there's no notion of path anywhere in sight. No notion anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 12:53 Highlight the passage at 12:53

13:08 I even sometimes wonder about three-year retreats. I spoke with one fellow who did it and he's teaching it. And he's a very good man. I will not say nothing more about him or his tradition, but he did a three-year retreat. And he said, you know, for those three-year retreats, we did one month of this and two months of that and one month of this and three months of that. And then the three years was over. And we basically had a kind of a brief introduction to a whole bunch of Vajrayana practices. Report an error in the passage at 13:08 Highlight the passage at 13:08

13:31 And then it was over. Was there shamatha? Nope. Was there vipassanā? Nope. Was there any clear path? Nope. They did it, and it was over, and then people dispersed. So I'm not very inspired by that. I mean, if other people aren't, that's great, good for them. But I am utterly passionate about path. That's what the Buddha was all about, after all, the Fourth Noble Truth. So we move on then. Report an error in the passage at 13:31 Highlight the passage at 13:31

13:57 But here's a context for really having coherent... Array of practices that are meaningfully integrated with each other and lay out a clear path. And that's what he's done here. All centered on the two bodhicittas, the very core. So, practice all contemplation by means of one. Pretty straightforward. Respond in one way to all dejection. Report an error in the passage at 13:57 Highlight the passage at 13:57

14:22 Dejection. Comes from lack of confidence in the practice, thinking I get sick due to practicing. That happens. People despise me. Yep, I've been there. And they decide my afflictions, yep, such as self-grasping, and my afflictions such as self-grasping are actually growing stronger. That can happen. And then one can lose heart. People practicing shamatha, oh, I'm not progressing as much as I thought. Oh, I remember years ago when I was just, I'd been a monk for years, and I just was so discouraged by the level of anger, just irritation, not wrath or rage or anything, but just, just, I don't know, coming up. Report an error in the passage at 14:22 Highlight the passage at 14:22

14:58 And I went in to speak with my teacher, Geshe-Layin. I was his senior Western student, his interpreter. And I'd been practicing maybe seven years, pretty full-time, nothing else. And I said, Geshe-Layin, I've been practicing six, seven, seven years, seven, eight years by now. And I'm still seeing, I'm not sure I was really concerned about anger, maybe that was it, but just mental afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 14:58 Highlight the passage at 14:58

15:18 I'm still seeing these mental afflictions coming up so much, really getting me down. Report an error in the passage at 15:18 Highlight the passage at 15:18

15:25 He said, look, you've had these mental addictions for countless lifetimes. Get over it. Report an error in the passage at 15:25 Highlight the passage at 15:25

15:31 He didn't go, oh. It'll take a while. So don't be impatient. What he didn't say, you have anything better to do. You know, really. And that's the bottom line. I met one old monk when I was very young in Darnalek. I was 21, 22. And he had a friendly one-on-one conversation. And he said, Alan, why are you practicing dharma? I wasn't even a monk yet. He said, why are you practicing dharma? Buddha dharma, this is my dharma. He'd come to Dharmasala and I'd corresponded with him before he came. Report an error in the passage at 15:31 Highlight the passage at 15:31

16:06 Why are you practicing? Why are you following him? And so then I thought of a really good dharma talk and I started giving him a dharma talk about what really, I think, were kind of the jewels of the Buddhist teachings. He said, never mind that, never mind that. Why are you practicing dharma? Report an error in the passage at 16:06 Highlight the passage at 16:06

16:20 And then I thought of it, okay, I didn't like that, but I have a backup plan. Here's my Dharma talk number two. And I started giving another Dharma talk, like my pitch, you know. And he said, never mind that, why are you practicing Dharma? It was kind of like Dom Dumba, the poor guy, you know. But this was before I'd ever heard of Dom Dumba. And after I tried A and B, he kind of wished them both away. Report an error in the passage at 16:20 Highlight the passage at 16:20

