Seeking Refuge: Discovering Buddhism (part 2)

0:21 I'm going to start with meditation and then I'm going to send around just a roster if people could sign up so I have everybody in one place. I know that you guys are putting, it just basically is a way that if I need to contact you in a hurry, I have that way. Report an error in the passage at 0:21 Highlight the passage at 0:21

0:43 So we're going to start with just a quiet meditation to calm our minds and then we're going to try to develop a good motivation for being here. Report an error in the passage at 0:43 Highlight the passage at 0:43

0:59 We just want to start with some nice deep cleansing breaths. Let go of your day and everything it took for you to come here tonight. Report an error in the passage at 0:59 Highlight the passage at 0:59

1:11 Shrug your shoulders a few times if you find that you're holding tension in them or roll them. Report an error in the passage at 1:11 Highlight the passage at 1:11

1:21 Stretch your head from side to side. When you sit down to meditate, it's actually a really good time to take stock of where you're holding tension in your body and try to let go of it. And Report an error in the passage at 1:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21

1:42 we'll talk about posture later. The most important element of your posture is to make sure that your spine is extended, whether you're on a cushion or whether you're in a chair, and not to lean back if you're in a chair or near a wall. Report an error in the passage at 1:42 Highlight the passage at 1:42

2:00 It actually helps build your concentration. And Report an error in the passage at 2:00 Highlight the passage at 2:00

2:11 we'll just start with watching our breath. So you can watch it at whatever sort of focal point works best for you. And if you haven't ever tried this before, you can play with a different one, you know, each time you do this. The two main ones are either your abdomen rising and falling, or rather falling and rising, Report an error in the passage at 2:11 Highlight the passage at 2:11

2:39 or to try to find a little patch of skin inside your nostrils, Report an error in the passage at 2:39 Highlight the passage at 2:39

2:46 place your tension there and observe the sensation of the breath passing over that skin on its way out and then back in. Report an error in the passage at 2:46 Highlight the passage at 2:46

2:58 And one out breath and one in breath is one, and we try to count to ten without losing that object. For any reason. So if you're distracted by noises in the building or outside in the street or thoughts or even wonderful virtuous plans, that's all considered a distraction. So you just gently bring your mind back to the object, which is your breath. And we'll do this for a few moments. So just relax into it. Report an error in the passage at 2:58 Highlight the passage at 2:58

3:30 No judgment. If your mind wanders off, just gently bring it back and bring it back and bring it back. Report an error in the passage at 3:30 Highlight the passage at 3:30

· · · silence, 5 minutes

8:18 We begin with just looking at our motivation for being here tonight, Report an error in the passage at 8:18 Highlight the passage at 8:18

8:26 being together, some of us for another class, some of us for a first class, Report an error in the passage at 8:26 Highlight the passage at 8:26

8:40 coming together to try to find out what refuge is, what taking refuge means and how it might make our lives more meaningful. Report an error in the passage at 8:40 Highlight the passage at 8:40

8:56 So imagine yourself surrounded by all beings. Imagine those people that you love behind you and those people that you find most challenging in front of you. Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:14 then all other sentient beings spreading out like an ocean. And then think Report an error in the passage at 9:14 Highlight the passage at 9:14

9:34 about the kind of suffering that we see in the world, that we have in our own lives, that we see in our friends' lives. We read about in the news, watch in the news. Report an error in the passage at 9:34 Highlight the passage at 9:34

9:55 Think about the kind of suffering that we see just walking on the streets here in San Francisco. The Report an error in the passage at 9:55 Highlight the passage at 9:55

10:06 kind of suffering that we read about in places where there are wars happening. Report an error in the passage at 10:06 Highlight the passage at 10:06

10:15 And think about how unbearable it is. That people have to suffer like this. And Report an error in the passage at 10:15 Highlight the passage at 10:15

10:25 how much we'd love to relieve that suffering if we could. Report an error in the passage at 10:25 Highlight the passage at 10:25

10:35 About how amazing it would be to have the ability to remove that suffering. Report an error in the passage at 10:35 Highlight the passage at 10:35

10:50 To make this time a Dharma activity. Something that's worthwhile for ourselves and for others. It's important to listen with a good motivation. Report an error in the passage at 10:50 Highlight the passage at 10:50

11:10 The best motivation is to listen with a wish to understand this so that we can actually apply it. So that we can learn how to benefit others. Report an error in the passage at 11:10 Highlight the passage at 11:10

11:26 And actually help them to overcome all the, not just the suffering, but the causes of suffering. The afflictive emotions in Report an error in the passage at 11:26 Highlight the passage at 11:26

11:40 our minds that cause us to suffer now and in the future. Report an error in the passage at 11:40 Highlight the passage at 11:40

11:52 And on top of that we can develop this wish to cultivate all the potential that we have in our minds. So all the positive qualities to develop them so that they can't even be developed any further. They're perfected. This Report an error in the passage at 11:52 Highlight the passage at 11:52

12:17 is a huge motivation and maybe some of us have never even thought about having it before. Report an error in the passage at 12:17 Highlight the passage at 12:17

12:24 But it's a beginning. It's an aspiration. And we can use this aspiration to inspire our whole life. Report an error in the passage at 12:24 Highlight the passage at 12:24

12:45 So just think, by understanding and applying this understanding in my own life, may I be able to overcome my own afflictive emotions like anger and jealousy, hatred, depression, and Report an error in the passage at 12:45 Highlight the passage at 12:45

13:08 develop all my positive qualities like love, compassion, patience. Generosity, kindness, Report an error in the passage at 13:08 Highlight the passage at 13:08

13:19 so that I can benefit every single living being without exception. Report an error in the passage at 13:19 Highlight the passage at 13:19

13:35 And then when you're ready, you can open your eyes and we'll do the opening prayers. Report an error in the passage at 13:35 Highlight the passage at 13:35

13:49 So in the green prayer book, hopefully that you have in front of you, there's a section that's called Prayers of Aspiration. It's three from the back. Some of them are old books and they're missing tabs, but if you see somebody near you who's struggling to find it, help them. Report an error in the passage at 13:49 Highlight the passage at 13:49

14:07 Page 18 of that section is a prayer by His Holiness the Dalai Lama which is actually based on Shantideva and we say that three times and that helps us generate this mind of bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 14:07 Highlight the passage at 14:07

14:23 With the wish to free all beings I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment inspired by wisdom and compassion today in the Buddha's presence. I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 14:23 Highlight the passage at 14:23

14:55 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment, inspired by wisdom and compassion. Today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 14:55 Highlight the passage at 14:55

15:26 With a wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Inspired by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 15:26 Highlight the passage at 15:26

16:03 So welcome. This class is called Seeking Refuge. So we'll talk about what that means. But I thought I would start with just introducing myself. My name is Lobsang Chokyi, and I am the program coordinator here. Report an error in the passage at 16:03 Highlight the passage at 16:03

16:21 And I've been at Seichenling, been stationed here since 2000, and I got her a day in the same year. So I've been here about six years, actually. Report an error in the passage at 16:21 Highlight the passage at 16:21

16:38 And I have been teaching for I think a couple of years now, something like that, maybe a year and a half out of necessity. We needed somebody and so I jumped in. So I don't know what I'm doing half the time and I just ask you all to be patient with me. I do my best and I try to share what I know from my own experience a lot because I think that that is usually the most helpful. Report an error in the passage at 16:38 Highlight the passage at 16:38

17:09 Using the notes that I've taken from teachings that I've received. And if I don't know something, I just try to say I don't know and I try to find out the answer. Report an error in the passage at 17:09 Highlight the passage at 17:09

17:20 If you are at a point in your practice where you would like to get higher advice, we are very, very fortunate to have a resident teacher here. Report an error in the passage at 17:20 Highlight the passage at 17:20

17:32 Who is available for interviews. It's pretty amazing that we have somebody like that right on site, and he's quite available. We usually arrange a translator, although I've gone in many times and have been able to make myself very understood. But I think it's best to go with a translator at first. And I'm happy to set that up if anybody reaches that point. Report an error in the passage at 17:32 Highlight the passage at 17:32

17:57 But until then, I'm quite happy if you have questions that come up. Outside of class, I'm very available by email most of the time. The past couple of weeks are an exception, but always that way. Sometimes by phone, we can set up a phone date, and then I'm always quite happy to meet with people for a cup of tea if they just have questions about Buddhism or their practice or what to do next or what book to read or those kind of questions that come up all the time. Report an error in the passage at 17:57 Highlight the passage at 17:57

18:30 I want to apologize tonight. Usually the first night of class, I hand out binders for the class with the class readings, and I also do a syllabus of kind of what to expect each week. Report an error in the passage at 18:30 Highlight the passage at 18:30

18:42 There's been a lot going on in the last couple weeks. My mother passed away a week ago Friday, and I was with her, and so I've been back east until Saturday. I just got back Saturday afternoon. Report an error in the passage at 18:42 Highlight the passage at 18:42

18:58 And then I went down the last two days to see Lama Zopa Rinpoche. He was teaching in a course. He taught all night, Sunday night, until about 3 o 'clock in the morning last night. So I got back at 4.30 this morning. So it's actually fairly amazing that I'm just sitting here in front of you. And I'm hoping you will get more out of it than I seem capable of giving. Report an error in the passage at 18:58 Highlight the passage at 18:58

19:22 But I learned a lot about it. I thought it was very interesting when I emailed. And I said that the two things that I really felt like had come up for me during this whole process with my mom was really realizing how important it is to develop a mind of deep refuge and having a very strong daily practice. Report an error in the passage at 19:22 Highlight the passage at 19:22

19:45 And lo and behold, those are the two topics that I'm starting this week. So everything has a purpose. But I will have your binders for you next week. Probably for the Thursday class, we'll have binders on Thursday. We also have a new office help. We switched on our summer vacation. Roland has left and has gone to Australia, and we're all hoping he's doing wonderfully. Rubina is right behind him. Report an error in the passage at 19:45 Highlight the passage at 19:45

20:10 She's going to be teaching in Australia, so I'm sure he'll be fine. And now Tsengal is taking on several. So she's going to be helping out at both the office and the bookstore. And Venerable Carroll, who's the founder of the center, is back now. And she's kind of like operations manager or something like that, I think, now. So, yeah, a few staff changes, some old friends returning. Report an error in the passage at 20:10 Highlight the passage at 20:10

20:38 So, yeah, so that's all a bit of change, too. So I just want to go over some logistics tonight. And I'm not going to fall back on the DVD like I thought I might. I sent an email to Peter and Lewis and I'm like, I'm not sure. We might just be watching videos. I don't know. But then we wouldn't. What would we do on our practice day, you know? Anyway, so the logistics of this class is that this is actually, these two classes are both shorter classes. Report an error in the passage at 20:38 Highlight the passage at 20:38

21:07 They're both six-week classes. Actually, that's true. I hope that was taken into account. Did you guys get registration forms? Did they get registration forms? It should be a lesser amount because it's a shorter class. So hopefully, anyway, should be 79 non-members and 39, I think it is, for members. Report an error in the passage at 21:07 Highlight the passage at 21:07

21:34 Anyway, but the point was of that is that we will meet Tuesdays for six weeks and we don't miss any classes this time. We don't have any soaks or, well, you know. In theory, which is why. Here, let's go ahead and send this around. Do you want to just hand this out? So people could put their name, an email, and a phone. Report an error in the passage at 21:34 Highlight the passage at 21:34

