Section One: Lectures 1 - 4

LECTURE 1: NOVEMBER 25, 1992

INTRODUCTION
First I would like to say that I’m very happy to meet all of you and that by opening the heart that, by opening one’s own mind that to look for new method that to learn other culture or to learn new method that, to, either to seek happiness for self or to, either with the attitude to benefit other sentient beings, to benefit other living beings, so whichever the motivation it is, that however, opening the heart towards new method or culture, without being, without letting oneself continuously distracted or cheating oneself, without letting oneself continuously deceiving oneself with the wrong concept. So, came here, came from very far to learn meditation practice and the meditation that which is taught here, that is teaching or advice and taught with the experienced mind, those, the founder of the present Buddhadharma, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, with his compassionate kind omniscient mind, this meditation practice which is taught, which comes from, taught by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, with his compassionate omniscient mind.

That which is not misleading is meditation practice. If it is practiced that it definitely leads to happiness, temporary happiness, especially ultimate happiness. So, it’s just a question of from one’s own side whether one practices or not, whether one understands or not, whether one practices or not, whether one open one’s own heart towards the right path, the unmistaken path to peace taught by kind omniscient Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. So it’s just a question one opens one’s own heart towards that or not and how much one can open heart towards this, the right path.

So the progression of the achievement depends on this, so we must decide from our side to practice or not. So from the side of the teachings there’s no misleading, there’s no cheating. So I would like to thank all of you coming here from very far with all the hassles that coming here to do the meditation course.

However, which is very wise that, to think, doing the course that, coming to course, doing the course, that to make this present, this human life, this very precious human life, that we have found or achieved, to make it meaningful, to make it beneficial for oneself and make it beneficial especially for others, the numberless sentient beings. So, it is extremely worthwhile to attend.

BIOGRAPHY OF ATISHA
Today I thought to do the oral transmission of one text, there are many teachings on the graduated path to enlightenment. There is a set of lamrim teachings, a set of eight different teachings on the graduated path to enlightenment, composed by different lamas. For example, Lama Tsongkhapa wrote the extensive commentary, the commentary on the graduated path to enlightenment, the first text was called, that which was labeled, called lamrim, the graduated path to enlightenment, which is called Lamp for the Path, that was composed by Lama Atisha, among many hundreds of fully distinguished, not only learned in the words of the whole, the particular knowledge, the Buddhadharma, the whole entire teaching of the Buddha, not only learned in the, fully distinguished in all those words, but also learned, how to say, having achieved all the realizations of the path that is revealed by the teachings. So, great, having achieved all the realizations of the path, so paths that which are revealed in the sutra texts and paths that which are revealed in tantric texts. So a great yogi of those paths, he is living in all the experience, has practiced and lived in the experience, however, experienced all these paths, those mentioned in the texts, sutra and tantra.

So however, among those many hundreds of pandits from the holy place Nalanda, this great university in former time, so, one of the far-famed great yogi or pandit, Lama Atisha. So they are not just learned, great yogi, so learned in the whole enormous scriptures but also knowledge of the common education, art and so many other things, poetry and many other common education, also the medical knowledge. So those are five sciences, those five great knowledges, particularly the Buddhadharma. So however, those pandits are like this, also expert in common knowledge.

Lama Atisha was invited by the religious king, Dharma king of Tibet, when there was much corruption happened in Tibet between the sects, much corruption happened, the people unable to understand the sutra and tantra, these different levels of teachings taught by Buddha is for one person to achieve full enlightenment. Not knowing this and, not having this understanding and then having misunderstanding that if one practice sutra then one cannot practice tantra, those who practice tantra cannot practice sutra. So they see sutra and tantra like hot and cold, opposite, that you can’t practice together, and those teachings cannot be practiced by one person. So they had a lot of misunderstandings, corruptions, have been made after the Dharma was spread in Tibet, that great enlightened being Padmasambhava was invited, pacified, subdued those interferers, who interfere to establish monasteries and to spread the Dharma. So this great enlightened yogi was invited, Padmasambhava was invited in Tibet and purified the land of Tibet so due to all these interferences, who interfere to spread the Buddhadharma in Tibet.

So however, after having established the Buddhadharma, spread Buddhadharma in Tibet then after some time there has been degeneration, due to some pandit came from India, who spread wrong views in Tibet and then there happened degenerations in Tibet. Then the Srongtsen Gampo, the Dharma king who is embodiment of the Buddha of Compassion, invited Lama Atisha to re-establish Buddhadharma in Tibet, to make it pure, to dispel or to eliminate all the wrong views. Then, according to the corruptions that happened in Tibet, so according to that then Lama Atisha he wrote this teaching, the Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment. That, which contains all the answers according to the confusion, misunderstanding of Tibet, in regards the wrong practice, which contains all the answers, particular the general sutra and tantra, how it is gradually practiced by one person to achieve enlightenment. And misunderstandings as regards tantra.

I made a mistake telling the history, not the king Srongtsen Gampo, Lhalama Yeshe Od. So, he went to look for gold offering, look for gold, all the places of Tibet and maybe near Nepal, went to look for gold to make offering to Lama Atisha, to send to India, to invite Lama Atisha to spread Buddhadharma, to re-establish Buddhadharma in Tibet. So, the king Lhalama Yeshe Od was captured by irreligious king of that area, and then passed away in prison and so before that he asked his nephew Jangchub Od to send one translator to invite Lama Atisha but unable to invite Lama Atisha that time, But he was unable to invite him.

So then, so the king Lhalama Yeshe Od sent his nephew Jangchub Od to invite Lama Atisha, so told his nephew Jangchub Od that I will give up my life in the prison in order to invite Lama Atisha in Tibet and to spread pure Dharma in Tibet, for the sake of Buddhism in Tibet I will give up my life, I will die in prison. Doesn’t matter if I die in prison. That you should not offer—so the irreligious king told the nephew that I will release the king from the prison if you, besides the gold that you collected by piling up, which comes up the neck, up to the head, you see, so the irreligious king said, There’s still missing gold the size of the head, size of the head is missing, so when you find the rest of the gold, then I will let the king to be free, then I will free the king from the prison.

So then, so the king’s nephew told to the king this message, the king said, the king Lhalama Yeshe Od who was in prison told the nephew that, Don’t give any gold, even one handful of gold, don’t give him anything. Take, how much you give him he won’t be satisfied, so you take all this gold and go to India to invite Lama Atisha in Tibet to spread the pure Dharma.

When Lama Atisha came in Tibet, then King’s nephew Jangchub Od, the king sent a message to Lama Atisha that, I give up my life to invite you in Tibet and to spread Buddhadharma in Tibet, to spread Buddhism in Tibet, so please guide me in the future lives. So this he sent message to Lama Atisha.

So however, that Lama Atisha accepted, but secretly, because if it was known, if the people in India knew Lama Atisha was going in Tibet then they wouldn’t let him. So Lama Atisha came from India as if going for pilgrimage, came to Nepal, then went in Tibet, but showing going for pilgrimage. Then when Lama Atisha came in Tibet, the king’s nephew Jangchub Od explained all the problems, people holding wrong views, their practice, so he told how people had confusion, they see sutra and tantra as opposite, completely contradictory, hot and cold. So explained everything to Lama Atisha.

So the king’s nephew Jangchub Od requested Lama Atisha to give teaching, very simple, to give refuge, teachings on refuge, karma, so did not request to Lama Atisha at the very first very high teachings, teachings on emptiness or tantra, so the nephew asked Lama Atisha, explained to Lama Atisha that we the Tibetan people were very primitive, so please give teachings on these things. So to give teachings on the Lesser Vehicle way. So Lama Atisha was extremely pleased that he did not request from very first time very high teachings, asked teachings on karma and refuge.

Lama Atisha wrote the Lamp for the Path, that which, all the teachings of Buddha, which comes in the two, sutra and tantra, the sutra teachings, the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle path, the Mahayana teachings or the Great Vehicle teachings, then of the Mahayana teachings the tantra, the secret mantra. The Lamp for the Path sets up all these teachings from the Buddha, that how it is, the Lesser Vehicle teachings, the sutra Mahayana teachings then the Mahayana secret mantra teachings. So how all these teachings of Buddha, Lama Atisha sets up these teachings in the Lamp for the Path, very clearly, how all these are not contradictory for one person to achieve enlightenment, how all these are graduated practices for one person to achieve enlightenment. So however, containing all the answers according to different problems they were having, according to the questions the king’s nephew Jangchub Od asked.

Since Lama Atisha wrote the Lamp for the Path, the lamrim, the title what’s called lamrim happened, since from that time, even thought the subject, the graduated path to enlightenment, even though it means, the subject was existing before, very extensively in all those philosophical teachings of sutra and tantra, in all those teachings taught by Buddha, root texts taught by Buddha and the commentaries by pandits, yogis, these subjects how the path is revealed by, the graduated path was revealed, all those topics were revealed in all those teachings, but a text called lamrim, the graduated path to enlightenment, that which shows very clear how to begin, from where to begin the path, from where to begin the practice, which makes very clear the beginning of the path, the beginning of the practice, and the end, the whole path that shows very clear, the whole practice that is clearly set up. So which is called lamrim, first started from Lama Atisha’s time, the Lama Atisha’s text, the Lamp for the Path.

LAM-RIM TEXTS
Since that time, even us, Western people, we have incredible opportunity that without confusion even those who seek the Buddhadharma, who seek enlightenment for the sake of sentient beings that without any confusion that one can, that immediately one can begin the practice. Without confusion, one can begin to actualize the path from the beginning, and able to develop clearly how to practice, steps that which lead to full enlightenment, that, whether one practices or not. We have opportunity to know how to practice from the beginning to the end, and also, even one practice without confusion, but one can practice all this paths revealed by all these extensive philosophical teachings, the extensive scriptures of sutra and tantra that one can practice gradually, practice without confusion. We have this incredible, unbelievable opportunity, even nowadays, not only the Tibetans, those who have met this, especially this special teaching, the graduated path to enlightenment, those who have met this practice, nowadays even us Western people that have incredible opportunity is by the kindness of Lama Atisha.

It is such a simple way presented, easy to understand, the very essence, even though so vast, so profound, containing the root commentaries of the sutra and tantra, teachings taught by Buddha and commentaries by pandits, yogis, so deep, like the ocean, and so extensive, all within a few pages—the heart of all this is explained, the essence of the whole path is explained in a few pages or even one page. This what is called lamrim, that one can meditate on the whole path, even just by reading one page of this teachings of the graduated path to enlightenment or a few pages, that we are able to leave imprint or seed of the whole path to enlightenment within a minute, within a few minutes. We can plant the seed of the whole path to enlightenment by going over, by reciting the meditation prayer, that which contains the essence of the whole path. All this happened due to Lama Atisha’s kindness, that Dharma king, Lhalama Yeshe Od, who sacrificed his life, with all those people of Tibet, sacrificed his life and dedicated for these teachings, that to have these pure teachings in Tibet. Because of their kindness, then able to also, people outside of Tibet us having great opportunity to practice, to meet and, to hear, to do listening, reflecting, meditation practice on the lamrim, the graduated path to enlightenment, the essence of the, the heart of the whole entire teaching, the essence of the whole path, that having unbelievable opportunity, so is by their kindness.

So there is extensive commentary by Lama Tsongkhapa, on the basis of the teachings of the graduated path to enlightenment, composed by Lama Atisha, the Lamp for the Path, so on the basis of this, Lama Tsongkhapa wrote very extensive commentary called the Great Commentary of the Graduated Path to Enlightenment, (Lamrim Chenmo) then there’s another text written by Lama Tsongkhapa, Middle Commentary, but the part of the debate, negating all the wrong views in regards emptiness, those parts, debate, is not there, so because of that then it becomes shorter than the most extensive one. Then there’s the very short one, the Hymns of the Experience of the Graduated Path to Enlightenment written by Lama Tsongkhapa, the short one also very effective for the mind.

And then, there are other lamrim commentaries, such as Happy Path, then Quick Path, the Red Commentary. Those are shorter than the Great Commentary and the Middle one, then these two lamrims, these last two lamrims teachings also very common, those who cannot study the extensive Lama Tsongkhapa’s commentary of the graduated path to enlightenment then they study these last two, the Happy Path and the Quick Path, they study these, they memorize those who don’t have much interest, those who haven’t done that much study, especially philosophy, then these two lamrims usually many practitioners they memorize by heart, so after they memorize by heart then they, without need to use text, then they are able to meditate, doing meditation.

Then, there’s the text called Jampel She Lung, Sayings of Manjushri, again very clear lamrim commentary, commentary on the graduated path to enlightenment, written by I think it might be Fifth Dalai Lama, I got mixed up the Fifth Dalai Lama or the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, I think Fifth Dalai Lama, but I don’t remember a hundred percent.

Then, there’s another shorter one, then, the Sayings of Manjushri has I think it’s by Fifth Dalai Lama, there’s another lamrim text called Refined Gold, that one is composed by Thirteenth Dalai Lama, then there’s another shorter text, shorter lamrim text. Then one lamrim text, the Essence of Nectar, from these eight, the eight commentaries of the graduated path to enlightenment, the Essence of Nectar, then this one might be one.

I thought first to do the oral transmission of this lamrim text, the Essence of Nectar, since this text is already translated into English, there is a root text of this Essence of Nectar, and there’s a commentary of this, commentary that was done by one of my gurus who taught, who began teaching me philosophy, the debating subject, the philosophy, the first guru who taught, whose holy name is Geshe Rabten Rinpoche. Later on Geshe Rinpoche taught Dharma to many Western people.

Then he was invited in Switzerland to be abbot of the Tibetan monastery there, then I visited Rikon, then later, Geshe Rabten Rinpoche started a monastery, in Switzerland, there was, the monks who went, who studied there, they had very good training, many of these were able to speak Tibetan language, they studied debating subject, and lamrim, many teachings. Then Geshe Rabten has passed away and reincarnated, passed away some years after our incomparably kind Lama Yeshe, so some years later Lama reincarnated and Geshe Rabten Rinpoche also reincarnated again. Now the reincarnation is there at the same monastery in Switzerland.