16:43 Then I just kind of sat there. And he said, you're practicing Dharma because there's nothing else to do. And it was not being disparaging. And it was actually correct. That there was nothing else to do. Not like I'm bored, it's just, there's nothing else to do. And then you just do the only thing left, when everything else is hopeless. So don't be dejected. Report an error in the passage at 16:43 Highlight the passage at 16:43

17:12 Whether it takes a long time, short time, Dharma, when you really see clearly, is yuromania, trumps hedonia. Oh, I can't use that word again. Report an error in the passage at 17:12 Highlight the passage at 17:12

17:22 But you just get your pride. So there it is, there's Dharma. So whether it's easy or hard, whether it's long or short, whether it's bumpy or it's smooth, you know, don't be dejected. Just continue. So there are two tasks at the beginning and end. This is one of the most famous ones. Cultivate bodhicitta at the beginning of the day. First thing in the morning, bang, you wake up, bodhicitta. The Dalai Lama was asked, what's your first thought when he wakes up? Report an error in the passage at 17:22 Highlight the passage at 17:22

17:47 Bodhicitta. He says that. So cultivate bodhicitta. I used to translate it as spirit of awakening. It's a nice translation, but... Then people see that and they say, oh, you mean bodhicitta. So then I just say bodhicitta, take out the middleman. Cultivate bodhicitta at the beginning of the day, then maintain it with introspection. Report an error in the passage at 17:47 Highlight the passage at 17:47

18:04 So in other words, your activities, your grocery shopping, driving in the car, taking your kids here and there, that it's all imbued with bodhicitta. Really a mistake to think, no, now I have to attend to mundane stuff. I just have to get my kids to the dentist. I don't have any time. They're having an argument in the back seat, squabbling, squabbling. Report an error in the passage at 18:04 Highlight the passage at 18:04

18:23 Can't practice Dharma now, I didn't need to get it because time is running out and so forth. And thinking, but I'll get to Dharma afterwards. And not a hopeful attitude. Just have the bodhicitta there being the underlying motivation for everything. Because a bodhisattva, let's say it's a woman, a bodhisattva woman will want her kids to have good teeth. Report an error in the passage at 18:23 Highlight the passage at 18:23

18:46 Not out of selfishness, but that's mother's responsibility, right? Make sure your kids have good teeth at all possible. And so with bodhicitta you make sure your kids get to the dentist. And with bodhicitta you get them to school on time. And with bodhicitta you clean the laundry. And you run your executive corporation. Report an error in the passage at 18:46 Highlight the passage at 18:46

19:04 I don't want to get too cliche here. But bodhicitta can underlie everything. Every activity that is not by nature unwholesome or non-virtuous. So there we go. So reject. So that's it. At the beginning it's motivation and then dedicate merit at the end of the day. Or if you're in full retreat, you're engaging in multiple meditation sessions at the end of each session. Report an error in the passage at 19:04 Highlight the passage at 19:04

19:30 And then bear whichever of the two, bear or withstand, be, how do you say, fortitude, have fortitude, whichever of the two occurs, and that is whether it's felicity or adversity, good fortune is smiling upon you, or adversity strikes, whatever it is, simply continue practicing, noting the relativity of both. Report an error in the passage at 19:30 Highlight the passage at 19:30

19:50 That's an interesting point, though, that relativity. And that is, our worst days are much better than the best days of most people living in those Syrian refugee camps. Our worst day, like this is the worst day of the year, people in refugee camps, that would have been my best day. You know, really. And then that's just within the human spectrum. For those of us who have to, you know, take seriously the broader spectrum of all the six realms of existence, then our human adversity is really a very, very tiny bandwidth of much faster adversity. Report an error in the passage at 19:50 Highlight the passage at 19:50

20:23 But we can see it here on the planet and we human beings know how to create hell realms in our world and praetor realms and animal realms and deva realms also within this human existence. Report an error in the passage at 20:23 Highlight the passage at 20:23