21:55 And actually, if you maybe circle the one that you're the most reachable on, because I know some people don't do any email, but they have one, which is, of course, no. Hey, come on in. Good to see you. Some people are on email all the time, and they don't like phones. Or if you don't care, just put, you know. Report an error in the passage at 21:55 Highlight the passage at 21:55

22:15 I don't know, it doesn't matter or something. But that's really good for me to know. If I'm trying to reach everybody in a hurry, it's just easier to have it all in one place. It doesn't happen often. Wherever you don't see a body, you're pretty safe. If you guys don't mind sitting right in front, then you can stare straight in my face. Report an error in the passage at 22:15 Highlight the passage at 22:15

22:36 It's nice to have smiling faces there. Report an error in the passage at 22:36 Highlight the passage at 22:36

22:41 So I'm just sending around a roster so everybody can sign up. So even if you think I have it, just put it down. It just makes it easier, especially if I'm not the one who's trying to reach you. If somebody else, like single, is trying to reach you, it makes it easier if it's all in one place. So every week I actually assign homework, which hopefully doesn't make everybody cringe and all your hair going in. Report an error in the passage at 22:41 Highlight the passage at 22:41

23:03 But the only reason is because I have found... We're a homework-based society. Like when we take a class, a college class, say, for example, we get homework and we do it. And it actually helps us learn the material. It helps us understand the material. Of course, the homework in here is meditation and reading. Those are the two main ones. And so I just ask you to try. Report an error in the passage at 23:03 Highlight the passage at 23:03

23:27 Now, I usually assign a daily meditation. And I know that people have crazy lives. And so don't... Don't freak and think, well, I can't do this, so I won't do it at all. I'd rather have you try it like once that week, you know, on your day off than not to try it at all. But the most important thing is to show up. Report an error in the passage at 23:27 Highlight the passage at 23:27

23:45 So even if you can't ever do the reading or the homeworks, like just show up. That's, you know, 90%. Because I'll always have a meditation in class because I know people's lives are crazy. So I want to give you the experience of having some meditation time. So we'll always do some meditation in class. Report an error in the passage at 23:45 Highlight the passage at 23:45

24:02 And you'll get a really good understanding of the subject if you just show up. And you'll get a really deep understanding if you're able to do all the homework. So there's sort of the two different ways to approach the class. There's an even deeper way. And that's by doing the entire Discovering Buddhism series for credit. So doing all the additional readings required for that and additional integration experiences. Report an error in the passage at 24:02 Highlight the passage at 24:02

24:31 We can talk a little bit more about that next time. But this is the seventh out of 14 modules in the Discovering Buddhism series. So this is like the halfway point. Report an error in the passage at 24:31 Highlight the passage at 24:31

24:44 And we are trying to finish all 14, or rather, the 14th one is actually an experiential module that you do on your own, but we're trying to present all 13 of the Discovering Buddhism classes in an 18-month period, and then we'll just start over. So you don't have to take them in order. If you do, they make more sense. Report an error in the passage at 24:44 Highlight the passage at 24:44

25:09 Everybody in here has started. Those people that are returning students have all started at different places and it's totally fine. It's like the lamrim that we'll talk about. The lamrim means the stages to the path of enlightenment. And you just can take it like a spiral. So it's like... Every class that you take will feed into the class that follows it, which will feed into the class that follows it. I know Lewis started with the very, well actually it's not the last class, the very last class hasn't even been offered yet here, Introduction to Tantra, it's being offered this month in Marin, but when I started teaching I just felt like, well we're not ready for that yet. Report an error in the passage at 25:09 Highlight the passage at 25:09

25:47 So I'm just going to start over. But the second to the last class is Wisdom, and I know Lewis started with Wisdom, and so it's totally possible to start with the uppermost classes and then just move into the spiral and do them in the order that you take them. So don't feel that if you're just starting now, you're behind, because whatever order you do them in, I know some people can only come on Tuesday nights and some people can only come on Thursday nights, and whatever you take, Whatever class you take here will feed into your understanding of the Dharma wherever you study. So if you take classes with Geshe-la, you'll just understand them more. Report an error in the passage at 25:47 Highlight the passage at 25:47

26:29 If you attend teachings by His Holiness, you'll understand the Dalai Lama, you'll understand them more. If you go to another Buddhist center, especially in the Tibetan tradition, you'll understand it more. If you go to a Zen one, you might not. Maybe slightly different. Report an error in the passage at 26:29 Highlight the passage at 26:29

26:45 And hopefully it will make your life more meaningful and ultimately happier and your mind more peaceful. I mean that's sort of the whole point. It's not just to have a lot of knowledge and I'll talk about that in a minute. So that's why I assign homework. Report an error in the passage at 26:45 Highlight the passage at 26:45

27:05 The format of the class is that we spend a certain amount of time at the beginning and at the end we do meditation. Sometimes it's just a meditation on the breath like we did tonight with a motivation. Sometimes I'll guide you in a meditation. Often I'll guide you in a meditation that was your homework assignment the previous week just in case nobody in the room got a chance to do it. Report an error in the passage at 27:05 Highlight the passage at 27:05

27:28 You'll have one chance to do it in class. Then we'll We'll have some time for discussion. If you have had a question or a problem with the meditation or something that's come up for you during the reading and you have questions about it, then that's one of your good times to ask questions is right after the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 27:28 Highlight the passage at 27:28

27:53 I'll open it up. It's also possible to ask questions while I'm presenting the material, although I ask usually to wait until I say, are there any questions, rather than just interrupting, just because I will lose my train of thought. It's mostly for that reason. Report an error in the passage at 27:53 Highlight the passage at 27:53

28:10 And often it will be forever lost. I'll never remember where it was. That's why I usually bring notes because I'll lose my train of thought and I'll never remember what it was I meant to cover tonight. Report an error in the passage at 28:10 Highlight the passage at 28:10

28:21 But I invite you to ask all the questions that you need to ask. Don't ever feel like you're stupid, like it's a stupid question. No question is stupid. Nobody in the room is going to think you're stupid for asking a certain question. So just please. Feel free to ask questions. If you have something private, you can ask me on the break. I usually offer a short break, somewhere about two-thirds of the way through the class. Report an error in the passage at 28:21 Highlight the passage at 28:21

28:45 Or you can also email me, which I'll give you on the syllabus that you'll get next week, which I'm very available to answer email questions. Or we can set up, like I said, a time to talk outside of class. Or you can ask me after class, too. I'm usually available right after class. Report an error in the passage at 28:45 Highlight the passage at 28:45

29:07 So, and then right before the break, I'll just open it up too if people have questions. So there's plenty of time. I feel like as Westerners, asking questions is kind of our form of debate, which is really big in the Tibetan system, is to debate things. Discussion is really important for the way our minds work. So I want this stuff to be meaningful to you like it is to me. Report an error in the passage at 29:07 Highlight the passage at 29:07

29:35 Discussing it, asking questions, talking about it amongst yourselves as well is a really good way to make it real. Report an error in the passage at 29:35 Highlight the passage at 29:35

29:45 So the context of these teachings on refuge is that the original historical Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment about almost 2,600 years ago now. These teachings are based on what he observed after he attained enlightenment. He didn't sit down to write a doctrine and call it Buddhism. They were simply what he observed to be true. It's a little bit of feedback. What he observed to be true after he attained enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 29:45 Highlight the passage at 29:45

30:28 And of course... Since that time actually others have also attained enlightenment and they have also written about it so their methods and commentaries on his teachings are also considered the teachings of the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 30:28 Highlight the passage at 30:28

30:46 When I present the stuff that I present which I try to have it be as accurate as possible and based on the teachings that I've received and the only additions I'll add are my own experiences with it. I try to give you so that it can help in your lives. I am not trying to create Dharma monsters, which is what a teacher of mine called it when people just accumulate a lot of Dharma information and call it Dharma practice. Report an error in the passage at 30:46 Highlight the passage at 30:46

31:17 Dharma practice means listening, reflecting and meditating on the teachings and then trying to actually apply them. So there's a huge leap. So sometimes if people have questions and it feels like we're veering off subject or that it may not be so beneficial to continue, that's kind of what I'm thinking when I try to guide you back onto topic. Report an error in the passage at 31:17 Highlight the passage at 31:17

31:41 It doesn't mean that you can't think about, you know. All the different heads on the different Buddhas that you see or something like that. But sometimes it's just not so useful for us in our lives right now, especially as beginners on the path. It's more useful to figure out how to work with the demons of our own mind and cultivate the deities of our own mind, the good things, the good qualities. Report an error in the passage at 31:41 Highlight the passage at 31:41

32:04 So that's kind of my angle. That's kind of where I'm coming from with these classes is they should be meaningful and useful. And practical, very practical. So Buddhism flourished, it began in India. The historical Buddha was actually Hindu and attained enlightenment in India. And then it flourished there for about 1,500 years. Report an error in the passage at 32:04 Highlight the passage at 32:04

32:32 And then it died out. There's not that many Buddhists who are born and bred Indian anymore, although you do see it sometimes. Report an error in the passage at 32:32 Highlight the passage at 32:32

32:43 And then fortunately for us it actually began to flourish in a lot of different cultures around the world and it's still flourishing in many of those cultures. It came to Tibet in the 8th century and flourished there for a couple of centuries and then began to be a lot of sort of factions and degenerations and confusion. Report an error in the passage at 32:43 Highlight the passage at 32:43

33:09 And so... One group invited a great master from Nalanda Monastery, which was a huge learning university in North India near Bogaya, the ruins of which are still there. Master Atisha, who was very well known even as far as Tibet, they brought him to Tibet to answer all their questions and to sort of reintroduce the Dharma to Tibet. Report an error in the passage at 33:09 Highlight the passage at 33:09

33:42 And that was in the 10th century. He is the one who originated what's called the lamrim, the stages on the path to enlightenment. He took a lot of the Buddhist teachings and he put them into the sort of methodical process that we call the lamrim now in a text that he wrote called Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 33:42 Highlight the passage at 33:42

34:07 And that is the basis for our current lamrim. It's actually been translated and it is a lamrim text. Since he lived, a lot of other great masters have also taught on the same subject and their teachings are also the basis of our lamrim today. They haven't been lost, which is actually one of the exciting things about Buddhism is that it is a living lineage all the way back to the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:37 And in some of the, and actually in all of the teachings, if you ever go to a formal teaching like by the Dalai Lama or Lama Zopa Rinpoche or any of the main older style. Tibetan teachers who are still teaching, they'll always give you a lineage of where they receive the teachings from whom, and they'll go back as far as they know those teachings to go. Report an error in the passage at 34:37 Highlight the passage at 34:37

35:08 For Lama Tsongkhapa Rinpoche's teachings last night, he was teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga, and he began to say, I first received these teachings from blah, blah, blah, and then he received them from blah, blah, blah. His Holiness will often spend... We've spent quite a bit of time doing that and the reason is to show us that they're not just making this stuff up. So I've started teaching each of these classes in the same way as much as I can to kind of give you some of that lineage so that you know that it's not just Chokyi sitting in front of you spieling whatever I think is really cool. Report an error in the passage at 35:08 Highlight the passage at 35:08

35:43 These are teachings that I've received and that I'm trying to present to you with as much authenticity as I can so that you can use them. And then you can all become great holy beings and give them to your students. That's the point. So Master Atisha's disciples, his main disciples, started a school that was called the Old Kadampas or the Kadam lineage. Report an error in the passage at 35:43 Highlight the passage at 35:43