So however, so, then, I think maybe to go, before starting the oral transmission, I think maybe have a short break. [GL, RL]

[short mandala] [break]

[Recitation of Shakyamuni Buddha mantras]

ALL HAPPINESS AND SUFFERING COME FROM THE MIND
Why do we need to practice Dharma? Why we need to practice meditation, something extra, something different or something extra than what we normally do, something additional than what we have been doing? Why we do this? What is the importance of it? What can you get from that?

First of all, that happiness and suffering comes from the mind, they do not come from outside. Our life the suffering and happiness which is our life experience, these experiences what we have in our life, they do not come from outside, they come from one’s own mind.

Because the cause of happiness, the cause of suffering is not outside, it’s in the mind, it is in the mind or it is the mind, can be said both. So, the way to stop suffering, the way to stop problems of life is by eliminating, by stopping, by eliminating the, by cutting off the cause of suffering, the cause of the problems, which is one’s own mind. So by cutting off the cause of the problems, that which is one’s own mind, by eliminating them, then one is able to stop the problems.

Then, for example, how many friends one is able to make, able to receive, that alone, even one has billions and billions of friends, that alone cannot give satisfaction, with that alone one cannot find satisfaction. How much wealth, even one owns the whole wealth, the whole possessions that each country has on this earth, all the wealth that which exists on this earth, even one own everything, with that alone one cannot find satisfaction, the peace, happiness, the inner happiness, the happiness in one’s own heart cannot be found, cannot be achieved. That peace in the heart, the peace in the heart by having satisfaction cannot be found, even one own all the possession whatever exist on this earth, whatever everyone has. How much education, how much knowledge, intellectual knowledge one has, knowing all the religions, knowing all the languages and all the, everything that is taught in the universities, in the college, even one knows all those subjects, no matter how much intellectual knowledge, how much education one has, with that alone again one cannot find happiness in the life, peace in one’s own mind. Education alone is not enough to solve life problems, just only that, education alone.

THE SUFFERING OF CHANGE
The reason why one want more and more, more and more wealth, more and more, as one become wealthy, becomes more and more rich in material, the reason why the mind becomes more and more dissatisfied, even more and more miserliness, even more clinging, rather than becoming more and more generous, become more and more miserly, however, more and more dissatisfied, so life become more and more unhappy, so that is, you see, so that life experience shows something is missing in the life. Something is missing in the means of seeking happiness, in the method of seeking happiness there’s something missing there, something didn’t get done.

So more wealthy one becomes more of these problems, mind becomes more unhappy. So again, so that due to mistake, seeking happiness from one’s own mind, that is missing. Seeking happiness from within one’s own mind, that which is meditation practice, Dharma practice, so that is missing.

So, now, even one is becoming more and more wealthy, but even that is happening, but if one practice Dharma, but if one practice meditation, seeking happiness within one’s own mind, then this problem, life becoming more and more unhappier, more and more dissatisfied, that doesn’t happen. There is more and more peace in the heart, the life, one find more enjoyment, one find life more enjoyable.

So, now, as soon as one stops following desire, as soon as one stops following the dissatisfied mind desire, that painful mind, right there, on that same bed, on that same chair, in the office, right there on the same place where one feels suffocated, where one feel so much problems in life that, so unhappy, so dissatisfied, one feels great satisfaction. Even one had everything that you can find in the world, even one had the best, all the enjoyments that one can think of, like luxurious places, apartments, with gardens, swimming pools, having many different TVs and cars [GL], several TVs to watch all the different stations [GL, RL], except there’s only two eyes, however, whatever you can think of, enjoyment, even one has everything, but however, however, life is still so dissatisfied, so unhappy, that one cannot see any meaning to the life. You can’t see the purpose of living, because so unhappy can’t see the purpose of living, and can’t find satisfaction. You could not find peace in the heart, in the heart could not experience. So tried everything, nothing gave satisfaction in the life, nothing gave inner peace, real peace in the heart, the heart which has been empty, the heart which has been something missing all the time. Whatever external success, business, reputation, power, how much one gain, how much there’s external success, but if you look at your own mind, heart, there’s no real peace, something missing there all the time. Something is empty, the heart is empty.

What is missing? The something that is always missing is satisfaction. By having external things, even one had all the external success, more of those things one has achieved, more dissatisfied, more unhappy, however, that same place, on the same chair, in the same bed where one used to feel so unhappy, one could not see any use of living because you don’t enjoy the life, so one think to commit suicide, so come to the conclusion to commit suicide.

So however, on that same bed, same place, immediately one stops following the desire, immediately if one stop, right there, right that same place, one find happiness right there, right there in the same place, within your mind in that minute that you stop following desire [snaps fingers] you find satisfaction in the life, happiness, one found happiness in the life, right there.

That is what importance of meditation, Dharma practice, renunciation, which means freeing yourself from the dissatisfied mind of desire, from the painful dissatisfied mind of desire. From the three important Dharma practices—renunciation of samsara, emptiness and bodhicitta. This is renunciation of samsara, renunciation of the cause of samsara, renunciation of the cause of the sufferings, life problems. This is freeing oneself, it’s not renouncing yourself from happiness, it’s not renouncing your happiness, but renouncing the cause of life problems, freeing oneself from the cause of the life problems, dissatisfied mind of desire. The real peace, freeing oneself from the cause of the life problems, you give yourself real peace, real happiness. In other words, by renouncing what is called happiness but which is actually suffering—what is labeled pleasure but in reality it’s suffering nature—you renounce that and you actually give to yourself the real happiness which nature is not suffering. The peace, happiness that we experience by cutting off or freeing yourself, the mind being devoid of the painful mind, the dissatisfied mind desire.

This is pure happiness, this inner peace, this pure happiness, this is not labeled on the feeling which nature is suffering, the other one is labeled pleasure, which feeling is, if you analyze only suffering. So there is a difference, the pleasure which is labeled on the feelings that which is compounded by meeting the sense objects, external sense objects, by meeting the external sense objects. When we do not analyze the nature of that feeling. I guess you have been meditating the four mindfulnesses? Right? [GL] The mindfulness of the feeling—there’s mindfulness of the body, feeling, the mind—however, you can understand from the mindfulness of the feeling, if you analyze, the feeling that it’s compounded by meeting the external sense object, if you analyze we can find that it’s only suffering. And there’s only suffering nature. It’s just because at the moment, until that person or object or place, however, that the feeling that which is compounded by meeting the object a very long time, that sense object, then that, the tired or boring, it’s compounded more and more and more, increases more and more. Then with a new one, then when you change the object, with new object, new person, new place, new TV, new car or the new object, then the feeling that is compounded by meeting the object, that is, the tired and the boring feeling, it starts, it is compounded by the action meeting the object, but at first it’s unnoticeable, it’s so subtle, not noticeable in the beginning, so the longer one continues, days and months, years, the feeling that is compounded by that action of meeting together with that object, being together with that object, every day, then it becomes more boring, more gross, increasing. The feeling of boring becomes more compounded by that action, being with this object, becomes more and more, as longer, more and more one meet this object.

If it’s not like this, as there is excitement, the happiness, when one has met this person or when one has met this friend, when one receives the material possession, car or whatever, the excitement should be continued, the excitement, where one believes happiness, the excitement should be continued every day, one should experiences as one experiences at the beginning, one should have the experience every day, as month goes, year goes, that excitement should be there every day. Why, then, isn’t that excitement—what one believes is happiness—why isn’t like that every day, as month, year goes? As the months, years go. It should increase more and more, more happiness, more excitement, it should increase more and more. The longer we are with that object, there should be more and more excitement, more and more happiness. But, why that is not happening? Even it is not happening more, why, the excitement what happens, what one believes and what one experiences, why it did not stay? Why one can’t experience as the days go, as the months go, as the years go, even same what one experiences.

Why does it decrease, why does it change, why does it decrease? We can understand from this question, why it decreases, why it changes. The reason why it does not last and that it changes, becomes less and less, is because the feeling, the boring or tired or whatever, this which is compounded by meeting the object, it is subtle, it is there after meeting the object, but it’s subtle, so those times when it’s not noticeable, when it’s not very gross, when it’s not noticeable for us, then we call it “pleasure.” That feeling we label “pleasant.” We ordinary, common people in the world who are not aware, who do not practice meditation, the mindfulness of feeling or this, who don’t do meditation, we don’t notice the true suffering and the true cause of the sufferings, in order to be free, in order to achieve the cessation of the whole entire suffering and causes. We, who do not meditate, do not understand, so according to our point of view or according to our mind, so, at the beginning pure happiness then later the feeling become problem, when the boring or tired becomes noticeable then that time then, only that time then we see something as problem.

DHARMA IS THE CAUSE OF HAPPINESS
There are ten or twelve differences the worldly happiness and Dharma happiness. I don’t remember now, it is mentioned the differences between Dharma happiness and the samsaric pleasure, worldly happiness. There are I think twelve differences. In the Kadampa’s teachings that, the mind training, the very beginning mind training, the very beginning mind transformation Opening the Door of Dharma, so that talks about the differences between Dharma happiness and worldly happiness, like that.

The Dharma happiness is true. The happiness one experiences by practicing Dharma, by eliminating the cause of the problems, which is one’s own mind, that, so even one cannot cease completely now but by applying the meditations that the remedy, meditations which are remedy to the dissatisfied mind desire, like medicine, the meditations which are like medicine for that mind pain, that mind sickness, the dissatisfied mind desire. Such as emptiness and so forth, there are many other remedies, meditation practices, however, the most powerful, there’s no difficulties to understand, very easy to understand it, very powerful, very easy to practice, easy to meditate, that, the impermanence and death. So, such as like this, the impermanence and death, especially that the death can happen at any time.

By applying these remedies, these meditations, that one is able to stop the dissatisfied mind desire, one is able to stop, by remembering the impermanence and death, one is able to free oneself from this dissatisfied mind. Suddenly there is enjoyment in the life, because of satisfaction, in the heart there is enjoyment, there’s peace. And so, external, so how much wealth there is, so if there’s Dharma practice in the life, there is great happiness, there is great freedom, peace. However, whether one has wealth or whether one doesn’t have wealth, however, if there’s Dharma practice there is happiness and peace.

Similar, whether one has friends, whether one doesn’t have friends, whether one has great education, whether one doesn’t have great education, whether one has power, whether one doesn’t have power, whether one has reputation, whether one doesn’t have reputation, whatever happens in the life, if one practices meditation, if one practices Dharma, there’s always peace and happiness in the heart. There’s always enjoyment in the life.

As it is mentioned in the text, in the same text, this Kadampa teaching, at The Very Beginning Mind Transformation, Opening the Door of Dharma, it refers to the sutra that, one who follows the desire, until one follow the desire, there’s no satisfaction, one cannot find satisfaction, happiness. The person who follows Dharma wisdom has satisfaction, happiness, a happy life.

How to achieve happiness in the life? How to get happiness, how to find happiness in the life? So, the method is to stop following the dissatisfied mind. How? Through meditation. How one should do that? Through meditation. By applying the meditations, such as the single most powerful one, such as the meditation of impermanence and death, and so forth.

That is Dharma practice. From the three principal of the path to enlightenment, renunciation of samsara, bodhicitta, emptiness, that is freeing oneself from the desire, renunciation of samsara. Freeing oneself from desire that which is the main cause of samsara, so in this way you are freeing yourself from the life problems, the samsaric sufferings.

What is ultimate liberation? What is nirvana, ultimate liberation? That is the cessation of the attachment, the ultimate liberation, which means the cause of the sufferings, cause of the life problems, samsaric sufferings. That is the ultimate happiness, not just only the cessation of attachment but the attachment is the nearest cause of samsara so that is why attachment is expressed. Cessation of all other delusions, anger, ignorance, so forth, all other delusions. So why focus on attachment? When we take refuge to Dharma, it talks about I’m going to take refuge to Dharma, the cessation of attachment, the absolute Dharma, the true cessation of the suffering and then true path, cessation of the suffering, this is absolute Dharma, when you take refuge to Dharma, the absolute Dharma, so by thinking of the cessation of the suffering, then true path, the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, we rely on, we take refuge in that.

So the cessation of the sufferings, then takes refuge, in the vinaya, according to vinaya, in the refuge prayer it says cessation of attachment, the cause of the sufferings, the nearest cause of samsara. So therefore, so by ceasing the causes of suffering, the attachment, so forth, then one is able to cease completely the whole entire suffering, the problems. So that is the ultimate happiness or liberation. So one achieves that, in other words, in everyday life when we, through meditation, when we free ourselves from the delusions, from dissatisfied mind desire and so forth, when we free ourselves from these things, that we make our mind peaceful in our everyday life, that, by stopping, by cutting the dissatisfied mind, freeing ourselves from that mind, making our mind devoid of or free from that.

Now this leads to that ultimate liberation, happiness, complete cessation of all the cause of the sufferings, attachment, ignorance, anger, as well as all of the sufferings. day-to-day life, this Dharma practice, this meditation practice is one of the most important meditation practices. This is because attachment is the cause of dissatisfaction and discontent. Desire, you see, this is obstacle, that is the main obstacle to achieve liberation, to achieve liberation for the self, discontentment and the dissatisfied mind. So by cutting off that, then it becomes path to achieving the ultimate, the sorrowless state.

This peace, this Dharma peace, this Dharma happiness, you can continue and complete, you can develop and complete, you can finish the work, the work achieving happiness. This way of working for Dharma happiness, to achieve Dharma happiness, the real peace, happiness, one can complete it, one can develop it and complete it. When one achieves liberation, when one achieves full enlightenment, the work is finished. With samsaric pleasure, worldly pleasure, there’s nothing to develop, more and more happiness to develop. The pleasure that is dependent on the external five sense objects does not last, those samsaric pleasures cannot be developed. However much one continues, one can never find satisfaction; however much one experiences, one never gets satisfaction and can never find satisfaction. That work is endless, working for that is endless.

So there are about twelve things, differences explained. In our life, when our life is in such a state, so depressed, so dissatisfied like this, upset, especially in those cases, when one arrive in such a situation like that, without Dharma, without meditation practice, there’s no way how one can find satisfaction or happiness, peace, in the life—there’s no way. There’s no way to achieve this using external things, no way. This is the way how to achieve happiness in the life is through your own, from within one’s own mind, by transforming, mind which becomes cause of suffering, cause of life problems, you transform it into the cause of happiness of life, into the cause of success, you transform your mind into the cause of success, cause of happiness, so, you see, mind which becomes cause of life problems you transform it into the cause of success of life, happiness, peace, so that is Dharma practice.