20:36 And just seeing how it's all relative. That is, again, seeing the situation, the felicity and adversity one is experiencing in one's own life and seeing that within the broad framework of the ocean of saṃsāra. And it's still as important as it was. But it doesn't occupy the mind. It doesn't fill the mind. So it still is important. If your child has just come down with some illness, it's still as important as it was when you were extremely small-minded. Report an error in the passage at 20:36 Highlight the passage at 20:36

21:05 It's still as important, but you're just seeing it from a much larger framework. So that's Dharma. It's Dharma. So there it is. So two tasks. And then bear whichever of two occurs. So this is the constancy, the continuity, and really showing that you're becoming more and more adept, more familiar and more expert in transforming felicity and adversity into the path. Report an error in the passage at 21:05 Highlight the passage at 21:05

21:28 When you simply, you're just there continuously and practicing, you know, whatever comes up. Guard the two at the cost of your life. Very straightforward. There are things that are more valuable than simply being, living longer. And that is regarding the two bodhicittas as more precious than life itself. There's a very powerful story in this regard, Gertrudevaja told me. Report an error in the passage at 21:28 Highlight the passage at 21:28

21:52 So I do believe it's literally true, but it does certainly stretch the imagination. It was one very highly accomplished yogi in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution. He was caught, he was imprisoned. And the Chinese communists, probably these utter fanatics during the Cultural Revolution, which so traumatized all of China. Report an error in the passage at 21:52 Highlight the passage at 21:52

22:13 They wanted to make an example of this Lama. They wanted to break his spirit, and that would be a way of breaking everybody else's spirit as well. And so they caught this Lama, who was a very accomplished yogi, and they literally crucified him, not on a cross, but they nailed him to a wall. Literally, they nailed him to a wall. And you don't die quickly that way, you just have a lot of pain. And they said, we'll take you down, all you have to do is renounce the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 22:13 Highlight the passage at 22:13

22:37 Renounce the Buddha down the Saṅgha, we'll take you down. And then you can heal yourself. But they would have made their point, you know, this great Lama, so revered by many disciples, if he abandons Buddha Dhamma and Saṅgha, then we'll crush everybody. We will have broken the spirit of all of these people, whose spirit we want to break. That was the idea. And so he wouldn't. And his disciples came to him and said, Lama, please, they just want some words from your mouth and we know you don't mean them. Report an error in the passage at 22:37 Highlight the passage at 22:37

23:04 We know that. But please, we'd like to take you down and heal you. So please give them the words they want, because they want that, but we know you don't mean it. So please just say the words and then we can heal you. And he was completely relaxed there as he's, you know, spread eagle on the wall. And he said, just with very gentle, he said, how can I abandon the Buddha? I am a Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 23:04 Highlight the passage at 23:04

23:30 So there's some powerful stories from Tibet at that time. And so he was not willing to even say the words, you know, regard the two bodhicittas as more precious than life itself. Report an error in the passage at 23:30 Highlight the passage at 23:30

23:43 Underneath that is taking refuge, of course. Then we have practice of three austerities. Remembering, and austerities are just, that means things that are difficult. They don't come easily. Take on things that are really a challenge. Remembering the remedies for mental afflictions. Well, first of all, I mean, a big challenge is to recognize mental afflictions as mental afflictions. Report an error in the passage at 23:43 Highlight the passage at 23:43

24:05 Because generally, we don't even have that category. We don't have the category in modern psychology. Where is that in modern psychology? Mental afflictions. I helped to organize a conference some years ago at Stanford with the Dalai Lama and we had a wide variety of scholars from different fields, so it was very multidisciplinary. Report an error in the passage at 24:05 Highlight the passage at 24:05

24:21 There were a number of psychologists there and the theme was addiction, addiction and two other topics, a long time ago, I can't remember all of it right now. But the issue of desire came up, desire and addiction, so desire. And what I heard just in that meeting, so it's a very, very narrow little event that I heard, was that... Report an error in the passage at 24:21 Highlight the passage at 24:21