36:10 And they were really known for how earnestly they practiced and how they took all the teachings of the Buddha as direct instruction, personal instruction. Um, and, um, And their disciple, actually, the next following was Lama Tsongkhapa, who took their teachings and the teachings of Atisha. And from him, he didn't call it the Galukma tradition, but he was the founder of the tradition that this particular organization and center is a part of. Report an error in the passage at 36:10 Highlight the passage at 36:10

36:44 And that His Holiness the Dalai Lama actually is in, although he studies with all of the main traditions that came out of Tibet. The new Kadampas, which have gained a lot of popularity in the last few years, have no relationship at all with the old Kadampas, and in fact aren't part of the Galup tradition or Tibetan Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 36:44 Highlight the passage at 36:44

37:02 They've completely broken from the lineage, and they don't follow His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whereas this center very much does, which is why we prominently display him. Report an error in the passage at 37:02 Highlight the passage at 37:02

37:16 And it's part of our mission to actually serve his work in the world. And all of my gurus consider him a guru as well. So it's a really important distinction to make because I think the Nuka Dampas are gaining a lot of popularity. So Lama Tsongkhapa was in the 14th century, and he was the founder of this tradition. Report an error in the passage at 37:16 Highlight the passage at 37:16

37:41 Also, he continued this whole idea. He actually wrote a text called the Lamrim Chen Mo, which is the great Lamrim. He actually wrote several versions of the Lamrim, ranging from this one that's huge, many, many volumes, to one that was just simply one little brief. It's the three principles of the path that we used as the basis of presenting the path class a couple of classes back. Report an error in the passage at 37:41 Highlight the passage at 37:41

38:07 Because he wrote them for different types of minds. He wrote them for the great scholars and he wrote them for most of us who only have time to kind of work with one short text. And then he wrote everything in between. So he actually wrote 10,000 pages of commentary in his lifetime on the various texts that were out there. He's an amazing being, actually. Report an error in the passage at 38:07 Highlight the passage at 38:07

38:28 So one of his disciples, of course, 500 years later, but, you know, was Pabanka Rinpoche, who was of the 19th century. He passed away in the 1900s. I think he passed away in, like, the 40s. I think, like, 41, 46. I can't remember. 46, maybe. In the first half of the 1900s. Report an error in the passage at 38:28 Highlight the passage at 38:28

38:57 He's the one who wrote—it was actually not written by him. It was taught by him. he taught commentary on the Lamrim Chun Mo in, um, Over the course of a month in 1921, and it was transcribed by his students and published in his lifetime, which is fairly amazing, and that became Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, which is a current lamrim text, and it's great. Report an error in the passage at 38:57 Highlight the passage at 38:57

39:21 It's very dense, but it's also very practical and readable. There's a lot of information there, and you can read it on a lot of different levels. Report an error in the passage at 39:21 Highlight the passage at 39:21

39:31 He is. He was the direct teacher of many of the main teachers in our lineage, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Are you leaving? Is there something I said? Are you coming? Are you coming again? Or are you just stopping by? Report an error in the passage at 39:31 Highlight the passage at 39:31

39:51 Oh, it was nice to see you again. Yeah, stay in contact. Okay, see you later. Report an error in the passage at 39:51 Highlight the passage at 39:51

39:59 He was the direct teacher and often root guru, actually, of many of my teachers, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Chudan Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe, Kirti Sencheb Rinpoche, Reba Rinpoche, actually, that was his root guru, was Bhavanka Rinpoche. So all of those gurus are now, some of them have passed. Report an error in the passage at 39:59 Highlight the passage at 39:59

40:26 That group, but they are all still teaching us. So it's all staying alive and they are embodying the teachings and when they teach us, they show us what you can become when you work with these teachings over a lifetime or lifetimes. Report an error in the passage at 40:26 Highlight the passage at 40:26

40:45 My first teachings in Buddhism and in the Lamrim were in 1996 and 1997. Probably my strongest... The teachings of the Lamrim came from Geshe Michael Roach and from Venerable Neal Houston, also known as Thupten Dundrup, who's an Australian monk. I attended two of the month-long Kopan November courses in Kathmandu, which are totally devoted to going through the entire Lamrim, and which I highly recommend if anyone has the chance to do. Report an error in the passage at 40:45 Highlight the passage at 40:45

41:20 They still offer them. My Kopan Monastery is kind of our... The FPMT, which is what this center is a part of, is our kind of heart center. It's where Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa began to have even the idea of beginning an organization like the FPMT. They started doing these November courses, month-long courses, going through the entire lamrim with a lot of meditations and practice and discussion and all that stuff. Report an error in the passage at 41:20 Highlight the passage at 41:20

41:52 And in, I think, I want to say 1974, I think, is the first year. They're still going strong. They still have, every year they still have over 200 people that attend. Report an error in the passage at 41:52 Highlight the passage at 41:52

42:04 And out of that has arisen, you know, students go to the course, they enjoy it so much, they go home and they want to start a center. And that's how all the centers have begun. They've all started study groups by students who have attended these courses in Nepal. Report an error in the passage at 42:04 Highlight the passage at 42:04

42:21 Same with this one. Venerable Carol went and Venerable Amy, who weren't venerables at that time, weren't ordained. They went, attended the Kopan course and decided to start a center in San Francisco. And slowly, slowly, as they say in Nepal, it happened and that's how we came to be. I received a number of teachings on the Lamrim from Riva Rinpoche, Chodan Rinpoche. Report an error in the passage at 42:21 Highlight the passage at 42:21

42:51 His Holiness the Dalai Lama, of course, Geshe-la, and main teacher, whose Lama Zopa Rinpoche. But I would say that my strongest teachings on refuge probably have come from Venerable Neal at the Kopan courses. Report an error in the passage at 42:51 Highlight the passage at 42:51

43:05 One of the things that actually first engaged me when I started studying the teachings was this whole idea of how... methodical it all was you know you you can study you can study and meditate this and then you meditate on this and then you meditate on this and then you generate these qualities and then you you know become a Buddha it was all very it's very I grew up in the Christian tradition and I really admired the qualities of Christ and saints like St. Report an error in the passage at 43:05 Highlight the passage at 43:05

43:42 Francis. But I never could find it anywhere sort of how to get those qualities. Sort of like they had those qualities and we were us and never the twain shall meet. Although clearly I think with the saints in the Catholic Church there is some idea that you can attain that. But I was a Lutheran so we didn't have that. Report an error in the passage at 43:42 Highlight the passage at 43:42

44:03 So I was really drawn to a religious tradition that not only encouraged us to To study and learn and develop these qualities, but in fact that's the whole purpose. That's why we study the Buddha Dharma is to attain the same qualities that the Buddha had. My mom, I remember years ago when I first got involved with Buddhism, she was very supportive of it, of studying it, because she and my father were both very interested in kind of exploring. Report an error in the passage at 44:03 Highlight the passage at 44:03

44:40 Different religions and meditation and that sort of thing. But I remember she said, somebody told me that Christianity doesn't have a god. Is that true? And I said, well, I thought, how am I going to answer this? Our idea of the creator, the creator force in Buddhism is karma. That we each create karma and that karma creates our reality. I said, actually, we believe that... Report an error in the passage at 44:40 Highlight the passage at 44:40

45:09 We can all become Buddhists. And she was like, really? She found that actually very inspiring because there's no idea in the Christian sense that you can become God. I think you can become one with God. And I'm not saying this in any kind of negative way, but it was simply what I found attractive about Buddhism is the idea that we can each become a Buddha too. Report an error in the passage at 45:09 Highlight the passage at 45:09

45:34 Like it's not far-fetched at all. It's totally practical. It's totally possible. And we are encouraged all the time to keep doing it, to keep practicing. Report an error in the passage at 45:34 Highlight the passage at 45:34

45:45 So the main way that that happens, of course, is that slowly, slowly you begin transforming your mind through applying the teachings. Through first understanding them, receiving the teachings, contemplating them. They always say these steps. You listen, you contemplate and you meditate. If you leave out the meditation part, it won't become one with your mind. It won't mix with your mind. That actually is the juiciest part of Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 45:45 Highlight the passage at 45:45

46:15 It's the meditation part. We'll talk next week about different kinds of meditation. The meditation I'm thinking about here is not... Concentration meditation as much as it is analytical meditation, which is looking at and analyzing certain aspects of the teachings, which will be your homework assignment tonight. Report an error in the passage at 46:15 Highlight the passage at 46:15

46:41 Taking something, contemplating it, whenever you have what I call an aha moment, you stop and you try with whatever amount of concentration you have. Report an error in the passage at 46:41 Highlight the passage at 46:41

46:52 Holding on to that kind of insight. And then the moment your mind gets crazy again, which it's kind of prone to do, then you continue analyzing. So it's a style of meditation that's unique to Tibetan Buddhism because our lineage lamas and all of their wisdom realize that we do this all the time. Whether it's convincing ourselves of what car we're going to buy or whether it's convincing ourselves of why we should hate the co-worker so much that we hate or why we should get involved with the person that we want to get involved with or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 46:52 Highlight the passage at 46:52

47:30 We always come up with all the reasonings and then we jump and do it. So we're simply taking that kind of process and we're applying it toward a virtuous concept like the development of bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 47:30 Highlight the passage at 47:30

47:46 The development or contemplating the fact that we are impermanent. Report an error in the passage at 47:46 Highlight the passage at 47:46

47:57 It's really important to take these teachings and to actually meditate on them. so, um, Report an error in the passage at 47:57 Highlight the passage at 47:57

48:07 It's very important to develop a daily meditation practice, even if it's only 10 minutes, 15 minutes a day. But it's also really important to take time to do what's known as retreat. And I think in the West, the idea of retreat has gotten a little bit murky because people think it has to do with massages and hot tubs and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 48:07 Highlight the passage at 48:07

48:30 Maybe grapes being fed to you as you're going into it. Hot tub or something. But retreats in this context is referring to taking time, pulling out of your everyday world in some way. It doesn't mean going somewhere. You can actually do it in your apartment. But sometimes it helps to go somewhere else where they're set up for that and they can just bring your meals to you and all you have to do is to work with your mind for anything ranging from a couple of days to a month or two months or nine months or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 48:30 Highlight the passage at 48:30

49:05 For most of us, it ends up being a couple weeks to a month, a year, which is really, really good. Lama Zopa Rinpoche was just mentioning that last night, that Lama Yeshe's advice to all students was always that we should try to take a month of retreat, a year, if possible. And there's a reason for it, because that's when you can really go deeply. Report an error in the passage at 49:05 Highlight the passage at 49:05

49:29 With these teachings in a way that it's just really hard for us to do with our busy lives, even those who work in Dharma centers. So there are ways to do that and there are places to do that. We'll talk about that more later in some of the later classes. We're really, really fortunate in California. There's a lot of really good retreat centers nearby. So I can tell you more about those. Report an error in the passage at 49:29 Highlight the passage at 49:29

49:53 But for those of us that don't have any money, there's also other options. So I'll talk about that too. I have known people to just do retreat in their home. Munlum has done that, actually, before he moved here when he had his own apartment. You just have some good friends who agree to get you some groceries occasionally, and you just have a really simple diet for that week or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 49:53 Highlight the passage at 49:53

50:17 You can do that. You probably want to unplug the phone and maybe hand it to somebody so you're not even tempted. Maybe your wireless card as well. Report an error in the passage at 50:17 Highlight the passage at 50:17