DEALING WITH A PERSON WHO HARMS YOU
For example, somebody who disrespects you, somebody who abuses you, somebody who hurts you, if you change your concept to that person, if you change your concept how you look at that person, there’s no problem. If you change how you look at that person, the problem doesn’t exist, you don’t have a problem. But if you don’t change your concept, how you view, how you look at that person, if you don’t change your concept, until you die—the problem may even continue into the next lives—then when you see that person again [GL], in the street or in the car or bus, or in the airplane, in the shopping center or something, when you meet that person again, as soon as you meet that person, you hate that person [GL], so it’s possible to continue next lives, if you don’t change your concept in this life, you see. So always we see somebody negative, we have this appearance somebody’s bad.

If somebody who abuses oneself, somebody who disrespects or provokes, it is said in the Bodhicaryavatara, The Guide to a Bodhisattva’s Way of Life,

In the past I gave such harm to that person,
Therefore I deserve to receive this harm from the other sentient being.

There’s no reason why the other person should receive harm from me, that’s okay. In the other life you gave harm to that person, you treated that person in the past like that and that’s okay, but you cannot be treated by the person, It’s just the selfish mind, because I want happiness, I don’t want suffering, so even though it is the same case, other person also wants happiness and does not want suffering, but just that, so, there’s no logical reason because of me, I, so should have happiness, not should have problems, should receive harm, only happiness.

In the past I gave such harm to that person, in the same way the person harmed me in this life, so I deserve to receive this harm this life. When one thinks this way, when you think of karma, this has happened because of that cause, there’s some reason why this person abused you, why this person hurt you. Even in this life, you never met this person before, even this is very first time, but this person immediately harmed one’s own life. However, there has to be a reason why this is happening, why this particular person is doing this to you, harming you, there has to be a reason. What’s happening is the result, so there should be a cause. By thinking of karma, it breaks the concept, you break the concept, the fixed concept, This is bad, this person is enemy, this person is bad—it breaks that concept. So again there is peace, even by thinking of karma, the reason why this is happening, which is the cause, immediately it breaks the anger, the negative thought, thinking that person is bad, harming you.

My karma, my action, persuaded him, so I received this harm. [Shantideva goes on to say by making him harm me] I’m making that sentient being get lost in the hole of the naraks, the hells? Didn’t I make the person to get lost in the hole of the hells? That means in the past life I gave harm, so my action, karma, persuaded that sentient being in this life to give harm to me, so this life, this sentient being giving harm to me makes him get lost from the human realm, from the realm of the happy migratory being, then from there you fall down in the hell, the hole where there’s fire. The negative karma he created, due to me, is the cause for rebirth in the lower realms. Due to past karma harmed to this person, in this life then harmed oneself, then that make the person, that causes the person to get lost from the realm of the happy migratory being, not able to remain in the realm of the happy migratory being, deva, human beings.

By thinking in this way, that other sentient beings who harm you, criticize, badly treat, abuse or whatever, didn’t take care well of oneself, the child-time didn’t take care. The explanation is because in the past you harmed them, it only becomes cause of compassion. By thinking in this way, it becomes only cause of rising compassion. Why they are creating negative karma now, by their giving harm to you, they create negative karma, cause of suffering, cause of problems now and in the future, so many lifetimes. So therefore, why they created this negative karma, harmful action, by harming to me, is because I, my karma, my past lifetime karma, so that makes them to do this. That’s how those people who harmed us, who hurt us, however, this way it becomes only cause of compassion, rather than, instead of rising anger, it only becomes cause of rising compassion towards them. Because who let them to create negative karma, create the cause of suffering, result which they have to experience is oneself, by oneself. So therefore, this way of thinking it become only reason to rise compassion.

So therefore, you see, again looking at that person as negative, as bad, it is stopped. Rising anger is stopped. By thinking like this, patience is most important quality, most precious, important quality of human mind, most important quality of human being, otherwise human being become same as animal, like tigers, snakes, just only difference is the shape of the body [GL], but mentally is the same. So mentally the same, mentally no differences. There’s no special reason to be human being, there’s no special quality, as one particular quality of human, quality, especially it’s most important, patience, again it’s the source of happiness in the life, source of happiness and peace in the life, which brings harmonious success, oneself, for other sentient beings.

It becomes the most important education and it is the path to, even who seek enlightenment. Patience becomes very important path to enlightenment. The more one practices patience, one can actualize bodhicitta easier, quicker, because the more anger there is, more difficult to practice and to actualize, to realize bodhicitta. Anger is one very great obstacle to actualizing bodhicitta.Without bodhicitta one cannot achieve full enlightenment, then one cannot free all the sentient beings from all the suffering and causes and lead them to peerless happiness, full enlightenment. One cannot do this extensive benefit for all sentient beings without bodhicitta. Therefore patience becomes extremely important especially for the benefit of all sentient beings’ happiness, for us, for oneself to practice patience becomes so crucial, so important, not only for one’s own happiness, for the happiness of every living being.

Normally I myself only follow the self-cherishing thought, the selfish mind, which is the source of all the sufferings, all the problems, but this person is helping me, together to destroy my enemy that which is in my heart, the self-cherishing, the selfish mind, who constantly doesn’t give peace and brings only problems, only obstacles to practice Dharma and day-to-day life unhappiness, brings all the unhappiness, even obstacles to have even temporary success and happiness. So this person, what he or she is doing to me, is helping me together to destroy my ego, self-cherishing thought. When one practice patience, then one see that person as unbelievably kind, so precious, unbelievably precious. That person is, by making me to practice patience, letting me to destroy my ego, then causing me to generate bodhicitta, practice the six paramitas, especially the paramita of patience. This person is bringing me to enlightenment, this person is taking me to enlightenment, helping me to become enlightened.

When we think like this, one sees that person is extremely kind, so precious, the most kind, the most precious in your life, this person becomes very important, most precious in your life. This person becomes very important person, because he helps develop the mind, the most important, most practical helper, who gives important help, that is to develop the mind, leading me to achieve enlightenment.

Therefore again the concept that this person is “bad” is changed, the concept looking at that person as bad and appearing that person bad towards oneself, so this concept which creates this appearance, This person is bad, harmful, so this is stopped. So again this is Dharma, otherwise the mind is looking at that person negative, bad, harmful, then angry mind, cause of suffering, cause of problems in life, so now, one believe, so one completely transformed from that, mind from that into this positive attitude, from that one transform the concept into the positive mind looking at that person most precious, kind, positive. This becomes best meditation, very important Dharma practice.

EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE MIND
So the reason why I’m saying that how the suffering, problems of life, because, so the conclusion, the problems of life and happiness come from the mind, from one’s own mind, so therefore we have to stop the cause of the problems, we have to stop the problems of life from within the mind. We have to achieve happiness from within one’s mind. So those previous ones I mentioned, so those are the reasons of how it happens. So the conclusion is that, the need to practice Dharma, meditation, how it is so crucial, like the patient who has a heart attack and then has to go to emergency hospital or who is injured, anywhere, has to go to emergency hospital, so this meditation practice, Dharma, becomes many millions times much more important than physical treatment such as in the emergency hospital.

Everything comes from the mind so therefore protecting the mind, by Dharma practice, transformation of the mind, protecting the mind by oneself, that becomes the most important, the main solution, that becomes the answer in every problem—to society’s problems, to individual person’s problems, to the country’s problems. Whether it’s the question of needing long life, needing a healthy body, a happy mind, healthy body, success, whatever, Dharma practice, meditation, comes from the mind, protecting the mind, which means protecting oneself from the cause of the sufferings, so in this way one is protected from all the sufferings.

This becomes the answer in every situation, this becomes the solution of any problem, especially in relationship problems, even AIDS, cancer, any problem. And we have great freedom this time that we have Buddha nature in our mental continuum. Not only that, on top of that the precious, perfect human rebirth, that which gives all the opportunities to use this Buddha nature, to eliminate all the mistakes of the mind, to eliminate all the sufferings, to achieve whatever happiness one wishes to achieve, and same thing to cause to all sentient beings, same thing that you can cause to all sentient beings.

Sorry, I talked a long time [GL], which is nothing new [RL, GL].

[Dedications]

Please dedicate the three time merits accumulated by oneself, in past, present and future, and the three times merits accumulated by buddhas and bodhisattvas, by all those holy beings, due to all these three times merits, may the bodhicitta, thought of enlightenment, which is the source of all the happiness, success.

[End of First Discourse]

LECTURE 2: 26 NOVEMBER 1992

THE DISSATISFIED MIND OF DESIRE
One has to eliminate the sufferings from within one’s own mind and one has to obtain the happiness from within one’s own mind. So, this cannot be done externally, so eliminating the suffering, and the right thoughts from within one’s own mind, seeking happiness from within one’s own mind, that is only through Dharma, seeking happiness from within one’s own mind that is only through Dharma, so that is the point. That is nothing to do with external, that is only through Dharma.

As I mentioned last night, to stop following the negative thoughts, as long as one follow the dissatisfied mind, desire, one can never find satisfaction, one can never find happiness in the life, one can never find peace. The way to find peace in the heart or real happiness in the life, pure happiness in the life, pure happiness in the sense that which is not labeled pleasure on the base, the feeling that which is only in the nature of suffering, as I gave example. Pure happiness in the sense that by freeing yourself from the cause of problems, the attachment, dissatisfied mind, desire, you see, absence of that. So then, absence of those painful minds in the heart, so that gives peace.

By stopping problems, as well as ignorance, anger and so forth, there is happiness in the life, relaxation. So that’s why as I usually mention that even one goes for holiday, to the beach, to Bali beach, to an Indonesian beach, wherever in this world, even one goes for holiday, those holiday hotels, even if one lives in those luxury places, hotels, so forth, even the body is trying to relax, but the mind is not really relaxed; there’s no real rest for the mind, even physically trying to relax but, even one is trying to have rest from the hard work, but however there’s no real rest in the mind, there’s no real rest to the mind because these delusions, these disturbing thoughts, particularly the dissatisfied mind, attachment, it constantly, it occupied the mind constantly, it occupied the mind like the Communist Chinese took over Tibet. Desire, attachment, took over one’s own mind, overwhelmed the mind, one’s own life. Actually in the heart there’s no rest, mentally there’s no rest, there’s no freedom, from this emotional mind, the dissatisfied mind of desire. Then also those other emotional minds, anger and so forth, towards the enemy.

Even if one tries to go to the beach, to a peaceful place, a quiet place, but one’s own mind is occupied, one’s own mind did not become quiet, being free from dissatisfaction, desire. In the heart there’s no tranquility, rest, one doesn’t give freedom to oneself, by following the dissatisfied mind desire, so one doesn’t give rest, one doesn’t give freedom to oneself, peace. If one examines one’s own mind, if one looks at one’s own mind, if one watches, in one’s own heart, constantly there’s something missing there, something empty.

HOW THE MIND LABELS
As I mentioned last night, as long as one does not change one’s negative concept, looking at a person, labeling the person bad, by using the reason of the action what that person does to oneself, harm as long as one doesn’t transform that negative concept, there’s no peace, there’s no happiness, there’s no harmonious relationship. But if one changes, if one transforms this negative concept into positive attitude, positive thought, then there’s a harmonious, peaceful relationship, there’s joy to meet the person, one feels happy. When one meets the person there’s happiness, there’s no negative feeling; one doesn’t create negativity, one’s own mind doesn’t create negative feeling towards the person, only positive.

If the mind doesn’t label what this person does to you, that person’s action, as harm, there’s no appearance that person’s action is harmful. In the same way, if one’s own mind doesn’t label “bad” to that person, so there is no appearance that person is appearing bad, appearing negative towards one’s own mind, appearing bad to one’s own mind, to oneself. If one’s mind did not label bad, there wouldn’t be appearance, one wouldn’t have the appearance that person appearing bad, negative, then one wouldn’t have negative feelings when one meet that person, while one is with that person, one wouldn’t have negative feelings, unpleasant feelings.

For example, if somebody has stolen one’s own belongings, passport or whatever, something, actually, if somebody has stolen one’s own belongings, until somebody introduces you, so if you haven’t seen who did the stealing, then even if the person who has stolen things is always with you, that you see every day, but because you haven’t labeled, because you haven’t created the concept that this person is a thief, the one who has stolen my things, you don’t have that appearance that that person is thief, there’s no appearance that person is a thief.

But one day somebody introduces you quietly that [Gl, RL], secretly or whispering or whatever, anyway, somebody tells you, “Oh, this person is the one who has stolen your passport” or money or your bag or something. When somebody introduces you, the moment that you believe what that person says to you, what that other person labeled, which means the label, the moment you believe in that, you yourself then also may put the label, “This is thief.” By following the other person’s label, then your own mind puts the label, your own mind also made up the label, imputed it, that person has stolen my things. By following the other person’s introduction, your own mind puts the label, then you believe in that. As a result of that, after that, then there’s appearance to you, thief, that person is appearing to you like that.

Thus, it is clear that before we make up, before our minds put the label, create this label, relating to that person, and we believe in that, there’s no appearance, there’s no view of that person, there’s no appearance as thief. For example, it happened to me quite a few times that you, I see the person’s body but somehow I don’t recognize that person. I see the person’s body but I cannot recognize that person. Happened not a few times—I think plenty [RL, GL]. I come to recognize that person only when I remember their name, either somebody tells me that person’s name or his story, by mentioning the story of the person, the name comes through that. This is a similar case. Before I see the person, I see the person’s body. I see the person, but I don’t see the person as that related to that name, I don’t see the person as that one. For example like this, I see the person but I don’t see the person as Jeff Nye, though that person is Jeff Nye. I see the person but I don’t see that person as Jeff Nye. Then when somebody, or I remember through the person’s voice or words, slowly, through the shape of the body or [GL] the manner or some part, then slowly that reminds the name, or somebody tells me, then so anyway, so then, or I remember or somebody introduces, so the minute that I learn the name, the minute that my mind made up the label, put the label, only after that, then there’s appearance of that person. Then there’s appearance of Jeff Nye, only after that then there’s appearance of Jeff Nye, Before that, before my mind make up the label, imputed the label, there is no appearance that that person is Jeff Nye, so only then there is recognition that that is Jeff Nye.