24:41 Desire is a problem. Desire is a problem if it's too much. So if you like a little bit of alcohol, no problem. But if you like it too much, then it's a problem. And likewise, so for a hope and a type of desires. If it's too much, that's when it becomes pathological. And so it was simply a matter of too much. And I said, well, that's not the Buddhist view. Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

25:12 That's not the Buddhist view at all. It actually has nothing to do with too much. Whether desire is afflictive or not has actually nothing whatsoever to do with whether it's too much. It's whether it is by nature afflictive, whether it's rooted in delusion, whether it's a mental affliction, whether it disrupts the equilibrium of the mind. So one may have just a very small surge of the mental affliction of craving, attachment, and it's just a little bit of that tightening, that grasping. Report an error in the passage at 25:12 Highlight the passage at 25:12

25:40 That reification of the optical desire and the clinging to it as a very source of your well-being, and even it's a little surge, a little murmur, it's a mental affliction. Whereas, one may have a desire to achieve, this is Theravāda, this is basic Buddhism, one may have a passionate, all-consuming yearning to achieve liberation. Report an error in the passage at 25:40 Highlight the passage at 25:40

26:00 So much so that it's as if your hair is on fire. So if your hair is on fire, you don't think about anything else other than getting the fire out, right? It's just nothing else occupies it. And so you may have such an all-consuming, passionate yearning to achieve liberation. And that's good. That's good. Report an error in the passage at 26:00 Highlight the passage at 26:00

26:20 That is, it's really off the charts a lot. And it is a desire. But it's a desire where no one's being harmed and it's directing you with absolute focus on the purification of the mind, the cultivation of ethics, samādhi and wisdom to achieve liberation. And that's extremely strong. So you can have a little murmuring of mental affliction which is already toxic and you have a passionate longing for liberation or a passionate longing of bodhicitta to wish as swiftly as possible to achieve enlightenment with the sake of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 26:20 Highlight the passage at 26:20

26:51 And so what came out of that for me, and again my knowledge is very small here, but we don't even have the category of mental affliction. Same thing with anger. You have a little bit of anger, well you're human, what do you expect, no problem. Too much, then we need anger therapy, anger management and all that kind of stuff. But a little bit is okay. A moderate amount is okay. Just don't get over the top. Report an error in the passage at 26:51 Highlight the passage at 26:51

27:16 A bit of ego. A bit of ego. Well, that's normal what he has. A well-developed ego. A person has a well-developed ego, but not too obnoxious. Borderline, but not too bad. But when it's over the borderline, then we say, okay, you're a narcissist, now you need therapy. And so forth. But it seems to be. I mean, I'm an outsider, so it looks like I'm criticizing a field that I really don't know much about. But, so, this is what I hear. Report an error in the passage at 27:16 Highlight the passage at 27:16

27:42 This is what I hear. That it's a matter of magnitude. And in the Buddha Dharma, it has nothing to do with magnitude. You can have a murmur of arrogance, and it's still arrogance. You can have confidence, the confidence that I shall liberate all sentient beings from suffering and bring everyone to enlightenment. And that's not a mental addiction. Report an error in the passage at 27:42 Highlight the passage at 27:42

28:02 It doesn't have to be, if it's rooted in your Buddha nature. So we're living in times where we don't, in our modern world, in our language, ordinary language, we don't even have a category. It's just too much is excessive. But moderate amounts, perfectly fine. And then, of course, as Freud said, he had advocated, I think it's still largely accepted, you'll never be free from neuroses. Report an error in the passage at 28:02 Highlight the passage at 28:02

28:25 All you can do is manage them. Make them discreet. He's very clear about that. You'll never be free of neuroses because we are, as a species, we are intrinsically neurotic. So bring it to manageable levels and don't expect to be too happy. After all, you're living in civilization. Civilization and its discontents. He told us how we're intrinsically unhappy. And we're intrinsically neurotic. Report an error in the passage at 28:25 Highlight the passage at 28:25