50:27 So that you're not tempted to do anything like that during that week, because your main focus should be trying to go deeply into some of these subjects. Report an error in the passage at 50:27 Highlight the passage at 50:27

50:39 My relationship with this topic of refuge is really tied up with retreat, I think, and of course working in a Dharma center, especially, I think, when I was the director of this center, which is very much like doing a retreat. Report an error in the passage at 50:39 Highlight the passage at 50:39

50:57 You're not retreating in the sense that you're outside and can take walks, but you're definitely retreating in that you absolutely have to be working with your mind 24 hours a day or it's just another reason for insanity. We have enough reasons for that. So service to Rinpoche by working in these centers can often be very much like a retreat. Report an error in the passage at 50:57 Highlight the passage at 50:57

51:19 and it's anytime anytime that you Find yourself struggling and suffering and you turn towards something. It's a form of taking refuge. And so when you're in a retreat and you don't have any of your normal distractions available, you don't have any television, you don't have any music, you don't have any friends on the phone, you don't have any food, usually not your favorite foods anyway. Report an error in the passage at 51:19 Highlight the passage at 51:19

51:47 You know, whatever it is that you normally... use to alleviate You begin to look for what your deeper sources of refuge can be or what they should be. Report an error in the passage at 51:47 Highlight the passage at 51:47

52:03 So I would say that it was during retreat that I first began to even contemplate what the meaning of refuge is. I think, too, one of the things that really came up for me during this whole process of going home this last time and when my mom, it was clear that my mom was declining really rapidly and that she was dying. Report an error in the passage at 52:03 Highlight the passage at 52:03

52:34 It kept coming up for me, you know, because you don't want to feel the pain. None of us wants to feel pain. And I was watching it from both her standpoint. Because she was very terrified to die. My mom was very scared to die. Had always told me that. I mean, she was quite open about it. Partly because she just didn't know what was out there, which I think is true for a lot of us. Report an error in the passage at 52:34 Highlight the passage at 52:34

52:58 And also because she really liked her situation. She liked the life that she had. It's kind of the devil you know. Even though she knew that her body was pretty worn out, it was scary to let go of that. Report an error in the passage at 52:58 Highlight the passage at 52:58

53:14 So watching it from her standpoint, for her not having a true refuge was really quite difficult. And it made me feel like this is something that I really need. I need to have a strong refuge. I don't want to go into death being afraid. But also from my own standpoint, watching her and my own suffering watching her, you know, when you're watching somebody suffer that you love, You don't want to, so it becomes a form of suffering in yourself. And so you want to distract yourself from that. And so you take refuge in the TV at night. Report an error in the passage at 53:14 Highlight the passage at 53:14

53:47 You take refuge in maybe eating too much or processing with people or whatever it is that kind of keeps you from just being present with that pain. Report an error in the passage at 53:47 Highlight the passage at 53:47

54:01 And so those are... Those came up for me. I began to realize what I was doing and that I was distracting myself from the pain. It's what we do all the time, actually. Report an error in the passage at 54:01 Highlight the passage at 54:01

54:17 We'll talk about that, actually. Any kind of pain that we have, from the simplest headache or muscle pain to really deep mental pain, loss, grief. I mean, you just... Report an error in the passage at 54:17 Highlight the passage at 54:17

54:34 I mean, we're a really over-medicalized nation, and part of that is that we can't handle pain, period. And I'm as guilty as the next person. You know, if I get a headache, dang straight I'm reaching for the Advil. You know, it's just, you know, it's automatic. It's sort of like, can't have that pain, you know. Report an error in the passage at 54:34 Highlight the passage at 54:34

54:54 And the same is true for just any kind of little pain, you know. Knee hurts. Oh, got to shift. You know, it's not, you can't. I didn't bear any kind of discomfort for any amount of time, which was, of course, really hard during Rinpoche's teachings. Report an error in the passage at 54:54 Highlight the passage at 54:54

55:13 Twelve hours, Sunday night, 8 o 'clock to 8 o 'clock. And I didn't remember my cushion. Well, actually, the mice ate my cushion while I was gone, which is an interesting karma in and of itself. Report an error in the passage at 55:13 Highlight the passage at 55:13

55:30 Yeah, so talk about, you know, looking, having to look at suffering. And I didn't even, I couldn't even find a beanbag cushion. They don't have beanbag cushions at Vajrapani. We should get together and, like, donate beanbag cushions to Vajrapani. All they have is those hard, those hard kind of cotton ones. Report an error in the passage at 55:30 Highlight the passage at 55:30

55:51 Anyway, so I began to really realize, again, I should say, with the lamrim topics, it's very much like that. It's not like... You're going to gain an insight in one day of meditating on it or one experience in your life and suddenly get it. Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51

56:08 It's not like lamrim or the topics of the lamrim are like you're going to be able to get it and someday leave them behind, go up to the more advanced topics, like the juicier topics like tantra and things like that, that we think somehow that we're going to be able to leave the lamrim behind. The lamrim is the foundation for everything. Report an error in the passage at 56:08 Highlight the passage at 56:08

56:28 And you'll just keep coming back to it and keep coming back to it. And so you'll gain these insights like I was doing last week. The whole thing was a huge Dharma teaching. Report an error in the passage at 56:28 Highlight the passage at 56:28

56:38 And then, of course, you forget them again because it's really easy to forget them again and to reach for the bottle of Advil or whatever it is, you know. And then, you know, you have to keep, it has to keep coming into your mind. It has to become part of your life in such a way that it begins to... It begins to transform your mind. And ultimately the realizations that we want to have are ones that are completely irreversible so we don't lose them again. Report an error in the passage at 56:38 Highlight the passage at 56:38

57:05 That's what a realization is referring to. If you hear me refer to something as a realization, it means that you've not just gained an insight. Rinpoche last night was talking a lot about guru devotion. It's not like you gain an insight once meditating and then you've got it. You've got to keep meditating on it and keep meditating and then apply it in the way that you live and the way that you interact with people and the way that you think about reality and then you meditate on it again and then you study it again with another teacher and then you meditate on it again. Report an error in the passage at 57:05 Highlight the passage at 57:05

57:39 There's a whole process to it and the lamrim is very much like that. We gain these little insights and then they just kind of go into our shopping cart of reality and then they'll affect the way that we deal with the next problem that arises in our life, hopefully. And things will come. It's encouraging that things are going in and that you remember them at these times. Let me stand here or sit here before you and say it's quite encouraging when... Report an error in the passage at 57:39 Highlight the passage at 57:39

58:10 You are able to remember things at times when things are very, very heavy or difficult and you have this strength in your heart and it comes from practice and it comes from your teachings and it comes from your teachers and it's there. So it's exciting actually because sometimes like me I think I'm not really gaining anything or nothing's going in or I'm forgetting everything and I'm not... Report an error in the passage at 58:10 Highlight the passage at 58:10

58:38 I'm definitely not the best student and I'm not the keenest mind in the room, but just plodding along, it does go into your heart and it does affect your life. And that's the whole point. If nothing else happens and you're doing it in this really kind of slow poke, plodding a long way, your life will definitely get better. Report an error in the passage at 58:38 Highlight the passage at 58:38

59:04 So Anyway, I wanted to go around and I wanted to, before I sort of introduce a little bit about Refuge, I just wanted to just let people introduce themselves. And of course, that doesn't mean that any of us will remember your name, myself included. But it just is a way that we can form as a new group, because each class is a new group, even if you have some people that return and some people that are new. Report an error in the passage at 59:04 Highlight the passage at 59:04

59:31 Each class is the new beginning, and this class is... It's very exciting to me, especially after everything that I just have come through. I feel personally very excited about this class, and so I kind of want us to have this beginning. So if people could just say what your name is and also just a little bit about kind of why you're here, your relationship with Buddhism, and just keep it really brief if you could. Report an error in the passage at 59:31 Highlight the passage at 59:31

1:00:00 Go on. I was born in a log cabin. Yeah, just remember. So people could... Yeah, you go. Be brave. Hi, I'm single. I work here at the center and I have a great opportunity to attending Venerable Chokyi's class. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00:00

1:00:29 I always want to say thank you for being patient with me and also everybody. Because I'm questioning English words and practicing English vocabulary. So I appreciate your patience. I'm trying to engage Buddhism. Thank you. Did you say where you're from? I come from Mongolia. I've been here like two years and learning English at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:29 Highlight the passage at 1:00:29

1:01:09 Learning Dharma, accumulating merit. Purifying and accumulating merit. Is it possible to apologize about the... I want to apologize about the registration before class. So people who have made the registration, it's on the paper, says... So we can figure it out after class. Sorry about that. Oh, you mean because it's less? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:09 Highlight the passage at 1:01:09

1:01:50 Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. No, it's okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:50 Highlight the passage at 1:01:50

1:01:58 Hello. My name is Ricardo. I'm originally from Colombia. I've been living in San Francisco for three years. I lived in Georgia before that. And the other question is... Report an error in the passage at 1:01:58 Highlight the passage at 1:01:58

1:02:15 How I got involved in Buddhism. Well, I've been a spiritual person all my life and I've read everything that's out there. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:15 Highlight the passage at 1:02:15

1:02:28 It's a tall order. Yeah. When I lived in Atlanta, in Georgia, I would see a lot of Buddhism coming up continuously. I would go to one class here or there and then I came here three years ago and I came to several classes. I always knew Buddhism was the highest path for me for some reason, but I just couldn't relate to it at the moment. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:28 Highlight the passage at 1:02:28

1:02:55 And I knew eventually I would be able to kind of get into it until I finally got a book on Tantra by Lama Geshe. And I was like, okay, I'm ready. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:55 Highlight the passage at 1:02:55

1:03:12 So I've been reading on lamrim and mind training. I talked to Keshiva and here I am. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:12 Highlight the passage at 1:03:12

1:03:22 Oh, I think, did we communicate by email once? Yeah. Okay, good. Yeah, okay, good. I'm Sandy and I took your class on death, dying and rebirth and I enjoyed it very much, learned a lot. I'm from the Jodo Shinshu Temple. Excellent, welcome back. Hi, my name is Jackie. I'm pretty new to Buddhism. I'm here to explore and learn more. Excellent. Very lovely to be here. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:22 Highlight the passage at 1:03:22

1:04:04 Yeah, I just ask, also I forgot to mention at the beginning that usually whenever people ask questions that we try to use the mic because what we're trying to do is we record it and then at the end of the series we upload the whole series if we haven't lost any like we have on just about every other class. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:04 Highlight the passage at 1:04:04

1:04:20 We upload it to the website and then people can download it. For free. And so if you don't hear the question that's asked, it can get kind of aggravating when you're listening at home. So that's the only reason that we're kind of maniacal about the talking stick. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:20 Highlight the passage at 1:04:20

1:04:38 I'm Deborah. I've attended a number of classes Report an error in the passage at 1:04:38 Highlight the passage at 1:04:38

1:04:48 here or so now. I think so, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:48 Highlight the passage at 1:04:48

1:04:56 Hi, I'm Peter. It all began in 1960. I think I'm the veteran here. yeah Report an error in the passage at 1:04:56 Highlight the passage at 1:04:56