Usually, there are these experiences, usually you met that person before and you see the person, but you don’t have the recognition, That is Jeff Nye, George or Peter or something, that there’s no recognition of that, there’s no appearance of that, that person. This is an example, it’s clear, like this, how that person’s action appears as harm, that person appears as bad, appears as a thief, based on the label. Like that, the appearance of the I, appearance of the mind, appearance of the body, the appearance of each of the aggregates—form, feeling, cognition, compounding aggregates, consciousness—the appearance of each of these, the appearance of form, which is object of the sense of the eye, appearance of the sound, which is object of sense of ear, appearance of the smell, to the sense of nose, the appearance of the taste to the sense of tongue, the appearance of the tangible object to the sense of the body—all these came from the mind, just like the appearance of harm. This is clear that it came from one’s own mind by labeling, the appearance, so therefore the harm came from one’s own mind, so appearance of the bad, the person appearing bad, that too came from one’s own mind, as that is the creation of one’s own mind, the concept which labels, the concept which imputes. It is the creation of one’s own mind, so the “bad” came from one’s own mind, the appearance of “thief” came from one’s own mind. The thief that one might see with one’s own mind, the appearance of thief came from one’s own mind. This came from one’s own mind, it came from that concept, it came from one’s own mind - from which mind? From that concept.

Everything what we see here, including your own self, the person appearing to you, I that is appearing to you, this came from your own concept, which is a creation of your own concept. Which concept? The mind which labels I and believes in that. The aggregates, the body and mind. All these holy objects, the appearance of these holy objects, the holy objects that we see all the time. One explanation is, at the moment we are talking about how things come from the concept, how things came from one’s own mind, things that we see, things that you see, these come from your own mind, your own concept, at the moment we’re talking about that, the immediate [snaps fingers] creation, the appearance, the moment to moment appearance, day to day life appearance, the moment to moment appearance, that, to our senses, that is created by the present moment to moment concept, how you interpret that object, how you look at that object. How existence, permanent phenomena, impermanent phenomena, all existence—anything that exists fits into these two categories, the nature of the phenomena, one is permanent, one is impermanent, transitory.

EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE MIND
At the moment, the main point is to concentrate or to understand how everything comes from the mind, how everything that you see in your daily life comes from one’s own mind, from one’s own concept.

Before mentioning the following subject, this way of meditating, how things come from one’s own mind, just the thing, friend, enemy, stranger, the sense objects, what we see in our everyday life, the appearance of these things, these objects in our everyday life, appearing to our senses, how they come from our own mind or our concept. Every moment the objects that are appearing to our senses, how they are related to our every moment’s concept, the mind. Another way of saying this is, the object of the senses, how they come from every moment’s concept. This becomes very important meditation, how one’s own mind is the creator of everything. This way you can see clearly how oneself is the creator of all the things of your universe. One’s own mind is the creator of the I, the self, the subject and action and object, the sense objects. This becomes very important.

This is a fundamental meditation or philosophy in the teachings of Buddha. In other words, this became very important, reality, this become very important knowledge, this understanding, this awareness in our everyday life. This recognition become very important knowledge, this fundamental reality how things exist, how things are created. It makes a big differences in the attitude, in the how to live the life. On the basis of this, it makes huge differences to the attitude how to live the life. By understanding this basic philosophy, this basic reality of life, your whole idea of from where happiness and suffering comes is completely switched. It becomes completely different. The recognition of the root from where all the happiness and suffering comes. Nothing relates to external things as the cause of happiness of suffering; everything related to the mind, how the mind creates all happiness and suffering. Seeing external things as the creator is not according to the life experience, not according to the reality of the life.

I’ll mention this then we’ll have break. As an example, one feels so much that one is abused by parents so then there are many problems. There are many things like this that one believes as problems. One’s own mind is filled with so many of these things which are labeled as problems, so many things like this, which one labels as problems. One doesn’t feel relaxed. In the mind there’s so much unhappiness, as one labels problems, there’s many problem. One go to see psychotherapist or hypnotist. Because it is their philosophy, it is how they were taught, the psychotherapist tells you to blame the family. Whoever made up that philosophy, that advice, whoever made up that first time, then somebody began it [GL]. One goes to see psychotherapist and is told to put the blame on the family. They explain blah, blah, blah, like that [GL].

Even if the person did not remember these things that happened in childhood and so forth, how one was treated by the parents and so forth, it didn’t bother or one didn’t think of it as harm, bothering, forgotten [RL] but then the psychotherapist reminds you [RL, GL]. Even though you didn’t have a problem before [GL], the psychotherapist made you to look at it as a problem [GL], to look at how they treated you as a problem, the way they treated you, you to believe that’s a problem, you to believe what they did as a problem. So now it became a problem. After seeing the psychotherapist, then now you have this problem [GL]. Then this problem, which you didn’t have before [GL], before you had good relation with parents [GL], very peaceful, very harmonious, very kind to each other, so now when you return back to home, your appearance is different, your appearance now is very negative, appearing upset, very depressed and upset to see the parents. Disrespect rises and the relationship is broken, being kind to each other, generous each other, that very peaceful relationship, that very warm feeling, that is broken, it’s cut off, now there’s disrespect toward mother and father. Now it becomes a huge problem, the parents become your root of suffering.

THE NEED FOR COMPASSION
Even if one introduces the problem, if one gives solution after that, then it’s very good. So giving solution is the main purpose; otherwise, there’s no use just explaining the problem. So after making clear the problem, then one gives solution then explaining the problem has meaning. Introducing the problem of the person then it has meaning, then it has purpose because you give solution, how one can solve the problem.

I mentioned also in England, there’s a contradiction between the meditation practice, so the person become confused. The meditation practice, where there’s emphasis to do with compassion, to develop compassion the object, the correct way to achieve happiness in life however for the success and happiness of one’s own life and the happiness and success, peace, of other people, other living beings. The fundamental meditation is patience, to calm the mind in everyday life by practicing, by applying those meditation techniques to practice patience, with loving kindness and compassion. This is the very heart, the very essence, the most important meditation among so many different practices. The meditation on compassion, generating compassion towards every living being, who wants happiness, who does not want suffering, this is the fundamental one. Everybody wants happiness and does not want suffering, just exactly like oneself. Everyone has exactly the same wish as oneself and everyone has exactly the same right to eliminate problems and to obtain happiness. Everyone has the same right to achieve this, so in that we are all equal; oneself and all others are equal.

Even concerning world peace, even concerning how much violence there is in the world, how much killing, how many violent wars torturing each other, controlling each other and so forth, one country taking over another country by violence. Whether the world has peace or not depends on compassion. How much peace and happiness there is in the world depends on how much compassion people have, how much compassion the population and the leaders of the country have. The whole thing depends on that.

Even in one family, how much peace and happiness there is, warm feeling each other, kind each other, that depends on how much compassion there is. How much your life can be safe, how much your life can be protected from harm, depends on how much others have compassion for you, how much compassion surrounding people, other beings, those others who are around oneself in everyday life, how much compassion, whether they have compassion for you or not. How much you have peace, happiness, to not receive harm, to receive help depends on how much other beings who are around you in everyday life practice compassion and loving kindness. And how much others’ lives are safe and have peace, happiness, not receiving harm from you, but receiving help from you, that depends on how much you have compassion.

So therefore, all, individual person’s peace, happiness, the whole world peace, all the living beings happiness and peace dependent on the compassion, so compassion is the most precious, very precious, it is the most important education, the most precious, extremely, the most valuable, the most priceless, the most precious, the most important human quality.

Here we are not even talking about the need of compassion in order to achieve enlightenment, need of compassion in order to cease all the mistakes of the mind, all the suffering and causes, and to achieve, to have completion of all, to have quality of all the realizations, that which is the peerless happiness, the full enlightenment. Only with this attainment that you can do perfect work for all sentient beings, to free them from all the sufferings and causes and lead to the peerless happiness, the full enlightenment. Here we are not even talking about that, just how compassion is so precious, so important because your happiness, your peace and everyone’s peace and happiness is dependent on that—family, society, the country, the world, everything. Human beings, even animals, other living beings, everyone’s happiness dependent on compassion, have to come from compassion.

Therefore, the meditation on compassion becomes the most important, the heart of the teaching of the Buddha, heart of the meditation practice, the source of all the happiness, success. Therefore now, the person who got confused before, not knowing which meditation to follow. This cuts through all that. This is the very heart of every meditation practice.

So I suggest that, of course, you can learn all those philosophies, you can learn those ideas in order to get degree, so that you can be recognized as a psychologist or psycho-therapist, so you have recognition in the society. But, when you actually treat the people then you don’t need to follow the books, you don’t need to follow somebody’s philosophy, you just use your own wisdom. When you actually treat the person, you use your own wisdom, your own experience, which is the reality, that which is something that brings more peace, more harmonious relationship, better relationship, a calmer mind. So use those methods to treat people.

Otherwise those ideas become obstacles to developing compassion within yourself towards all living beings. This life’s parents become very important, very precious objects, become the first, the person whom you can see easily by seeing how kind they have been to you, giving you a body, giving this precious human body and all the education, all those other things, saved your life, all the things, all the education. Somebody whom you can feel, that you can realize easily, whose kindness you can realize easier, you can recognize easier, can realize easier, and also that and object to practice, to start generating loving kindness and compassion from them, then towards all sentient beings, starting from them towards all the sentient beings.

PROBLEMS ARE LABELED BY THE MIND
Therefore this philosophy becomes an obstacle to develop compassion towards other sentient beings. If one is psychologist or psychotherapist, when one treat, especially one who practices meditation, who has knowledge of Dharma, you have much deeper, you have much more freedom to help others because, why I brought up this subject here, it’s related to the point where I started before that all the parents abused to oneself or one thinks somebody gave harm to oneself, it’s appearance—this appearance came from one’s own mind. Even these are appearing as a problem to you, it’s because your concept labeled and believed this is a problem. So, that kind of thing, that kind of expression, how these other people hate you, doesn’t love you, so the friend hates you or our most beloved friend suddenly changes his mind and instead of liking you, then full of hatred. However, all these again are the appearance of one’s own mind.

That person’s one concept, one way of thinking towards to you, then one labeled “loves me”; just one different way of thinking from that then, one opposite way of thinking, that concept then one labels “hatred,” “doesn’t love me.” It’s just a different way of thinking. One way of thinking one labels “loves me.” One way of thinking labels “hatred”, one labels “angry”. So like that. So one way of thinking labels “it’s good,” another way of thinking we label “it’s bad.” So, like that.

That’s the reality, so even seeing somebody that loves you, doesn’t love you, even seeing somebody, thinking different way towards to you, thinking towards to you in a different way, so one labeled, one’s mind labeled good, loves me and doesn’t love me. So then, as one labeled then there’s these appearances of the person, loves me and so forth, doesn’t love me and so forth.

Including this, all those people who abused, who were badly treated, for example, these are, now the other explanation how they came from the mind, the other long-run explanation how these things came from one’s own mind is so all these things that you have appearance somebody loves you, somebody hates you, that the beloved friend today then hates you. All these appearances, other people giving harm or badly treating—all these things are appearances coming from the imprints. Now this becomes the reason why everything came from our mind, due to our concept, why we have this concept creating suffering, creating problems in our life, interpreting things in the wrong way. Even somebody sincerely from the heart trying to help you but you interpret bad, for you that person’s action is appearing as a harm, disturbing or harm, even the person is sincerely trying to help you.

But what is the reason why we have this concept which creates, why we have the impure mind or negative mind that creates problems, which makes the life become a problem? Why? Now there is a reason for that. That is the long-run, all these appearances, these negative thoughts arising, concepts, seeing undesirable objects, undesirable appearances, having unpleasant feeling by meeting them, all these are manifestations of imprints, all these came from the imprint that which was left on our mental continuum—somebody likes, somebody doesn’t, somebody hates you, somebody harms you, badly treats you, abuse, so forth. All these things, all these appearances, all these which are undesirable objects came from the negative imprint left on the consciousness by the past negative actions that was motivated by the ignorance, anger, or attachment, those disturbing thoughts.

Like a movie camera takes pictures of various people, places—people who are enjoying or people who are having problems—and you see the image of them when the film is put in the machine and then with electricity. From a negative, having all this together, able to project what is on the negative, printed before, printed there on the film, then is able to project on the TV screen or on the movie screen, able to project. So like this, depending whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant, it’s dependent on what you have recorded, whether enjoying, something pleasant or unpleasant, what you have recorded, printed on the film. So just like this, it’s according to the film, what is there. The same thing like this, in our life, any beautiful, desirable object or person that we see—living beings, form, sound, smell, taste, tangible object, whatever desirable object, whatever desirable appearance we have—all these appearances are manifestations of the imprint, all these are production of the positive imprint left by positive, virtuous actions in the past, done by positive attitude. Anything undesirable appearances—those other people who hate you, badly treat you, abuse, all these things, then ugly—all these appearances are productions of the negative imprint left by the negative actions motivated by the negative attitude.

MIND IS THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING
According to the reality, according to the actual life experience, according to meditation, according to the teaching of Buddha, there’s nobody to blame, there’s nobody to blame. Excepting that persuades us of the need to work with one’s mind, to do workshop with one’s own mind, to transform one’s own attitude, the solution is to purify all the negative imprints, that which means all these problems, all these undesirable things, to purify, to cease that which is already created, you purify and then how to do in the future? One solution is to purify, one solution to not experience problems is to purify as perfect as possible, so that is one solution.

And then, the other, as one’s own mind is the creator of all the happiness and all the sufferings, so the other solution to not experience problems however to have success, not only temporary success, ultimate success, ultimate happiness, highest, full enlightenment. For that, the solution is to transform one’s own mind, to eliminate the cause of the sufferings, to, by transforming the mind into positive, from negative thoughts into positive attitude then one doesn’t create cause of the problems again. Then, by actualizing the fundamental path, renunciation of samsara, the freedom, determination, mind living in the determination to, not following the cause of the sufferings, the disturbing thoughts, the karma, that which is the renunciation of samsara. So, by actualizing this, [you can eliminate] ignorance, the concept of true existence, and cease, completely abandon, as well as develop all the qualities. Yeah. [GL, RL]

Sorry, went long.