28:49 And I don't really see modern psychology challenging that. Whereas that's exactly what's challenged here. Report an error in the passage at 28:49 Highlight the passage at 28:49

29:02 Guard each of the costs of the time. Oh, see. So, practice the three austerities. Well, remember the remedies for mental fixings, but that means you need to recognize them when they arise, not just memorize the definition, but when they come up in your mind stream. You're moving from understanding to experience to insight, as in the conversation last night with Donald. You're recognizing them when they come up. You see what triggers them, and when they do come up, you apply the remedy. Report an error in the passage at 29:02 Highlight the passage at 29:02

29:28 That's not easy. That's going to take some hearing, some thinking and meditation. So that's the first one. And then averting, that is when you see, when you see it's coming up, it's surging up, some mental affliction, whatever it may be, then knowing how to release it, to avert it so it's not coming out your mouth. Report an error in the passage at 29:28 Highlight the passage at 29:28

29:46 So from that stillness of your awareness, you see it surging up in your mind, you recognize the mental affliction as a mental affliction, you orphan it, it dissolves away, without your suppressing it, it just doesn't have an owner. It doesn't have a parasite. It doesn't have to be able to get its sucker in you and drain your energy. And it just passes away. Report an error in the passage at 29:46 Highlight the passage at 29:46

30:06 So we avert it. That settling the mindless natural state is a fantastic method for averting and not being consumed by and carried away by. And then finally, cutting off the flow of mental afflictions as soon as they arise. So these are not easy practices, but they are crucial. And for that, know the defining characteristics of afflictions in theory and in daily experience. So this is where some learning is very helpful. What is it? Report an error in the passage at 30:06 Highlight the passage at 30:06

30:34 Six primary mental afflictions, 20 secondary ones. Let me go to some detail. That's what I learned when I was studying Buddhist psychology. And I thought, whoa, this needs to be applied to practice. And that's why I left the monastery. I can just go up and practice for a while. So then we move on. Adopt the three principal causes. Report an error in the passage at 30:34 Highlight the passage at 30:34

30:52 P-A-L, of course, principal causes. First one, follow a qualified mentor, a guru, a lama, a spiritual guide. It'll save a lot of time. As the Dalai Lama said, having a guru is not indispensable for enlightenment, but it can save you a lot of time. And then secondly, devoting ourselves to all stages of the practice. Report an error in the passage at 30:52 Highlight the passage at 30:52

31:12 So not limiting, not hunkering down and narrowing the bandwidth, but taking into account in the view in all the stages of the practice. Cultivating the outer and inner conditions for fruitful practice. Choosing environments. It's so wonderful that none of us are slaves or serfs. And for a lot of human history in a lot of many places, you had no freedom to choose your environment. No freedom. You're here. You're bound to be here. Report an error in the passage at 31:12 Highlight the passage at 31:12

31:39 And we are not. We are not. You can move all over Australia, I'm sure, freely. And Australian passport is a pretty good one. You can travel widely. So we can choose our environment. And this is one of our greatest freedoms to choose environment and choose the people we engage with that are really supportive of, nurturing of our spiritual practice. Report an error in the passage at 31:39 Highlight the passage at 31:39

32:00 But if we choose environments or choose companions who are either indifferent to or averse to, unsympathetic to our spiritual practice, or we're living in an environment that just drags us down. It's self-defeating. So choose well. Choose well. Choose the outer and inner. The outer, especially when we're young on the path, the outer is very, very important. Report an error in the passage at 32:00 Highlight the passage at 32:00

32:26 And then, of course, the inner. And the stronger the inner are, the more freedom, the more versatility you have for going here and there and not having your practice fall apart. But in early phases, the practice can just be eroded just by your companions. Who either don't care about or really are kind of antithetical to your practice. It happens a lot. Cultivate three things without letting them deteriorate. Report an error in the passage at 32:26 Highlight the passage at 32:26