1:05:03 I've been in Chiki's classes since the first time you started teaching. You're my good luck charm. If you weren't here, I'd probably be a nervous fan. I'm trying to do the whole course and I'm getting pretty close to completing it now, which is pretty interesting. I came to the Dharma first back in 89 and had taken refuge in the Kagyu tradition, but one thing led to another and I wasn't practicing very actively and I ended up having... Report an error in the passage at 1:05:03 Highlight the passage at 1:05:03

1:05:31 A couple things happened, a series of deaths in my family, and then also my vision got significantly worse. I have a visual impairment. And those two things kind of brought me back to the Dharma much more seriously, and I took refuge here in the Gaelic tradition about two years ago now. And it's been incredible. It's been a real... Report an error in the passage at 1:05:31 Highlight the passage at 1:05:31

1:05:49 It's a transforming experience in every way. And if I ever look at you and I don't immediately recognize you, I'm visually impaired, so don't take it personally. Or if he bumps into you. Exactly. Take your food from the table. Right, right, and begin eating it. Exactly. But anyway, it's great to be back again. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:49 Highlight the passage at 1:05:49

1:06:06 Welcome back, Chokyi. So we'll talk about what Peter meant by that term, taking refuge. I took refuge in this tradition. I took refuge. We'll talk about what that means. Hi, my name is Chad. I'm pretty new as well to Buddhism. I was raised Christian as well, so I definitely know the pain. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:06 Highlight the passage at 1:06:06

1:06:28 But I think I've always intrinsically, as I read more about Buddhism, it all strikes true within me. So this is the first sort of organized thing that I've done, class or otherwise. I met Roland. He was sort of my introducer into the center and into the whole tradition. So, yeah, happy to be here. That's a nice one. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:28 Highlight the passage at 1:06:28

1:06:46 Excellent. Have you heard from him? How's he doing? Oh, you haven't heard? No, I get to send him an email. I think his email is still the same. Yeah, I'm sure he's doing fine. Yeah, he's on the beach, yeah. But Rubina's coming soon, so he's going to be off that beach. She's winging her way there as we speak. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:46 Highlight the passage at 1:06:46

1:07:09 He's trying it for like a year, just seeing what happens. Tiziana? Yes, yes, she's ordained. One of the members of our class actually just got ordained. I know it was like a pretty powerful break. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:09 Highlight the passage at 1:07:09

1:07:24 Like how many things happened? Yeah, so she's Tuptin Jolkar now. But she goes by, Tuptin is Lama Zopa, it comes from him, Tuptin Zopa. But she goes by everything. She goes by Tiziana, Jolkar, and they've all started calling her Joy for some reason. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:24 Highlight the passage at 1:07:24

1:07:44 Is she here still? Yeah, she's still here. She just went down for Rinpoche's teaching tonight to finish what he didn't finish last night. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:44 Highlight the passage at 1:07:44

1:07:57 And to get Katie, actually. Katie's been there for a month. Yeah, she's done. No, she's good. She's glowing. She's very happy. My name is Elisa, and this is my third class with... Stop. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:57 Highlight the passage at 1:07:57

1:08:15 Chokyi, who's an amazing teacher, despite what she says. Of course. And I'm really excited to be in this class because over the past, I guess it's almost six months now, it really has lent so much more meaning to my life and I'm sort of going through a transitional phase and moved to San Francisco and sort of have started to recognize it as the purpose rather than sort of looking externally, really maintaining that calm and that clarity. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:15 Highlight the passage at 1:08:15

1:08:43 So I'm... I'm really excited about taking the next step towards refuge. I'm very grateful to be here. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:43 Highlight the passage at 1:08:43

1:08:55 Hi, I'm Louis. I've taken a number of Chokyi's classes. I back up everything she says. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:55 Highlight the passage at 1:08:55

1:09:08 I'm happy to be in this one. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:08 Highlight the passage at 1:09:08

1:09:19 Hi, I'm Lisa. This is really my third significant encounter with Buddhism. It's not bad. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:19 Highlight the passage at 1:09:19

1:09:27 My first one was 20 years ago when I moved to Boston to work for a publishing company that published books on the Vietnam experience in the Vietnam War. And we were in a lovely little brownstone building with Shambhala publications on the floor right below us. So all of these very interesting, colorful people were coming up in the elevator and not getting off on my floor. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:27 Highlight the passage at 1:09:27

1:09:55 But somehow... I met a few people there and had some very nice relationships with Buddhism and the teachings, but it wasn't sustaining in my life. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:55 Highlight the passage at 1:09:55

1:10:13 This is my husband Ron here, and we moved to... That's great, how did you do that? I signed him up on the sign-up sheet too. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:13 Highlight the passage at 1:10:13

1:10:31 And why is he here? No, I'm kidding. He's my driver. So Report an error in the passage at 1:10:31 Highlight the passage at 1:10:31

1:10:39 we moved here to San Francisco in 1993 and we got involved with some wonderful Burmese tradition teachers and were meditating on a weekly basis and again that didn't really stay with my life. So I had, it sort of drifted away and then Report an error in the passage at 1:10:39 Highlight the passage at 1:10:39

1:11:09 We had a neighbor who was a very wonderful person who had been writing letters to venerable children here at the center. And this was a neighbor when we lived in Illinois. And she knew that we were out in San Francisco. And she kept saying to me, you must meet children, you must meet children. And I never did. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:09 Highlight the passage at 1:11:09

1:11:30 I never took the first step. And then we got an email from Franny's husband that she passed away. And the very first thing I did was to call children and came here to the center. And children suggested the death and rebirth class, which I just finished with Chokyi. And I'm here again for more. So hopefully this time will be the charm. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:30 Highlight the passage at 1:11:30

1:11:59 Well also you aren't mentioning the fact that children immediately ran upstairs and said, she's got all these great graphic art skills. And I ran down and we immediately had her start working for us. We don't waste any time. But it was just what I needed to jump right in. And I'm sure it shifted your karma and that's where you got your job. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:59 Highlight the passage at 1:11:59

1:12:21 That's right. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:21 Highlight the passage at 1:12:21

1:12:26 I just let Lisa usually do the talking for me. So I'm Ron, Lisa's husband. And so for me, it's one of Buddhism was through reading. I grew up in Colorado, Christian faith, Catholic faith. So it was mostly through reading and then through some series of paths of trying different things to explore just to see how you react or what sticks or what's being open to a variety of things. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:26 Highlight the passage at 1:12:26

1:13:08 of practicing things. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:08 Highlight the passage at 1:13:08

1:13:13 And so when we came to San Francisco, the meditation practice was great for me. It helped me in a variety of ways, which some of them I'm still not clear on how that helped and where that direction came from. But it's always something that I'm interested in. And this is really your first class. I mean, you've come to a couple. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:13 Highlight the passage at 1:13:13

1:13:38 First class. Yeah. Teachings. Right. A couple of Rubina talks and all that. Yeah. That's exciting to see you. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you guys are all here. And what tends to happen is that throughout the entire six weeks, including the final day, it's always funny to me when people join on the final day, but people always do, people will come. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:38 Highlight the passage at 1:13:38

1:14:03 So more people will come. And I always try to just leave it open so that people can come at any time. We can have drop-ins. So whenever you see a new face, just, like, welcome them. You know, make them feel welcome. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:03 Highlight the passage at 1:14:03

1:14:15 So the topic for this series is seeking refuge and ultimately it's actually the sort of gateway to the whole Buddhist path is this concept of refuge. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:15 Highlight the passage at 1:14:15

1:14:29 There's a formal, what's known as a formal refuge ceremony that Peter referred to and that we'll talk more about and then there's what is known as kind of developing this mind of refuge and so we'll talk about What the difference between those is. There's also, of course, refuge prayers. And none of these three things mean the same thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:29 Highlight the passage at 1:14:29

1:14:53 So when I talk about cultivating the mind of refuge, it doesn't just mean reading a prayer. The prayer is kind of to trigger certain things in your mind to happen, but you don't get off that easy. If that was it, then we could all just read about enlightenment and get enlightened, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:53 Highlight the passage at 1:14:53

1:15:10 But all of these things are referring to cultivating states of mind, like generosity or patience or refuge. So refuge is actually an active process. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:10 Highlight the passage at 1:15:10

1:15:26 But I want to start with kind of where we are and the constant state of our mind, which I referred to in some of the introduction. Um, um... Report an error in the passage at 1:15:26 Highlight the passage at 1:15:26

1:15:37 Geshe-la. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:37 Highlight the passage at 1:15:37

1:15:42 Maybe he's doing frustrations. Or someone's probably doing frustrations to him. Actually, that's more likely. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:42 Highlight the passage at 1:15:42

1:15:52 Several, maybe. Anyway, Report an error in the passage at 1:15:52 Highlight the passage at 1:15:52

1:15:59 the constant state of mind that we are in right now is wanting happiness and wanting to avoid suffering. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for our entire life. you for your patience. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:59 Highlight the passage at 1:15:59

1:15:49 um... Report an error in the passage at 1:15:49 Highlight the passage at 1:15:49

1:15:56 right. Anyway. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:56 Highlight the passage at 1:15:56

1:16:12 And it's sort of the status quo, and so we don't even realize that we're doing it. It's just kind of like any discomfort, we try to alleviate it. Any mental discomfort, we try to distract from it. You know, sad, call friend, you know, watch TV, read People magazine, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:12 Highlight the passage at 1:16:12

1:16:34 People magazine when I'm depressed. Eat chocolate is a good one. Drink a cup of Tetley tea for whatever ails you. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:34 Highlight the passage at 1:16:34

1:16:44 You know, pain, reach for Advil. You know, it's just like lonely, call friend. It's just like all of the various ways that we try to alleviate the sadness or pain or loneliness in our lives. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:44 Highlight the passage at 1:16:44

1:16:59 And it's the same for everyone. I mean, actually, I should say for ordinary beings. 24 hours a day, this kind of wanting to be happy, wanting to avoid suffering is just the constant driving force. And even the crazy things, I mean, everything that everyone is doing right now, I mean, all the sounds that you can hear, you hear people driving out there, you hear people walking out there, people drink to be happy, they take drugs to be happy, they get a job to be happy, they start a relationship to be happy, they leave a relationship to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:59 Highlight the passage at 1:16:59

1:17:36 They kill somebody to be happy. They steal to be happy. They give to be happy. Underlying everything that we do, they lie in bed to be happy. They get up to be happy and to avoid suffering. Suffering is sort of like anything that's not bringing us happiness, basically. We're on this drive to be happy and suffering is anything that gets in between us and that happiness. That's what we call suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:36 Highlight the passage at 1:17:36

1:18:05 And it's true for every single being in the world, but usually we've kind of got these blinders on and we're just looking at our own needs. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:05 Highlight the passage at 1:18:05

1:18:16 But actually, every single being in this room, whether we can see them or not, the little ones as well, and a couple of munching mice behind the altar, which you may hear during the meditation. We were doing the puja yesterday, whenever it was, Sunday morning. It's, um, um. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:16 Highlight the passage at 1:18:16

1:18:35 And munching away the entire time. Both children and I are trying to concentrate on them, but we're all trying to find them. Where are they? The eye. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:35 Highlight the passage at 1:18:35

1:18:46 They're just trying to be happy. Eating that corn chip was going to make them happy. Eating rice that Geshe-la throws for auspiciousness at the end of a puja. They'll grab that little kernel and they'll try to be happy. Eating my meditation cushion was trying to be happy. They were trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:46 Highlight the passage at 1:18:46