[Break in recording]

LECTURE 3: 27 NOVEMBER 1992

THE BASE AND THE LABEL
What I was talking about yesterday, the essence was that in our everyday life in every moment, any object of the senses that appears to us that it came from our mind labeling, by imputing. So there a few of those examples how there is no appearance of the object before our mind labeled. One doesn’t have appearance of that object, before our mind labels.

For example this clock: by the reason, due to the reason having seen the base, having seen this base which is, this base which tells time, this base which has numbers and which tells time, which does that function. By seeing this particular base, then first by seeing this particular base which tells time, then one’s own mind makes up the label—clock. So then after that there is the appearance of clock. So if one does not label, if there is no mind which labels clock, there is no clock. There is no appearance of clock, there is no clock.

So now the same thing, the appearance of the base which tells time, which has numbers which tells time, the base is also, the reason that we have in our mind before we, the reason that makes our mind to decide the particular label, clock, the reason that makes our mind to decide this particular label, clock, that which is the base, having seen the base which does that function, telling the time. So even the base also, that also one’s own view, appearance, so that appearance also happened by depending on the mind which labels.

So without the mind labeling the base, the numbers, the group of pieces, numbers, and the whole thing, the group of the parts of this and parts of this, all the parts of the machine and the numbers, everything, the parts of the clock. So without the mind which labels the base there is no appearance of base. Without the mind labeling base, there is no base.

The group of the parts of the clock, then now, first to understand without the mind labeling the clock, there is no clock. Without the mind labeling the base there is no base. Without the mind labeling the parts, each part, whatever their name is, what it is they are called; so without the mind which is labeling all these parts, there are not all these parts.

So starting from the clock down to the atoms of this clock, everything, completely the whole thing down to atoms—what they are in the reality, by analyzing like this and they are simply what is merely labeled by the mind. The whole thing what they are, by analyzing like this and they are simply what is merely labeled by the mind. If the mind does not label clock, then there is no clock, there is no appearance of clock, there is no clock. So like that, down to the atoms. So you go like this. You examine the base like this, then every part, down to the atoms. Even the atoms, it is the mind which labels atoms, there is no appearance of atoms, there is no atoms.

So now, starting from the clock down to atoms, the whole thing is not, in the reality the whole thing is what they are is simply what is merely labeled by the mind. So therefore, starting from the clock down to the atoms, particles of the atoms, the whole thing is completely empty of existing from its own side. So starting from the clock down to the atoms, the particles of the atoms, nothing, including even those, nothing of this, nothing the slightest of this phenomenon, nothing exists from its own side. This phenomenon, clock, nothing of this phenomena, including the particles of atom, has true existence, has any inherent existence. So that is the reality of what it is. That is the reality if you analyze the phenomena, how they exist, what they are.

So this is what it is, this is how it is. But why, even though this is a fact, this is logical and this is a fact, but why, starting from the clock down to the particles of the atom, why doesn’t it appear to us in that way. Why doesn’t appear to us according to the reality, that which is merely labeled by the mind? Why it doesn’t appear to us that way. Why it appears something completely existing from its own side, why it is appearing existing permanent, existing alone without depending on the parts, without depending on the causes and conditions, existing with its own freedom.

I think sometimes translated as self-entity. However, the meaning is without depending on cause and conditions, that it is existing with its own freedom, by its own power, by its own power trip [RL, GL]. So instead of mind doing the power trip, appearing the power trip is coming from the object’s side. However, completely existing without depending on the mind, which means the imprint left on the consciousness, without depending on that imprint, actualizing, manifesting the object; then existing, appearing, and this clock, the whole thing, existing that, it is completely existing from its own side without depending on the undefective mind labeling, appearing to that and labeling.

And then, that this clock has existence from its own side, that this clock, even just, even more subtle, even much more subtle, subtle hallucination. Besides all those other gross hallucinations piled up, besides all those gross hallucinations of the clock and the particles of the atoms, how they appear to us with all those gross hallucinations, appearing to us in the wrong way, appearing in an hallucination, those gross, gross hallucinations. Then the extremely subtle hallucination, then that there is something from its own side, that something exists from its own side. The clock has something that it exists from its own side, not just merely labeled by the mind but there is something from its own side. There is something exists also from its own side. There is something subtle thing there. You can’t accept completely that it exists being merely labeled by the mind, that you totally can’t accept this, can’t understand this, unable to realize, can’t understand this that one believes, appears and believes that there is something from its own side, from the clock down to the particles of the atom, everything does or has to exist from its own side. So according to the appearance that one believes, one has the concept, one believes like this.

So however all these are hallucinations, down to this subtle hallucination, what is called the subtle refuting object, that refuting object according to from the four schools, the last one, the fourth one, Madhyamaka, which has two, the Svatantrika and Prasangika, so the refuting object according to Prasangika, that is the subtle refuting object. In other words, subtle hallucination. Even the many other schools have their own point of view of hallucination and refuting object and their own point of view of emptiness, by realizing their own point of view of refuting object or hallucination, recognizing it is hallucination is hallucination and realizing that it is empty. But however in the reality emptiness is one, just only one. How many schools talk about emptiness, how different presentation on emptiness, in the reality there is not many emptiness’s. There is just one. So there is no different root of samsara, there is just the one root of samsara in the reality.

So like this, there’s belief in all these different levels of hallucination; first of all the very gross, like appearing permanent and so forth, those three things, then more and more subtle. The last one is Prasangika’s view, the refuting object, there should be some existence, the clock, even though it’s labeled by the mind but there should be something from its own side. The clock exists from the clock. So as the clock appears existing from its own side then one believes. So as one cannot accept or cannot figure it out that this clock is empty of existing from its own side and it exists and is dependent arising. And it is existing. How? By depending it exists. Not that it exists from its own side. So it doesn’t exist from its own side. It is empty. So it’s empty of existing from its own side. But it doesn’t mean that it does not exist. It exists. But how? By depending on the base and depending on the concept or how the mind, concept or the mind which labels.

So depending on these things, base and the mind which labels, then that is how the clock exists. So clock exists, but not from its own side but by depending on, subtle, it exists by depending on the mind merely labeling, that which is subtle dependent arising. The dependent arising according to the Prasangika school.

So the person who cannot realize or who cannot accept the clock is unified of emptiness, existing from its own side, and empty of existing from its own side and that is exists by depending on base and thought which labels and label. So however the mind merely imputing. So who cannot accept or realize that this clock is empty of existing from its own side. While it is empty of existing from its own side, it is a dependent arising, it is existing as a dependent arising. While it is dependent arising existing, it is empty. While it is existing, which meaning is dependent arising, not from its own side but dependent arising, depending on the mind merely imputing, that it is existing by depending on the mind merely imputing. So unified of emptiness and dependent arising.

So who finds confusion, that if one accepts that this clock exists, then if one accepts that this clock is empty of existing from its own side then for that person’s view it becomes, for that person’s view, the person thinks that if it doesn’t exist from its own side then it becomes non-existent; it becomes nihilism. If the person accepts that the clock exists, then it should exist from its own side. If it exists then it should exist, there should be something from its own side. Not possible, how can things exist being merely imputed by the mind. For that person when they come to accept this, then could not accept, could not understand or could not accept the subtle dependent arising. So when they come to accept this then for that person’s view becomes nihilism.

SUBTLE DEPENDENT ARISING
If the clock exists, when they accept that it exists, dependent arising, then if it exists then it should have inherent existence, there should be something from its own side.

Unable to unify the one object, the clock, unable to unify emptiness and dependent arising, this subtle dependent arising [is described by] the Prasangika Madhyamaka School. From the four schools, the fourth one, Madhyamaka school [has two subschools] and the second one, the Prasangika school; according to that school, the subtle dependent arising.

So similar with the I, just like the clock with the I, cannot accept or unable to see the I, which is empty of existing from its own side, and also it exists by depending on. So even if one accepts that the I is labeled by the mind, that I exists being labeled by the mind, but not merely labeled by the mind, because there should be something from its own side, that the I exists from its own side, even though the I exists being labeled by the mind. So this is what the Madhyamaka school, the first one, Svatantrika, so what this school’s philosophy or view, their view, their philosophy of the ultimate truth of emptiness of the self, of the I, according to Svatantrika school is that the I exists completely from its own side, that without depending on the undefective mind labeling, the valid mind. So this is the refuting object and this is a hallucination. This doesn’t exist. This is empty because I exists being labeled by the mind, by the valid mind. But it is not merely labeled by the mind because I exists from its own side. There should be something, the way the I exists, not just merely labeled by the mind, but there should be something from its own side.

So there is a subtle thing left, there is something additional in regards the way the I exists. There is something not merely labeled by the mind, something more than that, something extra than that. The I is more than what is merely labeled by the mind, something extra, something more than that.

That view, how the I can be merely labeled by the mind, something that the I is more than that. So that what is left over, that appearance what is left over, that additional thing, the object is not just merely labeled by the mind, but there is something a little more than that, the way the I exists.

When we let our mind believe in that appearance that it is true, that the I is not just merely labeled by the mind; there is something more than that, existing from its own side. What is that, existing from its own side? So that little, that something additional, something more than what is merely labeled by the mind, so when we let our mind believe in that appearance, appearance of the I, that it is true, then at that time we are creating the ignorance, at that time we are creating the root of samsara. The root of samara is one in the reality; it is not many, it is one, the very root of samsara, the whole delusion, karma, the whole entire suffering of samsara.

When we let our mind believe in that, that is the root of the samsara according to the Prasangika school view. However, many different schools talk about different views, from their point of view, root of samsara, root of suffering, however this is the reality, the Prasangika school view. This is the reality. In the reality there is one root of samsara. Therefore, with emptiness you can cut the root of suffering, the very root of the whole entire suffering, samsara. There are so many wrong views which are the cause of samsara but there is this particular one, specific one which is the root of the whole twelve links.

For example, even though there are many causes of samsara, the very root of the samsara, this present samsara, these human aggregates, the very root of all these sufferings is this particular specific one, this particular wrong concept, this concept that the I. Even though the way the I exists is being merely labeled by the mind, nothing more than that, not the slightest more than that in the reality. But appearing to us, if you analyze the subtle, if you analyze it, in our view when we look at the I we have all the wrong views, all the wrong views the four schools describe, all the refuting objects, all these are piled up, as I related, mentioned with the clock, appearing permanent, all this, existing alone and with its own freedom or power, all the four schools their refuting object, all the wrong views, hallucination. So when we analyze our levels of hallucinations, all these refuting objects, hallucinations, the four schools described which we have now, that which appears to us related to the I, related to the self.

So there are all these hallucinations, gross and subtle, from above the I, all these things appearing from above the merely labeled I. The reason, base, the aggregates, the base, is existing, because of that reason mind labeled that self, I. It’s probably better not to use the word “on” because if you use the word “on” you might believe that the I exists on the aggregates, which is wrong, which is totally wrong. So it’s better to put it this way: mind, if the I is on the aggregates then it means the I should be able to be found, then it becomes the self, the I ,becomes findable on the aggregates. Then if it is able to be found on the aggregates, on the base, then that means it becomes truly existent. So that means the I is truly existent. So if you use the word “on” you might give a wrong idea. This is my own guess. My own speculation. Might give wrong idea that it is existing on the aggregates.

So reason, this base, aggregates are existing, mind labeled the I. So that’s it. [RL, GL] Nothing more than that, nothing slightest more than that.

So from above this merely labeled I, then all these hallucinations are appearing to us, all these refuting objects that the different schools their point of view, their refuting object, those hallucinations appears to us.

Now the emptiness, the conclusion of this topic is that emptiness that you have to realize, the particular emptiness which can cut, the only emptiness which can cut this one particular wrong concept, becomes the root of samsara, the whole delusion, karma, attachment, ignorance, anger so forth, then all the whole entire sufferings of samsara. For example, relating to human beings, all the problems of human beings. That is only this, the I is appearing to one’s own mind something more than, even though it is labeled by the mind, but not merely labeled by the mind. It is something more than merely labeled by the mind. The I is something more than what is merely labeled by the mind. You see, something more than that, which means only that it exists from its own side; there is something from its own side, inherent existence.

So this appearance of the I is something more than what is merely labeled by my mind. So this something is a very subtle thing that existing from its own side.

So now, realizing that this is empty, as it is empty, realizing this is empty, as it is empty in the reality, which has been empty from the beginning, which has been empty, that this I has been empty, in the reality doesn’t exist at all more than what is merely labeled by the mind from the beginning; that it doesn’t exist, that it doesn’t have inherent existence, that it doesn’t exist from the beginning, from its own side.

Realizing that this I, self, what appears to oneself, something more than merely labeled by the mind, so realizing that it is empty, completely empty, as it is empty in the reality, then so only this is the right view, only the wisdom realizing this emptiness of Prasangika view, only this can cut the root of samsara, the root of the whole entire suffering, the very root of the whole entire suffering, only by this wisdom.

Therefore, what I am saying, even though there are so many explanations of emptiness, different for each of these four major schools of the Buddhist philosophy, which happened in former times—even they have different presentations of emptiness. However, the person who has accumulated a lot of merit from this life and past lives, who has left so much positive, who has left much imprint in the past, the teachings on emptiness, who has very strong, who has perfect conditions, all the causes, merit, extensive merit, whose obscurations become thinner, their negative karmas, the obstacles to realizing emptiness become thinner by doing practice of purification.

GURU DEVOTION AND DEPENDENT ARISING
A person who is very fortunate, who has accumulated a lot of merit, a lot of imprints left from past times, then by having met a guru, through guru devotion, another condition to have realization, another condition to actualize wisdom realizing emptiness, the unmistaken, the right view of emptiness. Another important condition is the strong guru devotion, that in the mind of oneself, practitioner oneself, which causes to receive blessings, like putting water in the garden or on the field. After you have planted the seed in the ground, then with all the minerals, soils together, then you pour water. So then it causes to grow, the seed to function, to produce the stem. Through strong guru devotion, makes to receive blessings of the guru, then that makes it possible to have realization such as the wisdom realizing emptiness. Then even the presentations are different, how one is presented according to the school, according to the lama, according to one’s own guru. So when there are all the causes and conditions in your mind, everything is put together, all these things, then exactly as the seed that is planted in the ground, is sown in the ground, then when everything is together, water, everything, then the seed becomes ready to produce its stem, the crops. That person, that practitioner is able to actualize, is able to realize emptiness.