32:54 Faith and reverence for your mentor, your spiritual mentor. Why? Because that's good for you. Because the spiritual mentor is for you, symbolizing the path, the fruition of the path. And so it's really faith and reverence. To the path by way of your faith and reverence for the spiritual mentor. If the mentor, your guru, your Lama, is not embodying the path, the teachings, then there's no reason to have faith or reverence in him or her. Report an error in the passage at 32:54 Highlight the passage at 32:54

33:17 Enthusiasm for training your own mind is the best thing you can possibly do, so why not? Conscientiously applying yourself, precepts and pledges. Maintain three things inseparably. A bodily virtue. That is, you're using your body in very virtuous, meaningful ways, using your speech in meaningful ways, using your mind above all to cultivate the two bodhicittas. Report an error in the passage at 33:17 Highlight the passage at 33:17

33:41 Meditate constantly on the distinctive ones. That's interesting. Those who compete with you, those who resent you, and those who harm you for no apparent reason. So those are the people who are distinctive because they stand out. Most people around you are probably not competing with you. Most people don't resent you. Report an error in the passage at 33:41 Highlight the passage at 33:41

33:58 And though most people around you don't want to harm you, just don't have some kind of natural antipathy towards you, but when you do encounter such people, they're distinctive, and so meditate on them especially, constantly cherish them, practice Donglen, because it's respectful of those people that you have the deepest inner transformation. Report an error in the passage at 33:58 Highlight the passage at 33:58

34:16 Friendly people, people who respect you, love you and so forth, they're very nice, but they don't really help you so much, just by the ease with which we can be with them. Transformation doesn't happen so quickly. It's the challenging people that really help us move forward. Oh yeah. So the other parts. Report an error in the passage at 34:16 Highlight the passage at 34:16

34:37 So we move right on. Do not depend on other factors. And that is for your lojong practice. For shamatha, you definitely do need a special environment and so on. But for the practice of lojong generally, don't be waiting for the external circumstances to be very supportive and conducive and so forth. The whole idea, of course, is to transform everything into the past. Report an error in the passage at 34:37 Highlight the passage at 34:37

34:57 Now practice what is important, that is take advantage of this precious human rebirth by prioritizing spiritual practice over mundane, eudaimonia over hedonia. They both have a place, there's no doubt about it, we need to pay our bills, the economic aspect and so forth, we have practical things, get your teeth fixed and so forth and so on. Report an error in the passage at 34:57 Highlight the passage at 34:57

35:18 And many of us have other responsibilities that are in the world, do them. But the entire priority is eudaimonia for yourself and others. Report an error in the passage at 35:18 Highlight the passage at 35:18

35:27 These are prioritizations. Dharma over the mundane. Practicing Dharma over talking about it. Cultivation of the bodhicitta, the two types of bodhicitta, over others. These are the most important. Everything else is secondary to that. Everything is supportive of the two bodhicittas. And then rely more on your mentor's personal guidance than more generic teachings that you'll find in scriptures or simply logic. Report an error in the passage at 35:27 Highlight the passage at 35:27

35:52 That is, if you have a really qualified mentor, there's a personal relationship, then listen to that, because this is now hand-tailored. The other ones are generic. To whom it may concern, here's a good book. When you sit down with your mentor, then you want to listen very closely. Choose your mentor well. Inner practice over changing the place you live. There are times when it's really good to change the place you live. Report an error in the passage at 35:52 Highlight the passage at 35:52

36:12 I have been in such situations where I live in a place where it was unbearable. I moved, and suddenly my practice is a lot easier. So the place you live is important, but the inner practice is more important. Here's an aphorism from Tibetan Buddhism. Those who, among the world population, those who hear the Dharma are rare. Report an error in the passage at 36:12 Highlight the passage at 36:12