1:19:04 It kind of looked like they had had a party in my room while I was gone. It was probably too much of a good thing when they ate it, and it was just this pile of buckwheat hulls, and they probably just made themselves sick gorging on it. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:04 Highlight the passage at 1:19:04

1:19:20 But whenever we're encountering any kind of suffering, we do something to alleviate it, and you can actually call that a form of taking refuge. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:20 Highlight the passage at 1:19:20

1:19:29 We're turning to something to alleviate our suffering. Most of the time it doesn't work or it doesn't work for very long. But a good example of that is when we're little kids and we turn to our moms. And I mean, you know, we fall down, go boom. We go running up to mom, take away the suffering, you know. And sometimes she'll actually do something and sometimes she'll just kiss it, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:29 Highlight the passage at 1:19:29

1:19:53 And we'll get up and like run away. If you watch little kids with their moms, you know, it's like she just like kisses it and the little kid goes running back out, you know, and they're like fine, you know, because they got the attention and they feel like, okay, mom took care of it. And for years that was enough, hopefully, if we had any kind of good relationship. It doesn't have to be your mom. I'm using it as an example because she's the one that a lot of little kids turn to. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:53 Highlight the passage at 1:19:53

1:20:15 It could be, in my case, it was actually also my grandma. Who was there all the time with us. And so she was often a good source of refuge, you know. Especially if you were mad at the mom. Or the dad. She lived next door conveniently. Go toddling over to grandma's house. Always had candy. Which is another form of refuge. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:15 Highlight the passage at 1:20:15

1:20:37 too. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:37 Highlight the passage at 1:20:37

1:20:40 But when we grow up, when we get older, our problems get sort of more complicated and then the little kiss on the knee isn't always enough, you know. So sometimes mom isn't really enough to take away. So we start turning to other things. We turn to like chocolate, like Rita was saying. We turn to drugs and alcohol. We turn to relationships. You know, sometimes people become sort of serial relationships. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:40 Highlight the passage at 1:20:40

1:21:04 We turn to sex. Sex is a good one, yeah. we turn to, um, Entertainment or music or, I mean, I have this one friend who's, he's a friend of both my sisters and mine, and it's just interesting. He just probably spends 90 % of his, he has a very simple life, actually, but he probably spends like 90 % of his money on CDs and concerts. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:04 Highlight the passage at 1:21:04

1:21:26 Every week, CDs and concerts. So there's some form of refuge going on there, you know. I don't know who else is working long term, but, you know, he's in his, he's probably, he's older than I am, actually, so he's in his 50s. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:26 Highlight the passage at 1:21:26

1:21:39 So that's a form of refuge, you know, music, entertainment, movies. Sometimes people are movieholics, you know, books. Whatever it is that can take away our suffering, or we think it will, and so we're trying it. Sometimes we keep trying it, and even though it doesn't, we keep trying it, right? I mean, that's the chocolate thing, right? We're just, yeah, I just haven't had it yet. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:39 Highlight the passage at 1:21:39

1:22:09 But really anything that might take away the pain can be considered a form of refuge. And then gradually we begin to see that mom's not perfect either. She can't really give us any kind of lasting happiness. The same we realize with our partners or even with our friends. I know actually one form of refuge that I used to take a lot in my 20s was having tons of best friends. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:09 Highlight the passage at 1:22:09

1:22:36 I mean, it was just like... I remember my good friend who's now actually also a nun. We've been friends for like 25 years. Some friend accused her of being emotionally promiscuous. And she was like, yeah, but what's the insult? You know, it's kind of like, aren't we all supposed to be having a billion best friends? No. That was definitely a form of refuge, you know, because you always had somebody to call and process deeply. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:36 Highlight the passage at 1:22:36

1:23:04 I think you do that a lot in your 20s anyway. You just can spend all night. processing your life and reality. And that's definitely a form of refuge. But ultimately, there's an imperfection there. The people that we're turning to, the things that we're turning to, aren't really helping us solve the problem. They're just like Band-Aids. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:04 Highlight the passage at 1:23:04

1:23:31 We're eating the chocolate or we're having the sex or we're eating the good meal. or we're, you know, yeah, it's okay. If anybody ever needs to leave, you don't have to say excuse me. You can just go if you need to go to the restroom. So there's something, there's like a sort of faultiness there, like we're not really able to find any kind of lasting relief from the problems that we're having, whether they're emotional problems or physical problems or physical pain or... Report an error in the passage at 1:23:31 Highlight the passage at 1:23:31

1:24:04 Grief or loss or, you know, the problems that we encounter in everyday life through our lives, throughout our lives. Because we're still turning to things that have problems of their own. I mean, our moms, as much as they loved us and would have if they had the power, removed our suffering. If they could have, didn't have that capacity. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:04 Highlight the passage at 1:24:04

1:24:29 Because they were imperfect beings too, you know, as much as we loved them. Our friends are the same. They might try to help us out, but there might be some ulterior motive because they're also imperfect. And definitely the things that we turn to, buying something, going shopping, shopping therapy, which I think a lot of people actually in this culture use as a refuge. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:29 Highlight the passage at 1:24:29

1:24:53 All it does is give you a lot of debt, which actually creates a whole different problem that you might then turn to one of your other refuges for. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:53 Highlight the passage at 1:24:53

1:25:02 It's not really going to help you eliminate the causes of those problems, much less the problems themselves. And it might make you feel better for the afternoon, or it might, you know, depending on how long the chocolate's in your stomach, it might make you feel better to process with your friends or something, but ultimately it's not really undercoming, I mean, ripping out the roots of the problems. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:02 Highlight the passage at 1:25:02

1:25:30 And it's certainly not really going to give you any kind of lasting happiness, no kind of deep happiness. And so a lot of times people think that this concept of refuge is like this whole Buddhist... trip really but it's it's something that we've been doing our entire lives and it's important to look at that and that's actually going to be Yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:30 Highlight the passage at 1:25:30

1:25:55 assignment is kind of looking at all the different things that you've taken refuge in over the course of your life, which I think is a really interesting analytical meditation to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:55 Highlight the passage at 1:25:55

1:26:09 Yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:09 Highlight the passage at 1:26:09

1:26:14 Yeah, really. But you don't have to do it each time. Yeah, you only have ten minutes, too, right? Yeah, then you have to get up in front of everyone and announce what all your references are. No, you don't. You don't. No, none of the stuff that you do in your meditation do you have to share. But I'm sure you will anyway, right? You're sending me long emails. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:14 Highlight the passage at 1:26:14

1:26:40 Yes, and that actually could happen. It also can just be kind of funny. I mean, it can be just interesting to look at all the things that you might have taken refuge in in your teens or 20s that you don't anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:40 Highlight the passage at 1:26:40

1:26:53 Or maybe you do still. And that's fine. I mean, it's not like to, you know, it's not to point out faults in yourself and to feel like they're unfixable. And it's not to blame or to judge or anything like that. It's simply to get out your little Margaret Mead notebook and you're just looking. You're just looking. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:53 Highlight the passage at 1:26:53

1:27:16 You're just observing. So right now we're just observing about how our minds have worked and what we've turned to over the course of our lives. And also why it's an imperfect source of refuge. Why it hasn't worked. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:16 Highlight the passage at 1:27:16

1:27:34 Especially if you had sort of a worldview, which I began to realize when I was first studying Buddhism, because we just live our lives, we don't really realize that we're having a worldview, right? It's just kind of the way I live my life. So my worldview, part of it was to have like a billion best friends, right? So how did that work and was it working? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:34 Highlight the passage at 1:27:34

1:27:52 And why wasn't it working? You know, to begin to look at that was kind of, I'd never done that before. That's part of the whole... Method of Buddhism is just starting to figure out how we work and why we work the way we work, how our mind works. So the main point is that none of these things can give us the kind of refuge that we're seeking. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:52 Highlight the passage at 1:27:52

1:28:17 And we may not even realize that we're seeking a certain kind of refuge. But we are trying to find something that's going to bring us lasting happiness, right? We all want to be happy. We all want to avoid suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:17 Highlight the passage at 1:28:17

1:28:29 And we want that happiness to last. We don't want it to be fleeting like that chocolate cake and to end as soon as the chocolate cake's gone. We want it to be something that we wake up with in the morning, that kind of happiness. And so because all these little sources of refuge, whether they're the cup of tea or whether they're the person that you've just had sex with or whether they're the... Report an error in the passage at 1:28:29 Highlight the passage at 1:28:29

1:28:54 The music, this new CD or the concert that you went to, because they aren't taking away your problem or the source of your problem completely, then they are imperfect. So beginning to realize that doesn't mean that you don't still have friendships. Partners and like music. It doesn't mean you have to give all that up. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying to look at it with a different eye, to think about it. Like, why am I turning to this when I get sad? Report an error in the passage at 1:28:54 Highlight the passage at 1:28:54

1:29:23 Why am I turning to this when I feel lonely? And does it help, ultimately, like long term? It's not to say you can't process things either, because believe me, I certainly have been in the last couple of weeks. It's really quite helpful. But at some point, what you end up having to do is to go within, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:23 Highlight the passage at 1:29:23

1:29:43 So that's the sort of basic message that the Buddha realized after he got enlightened, is that the root cause of all of our suffering is within our own mind. It's so easy to blame everything else around us and to feel like we're the victim. The self-pity mind is really, really rampant, especially in this culture. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:43 Highlight the passage at 1:29:43

1:30:07 And we have an entire litigation. litigation culture that's arisen around that whole idea of me being the victim and everything bad happening to me. I mean, Report an error in the passage at 1:30:07 Highlight the passage at 1:30:07

1:30:37 people do that all the time, right? And poor me, whether it's, you know, just the fact that, you know, my knees hurt when I sit all the way up to I shouldn't have fallen when I did. And so I'm going to sue the pants off the entire city of San Francisco because I tripped. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:37 Highlight the passage at 1:30:37

1:30:38 um so If the root cause of our suffering is in our mind, which is not to say that there aren't external conditions to our suffering, it's just saying that our mind contains the key to eliminating the suffering in our life and actually finding happiness. And the way that we do that is by beginning to work with these sort of internal demons of our delusions. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:38 Highlight the passage at 1:30:38

1:31:10 Sometimes called mental afflictions, sometimes called disturbing emotions. His Holiness calls them disturbing emotions. I actually think that sounds far more dramatic than most of my mental afflictions, which can be kind of boring, but very afflictive. Delusions I like, because delusion sounds like it really is deluded. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:10 Highlight the passage at 1:31:10

1:31:32 I mean, sometimes I'll say, you're really deluded, and we'll think about something. Actually, we all are really deluded. His Holiness actually has said that before. We all actually are mentally ill, which sounds really extreme. Rubina always says that, too. It sounds really extreme, but in reality, we are, because we have this view that all of my problems come from out there. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:32 Highlight the passage at 1:31:32

1:31:55 You know, you guys all caused all my problems. I didn't cause any of them. And that all of my happiness also comes out there, right? So that's why I'm reaching for the chocolate and the sex, drugs, rock and roll and, you know, wherever else might make me happy when I'm sad or less lonely when I'm lonely. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:55 Highlight the passage at 1:31:55

1:32:15 Because it's all out there. But the Buddha was saying this is all just this colossal waste of time. That our happiness comes from our own mind just like our suffering comes from our own mind. And actually you can kind of understand it a little bit by watching, by looking at people who are experiencing huge amounts of suffering and aren't that bothered by it. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:15 Highlight the passage at 1:32:15