Then, by realizing emptiness, by developing this wisdom one is then able to eliminate the root of the whole entire suffering, the concept of, the ignorance, the concept of true existence. Then even the seed, the imprint left by this, also all the other disturbing thoughts, karma is motivated by this, caused by this, the very root, the ignorance, the concept of true existence. So able to cease. One is able to cease. So only then one can cease the whole entire suffering of samsara, able to make, then by removing the seed, then able to make impossible to experience again the suffering of samsara, the continuously reincarnating in samsara and experiencing sufferings. So one is able to make it impossible to experience it again. So like that.

I didn’t mean to come to this explanation this morning but [RL, GL], meant to just make clear what I explained yesterday, just two or three points, but I think anyway it doesn’t matter. [RL, GL] So I think people pray, okay. [break]

SEARCHING FOR THE I
In case somebody who is not familiar with the subject that I just spoke about before, that I was not saying that the I, the self, the I, doesn’t exist. What I was trying to explain is that the way the I exists is being merely labeled by the mind. I exists, this self exists but how it exists is being merely labeled by the mind. Therefore the I which appears to us as real one, in the sense existing from its own side. The real one in the sense, if it is expressed, if it is explained, if it is introduced, according to our experience, the ordinary term is a real I, when this I which appears to us real one, even in the times that we are not upset or not excited, not frightened, even the times when one doesn’t have these life situations, there is I appearing to us real one. But when we meet those situations then that I which appears real one, that becomes more clear, more obvious. When you get angry, when somebody provokes you, somebody blames you or you have a game, success, when one has excitement, due to having some success, so those times that I which is appearing as real one becomes very clear, strong, then that is called emotional I. So actually the emotional I is, in that sense, the emotional I is always there, that the I appearing as real one. Since one has always this appearance, there is always the emotional I there but it is not so obvious or not so strong, clear as it appears in those particular life situations.

What I am saying is that I is empty, doesn’t exist, means that the real I, that emotional I, that truly existent I, that doesn’t exist, because if you search it cannot be found. The reason is, if you search for that emotional I, or that real I, if you search it cannot be found anywhere. It cannot be found from the tip of the hairs down to the toes; these aggregates, association of the body and mind, from the tip of hairs down to the toes, anywhere, it cannot be found. Nowhere this emotional I, this real I, this truly existent I; if you searched, if one search it cannot be found anywhere. And when we are not aware the reality of the I, when we are not aware, when we do not analyze, it looks like there is a real I, truly existent, inherently existent I, that it can be found. If one looked for it, that it can be found, but if one starts to search, if one starts to analyze, it suddenly becomes unclear, it suddenly doesn’t exist there, it suddenly, that doesn’t exist, suddenly what experience comes is that it doesn’t exist there.

When you start to analyze, when you start to search, if it really existed, it should become more and more clear. The existence of that emotional I, the real I or the truly existent I, it should become more and more clear if it is there. It is not, the particular location of the aggregates, the body, in a particular location, a place, that one feels that there this is I, that there is I there. So as soon as you start to analyze it’s not there. So that proves it. This emotional I, that real I, or that truly existent I cannot be found anywhere on this association of body and mind, the aggregates, the association of the body and the mind.

Neither on this, nor outside of this, separately from this, nowhere can it be found. So therefore it doesn’t exist. And also the other reason is, that this I, what it is, is simply what is merely labeled by the mind. So therefore I doesn’t exist from its own side or the I doesn’t have true existence. There is no true existence on the I, which means there is no true existence on the merely labeled I, “on the I” means I which exists. So therefore, on the merely labeled I, there is no true existence on the merely labeled I. So like that.

To go back, the conclusion is that every day, every moment when the objects appear to us, that how they came from one’s own mind. All these objects, all these appearances, if our mind does not label, then there is no appearance of such and such, the objects of the senses, including the subject and object, there are no appearances. If one does not label, if one’s own mind does not label subject, there is no appearance of the subject. If one does not label object there is no appearance of object. So like that.

EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE MIND
Therefore, that in our everyday life, every hour, every moment, all the appearances, all the sense objects, including the mind, the subject, I, so everything came from one’s own mind. That is one thing.

The second thing, the explanation is that, as I used the example that whatever you see in this TV screen or movie screen, beautiful objects or the people enjoying or people fighting, suffering, the desirable and undesirable things that you see, all those things are a projection. The various figures, people and people’s lives, various lives and various places, what is recorded on the negative roll, on the negative, the film. So like that, so what is there, then it’s projected there, it’s appeared there. So we see that. Similar now, our consciousness, which has continued from beginningless rebirth, from past life to this life, the consciousness which is continuation of, from beginningless rebirth, from beginningless mind, which is a continuation from the past life, that past life consciousness. This consciousness, which is a continuation of the consciousness just before it took place on the fertilized egg in the mother’s womb, in one’s own mother’s womb. So this present consciousness is the continuation of that consciousness just before it took place, existing just before taking place on the fertilized egg.

The consciousness is like negative roll. Today from this morning until, today, twenty-four hours, any appearance that we have today during these twenty-four hours, any desirable object, undesirable object, indifferent object, whatever we see, whatever appears to us, people, how we see the people and then place, the material objects. All these appearances, all these objects, including the concept, the negative concept which makes the object negative, including the negative concept which makes the object to appear negative, bad, the object, other people, to appear bad, their actions to appear as a harm, as bad, however including the concept, so the whole thing, the mind and the concept and the object, the whole thing, manifestations, the whole thing came from the imprint left on the consciousness by karma, motivated by karma, action, motivated by the root ignorance, concept of true existence, this wrong concept, ignorance the wrong concept, the concept of true existence, the concept of the truly existent I.

This day of twenty-four hours, any desirable object, any desirable appearance that they have—form, sound, smell and so forth—all came from, is a production of the positive imprint left by the virtuous actions, the good karma, which means your own mind, the positive intention. Then, any undesirable appearances that we see today is a production of the negative imprint left on the consciousness by the negative intention, the negative karma, nonvirtuous action. So these karmas, so mostly these karmas, no question about negative karma, even the positive karma, so mostly it is motivated by the ignorance, the concept of true existence. Anyway, there are some details but no need to mention now. So it’s like this. So both of these karmas are motivated by the ignorance, that, yeah, like this.

The cause of ignorance, on the basis of ignorance, the concept of true existence, then other ignorance, there are different types of ignorance, ignorance not knowing Dharma, not knowing what is cause of happiness, what is the cause of suffering, not knowing karma, then anger, attachment and so forth, those disturbing thoughts rise then they motivate karma.

So our twenty-four hours all the appearances, including our mind, senses, all came from the imprint left on the consciousness. So it’s like everything that you see on the movie screen, TV screen, came from that film. So like this, all these things came from, bad and good, desirable and undesirable, all the appearances today came from one’s own consciousness, so came from one’s own mind. So besides that, it came from the karma, everything came from the karma, the intention, one’s own intention. So that is one’s own mind. So everything came from the karma, all the appearances today, everything came from one’s own karma.

Then, also came from, then root, then also came from, karma is motivated by the ignorance, so all these also came from the ignorance. So again the ignorance is one’s own mind. So like this, everything came from one’s own mind.

For example, one person, this person whom one like so much, most beloved person, unable to separate, so painful to separate from them, from that person, but one day suddenly this person whom you used to feel so painful to separate from, that you think impossible to get upset, to separate from this person—one day suddenly you see this person as a completely different object, becomes the object of hatred. Suddenly you have a different appearance. One day very ugly [GL, RL], undesirable, suddenly one day the appearance changes. The person it is not particularly that one likes so much, or attached so much, the person not like that. But suddenly, or even the person could be whom we hate so much, particular person whom we hate so much, very ugly or undesirable. But one day your view of that person changed. Suddenly one day, even it wasn’t object to be fantastic, but one day you have a different appearance, that even if one does not see before as beautiful, but now today one is beautiful. If one sees as ugly before but now today one sees as beautiful and becomes object of strong attachment. So today there is a different appearance and then becomes a very strong object of attachment.

All these appearances, the different imprints manifested or actualized, ripened, different imprint ripened, imprint left on the consciousness by past karma. So in other words, we create, there is no object existing from its own side. There is no object there, anger and attachment, there is no object there existing from outside, existing from its own side, there’s no object there. It is only produced, projected or produced, by one’s own mind. So one creates one’s own world, or one’s own view, one’s own world appearances, then one hates. Then we create all these appearances, then we hate to one appearance, then our mind attached, clinging to one appearances. And so it is like that. The appearance also we create and also mind, first we create, our mind creates this, then get angry at it as it exists, as it came from outside, as it exists from its own side. Same thing with our object of attachment. So like that.

So from birth until death, it’s like that, the whole appearance of life, the whole life, the appearance and including the perceiver, the mind, the whole thing came from one’s own mind. So, the same thing, from beginningless rebirth up to enlightenment, the whole appearance came from one’s own mind.

So now the pure appearance, due to pure mind, then there is pure appearance. Due to impure mind there are impure appearances. As there is more negative karma, as there is more negative imprint, then what we see in our daily lives more, what we see, appearance what we have, most of our appearances are undesirable. So that’s how, so the life has more problems, so there’s appearance that the life has more problems and less success. So like that. So it’s just like a dream. Whatever appearance you have in the dream, it all came from the mind, the hallucinated mind. All those appearances one experiences doing the drugs, while the mind is affected by the drugs, the LSD and so forth, so all those appearances that one has during that time came from that hallucinated mind, affected by drugs. So like that.

This is a very important thing, as I mentioned yesterday, I’ll repeat it again, but this is the heart explanation about karma, how the karma is experienced out, how the karma is working, how one experiences it, how we experience karma.

Anybody who abused oneself or badly treated or criticized or whatever, however everything came from one’s own mind, as I explained before, then particularly the karma, one’s own intention. So if it’s a good thing, then came from positive intention; if it is a bad one, if it is undesirable, then it came from negative intention, negative karma. So therefore there’s nothing to blame, there is nothing to point out as the cause of the problems, the cause of one’s own life’s problems, there is nothing to point out except one’s own mind, the ignorance, the disturbing thoughts. So the cause, the disturbing thoughts and karma.

So therefore now, this became also, this meditation, this way of thinking, this meditation became also excellent technique, this meditation technique to practice patience. By thinking this way, one never finds reason to get angry, there is no reason to get angry towards other sentient beings.

So by seeing, experiencing happiness in the life, having success, enjoyment, so by knowing this came from one’s own mind, karma, then use this to inspire oneself to accumulate more, to continuously accumulate good karma. Then the sufferings, the problems, by recognizing that they came from one’s own mind, the negative karma, then you use it to inspire the mind, to purify the past negative karmas and to stop creating negative karma again, which leaves imprint again and again, negative imprint on the mind, which makes to experience the same problem again. So like that.
So can stop here.

[Dedication prayer, short mandala etc]

Due to all the past, present, future merits accumulated by oneself, by buddhas, bodhisattvas, due to all these merits, may the bodhicitta, thought of enlightenment, which is source of all the happiness and success for oneself, for all sentient beings, may it be generated within one’s own mind, in the mind of all sentient beings; those who have, may it be developed.

Due to all the past, present, future merits accumulated by oneself, by buddhas, bodhisattvas, due to all these merits, that which are merely labeled by the mind, may the I, who is merely labeled by the mind...

LECTURE 4: 28 NOVEMBER 1992 AM

EMPTINESS
I think today no more, no more talks on appearances, [RL, GL] no more merely label, no more mind labeling on the appearances, (RL) or emptiness.

I think this point, [RL] before we get involved talking in specific story of karma, you know, the result of good karma or the result of negative karma; before we get involved talking specific result, stories, this way it makes very clear about karma. When you know everything came from the mind, the essence becomes very clear in the mind. Then also, this meditation is very good, this way of meditating that how all objects appearance that, you know, happened as result after one, you see, after one’s mind imputed, you know, made up the label. So this become very important, this becomes very effective meditation on emptiness.

That, because you can see very clear that it is related to the mind, that it comes from the mind; that there is nothing there, you see, that there is nothing there. In the reality, even when we are not aware or when we do not analyze in our daily life, when we do not analyze, or when we are not aware with things—I, and action, object, so forth, it looks like there is a thing there, there is I on the aggregates, there is I, self, on the aggregates; there is a table on the base of table; there is a pillar on the base of pillar; there is a mother on that body; there is a father on that body; there is a flower on this base.

This is quite a subtle point, that this way of analyzing, that, it is very important point, very important point to discover, a very important point. Then we really know, then we really get an idea even before we realize emptiness, there is some idea what emptiness means and what is empty? The flower is empty of what? I is empty of what? The pillar is empty of what? Empty of what, or empty by what. However, there is something there, there is I on the aggregates. There is a table on the base of table. There, like, there is a ten dollar on the base of that paper, which has all those designs, there is a ten dollar on that. So everywhere we look, there is this thing there on that base, or another way of putting it, similar meaning but another way of putting it, that something real, there is something there real existing from its own side.

If you analyze, it is not there, if you analyze, this is not there. The flower, I exist in this room. I am here in this room, the flower is in this room, the table, there is a table in this room, there is a pillar in this room. But there is no pillar on that base, there is no table on this base, there is no flower on the base of the flower, there is no I, self, on this base, the association of body and mind. If you look for, you cannot find.

That’s one thing, but the main thing is not that. That’s one thing, but that helps very much; but that’s not the main thing, the main thing is that I which appear real one.

The difference is that anyway, I mention now, I didn’t mean to talk about emptiness. (RL,GL) But again it came back, just without choice, without control anyway (RL). That, the difference is this, that, this might be useful, you have to know the differences. That, it is same, the merely labeled I if look for cannot find on this base, on this base, from the tip of the hair down to the toes, anywhere, cannot be found. That, even the merely labeled I cannot be found. That is the same, on every object, even the merely labeled one cannot be found on that base. If you look for, if you search on that base cannot be found—that is the same.