36:30 Most people are not interested. They're interested in football, they're interested in money, they're success, entertainment, the latest cell phone, you know, they're interested in all kinds of things, but not Dharma. Bored to death with Dharma. I hope Jonah didn't care about it, haven't even heard of it. So those who hear the Dharma are rare. Report an error in the passage at 36:30 Highlight the passage at 36:30

36:48 Among those who hear the Dharma, those who deeply ponder the Dharma are rare. So that's a small fraction of a small fraction. Then among those who really reflect upon, deeply think about, consider Dharma. Among them, those who sincerely practice the Dharma are rare. Now it's a smaller percentage. And among them, those who persevere in the practice are rare. I've been listening for a long time and I can't count the number of times. Report an error in the passage at 36:48 Highlight the passage at 36:48

37:12 Oh, there was a period I was practicing a whole lot, but then stuff came up and then my practice really tapered off. But I'd like to start meditating again, now 15 years later. You know, I can't count the number of times. For a while I was practicing really intensely, but then, you know, stuff came up. Saṃsāra happened. Sucked in. But now I like to get back at it. Report an error in the passage at 37:12 Highlight the passage at 37:12

37:31 So it's very, very common. And especially in our world, which we don't have one monastery for every thousand people. That makes things easier. Report an error in the passage at 37:31 Highlight the passage at 37:31

37:41 Easier. When you just can't go for a walk without seeing a monk or a nun. I've been to Tibet in Tibet now. Amdo in eastern Tibet. You walk out and you can't help but see some monk or nun out there. It was like red poppies in a field. It was really lovely. And seeing monasteries all over the place. I came to that place in 1992 and I thought, oh, this is a Dharma field. Report an error in the passage at 37:41 Highlight the passage at 37:41

38:03 And they built it all. They built it all within 12 years. Because in 1980, everything had been crushed, ruins, flattened. And this whole community is a large valley. They built a 2,000-month monastery, 800-month, 500-month, 500-month. It was all in one valley. And they all supported it by giving 50%, many of them, 50 % of their income to getting these monasteries and so forth back because they knew that was the best investment for their whole culture. Report an error in the passage at 38:03 Highlight the passage at 38:03

38:30 That was the Dharma field. I wanted to move there. But it was under the Chinese communists, so I didn't really want to move there. So, but they're still there. So, did you do? So there it is. So among them, those who persevere in the practice are rare, therefore spiritual maturation and awaking are rare. Report an error in the passage at 38:30 Highlight the passage at 38:30

38:51 So if we wonder, why don't we have so many adepts and great sages and great yogis and so forth? Well, because they're the rare of the rare of the rare of the rare. And of course they're rare. Why don't we have more people who have achieved shamatha nowadays? So there's the Report an error in the passage at 38:51 Highlight the passage at 38:51

39:04 Well, hardly anybody hears about it. Among them, hardly seriously consider it. Among them, hardly anybody really do it. And among them, hardly anybody does it in a sustained fashion. And so, of course, it's rare, but no mystery about it. Make no mistake. So mistaken forbearance, that is being not having any forbearance or true grit when it comes to Dharma, but having tremendous tenacity and perseverance and so forth and so on for making money. Report an error in the passage at 39:04 Highlight the passage at 39:04

39:32 Or material success and so forth and so on. Mistaken desires, not for spiritual maturation but back to hedonia. Mistaken experience, same thing, you've got it. Mistaken compassion, this is an interesting one. Pitying Dharma practitioners who undergo hardships, but then feeling no compassion for those who dwell in suffering and the causes of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 39:32 Highlight the passage at 39:32

39:52 So when we hear, and there's so many stories, Genlam Rinpo living under a rock for two years. Some people say, oh, poor guy. And that's mistaken compassion. The poor guy is a person making a million dollars a year and just living a life completely dominated by hedonia, mental evictions, not even recognizing him. Living basically like a preta, but driving a really good car. Report an error in the passage at 39:52 Highlight the passage at 39:52