1:32:43 And then people who are experiencing tiny amounts of suffering and are hugely bothered by it. I mean, we've all seen examples of both, right? Because their minds are calmer or not calm, as the latter case. Because it really has to do with starting to develop a calmer mind, a mind that doesn't get so bothered by the stuff that happens to us. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:43 Highlight the passage at 1:32:43

1:33:12 I like the church lady in the back. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:12 Highlight the passage at 1:33:12

1:33:19 No, no, no, it's great. It's good to hear you again, actually. I should have just called you a few times during this whole week and had you just go, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:19 Highlight the passage at 1:33:19

1:33:34 Anyway, but when we start figuring out, I always tease him about this, actually. because she's so proud to testify. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:34 Highlight the passage at 1:33:34

1:33:41 We're going to get him a church lady hat actually. And gloves and gloves and a handbag. The good thing about realizing that our happiness ultimately comes from our own mind and our suffering is rooted there also is that we can do something about it. Like we don't have to wait for our life to improve, for our life to improve. We don't have to. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:41 Highlight the passage at 1:33:41

1:34:07 Wait till all the bad stuff stops happening to us for us to be happy. It doesn't work that way. I mean, if you look at all the things that have happened to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and you look at what a happy person he is, he's a really good example of how it doesn't matter what things are happening to you. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:07 Highlight the passage at 1:34:07

1:34:26 Our Riva Rinpoche was another huge example of that, a lesser known example of that, but the smile on that. Being was incredible and what he had gone through was so heinous in terms of torture and prison. And he used it, not only did he not let it bother him, he actually used that suffering to develop even greater compassion, like huge compassion to make his heart bigger, which is totally possible. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:26 Highlight the passage at 1:34:26

1:34:58 And so it's sort of a proof that just because bad things are happening to... To you doesn't mean you have to become depressed, cranky and mean, which is usually our justification for being depressed, cranky and mean, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:34:58 Highlight the passage at 1:34:58

1:35:16 So it actually ultimately, of course, does come back to us that we can do something about it. We can just begin working slowly, slowly with the delusions of our own mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:16 Highlight the passage at 1:35:16

1:35:35 Actually, rubina, venerable rubina uses a really good example. It's very much like gardening. And if we want to develop, if we want to have, you know, roses in our garden, then we'll do everything to strengthen the roses, right, and rip out the, you know, crabgrass or whatever, the weeds. And it's very much the same way. If we want to develop the good qualities, we actually put effort to those qualities, to developing them, because they're just habits. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:35 Highlight the passage at 1:35:35

1:36:01 They're simple mental habits. And we put effort into removing the negative states of mind, like jealousy and anger, depression, hatred, you know, whatever negative states of mind you don't want, you actually have to put the effort into removing them, which takes... Energy and time. I'm not saying that's a simple act, but it is possible because they are not an innate part of our mind. They're simply mental habits that we've followed. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:01 Highlight the passage at 1:36:01

1:36:35 And in this spiritual path, we've actually followed them from lifetime to lifetime. So it's not even just like in this life, you're an angry person or whatever you might see yourself, whatever negative. negative state of mind you might identify with. It's not even like it's just been a problem for this lifetime. It's actually been a problem for many lifetimes. But that doesn't mean it's permanently you. It can be changed. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:35 Highlight the passage at 1:36:35

1:37:03 So anyway, the more that we understand our minds and the way that our minds work, which is a vast subject, is the subject of actually the first of the Discovering Buddhism courses, The Nature of Mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:03 Highlight the passage at 1:37:03

1:37:19 A little bit of that understanding is useful for this class because think about the way that our minds worked when we were meditating on our breaths for five minutes. That was five minutes. It was actually four and a half minutes at the beginning of class. If you weren't able to keep your mind on the object, it had nothing to do with the fact that this is a loud center and a loud external. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:19 Highlight the passage at 1:37:19

1:37:45 external, you know, Streets outside, it had everything to do with the quality of your mind right now, which is that usually we have a lot of thoughts arising and we're just following them without any control whatsoever. You know, whatever arises, whatever thoughts, whatever sensations in our body, whatever, you know, ow, that hurts, why am I sitting here? Why did I come here tonight? That guy in the back's got really weird hair. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:45 Highlight the passage at 1:37:45

1:38:09 You know, it's just like the things that come into our minds and we don't even attempt to stop them. We're just... Our mind's here and then we're here and then what was that outside? This place is loud. I don't think I like it very much. It's just immediately that's the way our mind is working all the time. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:09 Highlight the passage at 1:38:09

1:38:26 That is a really good example of the delusions that are in our mind. And even like I said, even if you're having virtuous thoughts, it can still be just another form of distraction. This place should have soundproof windows. I will get this place soundproof. That's great, but have it off the cushion when you're trying to meditate, you know. We'd love to have soundproof windows. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:26 Highlight the passage at 1:38:26

1:38:54 Or, you know, whatever your virtuous thought is, because believe me, I'm the queen of having the planning mind when I'm supposed to be meditating, just because you're finally quiet and your mind is kind of like, great. We have a great half hour here, then I could just plan the day. It's just the way your mind begins thinking, especially if you've had two. But the point is that isn't the time for it. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:54 Highlight the passage at 1:38:54

1:39:16 That's actually the time that we're supposed to be trying to subdue some of our delusions and not follow them as rampantly as we do. So the good news is that that mind itself is just clear and knowing. That's the definition of mind in Buddhism. Clear, meaning that it's formless, it's shapeless, it's colorless. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:16 Highlight the passage at 1:39:16

1:39:43 And knowing, meaning that that is its entire function, which sounds kind of boring, but actually to know allows us to do everything that we do. It allows us to have every experience that we experience, including sound, touch, taste, you know, our senses. But also, you know, Knowing another person, knowing, understanding what refuge is, understanding all of the points along the path to enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:43 Highlight the passage at 1:39:43

1:40:12 None of that is possible without mind. Actually, enlightenment itself is not possible without mind. So, at this point... Our mind, we only use a really tiny aspect of our mind because we have all of these delusions arising and because we have these sort of filters where we see the world is really, really limited. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:12 Highlight the passage at 1:40:12

1:40:35 As Lama Yeshe used to call it, we have tiny mind. And the object of Buddhism is to have big mind. Tiny mind is like me mind. I'm worried about me, mine. I may develop good qualities of love and compassion, but only for me, mine, you know, for my family, you know, my mother, my child, my world. I will be generous with my sister, you know. And the point is that ultimately there's absolutely no difference. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:35 Highlight the passage at 1:40:35

1:41:05 That all beings are suffering and because they're suffering we should eliminate their suffering. There's no larger reason. And that all beings want happiness and because they want happiness we should develop ourselves to help them attain the causes of happiness which means being able to show them how to do that which means we have to do it first. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:05 Highlight the passage at 1:41:05

1:41:25 We have to understand how to do it first. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:25 Highlight the passage at 1:41:25

1:41:30 So ultimately the kind of refuge that we need is a perfect form of refuge which means something or someone that has been able to completely perfect their mind and eliminate all of these negative states that just cause more and more suffering both directly and indirectly for ourselves and everyone around us and develop totally so they can't be developed any further. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:30 Highlight the passage at 1:41:30

1:41:56 These states of mind like compassion and love and patience and kindness. So they can't even be developed any further, which is kind of amazing to think about, that there is a point that you can reach where these things can be so perfected. And that is really what a Buddha is. The definition of a Buddha is basically perfect mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:56 Highlight the passage at 1:41:56

1:42:17 It's a mind of a Buddha. They can take an outer form. In fact, any of you guys could be Buddhas, and I would have no idea. They can take a form that might just be, my mother could have been a Buddha for all I know. There's absolutely no form that they couldn't take to help you on the path, because that's what they're capable of. But taking refuge in that can be a complete and perfect refuge, because then I can learn the method of doing that myself. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:17 Highlight the passage at 1:42:17

1:42:46 Which is the whole, that's the enlightened activity of a Buddha. The main enlightened activity of a Buddha is to be able to show us how we can do it ourselves. Because ultimately there's no external, just like there's no external real cause of all of our suffering and happiness, it's not like we're going to take refuge in a Buddha and they're going to fix it for us. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:46 Highlight the passage at 1:42:46

1:43:06 There's no easy way out that way. It's not like they're going to come in and do the work for us. We have to do the work. But what they can do is show us. How? And the Buddha has done that in his teachings and all the Buddhas that have come after and there have been other beings that have followed these teachings and gotten enlightened and they can show us how to do it and there are methods, proven methods to be able to subdue our minds so that when we sit for five minutes at the beginning of class. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:06 Highlight the passage at 1:43:06

1:43:36 We actually are calm afterwards rather than more chaotic, which is the way it sometimes often is unless we've been working with our mind. The Tibetan word for Buddha is sangye, which means purified. Sang means purified of every negative aspect and the causes of those negative aspects. And ye means evolved, meaning perfectly evolved. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:36 Highlight the passage at 1:43:36

1:44:02 Every quality is to the point where it can't be developed any further in a completely non-declining way. That is a Buddha. And that is actually a perfect object of refuge because it's not a band-aid. It actually is a way of taking refuge in a Buddha, which we'll talk about what the three jewels are when you hear it. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:02 Highlight the passage at 1:44:02

1:44:25 The term taking refuge in the three jewels. There's Buddha jewel, Dharma jewel and Saṅgha jewel, which is not entirely the same thing as Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha. So we'll talk about what those mean. But it's a perfect refuge because it actually will help us rip out the stuff that's causing our suffering and cultivate the stuff that will bring us happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:25 Highlight the passage at 1:44:25

1:44:47 So it actually will help us develop deeper happiness in our own minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:47 Highlight the passage at 1:44:47

1:44:57 So I think we're running out of time and I would like to give you guys a break but I want to open it up and if people have some questions about this first part and then we could take like a five minute break and then just end with a quiet meditation. Do people have questions? Anything coming up? You can also just think about it and bring it next week. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:57 Highlight the passage at 1:44:57

1:45:25 Yeah. Everyone's just kind of stoned looking at him. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:25 Highlight the passage at 1:45:25

1:45:31 Yeah, wait, talking stick. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:31 Highlight the passage at 1:45:31

1:45:46 Is there going to be a refuge ceremony for the people who haven't taken refuge? Yeah, in October. There's your segue. There's a date, but I can't remember what it is. But I will make that announcement. Yeah, yeah, there will be one. I think it's, yeah, I can't remember the date, so I don't want to say it out loud. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:46 Highlight the passage at 1:45:46

1:46:06 I'm My brain doesn't have it. Lisa and I are actually working on the calendar right now. We should have it done by the end of this month. I can't remember what day it was, actually. I have to check. It's a Sunday. Sunday late in October. Cool. Thank you. That was an easy question. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:06 Highlight the passage at 1:46:06

1:46:29 Anyway, yeah. Why don't people just take a stretch break or a potty break for a couple of minutes? but, um, um, Report an error in the passage at 1:46:29 Highlight the passage at 1:46:29

1:46:36 Oh, I'm sorry, Deborah. Yeah. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but when you were talking about the things that people normally take refuge in, it sounded to me almost very close to addiction. And I'm wondering in Buddhism if there's any differentiation between just normally sort of escaping into certain things and a mind of true addiction. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:36 Highlight the passage at 1:46:36