THE TRULY-EXISTING I
Also you see, now, the I that which appears to us not merely labeled, existing from its own side, that independent or real one existing from its own side. If you search on this, if you search here, where it is, whether it is really there as we feel, in our chest, not in belly, not in head, between the neck and the belly, between that inside. If you analyze, if you check whether it is really there, cannot be found, this real I which we normally believe, which we have been believing so far day and night, constantly, from the birth time, even before that, so if you look for it cannot be found there. If we search, if we analyze, whether it really exist there, whether it is really there, that place, where we think, in that particular location, inside the chest, between this, down below the neck and above the belly, inside, where we normally point, I, like that. That when somebody accuses you, or “Are you telling me?” Like that, or, “Are you calling me?” (GL) or something, or somebody gives you very heavy responsibility, then or, [RL] , or “Do I have to do that?” [RL] “Do I have to do?” so you point, you point here, do I, do I, do I, do I have to, [RL], “Do I really have to do that?” That shows mind is become tired.

In our daily life, ourselves and other people when they normally, itself become commentary, that the normal, usual gesture itself, normal in our daily life, that gesture, that behavior or that, you know, where you point out your finger, hands at your chest or that, somewhere around the heart, the middle, however itself becomes, even the person is not aware, but itself become commentary or the explanation, which signifies you see that, for us sentient beings not having realized that the I is empty, or not seeing the I as illusory, as illusion, not illusion, but as illusion. There is differences, there’s big differences in that.

So, pointing the finger there becomes symbolic or itself become explanation, pointing to the real I, the truly existent I, in the sense truly existent I, independent I, that which is not there, that which is completely empty there, but the I which, the merely labeled I appeared as real one existing from its own side. Independent, as if it is there, as if it is inside in the chest. That is either on or in particular, on this aggregates or in this body. Otherwise there is no reason to point particularly here, there is no reason, you can point anywhere, you know, when somebody calls you, or when somebody accuses you (GL), you can point to your nose, [RL], you can point to the toes, [RL] so there must be some reason why, normally in our behavior, there is a reason, so reason is normally like that.

When we do not analyze, when we are not aware, looks like there is, looks like, there is I inside, there is a real I, in the sense existing from its own side. But when we analyze, when we analyze, cannot see, cannot find there, when we search, you know, cannot find there, we cannot there, we cannot find there where we used to believe it is there.

What was I going to tell you before is that, the merely labeled I, that itself cannot be found, the merely labeled I cannot be found anywhere from the tip of the hair down to the toes, anywhere cannot be found, anywhere on this base, the aggregates. But this I, this self, not the real I, not real in the sense, inherently existent, not that I, not that particular I, added with truly existence, not that one. The I, which means merely labeled I, the general I, I which means the merely labeled I, which means I that exists. Even it cannot be found on this aggregates, but it can be found in this hall during this hour, the I, you see, the self, the I can be found in this hall. It is not on this aggregates, but it is in this room, it is in this hall, the I, the self.

And what is that? And what is that? The aggregates are not the I, I is not the aggregates. Aggregates are not the I, I is not aggregates. If I make it short, the association of the body and the mind, this is not the I, I is not the association of the body and the mind. You see, these aggregates are not the I, this association of body and mind is not the I, I is not the association of body and mind, these aggregates.

The self, the I, which usually means the merely labeled I, the self, the I which experience happiness, which creates cause of happiness, which creates the cause of suffering, which experience suffering, this I, this I can be found, this I can be found in this hall, cannot be found on this base, but can be found in this hall. What is the reason that the self, the I, is in this hall? It is not on this base, aggregates, but it is in this hall during this hour, that is before the lunch, [RL], except if there’s a pipi break (GL), if there is no pipi break, then the I is always here before lunch, [RL]. What is the reason that the I is here in this hall? There is no other reason at all, except only the reason is the base, the aggregates, is here, is here in this hall, now. There is no other reason at all why the self, why the self, the I is listening, teaching, talking, writing, making notes, that is in this hall now, even though it is not on this base, aggregates. The reason that, there is no other reason at all except only the aggregates, the base, is now in this hall, that’s all. There is no other reason than that, that why there’s the self, the I, in this hall.

Now you can see clearly! [GL, RL] You can now get clear idea. So, then, what it is? It is nothing other than, except only what is merely labeled by the mind. So that’s what it is. So this point is very important to understand, to meditate. That is the very essential, very essential, very essential, the very essential, recognition, the very essential recognition of the nature of the phenomena, how the phenomenon, I, exist, what it is.

So if we get clear idea of this, then same thing, every single phenomenon, every single particular existence, you can analyze, you can see in similar way, you can see in same reality.

What I am talking here is not saying the I does not exist. The I exists. But how the I exists, that’s what I am talking about. Those who are not familiar with this subject, that I am not talking about that the I does not exist.The I exist, but how it exists, what it is? The I, the self, when we really analyze, it is never the I that all the time appears to us, the way it appears to us all the time, the way we apprehend, believe all the time; it is never that. It’s not that at all.

It is completely, the reality is something else completely than what, from birth time, you know, from birth time in mother’s womb, from birth time, from beginningless rebirth, the way how the I, the self, have been appearing to us, and how our mind have been apprehending, believing. The way it exists, and what it is, is completely opposite, not the way normally it appears to us and how we believe. So now you can see, what the I is, is extremely subtle. It’s never the way we have been believing, apprehending in our everyday life, something very gross, something very real or concrete or real, something is there or existing from its own side. It is never that. So, the reality of the I, what the self, I, is, it’s extremely subtle, extremely subtle, what it is. It is not that it doesn’t exist. It is not that it doesn’t exist. It exists, but it is like it does not exist. It is not that it does not exist, but it is like that. That is the reality. That’s how the I is and how the I exist.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BASE AND THE LABEL
The I is in this hall now because the base, the aggregates is now in this hall, the association of body and mind is in this hall now. We check the difference between the truly, the real I, in the sense existing from its own side, the truly existent I. How it is possible, if one cannot find even the merely labeled I, even the I that you labeled you cannot find where it is, you cannot find from the tip of the hair down to the toes, anywhere you cannot find, nowhere you can find, even the I that you labeled. So how can you find that real I, appearing existing from its own side. How you can find that? There is no way. The real, in the sense of inherently existent which appears, which is like the cover, which is like the table cover on the table, which is like the carpet on the floor.

The true, inherent existence that which is projected, that which decorated on the merely labeled I. That your mind merely labeled, reason of aggregates, your mind merely labeled I. What I am doing here, I am listening, I am sitting, I am listening, teaching, so why, why you say this, why you believe in this? There is no other reason at all except only the aggregates of the body is doing the action of sitting, except only the aggregates, the sense of the ear is listening to the talk. So, there is no other, because of this, what the aggregates, the base, is doing, then one’s own mind label, I am sitting, I am labeling, (RL) I am sitting, I am listening. So because of no other reason, except the aggregates, the body is sitting, doing the action of sitting, and aggregates, the sense of ear is doing the action of listening, so one’s own mind, merely labeled, I am listening, I am sitting.

WHERE THE CONCEPT OF TRUE EXISTENCE COMES FROM
Like this, from morning till night, twenty-four hours, the mind constantly, reason of the aggregates, the base, what the body is doing, what this mind is doing, so depending on that, constantly, on mind, you see, merely constantly, constantly our mind merely impute, I am doing this and that. So constantly, the mind constantly imputes, the mind imputes, I, constantly, the mind constantly makes up the label, I doing this and that. So, the same thing, from birth up to the death, depending what aggregates, the base, what the body of mind is doing, the mind constantly makes up the label I, I am doing this and that, the mind constantly make up the label. So like that, same, from the beginningless rebirth up to enlightenment is the same. Depending what this base, the aggregates does, then the mind constantly makes up the label, I am doing this and that. Therefore, what the I is, is what is merely labeled by the mind, what is merely labeled by the mind. But, you see, due to the past concept of truly existence, the past ignorance, the concept of, the wrong concept of truly existence, ignorance, imprints left on one’s own mental continuum by the past concept, wrong concept of truly existence, the ignorance.

To use the same example again [RL], the feeling, on the feeling with a movie camera, what is recorded on there, figures, figures printed there, then you see, it projects on the TV or movie screen. Same, the past ignorance concept of, past wrong concept, concept of truly existence, left imprints on the mental continuum, then that imprint projects true existence, that hallucination, it projects the hallucination on the merely labeled I. The I that you have merely labeled, the self, that you have merely labeled. For example, that if you plant corn seed, corn comes, if you plant seed of chili, hot pepper, chili not Chile, the country [RL], chili, the hot chili, burning the mouth chili. So, if you plant seed of chili, if you plant seed of chili in the ground, then you see, same thing comes out, what comes out, it’s not raisin, it’s not sweet fruit, that similar character, the hot.

So now, the past wrong concept of truly existence left imprints like planted a seed, like from the stem then flower comes the fruit, then the seed. Like that, that the concept of truly existence left imprints on one’s own mental continuum, then the imprint then decorated, projects the truly existence. As I mentioned before, putting carpet on the floor or cover on the table, so like that, truly existence, inherent existence. So it projects this appearance from that imprint. The appearance of truly existence on the merely labeled, on the object, the merely labeled I. So like that, same thing, all the existence, samsara, nirvana, hell, enlightenment. The whole existence, therefore, even though everything what they are, is what is merely labeled by the mind, even though this is what they are, this is how they exist, but then this imprint, because in the past we haven’t actualized the path, the remedy path, which removes, which ceases this imprint, the seed that is planted, left by the wrong concept, concept of truly existence, because we haven’t, by realizing emptiness, developing that, this is the direct remedy that which actually ceases all these imprints left by the concept of true existence, that which projects the hallucination, the truly existence, these appearances.

We haven’t completed the path. With the method, bodhicitta, then means of accumulating extensive merit, the bodhisattva’s path or conduct, the six paramitas; however haven’t actualized and completed this path that is practiced together method and wisdom. Because of that, then, the concept of, wrong concept—ignorance—the concept of the truly existence, concept that apprehending that it’s true—the I, including I, action, object—things appearing as truly existent, then, that is true. So this wrong concept, because we didn’t get to develop the path, develop wisdom combined with method, then this wrong concept, the ignorance, didn’t get ceased, and the imprint left by them, didn’t get to cease, therefore there is constantly hallucination, the imprint projects constantly. That’s why there is always truly, inherently existence, independent, things appearing as real in the sense existing from its own side.

The self, I, appear as truly existent, then believing in that, in other words, believing in that which does not exist. Action appeared again truly existence, even though it is merely labeled but appeared as truly existence and believing in that, appeared as truly existence and believe in that, which does not exist. Then object, appeared as truly existence and believe in that, which does not exist.

The first thing what I mean slipped out. [RL] So like this, you see, because of this imprint then projected truly existence, on the subject merely labeled I, merely labeled action, object, merely labeled object, everything. Specially by believing in all this is true, that’s how we are trapped in the hallucination; that’s how the life is trapped, due to ignorance, the concept of truly existence, we are trapped, like an animal, that is caged, like a fish, by clinging to that piece of meat on the hook that the fish gets hooked, or like catching animal, that you have some meat, or something there, then, animal comes there and gets trapped.

I just remembered, in Solu Khumbu where I was born, when we catch mouse, so there is bamboo that something that made like this, then you put potatoes, some food there, round [RL], then you put it maybe inside like this, I’m not sure, so here bamboo around, put food, that is tied up, you put bread or something, then you face inside, then on top of that you put a pot like this, so then the mouse goes, starts to move, eats the food there, the bamboo thing gets moved, then the pot closes down, [RL], because it’s slippery so then it goes inside, the bamboo thing goes inside, the pot goes down, so the animal get trapped. (RL) So anyway this is according to Solu Khumbu, anyway [Gl, RL] catching a mouse, but anyway, there are many other examples like that. This is relating to animal and also examples similar to that human beings.

Like this examples, by following the concept of truly existence, the ignorance, then, put it this way, what makes us to get trapped in this hallucination is because the mistake following the wrong concept. The reason why we are trapped, in this hallucination of true existence, and then having so many problems, depression, is because it is not merely labeled—not merely labeled friend is lost, not merely labeled friend has left you, not that one, but truly existent friend left you, truly existing friend, not merely labeled friend, the merely labeled friend left you. When you think that way, that doesn’t disturb; the merely labeled friend left you, that doesn’t disturb you, that doesn’t upset your mind.

When the truly existence appeared from above the merely labeled friend, from above the friend, which means the friend who is merely labeled, believing on that this is a hundred percent true, when we think, then in our view, the truly existent friend left me, that’s what makes the shock. The belief, what makes shock, what makes big shock, deeply upset, incredible pain in the heart that which last months, years, so much depression and which makes nothing to think about, which makes nothing you can see in your life, except only the problem, the truly existent friend left me or the truly existent friend that, doesn’t love me. If one thinks she doesn’t love me, which is merely labeled one, which is merely labeled by one’s own mind, that doesn’t bother. But doesn’t love, doesn’t love me, which is truly existent, which is independent, so anyway, unbelievable depression and nothing else you think about except how the person is bad and that this truly existent friend, I served so much, I did everything whatever I can, I offered everything whatever I can offer, however, so mind is very closed, nothing except problem, except the depression, except problem, except what one thinks is a problem, these things, so then the result is only depression, only upsetness, very deep pain in the heart.

PERFECT HUMAN REBIRTH
Then comes the thought to commit suicide, then it is a minute, [snaps fingers] due to hallucination, due to believing in hallucination, then it is a minute, to lose this perfect human rebirth, this perfect human rebirth that which is qualified of eight very precious freedoms and ten richnesses. It is a minute [snaps fingers] that one loses this, that which gives all the opportunities to use the buddha nature which is within our mind, which is in mental continuum that to achieve any happiness, any perfection, any temporary happiness, perfection and ultimate, highest enlightenment which is cessation of all the mistakes of the mind, completion of all the realizations and by achieving this, that one can free every single suffering sentient beings from all the suffering and causes and able to cause all the happiness, able to bring highest happiness, the full enlightenment, then it is a minute that you lose this, this perfect human rebirth which one can do, that you can use this to cause happiness for all, for numberless sentient beings, temporary happiness, ultimate happiness, that unbelievable thing what you can do, serve other sentient beings.

It takes a minute to lose this, that which is so precious, that which, among all the materials, all the jewels, what is, all the money, all the jewels, all the wealth on this earth, if you compare to your perfect human rebirth, and those the value of that much material, that much money, material possessions, all these means nothing, all these value is nothing, even you own that much, it’s nothing, comparing the value of this perfect human rebirth. Even whole sky filled with dollars, filled with a million dollars, gold, diamond, the value of how precious it is nothing comparing how precious this perfect human rebirth.