40:16 That person is worthy of compassion. Mistaken priorities, obvious. Mistaken satisfaction, straightforward. So do not be erratic. Tibetans as a culture, they tremendously value people who are reliable, who are constant. You can really count on them. As a culture, that's a very high virtue, just within the society itself. So this is the opposite. So occasionally practicing mind training, then losing faith, and then just going here and meandering around, basically kind of taking a hedonic approach to Dharma. Report an error in the passage at 40:16 Highlight the passage at 40:16

40:47 That wasn't much fun. That was so interesting. But I heard about this one. I kind of like this one. I got bored after a while. Then I did this one. That was really cool. I'm not really into that anymore, though. Now I'm into this. It happens a lot. Report an error in the passage at 40:47 Highlight the passage at 40:47

41:01 Practice with total conviction. Very sound advice here. I could elaborate a lot, but our time is running out. Check out the practice first. And that is really first, hear it, dwell upon it, think upon it, check it. And see for yourself. You have to use your own discerning intelligence. Is this authentic? Is it beneficial? Is it sound? And if you really find that it is, it just, it's green lights all the way through, then go for total dedication. Report an error in the passage at 41:01 Highlight the passage at 41:01

41:32 Free yourself by means of investigation and analysis, and that is the whole of the Buddha Dharma saying, we invite you to use your full intelligence, hold nothing back, put all the teachings to the test, test them for yourself, and if you find them faulty, reject them, but if you find them sound, then devote yourself to them. Report an error in the passage at 41:32 Highlight the passage at 41:32

41:50 And that's what the Buddha said. He never said, except this, because I said it, and I'm a big authority. He said, check for yourself. Do not try to make an impression. We've kind of been through that. Report an error in the passage at 41:50 Highlight the passage at 41:50

42:02 Interesting one from Dom Domla. Do not place great hopes in people. Pray to the Divine. I've dwelt on that many, many times. It's the same thing as relying not on the person but on the Dharma. Have a deeper faith, a deeper, a deeper, deeper, deeper than this person here and that person there. And just go deeper. Pray to the Divine. Let your primary prayer be for the sake of your spiritual practice naturally. Do not be bound by distemper. Report an error in the passage at 42:02 Highlight the passage at 42:02

42:35 Straightforward, you can see the commentary, do not be temperamental. Straightforward, flaring up with any little adversity. Do not yearn for gratitude. Report an error in the passage at 42:35 Highlight the passage at 42:35

42:45 It's natural to want gratitude. But then it's just hedonia, and as I said before, then it just starts to make you anxious. Will you get it? How much will you get it? When will you get it? Things you can't control. So I think the summary is straightforward. You can read that for yourself. But that concludes the oral transmission and the commentary that I received from Kumar Bhashi. Report an error in the passage at 42:45 Highlight the passage at 42:45

42:37 Straightforward. Report an error in the passage at 42:37 Highlight the passage at 42:37

43:05 More than 40 years ago. And this is one array of practices where I can say, if you follow all of this practice, you have actually a balanced practice. I can't say that when I've just spent a week teaching shamatha, or a week teaching four applications of mindfulness, or the four immeasurables, or dream yoga, and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 43:05 Highlight the passage at 43:05

43:26 I always say, no, this is not a balanced diet. This is not a balanced diet. Make sure you augment, you balance it out with other practices. But now that we've looked at the seven-point mind training, this is a balanced practice. It's multifaceted, it's rounded, it's nutritious, it's a full meal, and you can practice it from now until enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 43:26 Highlight the passage at 43:26

43:44 It would be very balanced, and you can always augment it with further teachings and so forth from the whole bandwidth, the most basic to the most esoteric, and you can put them all into this basket, the seven-point mind training basket. So that concludes that. So let's do a short meditation, and then I think... Report an error in the passage at 43:44 Highlight the passage at 43:44

44:03 I need to end a little bit before 12 today. So short meditation. Report an error in the passage at 44:03 Highlight the passage at 44:03