1:47:02 Well, I mean, when you listen to Vena Rubina talk, she actually says, basically, we're all addicts. Yeah, it's just a question of degree is the way she phrases it. And I actually think that's a really good way to look at it because attachment is a mind of addiction, actually. So, you know... It doesn't necessarily, like I said, it doesn't mean you have to give up all the things that you're attached to, especially certainly not cold turkey, right? And it doesn't mean that it's a bad thing to call a friend when you're sad either. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:02 Highlight the passage at 1:47:02

1:47:32 But a lot of times we will use it to keep from really looking deeply and doing the work that we need to do once we know how to do the work on our minds. It's quite easy to kind of fall back on old, you know. refuges, know. And that's really what that, you know, when you formally take refuge and one of the refuge precepts is taking refuge in worldly objects and gods. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:32 Highlight the passage at 1:47:32

1:47:59 And usually people are like, well, I don't take refuge in Shiva or whatever. So they're like, I'm okay on that one. But I often will look at that one in terms of like, you know, how many times did I just, you know, really want to waste a couple of hours on the Sunday New York Times when I could have really been doing something more meaningful. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:59 Highlight the passage at 1:47:59

1:48:17 In terms of looking at my mind and working with my mind. It's not in an absolute like thou shalt not manner. It's simply just to look. Look at how we use the things in our lives. But really there's not a lot of difference. It's just all forms of addiction. And our mind can be very addicted. We have very addictive minds. It's very easy. We like chocolate so we eat a ton. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:17 Highlight the passage at 1:48:17

1:48:44 Rather than just being happy with one little tiny piece of chocolate. We do that kind of thing all the time, whatever it is. Maybe you don't like chocolate, so that's not your thing, but you might like something else. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:44 Highlight the passage at 1:48:44

1:48:59 Or food of any kind. Sexaholism is rampant. Shopping. Of course, nothing's wrong without going out and getting a new pair of shoes if you need it. Then there's the Imelda Marcuses of the world who have entire rooms built for the number of shoes that they have. Yeah, Sandy. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:59 Highlight the passage at 1:48:59

1:49:23 I know, but just pretend it's just an extension of someone's ears. When you say you're working with the mind, isn't that sometimes really exhausting? I mean, when you're constantly wanting to work with your mind, you can't do that all the time. You have to have some downtime. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it's just, it's always, that's what I mean. It's not like an absolute thing. It's not like you just have to kind of, again, you have to just check your motivation, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:23 Highlight the passage at 1:49:23

1:49:50 Am I taking a break and then knowing that I'm just going to get back to work, you know, when I finish? Or am I, like, avoiding something? I see. You know, so. Because it's really, it's one of the main things that we learn, we talked about this a lot in the karma class, you can see two people doing the same thing and it doesn't have the same, it's not at all, you're not going to have the same karmic result at all because you don't know what's in the person's mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:50 Highlight the passage at 1:49:50

1:50:15 It always is about what's in your mind, which is why so much emphasis on working with the mind, right? So you can get to know your mind, which you do in meditation and contemplation. But, you know, like the example, one example is, you know, I could be smashing a bug and Lisa could be smashing a bug and one of us would have a completely different karmic result. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:15 Highlight the passage at 1:50:15

1:50:37 You know, mine could be either I could be completely unaware that I'm smashing the bug, which is always possible and we do it all the time. Or I could be, you know, I could have... Seeing that he was dying and I felt really badly for him and I did prayers for him and it's still not a good thing to do. I'm not advising that people go out and smash bugs if they're hurt, but from my heart I really felt like it was the most compassionate thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:37 Highlight the passage at 1:50:37

1:51:02 Or Lisa could be just, oh, I hate bugs. I actually saw my sister do that and I just about screamed in the hospital with my mom. In her mind she just saw fly dirty. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:02 Highlight the passage at 1:51:02

1:51:14 And I, you know, I literally was like, it was like she pulled out a.44 and shot the dog. I mean, it was just like that shocking to my mind because this, you know, when you've been in a Buddhist environment for any amount of time, it's like, it totally could have been my dad, you know, I mean, I'm just kind of like, oh my God, you know, and everybody kind of turned and looked at me and I'm like, I said, don't do that kind of thing in front of a Buddhist nun. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:14 Highlight the passage at 1:51:14

1:51:36 And they all laughed, you know, but it was like. But you just don't know what's going on in the person's mind. You don't know what their motivation is. And it's the same with taking breaks. Are you, you know, putting off something that you need to be doing in order to really be happier? Happier by covering it with, you know, the Sunday New York Times or whatever. I'm not saying you shouldn't read the Sunday New York Times because I love the Sunday New York Times. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:36 Highlight the passage at 1:51:36

1:52:02 But there are times that I'm taking a break because I work really hard all the time. And then there are times that I'm avoiding something. And we can do the same with chocolate or calling a friend or whatever. It's just to look. And working with the mind can simply be looking. I think Pema Trudan's really big on that. She's like, if you begin to notice that you have this knot in your stomach, you stop and you breathe into it and you try to figure out what is it that I'm feeling that's causing this knot in my stomach. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:02 Highlight the passage at 1:52:02

1:52:37 And that's often what... Looking or working with your mind is, is just looking with no judgment, just like, what's going on there? Hmm, you know? Yeah, so, do people need a break? Okay. Just a short one, Peter, don't go shopping. Okay. I do, I do. I'm sure there are, yeah. You can look after. I just want to end on time as much as we can. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:37 Highlight the passage at 1:52:37

1:53:16 Oh, the little, the box is missing now? Hmm. Can you go check and see? Maybe just take it and then we'll... Maybe it got moved. Oh, good. Oh, good. Isn't it quite readable? I know. It's a good one. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:16 Highlight the passage at 1:53:16

1:53:40 Jobs full on, huh? Report an error in the passage at 1:53:40 Highlight the passage at 1:53:40

1:53:48 Yeah. We will. We have to get it done. Fortunately, we got quite a bit done before the whole break. So whenever you get a chance, maybe send me what you have and we'll see where we are. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:48 Highlight the passage at 1:53:48

1:54:06 Yeah. I think I'm adding something to, yeah, a monk down at Lama Medicine, but he's going to come up and teach him all day on something. I have to figure out what it is I want him to teach. He's wonderful. He's great. I've been trying to get him come for a year, so that's good. Just, yeah, I did before, I remember. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:06 Highlight the passage at 1:54:06

1:54:27 That was like a crazy week, and then Sunday and Monday. Yeah, it was a little bit insane, but also kind of what I needed to do, so I just... did it Report an error in the passage at 1:54:27 Highlight the passage at 1:54:27

1:54:44 But this morning at 4.30, I was kind of wondering why I had done it. It's good. It's fine. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:44 Highlight the passage at 1:54:44

1:54:56 Yeah. But then I just thought, you know, I'm just going to sleep until I wake up, and I slept until 11, so that was good. That's actually more sleep than I got any night that I was in Virginia at all. So I think it's actually cumulative, too. I haven't really slept that much in the last month. But slowly, slowly. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:56 Highlight the passage at 1:54:56

1:55:28 So I missed an entire page of stuff, so I'm trying to figure out what I didn't get to. I'll have to start with that next time. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:28 Highlight the passage at 1:55:28

1:55:45 I think I got to it. I just sort of set it at different times. No shopping! Report an error in the passage at 1:55:45 Highlight the passage at 1:55:45

1:56:02 What did you say? were new things. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:02 Highlight the passage at 1:56:02

1:56:08 what'd you say it's about to break a procession Report an error in the passage at 1:56:08 Highlight the passage at 1:56:08

1:56:21 I have a really strong karma with it. What do you think that means? Karma. Karma. Just karma. Okay, so I'm going to just review really quickly what your meditation will be for this week. And you can spend more time with it, of course. I'm going to just kind of do it briefly so that you'll know what it is you're trying to do. But I think all of us in this room have enough. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:21 Highlight the passage at 1:56:21

1:56:52 Data of all the things we've taken refuge in over the course of our lives to keep us busy. So let's just take a moment again to come into whatever meditation posture feels right to you. Most importantly, again, keeping your spine extended and your shoulders relaxed and level and back a little bit. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:52 Highlight the passage at 1:56:52

1:57:19 And like I said, we'll talk more about posture next week. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:19 Highlight the passage at 1:57:19

1:57:32 Let your breath come back to neutral. Not forced in any way, just relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:32 Highlight the passage at 1:57:32

1:57:52 Lama Yesha used to say that taking refuge is nothing new. We're taking refuge all the time, but always in temporary objects. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:52 Highlight the passage at 1:57:52

1:58:03 When we're sick, we take refuge in a doctor and medicine. And when we're depressed, we take refuge in a friend or even chocolate. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:03 Highlight the passage at 1:58:03

1:58:19 These objects of refuge can obviously only give us some momentary relief for whatever suffering we're experiencing. But they don't have the power to liberate us from suffering permanently. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:19 Highlight the passage at 1:58:19

1:58:36 So check with your own life experience and investigate how and why these worldly objects or people don't have the power to liberate us. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:36 Highlight the passage at 1:58:36

1:58:52 Spend just a few moments just thinking about whatever you normally turn to when you're suffering and think about whether or not those things can help you overcome your suffering completely or if they're just a temporary fix. Report an error in the passage at 1:58:52 Highlight the passage at 1:58:52

· · · silence, 2 minutes

2:01:05 Only somebody or something that's free can free another. Only someone who's perfect can lead another to perfection. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:05 Highlight the passage at 2:01:05

2:01:19 That's the purpose and function of the Buddha. And we'll spend time studying the qualities of the Buddha jewel, the Dharma jewel and the Saṅgha jewel. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:19 Highlight the passage at 2:01:19

2:01:30 But we can start now with just looking at whatever we currently turn to for refuge and why it may not satisfy our needs in the long term. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:30 Highlight the passage at 2:01:30

2:01:45 If we're going to work with our minds, we need to rely on somebody or something that has great experience with the mind. Somebody who knows their own mind perfectly and has developed their own mind perfectly. Report an error in the passage at 2:01:45 Highlight the passage at 2:01:45

2:02:03 Imagine being able to turn to something this perfect, this non-biased, this accepting, this evolved for help when you need it. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:03 Highlight the passage at 2:02:03

2:02:25 So let's dedicate this class to each one of us being able to cultivate this pure mind of refuge. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:25 Highlight the passage at 2:02:25

2:02:36 And so that we can find happiness and help all other beings find happiness. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:36 Highlight the passage at 2:02:36

2:02:55 And we'll do the dedication prayers. Report an error in the passage at 2:02:55 Highlight the passage at 2:02:55

2:03:00 So in the green prayer book, there's a dedication prayer section two from the back. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:00 Highlight the passage at 2:03:00

2:03:12 On page five of that section, the first two we'll do, and then the first one on page 15. We'll do it in English tonight, and then next week we'll do it in English and Tibetan, so you get familiar with it. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:12 Highlight the passage at 2:03:12

2:03:28 Due to the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of Agro Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. May the supreme jewel bodhicitta that is not arisen arise and grow and may that which has arisen not diminish but increase more and more. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:28 Highlight the passage at 2:03:28

2:03:52 On page 15, there's Holiness the Dalai Lama. In the land encircled by snow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and good. All-powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso, please remain until saṃsāra ends. Report an error in the passage at 2:03:52 Highlight the passage at 2:03:52

2:04:21 say, would you mind handing this out to everybody? Report an error in the passage at 2:04:21 Highlight the passage at 2:04:21