Anyway I’ll mention the reason now, because, if you don’t have a precious human body, this is very important to keep in mind. At least, that, doesn’t matter about emptiness, doesn’t matter about, even the emptiness is not clear, that doesn’t matter. But this one is very important, [RL]. Even, if one doesn’t have this perfect, this perfect human rebirth, which can understand, which can communicate, which can understand Dharma, which can understand what is the cause of happiness, what is the cause of suffering, which can understand, which has the capacity, the perfect human rebirth that which has capacity to understand, to be able to hear, the opportunity to hear, opportunity to understand what is the cause of happiness, what is the cause of suffering, the cause of happiness is virtue, the positive mind, the virtuous mind, the positive action, the virtuous action. In this most simple definition, the virtuous action, action that which brings result of happiness, virtue. Action that which brings result sufferings is nonvirtue. So, that is negative karma, that is nonvirtue. So, however, as a human being, within a minute you understood what is the unmistaken cause of happiness, unmistaken cause of suffering, within a minute, you understood. That is because of having a human body, within a minute you understood, the definition of what is the cause of happiness, what is the cause of suffering; that within a minute, what means Dharma, it is same, cause of happiness and Dharma is same. What means Dharma, what is Dharma, what’s not Dharma, within a minute.

If the action became the remedy towards ignorance, anger, attachment, particularly the attachment clinging to this life, the power, reputation, and so forth, clinging to this life; so this is definition of Dharma, this is the definition of what Dharma is. Within a minute, by understanding what Dharma means, then you have complete freedom, by understanding what is definition of Dharma, you have complete freedom. If you wish to practice Dharma, you know how to practice Dharma, because you have the wisdom. You know how to create the cause, you know how your actions to become cause of happiness; you know how your actions, body and mind to become cause of happiness. By understanding the definition of Dharma, what is the cause of suffering, what is the cause of happiness, these things, you have freedom twenty-four, your twenty-four hours actions to make cause of happiness. It is up to you, whether you do it or not.

For example, a cat, even the animal that stays with people—cat, dogs, the pigs, [RL, GL], even you explain to them for thousands of eons, every day you continuously explain what is the definition of Dharma and what is cause of happiness, what is cause of suffering, even you explain the meaning for thousands of eons, even you explain to them, even they live for thousands of eons, because of the body of the unfortunate rebirth, body of the suffering migratory being, there is no opportunity, even for thousands of eons, no way that they can understand the meaning, and no way to communicate in that way.

Even these holy objects, the statue of Buddha, the painting of Buddha, because we are able to see, doesn’t mean everyone can see. Because we can see doesn’t mean everybody can see. There are stories in Tibet, in different places that, as far as this point, some human beings, when they came to Lhasa, when they came to where there is Shakyamuni Buddha statue blessed by Shakyamuni Buddha himself, you see, after the statue made, then he put his hands on the statue and predicted that this statue will be of incredible benefit for the sentient beings and for the teachings; for the sentient beings in India that many number of time, year, then Mongolia, then China, then the Snow Land, in Tibet, that this many number of years, this statue will do great work for benefit for sentient beings. So Buddha blessed and predicted all these.

There happened some people when they came to see, they could not see it, it is not that the person is blind; it is not by that reason that some of them could not see the statue. What the person saw in the temple is completely dark, then after having done so much purification, then when they checked with a lama, then the lama advised to purify. By having done so much practice of purification, then after the person, then only able to see the light offerings, little bit better, but still not the statue. So there happened some like this. Another person instead of seeing statue, saw big piles of meat on that place where that statue is, instead of seeing statue. So however those animals, it is said in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, in the teachings that don’t have karma, in their view it is different, when they look at holy object statue or something, in their view there is something else, they don’t see there.

We are unbelievably fortunate, having this human rebirth, so precious. If one doesn’t have the perfect human rebirth, then even one owns that much wealth—sky filled with gold, diamond, dollars— if you don’t have the perfect human rebirth, it’s difficult to practice morality, charity, and the cause of the future life happiness, deva, human body, the body of the happy migratory being. One finds it difficult to practice morality, that by dedicating the merits, then to receive, to achieve the happiness of future lives, even that temporary happiness, that generally can be said this is not possible. Then it is not possible to achieve happiness or even temporary happiness, happiness of future lives, and there’s no way to practice the three higher trainings, higher training of morality, concentration, wisdom, then to achieve liberation, then to achieve cessation of the whole entire suffering and cause for oneself, not possible, there is no way. Then, no way to generate bodhicitta and practice the Mahayana path, the six paramitas, so forth, then, achieve enlightenment.

Even one owns that much wealth but doesn’t have precious human body, the perfect human rebirth then cannot achieve these things. But that like Milarepa, the great yogi Milarepa who became enlightened within a few years, in one lifetime of degenerated time, in one brief lifetime of degenerated time, who began in this life the Mahayana, the tantra path, actualized in that life, began and completed in that one life, one short life. So didn’t even have one rupee, Milarepa did not have even one rupee, lived in a cave and just eating nettles, only nettles. Just one small, mostly naked body. Maybe, not naked body, even the times wearing some dress maybe some [unclear: discussion with Marcel]. Anyway, didn’t have even one rupee, didn’t have even one tiny gold. So, there are many yogis like that who become enlightened in that life, have nothing. But because they have the perfect human rebirth, and they used that to practice, they made their life meaningful by actualizing the renunciation, emptiness, the renunciation of samsara, then with realizing especially bodhicitta, then tantra path, the path of secret mantra, highest tantra. So they use the perfect human rebirth to actualize this, to be able to serve, to be able to do perfect work, for all sentient beings.

Therefore, that much wealth—whole skies filled with diamonds, dollars, gold, that much—even if you own that much, but without this perfect human rebirth, you can’t achieve any of this. Therefore, but if you don’t have all those, but if you have this, you can achieve. Therefore the value of all these, it’s nothing. All the wealth that’s in the world, how much people think so precious the value is nothing comparing your perfect human rebirth, your perfect human rebirth that you have received at this time. This is unbelievably precious. Now I’m going back (GL)(RL), but it is a minute (snap), it is a minute you see (snap) that you lose this, that thought comes to commit suicide (snap) then it is a minute to lose this. [Long pause with background noise.]

During those times, then there’s also interferers, there are beings, spirits, that this mental situation is there, then there are interferers, called gek and dun, interferer, possession, dun, gek, interferers, that also then upset. They are also associated with one’s own negative karma, degenerated samaya or some unrighteous action is done, some negative karma happened, so then those spirits or those interferers called dun, gek, they also associated, relating to, originally mistake is done, some unrighteous, degenerated samaya or did some unrighteous action, negative karma, out of negative thoughts, unrighteous thoughts, then these interferers they find a way to give harm to you. Their giving harm to you is related to the karma, but if there is no karma in the first place, like the target, if oneself hasn’t put the target, negative karma, those dun, gek, those spirits, those interferers, cannot give harm. There’s no way you can, it is same thing, not only spirits but also human beings. If you don’t have, in the first place, if you haven’t put the target, if you haven’t created negative karma nobody can give you harm. Nobody can abuse you. Nobody can criticize you, nobody can harm to you. If we don’t have negative karma in the first place, which is like putting the target to receive the arrow, to shoot by others.

HALLUCINATIONS
So however, also then there is this situation, these outside dun, gek, interferers, possessions, then they harm, they are associated with negative karma. Then there are, then, also, this thing arises. I think some people call schizophrenic, but I think, what’s called other one? Yeah, paranoid. Paranoid? Isn’t there other one? [GL] [inaudible discussion]

I saw in TV in Australia, I think Melbourne but there might be in every city, there are many groups of people—even one lady was crying so much—that no doctors, nobody can help these people. There’s nobody who can help these people. And then one lady who I guess involved in organization, crying so much, asking for help. There are people who see things, who hear things, who see things. [inaudible discussion.] Yeah, there’s schizophrenics, yeah. I thought there’s another word [GL]).

Anyway, schizophrenic, paranoid, however then there’s also a danger of these things happening, that are related, also with some problem. Then these, relating to those interferers, those outside, those interferers dun, gek, this possession or spirit those different types associated with the negative karma, then these things happen. Seeing strange, having hallucinations, seeing strange, hearing all sorts of things, those things then, these paranoia or schizophrenic, these things happens. It is extremely important during those times that to analyze, to not immediately follow, to analyze, to check whether it is really true or not. Then, by checking, instead of completely believing in that, by analyze, believing what you hear, what you see, by checking, by asking people checking whether this person is there or not, the, whether this person is outside or not, whether this person said such a thing or not, so one analyze, and when you find out, that is, that is not, that didn’t happen, and the person didn’t come there, the person didn’t say that, so when you find, by analyzing when you find out then it’s just your own superstition, your own superstition, you see in Tibetan called wind disease, so however these things are involved, outer beings involved, harmed you, related to one’s own negative karma.

It’s very important to analyze, then when you discover that didn’t happen, then you know that it’s your own hallucination, that’s your own concept, because some ways you expect it. Sometimes it happens because you expect it. These people will criticize me, this person will come here, will come to harm to me. Can be related to also fear, expectation. So then if one find out it’s not true, then it cuts the problem. Then the next time even you hear something then your mind can relax, because you don’t believe. You don’t believe, that, you have, at least having doubt, “This could be just my own superstition.” Even that helps to not become over crazy (GL). Just it helps to not follow, to not become more depressed, to not become more upset.

So, now without talking, the subject is going all over (RL,GL). So anyway, since I brought up this subject, (GL) so I thought when the lady was crying so much in TV, asking for help, that nobody can, so I thought, I told also, also told Roger and Frank, who were there during the retreat, but anyway, my retreat was watching TV [GL], watching TV and listening the radio, that was my retreat in Australia (GL).

So I thought if these people, this organization, maybe sometimes injections can control, or some medicines control for a while the bad effects on the body and making the mind numb, to with the outside force. So a thought came that there are many good teachers in Australia, all those teachers, geshes, who are there, who are in our centers, they are extremely qualified, not just qualified in the words of Dharma but they are living in the practice. They are living in the practice and they are living in the pure morality, so somebody who live in the, like that practitioner who live in the, most important, not so much the education of words, but the most important thing is the practice, living in the practice, in the pure morality, and that has the power, that has power to cure these people who have such as these problems. That also especially through, so somebody who has bodhicitta realization, somebody who has pure morality is one that can cure, that is very powerful to heal people, especially those problems to do with spirits.

Then the other thing is the good heart, bodhicitta. The more the person has good heart, then can do better healing. Better service for others. So morality, pure morality, and good heart. Then on top of that, then special powerful tantra practice. Practice the secret mantra. So there are many possibilities to help these people. Even everybody does not get recovered, but because some people have very heavy karma, unless something is not done, somebody who has a heavier karma, the problem is bigger, heavier karma to experience the problem, then method has to be also powerful. Has to be done, whatever the meditation practice or puja, whatever, it has to be done many, more and many, so depending how much negative karma heavier, the other person has, the problem.

Then, many cases, endless cases other people who has quality, power, can help, can heal, can help, but many times, but many of these problems, especially those who have very heavy, the problem is very heavy, the person has very heavy karma, from the side of the person has to be something, otherwise, from the side of the person has to purify the karma, from the side of the person has to do some strong practice to purify that problem. Otherwise not possible. Otherwise, cannot be recovered.

So there are different things like that, so, I thought somehow the organization, if they able to understand that there are more possibilities that they can receive help, that at least some people can get, their problem can get less. So sometimes depending on how heavy it is, so doesn’t get stopped immediately, but less and less as the week goes, as the month goes, like that, then recover. So there are different situations.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICING DHARMA
However with Dharma, there is so much possibility of coming back, understanding the teaching. Being able to read the scriptures is not enough. One has to practice, one has to put in the practice, and the practice is not enough, being able to remember the meditation just one minute, because we don’t have, actually we don’t have realization of the meditation, actually we don’t have realization of the meditation, it works (snap fingers), it works (snap) five minutes or ten minutes while we are meditating, the problem gets stopped, the problem is not there, but if you don’t continue the meditation, if you don’t keep the mind in that experience, then the problem comes back again. If you don’t keep the mind in that experience, in that state of mind, if you don’t keep the mind in the continuation of that transformation, what was transformed during meditation time, session. During that one minute when we meditate, when we think of impermanence and death, the problem is not there. You are free from the problem, but as you stop after one minute, no longer thinking impermanence and death, then the problem returns. Then again the mind, the delusion takes over. The concept of permanence takes over the mind, attachment to this life takes over the mind, then again the problem comes back. Again, so as we don’t have realization of the impermanence and death, you see even that one meditation, so therefore one need to do meditation continuously, and again and again and try to keep the mind in that same state. Then this is the way how we can solve the problem. To not experience the problems.

So there happened one student in Switzerland, a few years ago. He can read Tibetan texts, I think he teaches also Tibetan language. So he had much freedom to learn Dharma, so many texts, many commentaries, many various subjects, however, what happened, he had always wish to practice Dharma. He heard lamrim teachings, attended I think short courses and teachings. The positive wish was there, to practice, to do retreat, he always had the wish, there was the wish to do retreat later, some time later to do retreat. He always had that wish, but however his girlfriend left him, and then he hanged himself. So he died. So, understanding is not enough, one has to practice. One has to train the mind in the subject. One has to train the, one has to make familiar the mind with the path, one has to transform the mind in the path and continue that.

So all these problems, we are trapped in the hallucination by believing that it’s real, specially all these are due to original mistake, following the wrong concept, ignorance.

So I think, so I might stop here. So I stop here.

Due to all the past, present and future merits accumulated by oneself, by Buddhas and bodhisattvas, due to all these merits, may the bodhicitta, thought of enlightenment, cherishing all sentient beings may it be that which is source of all the happiness, all the success for oneself, for all sentient beings, may it be generated within one’s own mind and the mind of all sentient beings. Those who have, may it be developed.

Due to all the past, present, future merits accumulated by oneself and by buddhas, bodhisattvas, due to all these merits, that which are empty from its own side, may the I who is empty from its own side, achieve Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, that which is empty from its own side, and lead all sentient beings, who are empty from their own side, to that enlightenment, as quick as possible.

[End of Fourth Discourse]